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Cool Lines Art

Started by Rodey,

107 posts in this topic

Doc McCoy

Doc McCoy

Posted
Posted

If you run a search here, you'll see plenty of opinions about them through the years. The one time I contacted them, they were very courteous, yet over-priced, as seems to be the consensus. I think you have to look at them not as dealers, but as opportunistic collectors. They will part with a piece if you're willing to grossly overpay for it, or if they can make a trade for art they wish to acquire. Either way you have to keep in mind it will probably be in their favor.

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Durden08

Durden08

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Posted

I do wish they would price their artwork. It seems that they would sell LOTS more pieces if they did, but that may not be their goal. (shrug)

 

Lots of people that want to do business with them, like myself, just don't like to "inquire about pricing". I just move on to other avenues.

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Rodey

Rodey

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It does stink when they outbid me on Heritage, and I see the page on their site.

 

Basically, if I REALLY love that page, I guess I would pay the higher amount.

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Trev

Trev

Posted
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My feeling is that their presence with their prices at shows may actually keep people out of the hobby. I know for years I would pass their booth, marvel at what they had, and walk away in shock at the prices and believing that the OA hobby was virtually impossible to enter.

 

It wasn't until a friend who collected art spent a few hours walking the floor with me at SDCC and talking art that I was finally comfortable to get engaged.

 

I don't have a ton of pieces and most of my art is contemporary rather than vintage, so I won't claim to be a major player or anything, but my collection would probably be a bit bigger if I hadn't been so intimidated by dealers like this.

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mister_not_so_nice

mister_not_so_nice

Posted
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I wish I could exclude them from all CAF searches. I get excited about a piece and then see it is theirs :(

 

+1. The kicker is that they keep taking down and re-uploading the same art over and over and over. On a daily basis.

 

I love CAF, but I wish they had an "enforcer" on the mod team to keep the dumbshtuff from happening. Such as people re-listing the same pages over and over, using the monthly sketchbook post to try and sell items, posting art you don't own, I could go on and on. If anyone wants to put a bug in Bill's ear, I know a guy that'd go through CAF in give it a good scrubbing hm

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Meeley Man

Meeley Man

Posted
Posted
I think you have to look at them not as dealers, but as opportunistic collectors.

 

Well, that is obviously what they are (in a best case scenario way). But they have booths at shows, they have a website, they have business cards, they have an eBay account (multiple ones, in fact)... Everything they do, has them presenting themselves as a dealers, not just collectors. And they dirty the profession with their tactics. :mad:

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drewincanada

drewincanada

Posted
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I bought 2 panel pages from them about 3 or 4 years ago. I overpaid for them by about 50%, but I really wanted them and Steve wasn't about to negotiate.

 

In hindsight, it was a good deal. The pages would now likely sell for double what I paid for them (if I were interested in selling them, which I'm not).

 

Since then, I've asked Steve about 2 other pieces. He quotes me prices that were double what they should be (also inflating the importance of the pages, calling them "key acquisitions" and the final pages remaining from "personal collection" of the artist, and that another collector wanted both pages but he wasn't willing to sell both pages to one person).

 

He said that he'd be open to trading one of the pages. I send him a list of items that I'd be willing to trade and quoted him values that were 50% higher than they would be if I were to sell the pages for cash.

 

And then I never heard from him again. He didn't even bother to let me know he's not interested.

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Speedy-D

Speedy-D

Posted
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I wish I could exclude them from all CAF searches. I get excited about a piece and then see it is theirs :(

 

+1. The kicker is that they keep taking down and re-uploading the same art over and over and over. On a daily basis.

Yup ... having them on CAF is very frustrating.

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bocaratondefense

bocaratondefense

Posted
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... However, I'll never forget that $5000 micronauts #1 panel page. It was nice but not that nice!!! ...

 

WHATWHATWHAAA???

