The official J Scott Campbell Appreciation/Discussion Thread 12 12

[RockMyAmadeus]

25 minutes ago, Rebel Scum said:

If the signature is barely worth anything, why do some dealers try to make a living selling SS? Are they just stupid?

I'll play along, Stu...which dealers make their living selling SS? And, as a followup, why don't you understand the process of slabbing and selling?

Or do you think people just buy books already slabbed, crack them, get them signed, resub them (hoping for no grade drop in the process, for any reason), and make some sort of living off of that absurdly tiny margin...? 

I'll hang up and take my answer on air.

[RockMyAmadeus]

16 minutes ago, The Brain said:

The book!!!

 

IT'S ABOUT THE BOOK!!!!!

Precisely.

Say I have 2 copies of X-Men #164. I paid $1 each for them, 25 years ago. I get them signed by Claremont, I press them, I sub them, they come back 9.8...hopefully...and I now have a 9.8 SS copy to keep, and a 9.8 SS copy to sell. For a little extra effort...and cost...I have a little bit added to the value of my 9.8.

The underlying value is in the 9.8 X-Men #164....not Claremont's signature. 

[RockMyAmadeus]

1 hour ago, Plantman said:

RMA makes a compelling (if unstated) case for government regulation in the signatures on comic books industry. He tried to reason with these people, but either they do not understand or, even worse, know exactly what they're doing. Say "no" to discrimination!

That's not the case I'm making.  

This issue can be solved merely by educating creators, and competition. Creators talk to each other all the time. That's one reason why this madness spread in the first place. 

When Klaus Janson sits by himself at his table all day long, wondering why no one wants to pay a CGC punishment tax, while Dan Slott and the Simonsons have people lined up at their booths all day, every day, because they don't charge, and just ask for donations...which people gladly give...he'll figure it out.

[The Brain]

14 minutes ago, Rebel Scum said:

Then why get it signed?

 

You really cannot be this naive Stu.

The same reason that anyone has anything signed,

To have a remembrance of what the creator gave in their 

creation, to have a small piece of that creation,

the thrill that comes from meeting that creator.

I refuse to believe that you are that jaded not to 

understand Stu.

[The Brain]

17 minutes ago, Rebel Scum said:

But how can I make money off that?

 

Cut the  Stu.

 

You are the guy that railed about the "purity" of unencapsulated books, 

so I know that it not all about the money. This is why you will always be an outsider,

you just have to stir it up. Weak, really weak.

[masterlogan2000]

13 hours ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

Where you are missing the mark is that your point has nothing to do with the conversation.

Actually, I made a simple statement about what may also affect the value of a book.  In fact, YOU are the one that started incorporating the factors of "value" into the conversation in the first place, not me.  Remember this, as it is very important to the conversation below.

 

13 hours ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

What you are arguing, and the numbers you are using, is not how it works. 

My numbers were a derivative of the unsubstantiated "90-99%" figures that YOU provided without providing any actual data to back those claims.  I simply divided your percentages by two with my claim that a book may lose half its value within the first 30 days of publication.  (Not to mention that the cited reference to a known and respected comic dealer puts that percentage loss much higher).

So let's take an example with arbitrary numbers and simple math... something worth $100 today loses 50% of its value within 30 days of release.  The book is now worth $50.  Arguably, 50% of its value was therefore tied to the age of the book.  You then can't have 90-99% of the value tied to the book's status when you've already lost 50% (otherwise we'd be at 140-149%).

 

14 hours ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

Depreciation, which is what you're referring to here

14 hours ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

The value of an item isn't dictated by time, and never has been, so your "another factor" is erroneous.

Actually, I'm NOT referring to depreciation here at all.  I'm also NOT stating that the value of an item is dictated by time.  Time decay is the EFFECT we see, with weakened demand weeks/months after initial release being the CAUSE.

With your misunderstanding, it's your argument that is erroneous.

 

14 hours ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

All of which is completely irrelevant to the point: that the SIGNATURE does not account for more than a TINY percentage of the value of a Sig Series slab, IF ANY. 

I find it utterly laughable that you completely write off my statement on what may play a factor when determining the value of a book, yet your gospel on what constitutes value is apparently deemed relevant.  Where you are COMPLETELY off base is that it doesn't matter one bit the ingredients of the total value of a book.  Total value can be summed from the status, the condition, time value, how many words are on the seventh page, whether or not Olivia Munn licked the cover, is it raining outside... the factors that constitute the total value are ALL completely irrelevant!  Why?  Because for the sake of what you are arguing, and hence what you should care about and focus on, the only thing that matters is the ratio of TOTAL VALUE against the value that was added by a signature.  All other factors, including condition and status (the factors YOU listed) are completely irrelevant to YOUR point.

 

And despite all of this, you continue to attack this minor mention of time decay that is 1) established as fact, 2) was made to contribute to the discussion, and 3) was in total agreement to your original point.  Yet, apparently MY argument is completely irrelevant and I'm radically complicating the issue, while you're the one that started these arguments in the first place.

[ExNihilo]

I just received an email promoting this.  Has this always been a thing?  Or is this new?

https://jscpremium.com/collections/cgc

Comparing prices on the ASM#2's and ASM#800s versus recent sales on feeBay, his prices are still fairly overpriced.  For example, 2 signed copies of the cover I of ASM#800 (black suit Spidey) sold on eBay for $150 and $103.50 at the end of December.  The price on JSCPremium?  $300?!  I mean, the irony of it is, if he sold at a reasonable price, I might actually be inclined to buy a book if it REALLY caught my attention because it wouldn't be much different than buying from a boardie here.  But he (or his handlers) seem intent on gouging the market.

