GLWTS!

[Balham's Finest]

2) Now your place as an artist. If your last name it’s not, Finch, Cheung, Lee or something similar ask for money according to your name...

 

This is a stupid thing to say.

 

Please point to the accepted league table of artists so that I and others can see where everyone places in relation to everyone else.

[plasticmoz]

Pretty much as someone else said, people will pay what they think it's worth. If the prices are so high that most folks feel it's not worth their money that creator will probably not find that sustainable, so it generally works out.

[devilsrain]

Directed at no one specifically:

 

It also doesn't help when a person gets a sketch from an artist and immediately upon getting it back from CGC it shows up in a sales thread or on ebay. That, I suspect, is why there are more and more artists raising their prices for them. Some creators feel the same about SS books. They sign books for someone, knowing the books are getting graded, and later on see them listed online for sale. I can see where they might get the feeling they're being used as someone's cash cow and not be happy with it.

 

I can see that, too - but it's always surprising to me when an artist takes this viewpoint. The entire existence of comic books is based on "collectibility" in some fashion, and for someone to get offended because someone wants to re-sell their autograph just seems short-sighted in terms of business. They get paid to sign, and the comic industry as a whole (CGC, sellers, fan who buy and then resell again) gets some financial benefit from that as well. The process helps the hobby as a whole.

 

Ideologically, I understand how a creator may feel like he is being used for others to make money. Pragmatically, this industry (or any for that matter) cannot sustain itself without commerce and the selling of sigs, sketches, etc. are part of the machine that drives creative enterprise.

 

I know one thing I do is encourage the creator to get SS sketches/books done themselves and have them/their agents/whomever sell it direct so they get it all! (minus eBay or ecommerce fees that is) I can think of several A-list artists where I've told them I'll pay the CGC grading fees, they draw it, mail it in, I pay the fees, books get mailed straight back to them, and they sell it, and it never touches anyone else's hands. Heck one guy has the blanks and a filled out invoice and paperwork. Thankfully there are a growing number of us who are partnering with these artists to get the lions share of the money to the artist directly, whether it's a sketch opp or processing books for the creator.

 

Creators set up at shows and sell prints, commissions, product (comics, trades, posters, merchandise) to cover their costs, and they are also "marketing" themselves and making deals with editors and publishers at shows, so there can be an indirect payoff for going to shows as well. The rise in sketch cover business is usually a boon to many of these guys and sketch opps allow some to make money without travelling to a show, which is even better.

 

But yes, they sell a $50 sketch and see it sell for $200, they are more mad at themselves for "undercharging" is what I think. My answer - draw the best darn sketch you can for yourself, and get $400-500 by selling it direct in the open market and keep it all. Several artists have learned the power of "letting the market decide" by auctioning off guaranteed sketch spots for a show. Why draw 7-8 sketches to make the same amount of cash as 1 guaranteed sketch? It absolutely sucks for the fan who just wants to own something, but sometimes if a creator can make easy money with 1 high dollar sketch, they're happier to do quickie sketches or do sketches at smaller shows because they're not working so hard all year.

 

Ugh, too much else I can comment on. Go sketch covers!

 

There is no reason for any artist ever to complain about selling a sketch for 50 and seeing it sell for 200. Of course you make the best suggestion. Make the best damn sketch you can, do the grading yourself and sell it yourself.

 

 

[Balham's Finest]

Pretty much as someone else said, people will pay what they think it's worth. If the prices are so high that most folks feel it's not worth their money that creator will probably not find that sustainable, so it generally works out.

 

Not sure I agree with this. Look at Tony Moore - he only needs to find one person per con, per day, to pay a super high price for his sketches. Doesn't matter if most folks think his sketches are worth that much or not. He's not banging out 20 per con like some others.

 

What I was taking exception to was the laughable assertion that it's possible to identify, in order, which artists are "better" than the others, and so to create a price tiering system.

[plasticmoz]

Oh I agree with you on that - not sure it's even something that's plausible (creating a tiering system).

 

As for Moore, the fact is it is sustainable for him because he sells ~2 high-priced sketches per con which matches up better for him in terms of time spent sketching and interacting with fans. If he had trouble getting those prices, then he may have to reconsider (which doesn't seem to be the case here), but fans clearly value his work at those price points. I guess I shouldn't have used the modifier "most" in my original statement

[Dr. Balls]

I know one thing I do is encourage the creator to get SS sketches/books done themselves and have them/their agents/whomever sell it direct so they get it all! (minus eBay or ecommerce fees that is) I can think of several A-list artists where I've told them I'll pay the CGC grading fees, they draw it, mail it in, I pay the fees, books get mailed straight back to them, and they sell it, and it never touches anyone else's hands. Heck one guy has the blanks and a filled out invoice and paperwork. Thankfully there are a growing number of us who are partnering with these artists to get the lions share of the money to the artist directly, whether it's a sketch opp or processing books for the creator.

