OUCH - COMIC LINK HIT

[Dumur]

I consigned some stuff to Comic Link. Close to 30 pages. Mostly because I didn't want to go through the trouble and work of putting things up on ebay and packaging and mailing them etc. as I had for about 15 years. And it may have been a wee bit of a mistake. I took a few big hits on some pieces. And apparently, others feel the same as this piece that sold for $16

 

http://www.comiclink.com/auctions/item.asp?back=%2FAuctions%2Fallsub.asp%3FFocused%3D1%26id%3D1398%26pg%3D7%26x%3D16%26y%3D10%23Item_1049567&id=1049567

 

Is ALREADY up on ebay and has a bid on it's opening bid of $29.99

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/171740641713?afsrc=1&rmvSB=true

 

I mean, the auction just ended a couple days ago. The person can't even have it in their hands yet.

 

Anyway, I took a big hit on many pieces. Is comic link not a very good place to put low-mid level stuff? I'm always shocked by what Heritage gets for some of the lower to mid stuff even on the Sunday auctions (in that they go higher than I expect) but the buyers premium scared me off. Guess I learned an expensive lesson. I had a Rob Schrab finished published Scud piece that went for $30. You will likely see it up for at least $300 by someone somewhere down the line.

[Bronty]

My clink experience has been that some things slip thru the cracks and go low, and some things get bid up and do super well... and that I always end up happy and a little above what I would have expected. Sounds like you had a bad run

[Dumur]

Sounds like you had a bad run

 

It was bad Bronty... it was bad. I need to wait for my next cheque to see what the total "damage" was, but out of the close to 30 pieces, over their last two auctions (one focused and one featured) ONE piece went slightly higher than expected. 3 or 4 went for what around I expected and the rest went WAY below what I expected. WAY below. Like less than half in many cases and I was judging conservatively. As in, pinning expectations at about 10% less what I paid, which considering most of the pieces were won at auction (with a few bought of dealers), I didn't think was too crazy. Especially considering these weren't quick flips or anything. These are pieces I'd had for at least a couple years.

[malvin]

Hey Duane

 

Sorry to hear. I bid on a few of your items, and was underbidder on some. In fact I was underbidder on the one I thought I had a good shot. The others I just thought were reasonable so I put bids on.

 

Malvin

[AKA Rick]

My opinion about ComicLink is that most of the buyers are in the upper echelon of the hobby as collectors or are resellers looking to profiteer off of perceived bargains. Personally, as both a buyer and a seller I've not been too disappointed.

 

The problem with ComicLink, both with the Featured and the Focused auctions is that most of the somewhat mediocre pieces valued less than $300 ends up being somewhat ignored by most of the bidders, so who ends up bidding on 'em are less the folk who want it and more the type who think they can flip it.

 

ComicLink can be awesome for pieces valued over $500 that have somewhat of a built in demand with some sort of historical precedent in sales of certain artists or titles, and the commissions charged quite frankly are well worth the 10% they charge for the audience and bidding wars they can help create where private sales or eBay may fail to garner.

 

I'd say with sub-par pieces, the best way to sell 'em is to put 'em up at reasonable prices on eBay via auctions (those Buy It Now or Best Offer items always seem to have a stink to 'em and stagnate on the sites), and if they go unsold, you know you're got a tough road ahead of you and have to then start thinking about the potential loss you may endure to liquidate the pieces.

 

It all depends on your motivation to sell of course. If you're looking to make money and have a certain valuation that it'll take to move a piece VS you need to liquidate to raise funds for whatever reason as soon as possible VS any other reason.

 

I'm finding that with ComicLink, published pieces and most silver and bronze age Marvel art does well. Commissions rarely do well on with auction houses, and is best left for eBay. Copper to Modern (present day) artwork is like fine wine, and probably needs to be aged with time to appreciate in value.

[Dumur]

Thanks Malvin. Overall, my expectations were fairly tempered and the mid level pieces ($200-$500) didn't perform as badly as the lower end pieces (under $200) so the net "loss" will only end up being $1000 or so, but that Scud piece. THAT one really hurts. I got it in trade so wasn't necessarily out any actual cash on it, but it going for $30 is shocking. A full figure published piece of Scud (A chapter header in The Whole Shebang) by Rob SChrab? Yikes. I'd sold rough panel prelims for three times that privately and on ebay.

[Dumur]

Yeah, the intention was to get rid of a bunch of (all) my lower end art that had no sentimental value to clear space and not have to do the labour of selling it all myself since as I've gotten older and busier, the time it takes me to communicate and list and package... just wasn't worth it to me. And they were a pleasure to deal with. Very easy. I just didn't expect it to be THAT bad in some cases. Ah well. It's not like I wouldn't try it again. And since all I have left in my collection are the more desirable $500+ pieces, mission accomplished?

[MB1952]

I feel your pain Dumur- I auction off three pieces on CL and was not happy. same pieces reach higher prices on HA way higher.

[pinupcartoonguy]

Whatever auction site you use, you take your chances. I've used HA in the past. Some pieces went for a goodly amount, and another high end piece went way below what I would've hoped.

[Rune]

I do believe Comiclink offers very good exposure, personally I check every piece but few interest me (also I have to pay $150 for FedEx international shipping in total, so I choose my art carefully). Another problem may be that we as owners consider our beloved art to have much higher value than it may have in the real world - maybe also being influenced by dealer pricings to believe that we may get similar prices at an auction.

