Do you guys find there is less material to purchase these days?

[AKA Rick]

Hey guys,

I noticed that many dealers dont have those huge updates that were common in yesteryears. Also many websites dont get updated nearly as often.

 

I noticed the same with certain websites of dealers / reps either going away completely or instead of having frequent updates, maybe only seeing updates less than monthly and some not even quarterly or others barely annually.

 

I think in part, a lot of dealers and reps maintain and manage their business as a part-time business, probably as a hobby or supplemental income, so the drive and desire to professionalize their business and a lack of prioritization is evident.

 

Also, I think a lot of artists are now selling direct, or there's one-stop shopping with art reps, so you're seeing less of the inventory float around in the hands of multiple sellers, with a few doors to open as points of entry to purchase initially.

 

I'm seeing the frequency of art auctions by Heritage, ComicLink (who has emerged as a powerhouse), as well as ComicConnect and others, handle a lot of the older published artwork. I'm not seeing a lack of big "grail" type pieces in the signature/featured auctions, so there is material available for sale. I'm also not seeing a lack of lower level pieces in the internet/focused auctions held either nor on eBay, 'tho eBay is a general feeding ground of a lot of mediocre material, but often has a few legitimate great pieces. Either way a seller slices it they're paying anywhere from 5-15% commissions on their sales, so it's just a matter of personal preference, perception and experience to where they want to sell their art by auction, if not going private.

 

There's a big layer of "material" that's unpublished work, be it remarks, sketch covers, sketch cards or commissions out there, and I'm seeing a lot more of that by unknown (artists whose body of work, portfolio, may be less than recognized by the mainstream) names. Some may be prospects to become tomorrows published superstars, others may stay in the amateur ranks remaining uknown by name. Most of that stuff is pushed at conventions and on eBay.

 

In general 'tho, I don't think any collector in the hobby has a hard time finding a way to spend money

 

There's a lot of modern age artwork, even 'tho there's digital rendering and pencils without inks, pages without lettering and other preferences the old guard of collectors don't like, there's still something for nearly everyone it seems.

 

However, specific items may be harder to come by, be it a Walt Simonson "Thor"; Marshall Rodgers "Detective"; etc. or hard to find at a good price like John Byrne "Uncanny X-Men"; Jim Starlin "Walock"; etc. - - you'll see the big auctions feature some pretty solid material throughout the year.

[JadeGiant]

I think that there is plenty of art to buy. It’d be nice if you could pull up a dealer site, find what you want at a decent price and regularly pull the trigger. It’s not that easy. I have found that you have to do homework and put in the leg work to find stuff. As a collector, that is part of the hobby that I actually enjoy and find frustrating at the same time (maybe I am a masochist). So yes, it is out there you just have to find it. IF inventory is shrinking and dealers are finding stuff harder to find, maybe it explains the dramatic price increases. Higher prices allow you to hold more inventory for longer times and not run low on what people want. This is a reasonable strategy if the hobby isn’t your primary business.

[zhamlau]

if your into modern post-stat era work by guys working in the field for a short time, lots of that available all on ebay and sites for a pretty penny.

 

If you are into stat era anything, content isnt an issue you just want a page from the book, again ebays got your back (be prepared to overpay).

 

If you want desirable bronze or copper era art with hero content, its gonna be auction specialty sites and be prepared for war. OR its in a major dealers site and again be prepared for war.

 

 

[IngelsFan]

if your into modern post-stat era work by guys working in the field for a short time, lots of that available all on ebay and sites for a pretty penny.

 

If you are into stat era anything, content isnt an issue you just want a page from the book, again ebays got your back (be prepared to overpay).

 

If you want desirable bronze or copper era art with hero content, its gonna be auction specialty sites and be prepared for war. OR its in a major dealers site and again be prepared for war.

 

 

I would also add that if you go the eBay route, be prepared for any decent auction to be ended early ("item is no longer available"), or use a snipe service, or pay thru the nose for what might just turn out to be a stat or a lifted image (i.e. the seller doesn't even have anything for sale and just wants your $$).

 

I'd rather get girded up for an auction battle myself-at least I know what I'm getting and know that I will actually have a fighting chance.

[Lucky Baru]

If you happened to like Capullo's art Sparkle City put up 10 or 11 pages of Angela art before SDCC on eBay. All of it went between 400.00 and 2K a page. It can be found if you search.

[AKA Rick]

The one thing I do notice is that a few art dealers do bid on artwork available on ComicLink and Heritage, where it is an open market and anyone can bid, it's always odd and entertaining to see a dealer bid on a piece, win it, then turn around immediately and put it on their website with a mark-up. I would think if the market value was established via the auction, so if for example the top bid was $9k, and the dealer won it for $10k, then puts it up for $12k, who is the buyer who would then pay $12k when they could have been contenders at $10k and won it during the auction.

