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Inflated Signature Series Auctions

Started by A-DONIS,

235 posts in this topic

GoldenGuardian

GoldenGuardian

Posted
Posted
We ( and I feel so bad now ) teased Leo about his work,Alex especially,since he is a real art student and painter. But Leo had several pieces that at the time werent as polished as his present day stuff. Leo was a good sport.

 

Awesome! I'll be sure to rattle Leo about that when next I see him. He's actually a pretty good friend of mine these days and has done a couple commissions for me over the course of the last year. He has some good stories about Alex, Steve McNiven and the likes. Happy to hear Leo took it with a grain of salt :applause:

 

He'll be at NYCC with me, I'll try to swing by with him and say "hey" (thumbs u

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devilsrain

devilsrain

Posted
Posted
1st question. Youd have to be a crack head to do that.

2nd question. Youd have to be INSANE to buy my stuff for 20k, let alone 5k.;)

And getting pissed is what happens to trees,id do what Steve Rude is doing,cutting the middle man right out and selingl directly to galleries( if my work ever got to the k stratosphere).

 

Youd also have to be insane to pay 73 million for a Rothko which is basically 3 color squares and a stripe but it happens.

 

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a_88lU6lA.Uc

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comix4fun

comix4fun

Posted
Posted
I've know Alex since the day he came into the Valiant offices and did not have a clue about Daredevil or Superman. I shared a studio with him and Kevin Kobasic in Chinatown for years. We've hanged out till 3-4 in the morning drunk on the Playtation Hes a good friend .

Believe me I KNOW Alex and he youd be surprise what his reaction would be.

Thrilled? I dont know. But i do know that his prices will go up if he discovered they were being flipped for double.

And the dilemma here isn't what the artist charges for a piece,its whats done by people like our friend who's fleecing unsuspecting buyers. Every artist has their own take on the subject,right or wrong the problem remains the same.

 

 

I tend to agree with you. I am friends with several artists. I have represented many of them for no charge over the years when they have had problems pop up. No one wants to feel taken advantage of, of course.

 

I have helped Brian Bolland run his convention booths for over 5 years now. I do my very best to make sure that the sketches get into the hands of real fans and not flippers. I am very cognizant and careful to make sure no one takes advantage of him. It's a real issue and I understand it better than most.

 

What I was saying was, at the end of the day everyone is seeing the shiny price tag with the big number but not realizing all the costs that went into it and factoring that in. The guy's not clearing anywhere near the asking price when all is said and done.

 

If Alex did this for himself, bought the blanks, sketched and painted them, subbed them to CGC, paid all the fees and shipping costs, listed them on ebay, paid all those fees and paypal fees and did all the shipping himself he would have to ask around $275 just to net out the same money he makes from charging $150 at a convention.

 

That's a lot of extra work for no real gain. If he sold them for $300 he'd make an extra $25 and go through an extra 2 months of work and hassle to get it.

 

That's why I said he's better off having the general public think he's "giving away" $300 sketches for $150 when he's really netting the same cash and the perception of his sketch value amongst collectors will keep his table jammed well into the future.

 

Hope I made sense there, I am on half my normal caffeine this morning.

 

 

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somewhereintexas

somewhereintexas

Posted
Posted
I've know Alex since the day he came into the Valiant offices and did not have a clue about Daredevil or Superman. I shared a studio with him and Kevin Kobasic in Chinatown for years. We've hanged out till 3-4 in the morning drunk on the Playtation Hes a good friend .

Believe me I KNOW Alex and he youd be surprise what his reaction would be.

Thrilled? I dont know. But i do know that his prices will go up if he discovered they were being flipped for double.

And the dilemma here isn't what the artist charges for a piece,its whats done by people like our friend who's fleecing unsuspecting buyers. Every artist has their own take on the subject,right or wrong the problem remains the same.

 

 

I tend to agree with you. I am friends with several artists. I have represented many of them for no charge over the years when they have had problems pop up. No one wants to feel taken advantage of, of course.

 

I have helped Brian Bolland run his convention booths for over 5 years now. I do my very best to make sure that the sketches get into the hands of real fans and not flippers. I am very cognizant and careful to make sure no one takes advantage of him. It's a real issue and I understand it better than most.

 

What I was saying was, at the end of the day everyone is seeing the shiny price tag with the big number but not realizing all the costs that went into it and factoring that in. The guy's not clearing anywhere near the asking price when all is said and done.

 

If Alex did this for himself, bought the blanks, sketched and painted them, subbed them to CGC, paid all the fees and shipping costs, listed them on ebay, paid all those fees and paypal fees and did all the shipping himself he would have to ask around $275 just to net out the same money he makes from charging $150 at a convention.

