Bechara Maalouf.....

[blizzardtonight]

hi everyone,

is he slow in answering emails? i left also messages but no response. he had a nice cardy superboy cover( #189)along in san diego....does anyone know the price of it?

thanks for your help!

best,

guenter

[Vinced]

I'm still waiting an answer from him to find out if a certain art page he has on his website is still available....i guess not... even though he did say that he would check...not very professional.

[t3quila]

never email, always phone.

Once in a while he does answer emails but it's always a surprise when it happens

[pemart1966]

His website does say - Any questions email us - and provides an email link.

 

No new art added in over 16 months.

 

Perhaps he needs to seriously re-consider his business model

[suspense39]

Text sometimes works. Actually he has added new work, it just doesn't show up in "recently added" you have to scroll through all of the art and notice the new pieces.

[Dumur]

He was very slow to even get a website up in the first place, so I think contacting him through those means are likely not the best.

[Bigeasyart]

This tip won't help some collectors but the absolute best way to get to Bechara is going to shows where he is set up. It is well worth the effort. He sets up several times a year in various locations, always SD and the big NY show amongst others. He'll list future appearances on his website.

 

I've dealt Bechara many times over the past 15 years and he can be hard to communicate with via phone/email/text. Some people take it personally but Bechara is easy to deal with if you can get his attention long enuff. Also his website is full of wonderful art but is rarely updated.

 

http://nostalgicinvestments.com/

 

Personal note: Just got back back from SD where I spent the majority of the show behind Bechara's booth. As always he has one of the best inventories at the show. The VAST majority of his art is NOT listed in any shape or form. As a collector this is great because I'm able to "scoop" on some great OA before it hits the open market.

 

Moral of the story.......go to the show and see for yourself. You will not be disappointed.

 

 

[Meeley Man]

One should always ask around about a dealer or rep that you've never dealt with before. You'll quickly glean how they operate, when you hear the stories of others who've dealt with them. That is an invaluable resource.

 

And just to throw it out there, if one wants to buy from me, I always get back to a person's email in no more than 24 hours. I might not have the artists and inventory of some dealers/reps, but what I have is very fairly priced and I do all I can to make sure you are satisfied with the transaction. So, check out my wares and drop me an email if you see something you like. I promise, you won't be waiting long for a reply!

[oceans11]

I don't know... if a dealer wants to sell art via a website, and he's taken time to actually set one up, I would think that it would benefit them to actually do things like answer their e-mails or phone. I e-mailed Bechara twice about a page I was interested in on his website. I got no response, and then after reading a few things here where people stated you got a better response from him via phone I called about it. I ended up leaving two messages and still got no response. Sure, he may be better to deal with in person at cons, and he may have the best inventory in the business, but that doesn't help those of us who aren't able to be at those particular cons that he's at.

 

Maybe my expectations are too high, but in the end I took my money and went and spent it with an art dealer who actually does base level things like communicate and seem to want to actually sell art.

 

 

[Bronty]

Ive never met him, but His methods seem to have worked out just fine for him. If you don't want to deal with him, don't.

[Mighty Hal]

Ive never met him, but His methods seem to have worked out just fine for him. If you don't want to deal with him, don't.

 

Oceans11 can't deal with him, since Maalouf apparently doesn't bother to respond to messages. He's lost at least one collector, and possible fan. You disagree, but I don't think those particular methods are working very fine at all.

[pemart1966]

I don't know... if a dealer wants to sell art via a website, and he's taken time to actually set one up, I would think that it would benefit them to actually do things like answer their e-mails or phone. I e-mailed Bechara twice about a page I was interested in on his website. I got no response, and then after reading a few things here where people stated you got a better response from him via phone I called about it. I ended up leaving two messages and still got no response. Sure, he may be better to deal with in person at cons, and he may have the best inventory in the business, but that doesn't help those of us who aren't able to be at those particular cons that he's at.

 

Maybe my expectations are too high, but in the end I took my money and went and spent it with an art dealer who actually does base level things like communicate and seem to want to actually sell art.

 

 

I wouldn't call your expectations high in the least. One's expectations should be that you get a return email to your first email and a return phone call to your first left message.

 

 

[Bird]

it is what it is. The point is moot. But clearly this is Bechara's business model, only he can say if it works for him. It is all a matter of degree, some may think it could be more successful if he was more easily communicated with but clearly that is not his priority.

