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want to purchase first OA

Started by Shadow Images,

19 posts in this topic

Bronty

Bronty

Posted
Posted

Your question is as broad as "what do I need to pay for a nice batman comic?"

 

If someone asked you that as a comic collector Im sure you'd want a little more info on their tastes, budget, era they collect? Because nobody is going to know if you're someone that would like a batman 28 or a batman 428.

 

PS what's a typhoon?

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Shadow Images

Shadow Images

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I am current filling in to have a full run of Batman 219-713 and Tec 395-881. So basically the 70's through the end of the original series. I don't care for the new stuff. I love Adam's, Mcfarlane's, Miller's and Lee's work but know that is out of my price range right now. If I could get away with it I would use everything I am getting from the sell but don't think that would sit well with the better half.

 

1993 GMC Typhoon(fastest production SUV)

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jick

jick

Posted
Posted

Check out the May auctions for ComicLink and Heritage. If you don't have accounts there yet, now is a good time to sign up. I am sure there are good enough key Batman pieces in those auctions.

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alxjhnsn

alxjhnsn

Posted
Posted

I have a few standard answers to common questions that I post. My answer for how to price a piece should help you on how to budget for a piece as well. Here goes...

 

 

You might want to explore the following resources:

  • The OA auction archive at Heritage Auctions - This archive presents the results from all of their OA auctions.. Once you sign-up and get an id, you can search for pieces by your artist and see what they have sold for.
  • The CAF Market Data - More auction results (more than 1,000,000) are available if you join the Comic Art Fans site, pay for Market Data access, and access eBay and other auction sites as well as Heritage.
  • The Comic Art Database. It contains transaction records entered by the owners of Comic OA.
  • Dealer sites. Dealers, generally, post their art with fixed prices though there are exceptions. There is a list of dealers on CGC OA board and the Dragonberry site has a list as well. The CAF site will search the inventories of several dealers for you.
  • Jerry Weist's Comic Art Price Guide - Heritage published a third edition of it. In my opinion, it's a good history book and might be useful for comparison work, but it was out of date a year before it was printed.
  • A topic on these CGC OA boards, A-level panel page valuations by artist/run - thoughts/additions/changes?, holds a discussion that relates to your question. It provides some "generally agreed upon" ranges for popular runs by popular artists on popular characters.
  • The Biggest OA Prices thread tracked some of the largest sales in the OA space. While that particular thread has stopped; it's probably worth reading for the discussions. Meanwhile , the information is still being updated - just with a different mechanism.

New buyers and sellers often find that OA is too hard to price. I agree. However, I think that there is a valid reason. Each piece is unique. Uniqueness make art sales generally and OA specifically non-linear.

 

For example,

  • Consecutive pages could and do sell for radically different amounts.
  • Take page layout - In general, you might say:
    Covers > 1st Page Splash > Other Splash > 1/2 splash > panel pages
    However, that's not always true either. The right panel page can be much more compelling than a bland splash.
  • Take pencillers- There are "A-list" artists, but not all of their books/characters have the same value. Kirby FF pages generally go for more than JIM/Thor pages which go for more than Cap pages (2nd run) which go for more than ...
  • Take combinations of pencilers/inkers - Kirby/Sinnott FF pages rank above Kirby and anyone else on FF, but a Kirby/X FF page might be more or less than a Kirby/Stone Thor page. Hard to tell.

 

Finally, you should join the comic book OA community. The three main points of Internet contact are:

 

The main points of physical contact are probably:

 

One last comment, if you are looking to buy or sell, spend the time to learn the market. That might take 6 months, but it's worth the time.

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Bird

Bird

Posted
Posted

Kudos Alex, That right there is an hour panel at any major convention! Power point right through it! You're on the precipice of a professional presentation with this answer. Toss is some anecdotal evidence, maybe video of seasoned collectors telling real world examples to illustrate your points, and you got a money maker here.

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alxjhnsn

alxjhnsn

Posted
Posted

Thanks. I tend to be a Q&A kind of guy even at work. I'm happy to answer questions for co-workers, 3rd parties, and end-users, but I hate answering the same question over and over. So, I gather my replies on common topics in a conversational Q&A and send it to those that ask questions on a topic. I tell them to read it (referencing the right location) and ask them to send me new questions. Works nicely.

 

In this case, I have:

 

Q: How do I price OA?

Q: How do I get OA restored?

Q: How to I reference a specific post in an CGC OA board topic?

 

Not much, but they seem to be useful.