And maybe the market is just not good right now if you do not have covers made by famous artists - many interior pages from less well-known artists do not seem to fetch high prices currently (and generally worse for unpublished art).

You can also sell on CLink for a fixed price (BIN), guess EBay may also be a nice option for BIN or reserve price (but you already know this)...

[alxjhnsn]

I've told my wife that if she gets 50 cents on the dollar for my heavily commissioned collection, she'll be doing well. Sad, but true, I think.

 

[Dumur]

My commissions are largely sentimental and I don't even think of them as having any cash value. In fact, I don't even really post them. Only about 10% of my commissions are on CAF. In terms of the CLINK auction, I only posted one commission and yes it went for 1/3 of what I paid for it. I suppose I expected 1/2, but it didn't surprise me that it went for a 1/3 as it was by an artist who isn't published much and of a niche character.

[Doc Joe]

wait and see how long that piece sits there on ebay....could be a while; as you say on CAF..what is this page anyway??

 

do we assume the OA markets to be efficient?

 

If so then that's what it is currently worth. I think its more a feature of the piece than the site.

 

Many pieces sit for years on dealers site at a fixed price; one can only assume that they know it would not reach that in auction, to get the price they want it has to be a fixed price.

 

I think commissions would be really tough to sell

[Rune]

 

I think commissions would be really tough to sell

 

Commissions and sketches made by artist who for example no longer work for Marvel or DC (=the copyright holders) may in fact not even be legal to sell - see also this video:

 

 

More here:

 

http://chrisoatley.com/fan-art/

 

Guess it is the same if I started drawing Hulk pieces and sold them - or made my own Hulk comic book and sold that. Right now fan art is widely accepted, but who knows how the copyright holders will react in the long run, especially if the fan art market grows... (it should be noted some publishers now include clauses in their contracts for artists to create commissions). Generally this is also part of my reluctance regarding buying commissions or other kinds of unpublished comic book art (=made without a license), no matter how great the art looks. (I know these copyright issues can lead to heated discussions and it is not my intention to start one in this thread). Finally maybe it is also a matter of taste - to me one of the great enjoyments of comic book art is owning a piece of published Marvel or DC history.

 

[mister_not_so_nice]

Part of the problem with NOT selling in the FEATURED auction is CLink's advertising for the FOCUSED auction.

 

As an example. If you follow the link from CAF to CLink it takes you to the preview for the FEATURED auction. If you don't poke around you wouldn't know an auction was running right now. I think them not having the link going to the current auction hurts the sellers quite a bit.

 

 

[Solar]

Part of the problem with NOT selling in the FEATURED auction is CLink's advertising for the FOCUSED auction.

 

As an example. If you follow the link from CAF to CLink it takes you to the preview for the FEATURED auction. If you don't poke around you wouldn't know an auction was running right now. I think them not having the link going to the current auction hurts the sellers quite a bit.

 

 

Agreed. I really never remember to look at any of their Focused auctions.

[Sideshow Bob]

Part of the problem with NOT selling in the FEATURED auction is CLink's advertising for the FOCUSED auction.

 

As an example. If you follow the link from CAF to CLink it takes you to the preview for the FEATURED auction. If you don't poke around you wouldn't know an auction was running right now. I think them not having the link going to the current auction hurts the sellers quite a bit.

 

 

Agreed. I really never remember to look at any of their Focused auctions.

 

Well, the OA section of this Focused auction is coming up on Friday night, and since I have a bunch of pieces in it ( I was a full portfolio too heavy in my collection), I highly encourage you to take a look this time!

[zhamlau]

The focused auctions can have some very serious CGC books in it, and often times some good art. I recently consigned a few binders of material and some of the lesser stuff is going focused not featured. Honestly its better then selling on ebay generally.

[Hekla]

Part of the problem with NOT selling in the FEATURED auction is CLink's advertising for the FOCUSED auction.

 

As an example. If you follow the link from CAF to CLink it takes you to the preview for the FEATURED auction. If you don't poke around you wouldn't know an auction was running right now. I think them not having the link going to the current auction hurts the sellers quite a bit.

 

 

Agreed. I really never remember to look at any of their Focused auctions.

 

Well, the OA section of this Focused auction is coming up on Friday night, and since I have a bunch of pieces in it ( I was a full portfolio too heavy in my collection), I highly encourage you to take a look this time!

 

I'm guessing all the Wake & Massive pieces are yours

 

The endpage for The Wake #3 (on your CAF, not auction) is awesome and one of my favorite Murphy pieces.

[Solar]

Part of the problem with NOT selling in the FEATURED auction is CLink's advertising for the FOCUSED auction.

 

As an example. If you follow the link from CAF to CLink it takes you to the preview for the FEATURED auction. If you don't poke around you wouldn't know an auction was running right now. I think them not having the link going to the current auction hurts the sellers quite a bit.

 

 

Agreed. I really never remember to look at any of their Focused auctions.

 

Well, the OA section of this Focused auction is coming up on Friday night, and since I have a bunch of pieces in it ( I was a full portfolio too heavy in my collection), I highly encourage you to take a look this time!

 

Well...I suppose I'll go and check it out then