 

Creators set up at shows and sell prints, commissions, product (comics, trades, posters, merchandise) to cover their costs, and they are also "marketing" themselves and making deals with editors and publishers at shows, so there can be an indirect payoff for going to shows as well. The rise in sketch cover business is usually a boon to many of these guys and sketch opps allow some to make money without travelling to a show, which is even better.

 

But yes, they sell a $50 sketch and see it sell for $200, they are more mad at themselves for "undercharging" is what I think. My answer - draw the best darn sketch you can for yourself, and get $400-500 by selling it direct in the open market and keep it all. Several artists have learned the power of "letting the market decide" by auctioning off guaranteed sketch spots for a show. Why draw 7-8 sketches to make the same amount of cash as 1 guaranteed sketch? It absolutely sucks for the fan who just wants to own something, but sometimes if a creator can make easy money with 1 high dollar sketch, they're happier to do quickie sketches or do sketches at smaller shows because they're not working so hard all year.

 

Ugh, too much else I can comment on. Go sketch covers!

 

The idea of buying a sketch cover already slabbed by CGC directly from the artist...

[A-DONIS]

I know one thing I do is encourage the creator to get SS sketches/books done themselves and have them/their agents/whomever sell it direct so they get it all! (minus eBay or ecommerce fees that is) I can think of several A-list artists where I've told them I'll pay the CGC grading fees, they draw it, mail it in, I pay the fees, books get mailed straight back to them, and they sell it, and it never touches anyone else's hands. Heck one guy has the blanks and a filled out invoice and paperwork. Thankfully there are a growing number of us who are partnering with these artists to get the lions share of the money to the artist directly, whether it's a sketch opp or processing books for the creator.

 

Creators set up at shows and sell prints, commissions, product (comics, trades, posters, merchandise) to cover their costs, and they are also "marketing" themselves and making deals with editors and publishers at shows, so there can be an indirect payoff for going to shows as well. The rise in sketch cover business is usually a boon to many of these guys and sketch opps allow some to make money without travelling to a show, which is even better.

 

But yes, they sell a $50 sketch and see it sell for $200, they are more mad at themselves for "undercharging" is what I think. My answer - draw the best darn sketch you can for yourself, and get $400-500 by selling it direct in the open market and keep it all. Several artists have learned the power of "letting the market decide" by auctioning off guaranteed sketch spots for a show. Why draw 7-8 sketches to make the same amount of cash as 1 guaranteed sketch? It absolutely sucks for the fan who just wants to own something, but sometimes if a creator can make easy money with 1 high dollar sketch, they're happier to do quickie sketches or do sketches at smaller shows because they're not working so hard all year.

 

Ugh, too much else I can comment on. Go sketch covers!

 

The idea of buying a sketch cover already slabbed by CGC directly from the artist...

 

Scott Blair does it

[gyro-1]

I know one thing I do is encourage the creator to get SS sketches/books done themselves and have them/their agents/whomever sell it direct so they get it all! (minus eBay or ecommerce fees that is) I can think of several A-list artists where I've told them I'll pay the CGC grading fees, they draw it, mail it in, I pay the fees, books get mailed straight back to them, and they sell it, and it never touches anyone else's hands. Heck one guy has the blanks and a filled out invoice and paperwork. Thankfully there are a growing number of us who are partnering with these artists to get the lions share of the money to the artist directly, whether it's a sketch opp or processing books for the creator.

 

Creators set up at shows and sell prints, commissions, product (comics, trades, posters, merchandise) to cover their costs, and they are also "marketing" themselves and making deals with editors and publishers at shows, so there can be an indirect payoff for going to shows as well. The rise in sketch cover business is usually a boon to many of these guys and sketch opps allow some to make money without travelling to a show, which is even better.

 

But yes, they sell a $50 sketch and see it sell for $200, they are more mad at themselves for "undercharging" is what I think. My answer - draw the best darn sketch you can for yourself, and get $400-500 by selling it direct in the open market and keep it all. Several artists have learned the power of "letting the market decide" by auctioning off guaranteed sketch spots for a show. Why draw 7-8 sketches to make the same amount of cash as 1 guaranteed sketch? It absolutely sucks for the fan who just wants to own something, but sometimes if a creator can make easy money with 1 high dollar sketch, they're happier to do quickie sketches or do sketches at smaller shows because they're not working so hard all year.

 

Ugh, too much else I can comment on. Go sketch covers!

 

The idea of buying a sketch cover already slabbed by CGC directly from the artist...

 

Scott Blair does it

Is this in your opinion the future ?

 

[Joel Elad]

I know one thing I do is encourage the creator to get SS sketches/books done themselves and have them/their agents/whomever sell it direct so they get it all!

(rest removed)

 

The idea of buying a sketch cover already slabbed by CGC directly from the artist...

 

Scott Blair does it

Is this in your opinion the future ?