 

That's a lot of extra work for no real gain. If he sold them for $300 he'd make an extra $25 and go through an extra 2 months of work and hassle to get it.

 

That's why I said he's better off having the general public think he's "giving away" $300 sketches for $150 when he's really netting the same cash and the perception of his sketch value amongst collectors will keep his table jammed well into the future.

 

Hope I made sense there, I am on half my normal caffeine this morning.

 

 

 

:golfclap:

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Pirate

Pirate

Posted
Posted
Howard Payne: Pop quiz, hotshot. There's a bomb on a bus. Once the bus goes 50 miles an hour, the bomb is armed. If it drops below 50, it blows up. What do you do? What do you do?

 

don't get on the bus.

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chainnball

chainnball

Posted
Posted

seriously though, good discussion, and good to have an artist's perspective. Anthony and I were just debating this on the phone and we seem to have come to the same conclusion, that it just becomes a vicious cycle, repeating itself and no one, and everyone wins in the end.

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PeasOfCrap

PeasOfCrap

Posted
Posted
Howard Payne: Pop quiz, hotshot. There's a bomb on a bus. Once the bus goes 50 miles an hour, the bomb is armed. If it drops below 50, it blows up. What do you do? What do you do?

 

don't get on the bus.

 

(shrug)

 

 

just a little :roflmao: break in the conversation with a debateable topic. i agree 100% as you say it just becomes a vicious cycle, repeating itself and no one, and everyone wins in the end.

 

(thumbs u

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A-DONIS

A-DONIS

Posted
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Posted

As far as Alex Maleev, I didn't know he charged that much for a full body/colot commission. I was just looking at the auction from an "artist" prospective.

 

Granted, there are plenty of artist out there that don't care what their artwork sells for on e-bay. Some feel that if I padi $75-$150 for a sketch, and then months down the line I sell it, then it's my right.

 

But my point being is that this guy DeJesus or whatever you want to call it, seems to be giving the industry a bad name.

 

I know I don't have any room to talk when it comes to e-bay or forum sales, but talk to anyone who's bought from me and they will tell you that I am fair, balanced, and reasonable with some of the sketch prices.

 

What really got me boiling was the fact that this guy was a smart arse when I asked him a simple question. His responses were offensive and down right nasty. Which lead me to believe that this guy was not a witness, but rather an opportunist.

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User 01001010

User 01001010

Posted
Posted

the guy is a tool, but to have cgc not accept his subs is bad business sense. they would be taking money out of their pockets just because someone is charging way too much for what they have. now if he was forging and getting gold labels, that would be different. but it looks like that the gold labels he has are legit and the ones that aren't slabbed are forged very poorly.

 

when it comes to someone selling a piece that they paid for for twice as much...well, yeah it sucks for the original artist, but this is part of our "hobby", more business than hobby anymore. if artists were truely compensated on their merit/worth, most of us could never afford to get anything.

 

think about it, what other "hobby" can you get a one of a kind piece for as little as $25 (i have some sketch covers that cost that little)? exactly, you can't.

 

i am totally pro-creator since i am a half-assed creator (and it is debatable if i can even be considered a "pro" right now) and i wish that i had the kind of money to afford named artists to work on my stuff, but i am at the bottom rung of indy right now and besides friends, i can't afford anyone.

 

 

 

 

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Prince Namor

Prince Namor

Posted
Posted
I think all we can really do is inform people that this guy is out there and to stay away. Eventually enough people will hear his name and associate it with a negative experience.

 

I would love it if Ebay would step up, but I doubt that would happen.

 

Unfortunately, eBay has a conflict of interest in the money they make from the guy.

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toysmania

toysmania

Posted
Posted
As far as Alex Maleev, I didn't know he charged that much for a full body/colot commission. I was just looking at the auction from an "artist" prospective.

 

Granted, there are plenty of artist out there that don't care what their artwork sells for on e-bay. Some feel that if I padi $75-$150 for a sketch, and then months down the line I sell it, then it's my right.

 

But my point being is that this guy DeJesus or whatever you want to call it, seems to be giving the industry a bad name.

 

I know I don't have any room to talk when it comes to e-bay or forum sales, but talk to anyone who's bought from me and they will tell you that I am fair, balanced, and reasonable with some of the sketch prices.

 

What really got me boiling was the fact that this guy was a smart arse when I asked him a simple question. His responses were offensive and down right nasty. Which lead me to believe that this guy was not a witness, but rather an opportunist.

 

That is so true. Adonis offers one of the best prices around. Now lift your ban on selling slabs/sketches to me :makepoint:

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