 

I guess there's a lot of x-factors such as not everyone knows about the auctions or are available to bid, the dealers can offer time payments to their clients/customers, the dealers often can take in trade for the art, and there may be bonafide good buys that are sort of under the radar which a dealer can't pass up on knowing even if it sits in inventory and needs aging, will eventually sell profitably.

[mtlevy]

I get dealers buying at auction but who doesn't hate being under-bidder and then seeing the art on a dealer website days later - it is annoying as heck!

[DocGo]

Coollines does this. I inquired about a piece just the other day and they had raised the price by 250% from an auction they won in January. It's gone forever

[zhamlau]

I routinely find pieces I sold via CL at Cool lines table or site for 200-500% markup. Whats always fun is trying to trade them anything using their pricing structure. In theory if everything is undervalued than you should be able to trade them your similar material in the same price range as they are selling.

 

That gets shot down right away, usually without specific reasons beyond "no thank you". So to me its not that they think everything is under-priced/undervalued and they are just collectors who want to keep and only sell if they get crazy prices. They know the actual value of material. If they want a page, they know the current market is 300 based on comps so they will offer 1/2 low market at most. The second it lands with them their value assessment goes through the roof and its now 800-1000. If you try and trade, actual market value prices are used for your stuff, theirs gets the old San Mateo bump.

 

Nothing truly "wrong" with the model, just have to know the score going into it with em.

 

 

[AKA Rick]

Coollines does this. I inquired about a piece just the other day and they had raised the price by 250% from an auction they won in January. It's gone forever

 

They are also known to take art that is in mediocre condition in terms of simplistic rendering, and adding stats or overlays to polish, dress or doll up a piece to look more like the published cover. It's not fraudulent, but can be misleading.

 

So, they hunt for opportunities to pick up lackluster artwork and do their Puff Daddy type Remix, creating their own version of the art from the foundation of an original.

[Catwoman_Fan]

The one thing I do notice is that a few art dealers do bid on artwork available on ComicLink and Heritage, where it is an open market and anyone can bid, it's always odd and entertaining to see a dealer bid on a piece, win it, then turn around immediately and put it on their website with a mark-up. I would think if the market value was established via the auction, so if for example the top bid was $9k, and the dealer won it for $10k, then puts it up for $12k, who is the buyer who would then pay $12k when they could have been contenders at $10k and won it during the auction.

 

I guess there's a lot of x-factors such as not everyone knows about the auctions or are available to bid, the dealers can offer time payments to their clients/customers, the dealers often can take in trade for the art, and there may be bonafide good buys that are sort of under the radar which a dealer can't pass up on knowing even if it sits in inventory and needs aging, will eventually sell profitably.

 

Many collectors skip comiclink/heritage auctions, and then see art for the first time listed on dealer sites.

 

I had a friend recently purchase a page in the scenario above. He agreed on time payments with a dealer, and then found out it had very recently sold at auction for 25% less. The news didn't both him much, because he still feels he's paying a good price. I'd feel sick to the stomach, but he took it in stride (I hadn't delivered the bad news).

 

 

[Twanj]

The one thing I do notice is that a few art dealers do bid on artwork available on ComicLink and Heritage, where it is an open market and anyone can bid, it's always odd and entertaining to see a dealer bid on a piece, win it, then turn around immediately and put it on their website with a mark-up. I would think if the market value was established via the auction, so if for example the top bid was $9k, and the dealer won it for $10k, then puts it up for $12k, who is the buyer who would then pay $12k when they could have been contenders at $10k and won it during the auction.

 

I guess there's a lot of x-factors such as not everyone knows about the auctions or are available to bid, the dealers can offer time payments to their clients/customers, the dealers often can take in trade for the art, and there may be bonafide good buys that are sort of under the radar which a dealer can't pass up on knowing even if it sits in inventory and needs aging, will eventually sell profitably.

 

Many collectors skip comiclink/heritage auctions, and then see art for the first time listed on dealer sites.

 

I had a friend recently purchase a page in the scenario above. He agreed on time payments with a dealer, and then found out it had very recently sold at auction for 25% less. The news didn't both him much, because he still feels he's paying a good price. I'd feel sick to the stomach, but he took it in stride (I hadn't delivered the bad news).

 

 

I agree, it's slightly annoying, but you don't buy from a dealer to get cheap deals.

 

KNOW that you are going to pay 25%, 33% or 100+% in some cases for what something might go for at auction, unless the dealer is bad at his job & doesn't know what the market will bear. a dealer is an art bank & you pay for the privilege of easy shopping in one place, old art surfacing, availability over long term, etc. not for cheap deals, or they'd soon be out of business.