 

My opinion is that this is NOT the future that will occur, but it would be nice if it was the future that happened. Many of the artists are focused on their art, their main business of getting books to draw on a monthly business or building their resume or network, and preparing their own sketch covers to be graded and sold graded at a show or on eBay, is going to come in near the bottom of their list, I think.

 

This is why I'm willing to pay the grading fee, because I want to make it as easy as possible to show them the potential. Once they see and taste the potential, I think they may make more of an effort to do this themselves. Normally, I'm also willing to pay the grading fee in the beginning to thank them for something they did for me.

 

Art agents are not as likely to encourage this, as they want to focus on original art sales, not necessarily sketch cover sales. Just a theory and there will always be exceptions. I think the efforts of many people on these boards are changing expectations and we are deliberately or accidentally pushing artists this way.

 

I'm actually going to test this with an artist that's a friend of mine. I have graded sketches, and I'm going to have him put a graded sketch or two on his table at a future show (didn't think to bring them to the Vegas show that starts tomorrow) and see what kind of reaction he gets from people...

[Jeffro.]

I am sincere when I express a desire followed by a statement about empty pockets.

Not directed at you Medic but this applies to even my normal sales thread I just had. I really dislike the "great books too bad I am broke" post. I don't care about how broke other people are. There are some super expensive books on this boards that I want but I am not going into every thread and saying "I would buy this but I don't have the money". Why not just look at it and think about how much you want it without telling me your financial situation? Again not directed at you Medic.

 

I often wonder how frustrating it is for a seller to get 15 responses like 'great book', or 'GLWTS', or 'if only I had the money I'd be all over this', etc when all the seller really wants is for someone to just buy the damn thing!

[Psithyrus]

Probably as frustrating as some feel navigating through a bunch of threads with several "bumps" from the seller with no other purpose than to move their thread to the top, even though there is am apparent lack of interest.

[Ryan.]

Probably as frustrating as some feel navigating through a bunch of threads with several "bumps" from the seller with no other purpose than to move their thread to the top, even though there is am apparent lack of interest.

 

Board rules allow for a few bumps for the express purpose of moving the thread to the top.

[mschmidt]

Probably as frustrating as some feel navigating through a bunch of threads with several "bumps" from the seller with no other purpose than to move their thread to the top, even though there is am apparent lack of interest.

 

Board rules allow for a few bumps for the express purpose of moving the thread to the top.

 

Sure, but there are also several boardies who seem to think that "a few" means "multiple times a day for a solid week".

[.Troy]

Probably as frustrating as some feel navigating through a bunch of threads with several "bumps" from the seller with no other purpose than to move their thread to the top, even though there is am apparent lack of interest.

 

Board rules allow for a few bumps for the express purpose of moving the thread to the top.

 

Sure, but there are also several boardies who seem to think that "a few" means "multiple times a day for a solid week".

 

[Chespirito]

Probably as frustrating as some feel navigating through a bunch of threads with several "bumps" from the seller with no other purpose than to move their thread to the top, even though there is am apparent lack of interest.

 

Board rules allow for a few bumps for the express purpose of moving the thread to the top.

 

Sure, but there are also several boardies who seem to think that "a few" means "multiple times a day for a solid week".

 

Hell yeah!!! Now this...is my kind of thread!

 

Wait...what exactly are we talking about?

[B767293]

I'm the all-knowing sketch master. I'm friends with every artist out there. I get sketches cheap and sell them for however much I want. I police this message board. And this is my first bump for this thread this week.

[DrWatson]

I'm the all-knowing sketch master. I'm friends with every artist out there. I get sketches cheap and sell them for however much I want. I police this message board. And this is my first bump for this thread this week.

Who is GODOFTHUNDER?

[A-DONIS]

I, for one, am willing to admit that yes, I have bumped my threads several times a week, either to respond to quetions, OR give notice to changes being made.

 

However, I will dispute something. Sketches are only cheap, if you go to any no-name artist and get a crappy sketch. Anyone can draw, this had been proven from time to time. However, I choose not to get sketches from the $20 to $50 artists. Why? Cause I believe that GOOD art is worth more than your typical "no-name artist whose willing to sketch for you".

 

That being said, I also believe that there's a ton of undiscovered talent out there. That's why "we" hover around the artist alley looking for the next Jim Lee, or Finch, or Cheung.

 

So if you think that Erik Larson, Clay Mann, or eve Ivan Reis is cheap...then you my friend, do not have clue what the value of a sketch is worth.

 

Back to the bumping, did I "break" the by causing several bumps? Probably. But if it was something to be alarmed or cause attention, I would of been notified by MODS. I think that's why we have MODS, right? That's their job, to police the threads. That's why I love that NOTIFY portion of a post, if you have a problem, notify, and wait.

 

So to those that are quick to judge, or think everything in the SS world is cheap. By all means, try it yourself and let me know when Clay Mann, Ivan Reis or Cheung is going to do your sketches for $20 - $50, cause I will be the first in line.

 

 

Oh, and I do know a couple of artists.......

[Chespirito]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[devilsrain]