And lord knows how much he's going to charge for the sketch Remarque's.  $3000 perhaps?

[ygogolak]

5 hours ago, ExNihilo said:

I just received an email promoting this.  Has this always been a thing?  Or is this new?

https://jscpremium.com/collections/cgc

Comparing prices on the ASM#2's and ASM#800s versus recent sales on feeBay, his prices are still fairly overpriced.  For example, 2 signed copies of the cover I of ASM#800 (black suit Spidey) sold on eBay for $150 and $103.50 at the end of December.  The price on JSCPremium?  $300?!  I mean, the irony of it is, if he sold at a reasonable price, I might actually be inclined to buy a book if it REALLY caught my attention because it wouldn't be much different than buying from a boardie here.  But he (or his handlers) seem intent on gouging the market.

And lord knows how much he's going to charge for the sketch Remarque's.  $3000 perhaps?

Smart marketing. Some people don't scour the internet like some of us on here. You ever see what the Ross store charges? Same setup as the one you described.

[Avi]

7 hours ago, ExNihilo said:

I just received an email promoting this.  Has this always been a thing?  Or is this new?

https://jscpremium.com/collections/cgc

Comparing prices on the ASM#2's and ASM#800s versus recent sales on feeBay, his prices are still fairly overpriced.  For example, 2 signed copies of the cover I of ASM#800 (black suit Spidey) sold on eBay for $150 and $103.50 at the end of December.  The price on JSCPremium?  $300?!  I mean, the irony of it is, if he sold at a reasonable price, I might actually be inclined to buy a book if it REALLY caught my attention because it wouldn't be much different than buying from a boardie here.  But he (or his handlers) seem intent on gouging the market.

And lord knows how much he's going to charge for the sketch Remarque's.  $3000 perhaps?

Looks like he is trying to get in on all that supposed money the "flippers" and resellers get from CGCing his books.
 

1 hour ago, ygogolak said:

Smart marketing. Some people don't scour the internet like some of us on here. You ever see what the Ross store charges? Same setup as the one you described.

With reference to my statement above, sadly when people do buy from his site at the elevated prices, he might believe the SS hype and keep charging his ridiculous CGC tax. 

[kimik]

So.....the ASM #14 exclusives are just a rehash of old variant cover artwork? That is smart on JSC's part - use the computer to manipulate past covers/artwork just like Marvel does for variants and make $$$ off of them a second time. 

Edited January 10, 2019 by kimik

[ExNihilo]

34 minutes ago, kimik said:

So.....the ASM #14 exclusives are just a rehash of old variant cover artwork? That is smart on JSC's part - use the computer to manipulate past covers/artwork just like Marvel does for variants and make $$$ off of them a second time. 

This was my thinking.  I wonder what happens to the value of the old books.  Like isn't the original Black Cat book like $300+ or something?

[kimik]

These four were covers that were done for Marvel or other variants, right? That is smart on his part as he can monetize them again.

[ExNihilo]

4 minutes ago, kimik said:

These four were covers that were done for Marvel or other variants, right? That is smart on his part as he can monetize them again.

It totally makes sense from a monetization standpoint.  But from a collectors perspective, you've gotta be a little upset if your book, which derives value solely from the art on the cover, suddenly has that same art on a new, cheaper book.  Let's be honest, the original books with those covers...no one probably remembers the story inside.  But some people on these boards probably dished out big bucks to get a 9.8 copy of it.  And now demand for those original books will likely decrease as a new (albeit, slightly different) supply enters the marketplace.

(NOTE: I don't have a dog in this fight as I have no interest in buying these, but it's an interesting topic of discussion.)

[ygogolak]

1 hour ago, kimik said:

So.....the ASM #14 exclusives are just a rehash of old variant cover artwork? That is smart on JSC's part - use the computer to manipulate past covers/artwork just like Marvel does for variants and make $$$ off of them a second time. 

 

37 minutes ago, ExNihilo said:

This was my thinking.  I wonder what happens to the value of the old books.  Like isn't the original Black Cat book like $300+ or something?

 

34 minutes ago, kimik said:

These four were covers that were done for Marvel or other variants, right? That is smart on his part as he can monetize them again.

I don't believe any of these have been used for comics. They were art developed to make Sideshow statues from. He may have offered them as prints at one point.

[ExNihilo]

2 minutes ago, ygogolak said:

I don't believe any of these have been used for comics. They were art developed to make Sideshow statues from. He may have offered them as prints at one point.

Looks like you're right.  I had the Black Cat cover confused with the ASM Presents.

http://www.recalledcomics.com/ASMPresentsBlackCat1variant.php

[1webslinger]

The Black Cat cover with the ball of twine was a superior Spiderman cover, the new cover is slightly different 

[ygogolak]

51 minutes ago, 1webslinger said:

The Black Cat cover with the ball of twine was a superior Spiderman cover, the new cover is slightly different 

They are similar, but the art for the new cover was done for a statue a while back.

 

[1webslinger]

I see what you mean

[ExNihilo]

20 hours ago, ygogolak said:

They are similar, but the art for the new cover was done for a statue a while back.

 

So I guess to my point, would we see a drop in market prices for Superior Spider-Man #20 since the ASM#14 cover is very similar?

[ygogolak]

15 minutes ago, ExNihilo said:

So I guess to my point, would we see a drop in market prices for Superior Spider-Man #20 since the ASM#14 cover is very similar?

Nope. Have there been a market drop in any of the Mexican reprint covers?