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Bird

Bird

Posted
Posted

I have watched you work so i have a bit of an idea of your MO, but it has become a large, comprehensive answer over time.

 

But to answer the OP< really you have to ask a much more specific question or go through that stuff alex posted yourself. best to do a bit of both actually.

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mister_not_so_nice

mister_not_so_nice

Posted
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Alex, always nice to see your replies.

 

I'd add:

Windowshop for 6 months (overtly or covertly) before spending anything more than $1 on OA.

 

Someone else on the boards mentioned this in a previous "new to OA thread" and I think it's some of the best advice I've seen posted, especially in today's market of wildly varying prices and n00b-phishers.

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The-Collector

The-Collector

Posted
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Alex, always nice to see your replies.

 

I'd add:

Windowshop for 6 months (overtly or covertly) before spending anything more than $1 on OA.

 

Someone else on the boards mentioned this in a previous "new to OA thread" and I think it's some of the best advice I've seen posted, especially in today's market of wildly varying prices and n00b-phishers.

 

I would agree with this. I just bought my first OA this week. I inquired with about 10-15 dealers and another 20-30 private sellers over the course of several months. After shopping around I eventually bought a raft of pieces well below dealer prices and ones I am super happy with.

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alxjhnsn

alxjhnsn

Posted
Posted
I'd add:

Window shop for 6 months (overtly or covertly) before spending anything more than $1 on OA.

 

Someone else on the boards mentioned this in a previous "new to OA thread" and I think it's some of the best advice I've seen posted, especially in today's market of wildly varying prices and n00b-phishers.

Read the last line of my post!

 

Okay, I admit. I just added it because it is really good advice!

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DocR

DocR

Posted
Posted
Alex, always nice to see your replies.

 

I'd add:

Windowshop for 6 months (overtly or covertly) before spending anything more than $1 on OA.

 

Someone else on the boards mentioned this in a previous "new to OA thread" and I think it's some of the best advice I've seen posted, especially in today's market of wildly varying prices and n00b-phishers.

 

This along with Alex's answer is golden!

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fmaz

fmaz

Posted
Posted

One quick way to get a sense of some pricing is go to a couple of the big online dealers - romitaman and Anthony Snyder art come to mind as starting points - and browse there. You can browse by artist and by book there and get a general sense of ballpark pricing. They are also two of the best in the business when it comes to dealing with people, so when you eventually are ready to buy, if they happen to have a page you want, they'll work with you.

 

But the best advice has already been given. Take your time, and buy only what you like!

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Bird

Bird

Posted
Posted

Pricing OA is, at best, a ballpark proposition. And sometimes prices are out of the ballpark but then that is just like moving the fences out really, sometimes it becomes the new ballpark. And unlike modern baseball they do not move the fences in too often.

 

The pool/pond you want to swim in makes a huge difference. Even at low four figures, price variability can be significant. You might see people quote $3K - $5K, well that is a tremendous spread. Even $1000-$2000 as a range for a certain artist/page is routine. And even when you think you know (and you can really only know certain things, not everything. There is too much everything anymore.), there will be outliers. I just sold a Tony Harris Starman page last week or so for $162 and other not dissimilar pages can reach $400-$500. Who knows? (Well, maybe I now know not to end auctions on weekday mid-mornings.Maybe.)

 

Rather than how much money you should be spending you should be asking yourself how you want to spend that money. Will you sell pieces ever, or often? What types of pieces should you buy? How big will you collection be? One page from every issue of a favorite artist? One page per title? One page per era? One page per artist? Published stuff only? Be laser sharp in your collecting focus and the price per piece aspect will be less of a factor because when you buy something you will be buying SOMETHING and then be able to go at it a little more freely.

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Bird

Bird

Posted
Posted

Put another way, I would not purchase 50% of what I have if I could do it again. I do not think I am alone in having this perspective. Having pieces that matter moderately to me and wanting pieces that will matter significantly is not the best way to collect such things,

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alxjhnsn

alxjhnsn

Posted
Posted

I feel another Q coming on:

 

Q: How do I decide what to buy?

A: I offer this advice:

  • Buy something that creates an emotional response in you. (Buy what you like)
  • Study the market and learn the prices (See my standard answer on pricing).
  • You can't buy just one.
  • Do not buy it if you cannot afford it; art is a luxury though it may not feel that way. Remember the basic financial advice:
    • 20% in savings for retirement.
    • No more than 26% on housing.
    • No more than 38% for total debt including housing costs.
    • Yes, art can be an investment, but it's a risky one; remember rule 1

 

 

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