 

Normally I wouldn't openly quote prices I've been given, but your post made me spit-take my soda all over my computer screen.

 

I assume you're talking about this...

 

http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=889832

 

They quoted ME (noted MICRONAUTS collector) $7000. :mad:

 

Either a gouge aimed toward a perceived easy mark, or a price increase intended to discourage me from buying? Or maybe the price increased after a couple years of sitting at merely 5k?

 

Mind you, I have the page in my collection now; owing only to the generosity of one other collector, who may possibly have taken the brunt of the gouge to get it into my collection. You know who you are. (worship)

 

Andrew

 

They were trying to gouge you.

 

I don't know what is the more egregious business practice: (1) pricing art at 3-5x actual value or (2) changing prices depending on which customer is inquiring.

 

 

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Doc Joe

Doc Joe

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Well, I have had a bunch of dealings with them, they are not bad at responding to emails.

 

The prices are what they are, at the end of the day its not their primary business so I dont think they particularly care if it sells or not. Equally the profit margin is so huge for them that selling one piece that it makes it worth the wait.

 

I have purchased several pieces; 4 of them are among my favorite pieces

 

Red Sonja http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=944381

 

Ms Marvel http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=911045

 

Crisis I.E. http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=891128

 

New Mutants http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=845296

 

I held my nose, took a deep breath and paid the piper. I enjoy seeing them every day and a year/years after the fact I cant complain at the price. Would they fetch that much at auction? Maybe not, probably if I was bidding!

 

I asked them recently about some other pieces, I thought I would pay 6 or 7K, I suspected they would be saying 10K...nope - wanted over 20K.

 

I asked about the Wolverine Cover - issue 4. Issue 3 (?) went for about 50K recently in auction. They want 150K.

 

Generally its going to be 3 x what you think, not 2x.

 

Still, their stuff, you want it, you pay. Anyone who gets stuff from them is not about to flip it, so once it goes, probably its gone. As they say - probably rightly too, when they sell their 'good' stuff, they cant get more.

 

They are friendly and nice to talk to.

 

I know some boardies have had horrible experiences.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Speedy-D

Speedy-D

Posted
Posted
Well, I have had a bunch of dealings with them, they are not bad at responding to emails.

 

The prices are what they are, at the end of the day its not their primary business so I dont think they particularly care if it sells or not. Equally the profit margin is so huge for them that selling one piece that it makes it worth the wait.

 

I have purchased several pieces; 4 of them are among my favorite pieces

 

Red Sonja http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=944381

 

Ms Marvel http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=911045

 

Crisis I.E. http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=891128

 

New Mutants http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=845296

 

I held my nose, took a deep breath and paid the piper. I enjoy seeing them every day and a year/years after the fact I cant complain at the price. Would they fetch that much at auction? Maybe not, probably if I was bidding!

 

I asked them recently about some other pieces, I thought I would pay 6 or 7K, I suspected they would be saying 10K...nope - wanted over 20K.

 

I asked about the Wolverine Cover - issue 4. Issue 3 (?) went for about 50K recently in auction. They want 150K.

 

Generally its going to be 3 x what you think, not 2x.

 

Still, their stuff, you want it, you pay. Anyone who gets stuff from them is not about to flip it, so once it goes, probably its gone. As they say - probably rightly too, when they sell their 'good' stuff, they cant get more.

 

They are friendly and nice to talk to.

 

I know some boardies have had horrible experiences.

 

 

 

 

 

hm expand...?

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Mephisto

Mephisto

Posted
Posted

 

I asked about the Wolverine Cover - issue 4. Issue 3 (?) went for about 50K recently in auction. They want 150K.

 

 

 

 

That price actually doesn't seem too crazy. The cover to 4 is a pretty iconic image. It's just a hair under the cover to issue 1. They even had a statue of it. Considering what that later Miller DD cover sold for I don't really find the price very extreme. The cover to 3 was panned by many. I personally like it.

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