[Bird]

I don't know... if a dealer wants to sell art via a website, and he's taken time to actually set one up, I would think that it would benefit them to actually do things like answer their e-mails or phone. I e-mailed Bechara twice about a page I was interested in on his website. I got no response, and then after reading a few things here where people stated you got a better response from him via phone I called about it. I ended up leaving two messages and still got no response. Sure, he may be better to deal with in person at cons, and he may have the best inventory in the business, but that doesn't help those of us who aren't able to be at those particular cons that he's at.

 

Maybe my expectations are too high, but in the end I took my money and went and spent it with an art dealer who actually does base level things like communicate and seem to want to actually sell art.

 

 

I wouldn't call your expectations high in the least. One's expectations should be that you get a return email to your first email and a return phone call to your first left message.

 

. Obviously it is not a perfect world and people often act in ways that disappoint us. Whether that is our fault or theirs is debatable. But if Oceans11 wants the art, then yes his expectations in this scenario were too high. That is not a fault, but with this dealer you have to be persistent and lower your expectations regarding communication. Is it perfect, of course not. Frustrating, yes. And you can always take your money elsewhere, as he did.

 

For instance I heard back from an artist for the first time today after periodic inquiries going back a few years. I will be glad to buy the art despite failing to get a response the other times I emailed. Although not a dealer, he also wants to sell art for money. So I waited and emailed and waited and emailed and now something may shake loose. Does this make me an enabler of impolite behavior? Yeah, probably. But it is what it is despite my desire for it to be otherwise. I find my life better when I can can go with the flow rather than try and stem the tide.

 

I for one want to know what he bought! I hope you got something just as special Oceans11!

[DeadpoolJr.]

I remember over hearing him talking to someone about this. The person asked why he doesn't update his website, and he responded by saying something along the lines of needing to control the flow of what he sells so he doesn't run out of inventory. If he did upload everything he had for sale he thinks he would sell a large amount of it too fast, and be left without enough inventory coming in at the same time its going out.

[Bird]

He certainly sold a ton of stuff when his website went up. Like, within a few days. He does not strike me as someone who lives an extravagant lifestyle, so that one week could probably keep him going for a year or so.

[Bronty]

A couple comments.

 

First of all, my previous post wasn't directed at anyone in particular. Just that hey, if the dealer is a certain way, as Hal said, it is what it is.

 

Secondly, don't be so sure that not picking up the phone is a bad model. I know at least person that makes himself hard to get a hold of on purpose. If the potential buyer goes to the trouble of actually reaching him, he knows the buyer REALLY wants it and he can price it to the moon. If you're looking for low volume / max price, it's not necessarily a bad way to go. They won't knock on your door much but you'll have max leverage every time they do.

[AnkurJ]

Interesting that no one pointed out this statement on the from page of the website.

 

"Due to a difficult health year, it had been a challenge to properly manage the site. However a recent hire will now allow us to facilitate orders in a timely manner."

 

I think anyone here who is complaining needs to cut some slack.

 

[oceans11]

That post has been on the website since at least the middle of last year, and was there well before I called trying to buy art from him. Look.. I'm not here to bad mouth anybody and I know I generally deal on the lower end of the art spectrum, so maybe it's be different if I was chasing a 5 figure piece of art. I figure the art that I was interested in had probably sold, but I just found it frustrating from lack of any response. Bechara seems to do well selling at cons but I just sort of resigned that I can't buy art from him.

 

Instead I went and picked up the Sal Buscema cover to Spectacular Spider Man #208 in all it's creepy coolness, with Spider Man and Shroud, in a deal that was incredibly easy to do. (And that cover can be seen on the main page of my CAF gallery which is linked below).

[Meeley Man]

Instead I went and picked up the Sal Buscema cover to Spectacular Spider Man #208 in all it's creepy coolness, with Spider Man and Shroud, in a deal that was incredibly easy to do. (And that cover can be seen on the main page of my CAF gallery which is linked below).

 

And that is a nice cover. Not as nice as mine to Spectacular Spider-Man #139, but still a very nice one. Sal is awesome!

 

Oh, and Don, since you deal in the "lower end" of the art spectrum, you haven't by chance seen all the awesome art I've been updating for sale within the last month or so, have you? I think you'd enjoy it, if you did.