Sellers RANK your FAVORITE ways to SELL original comic ARTWORK

[AKA Rick]

Question... generally, is there a better time of the year to sell original artwork?

 

Is there any impact on the time of year, such as maybe not during San Diego Comic Con (where maybe a lot of people have spent a lot of money, so the buyers wallets are emptier?) or during the holidays, before/after Christmas (competing with gift buying related bills)?

 

For auctions, is it pretty much random when you go through the big players, ComicLink and Heritage, where time of year doesn't matter?

 

Does competing material by the same artist matter (such as featuring too much Jack Kirby or Jim Lee, or truth be told there's never enough and the demand for pieces by those or other artists will not be impacted by competition)? I always thought, if there's too much of "the same/similar" competing for the same dollars from various sources, it gives buyers too many options and divides the attention to any one piece, so all pieces can potentially suffer with less aggressive bidding since maybe buyers have back-up (the other pieces available) plans.

 

I do really like ComicLink's Featured auctions as my favorite to sell through. Their customer./client service is stellar, as a side note. I also enjoyed Heritage's Signature Live auctions. So, I'm already sort of sold on those being great places to sell original published comic book art valued over $500.

 

For artwork in that $500 or less range, what do you think is the best way to sell?

 

How would you rank or rate these:

 

ComicLink Focused Auction

Heritage Signature Internet Only Auction (the last lots, located in the back of their book)

Heritage Sunday Internet Weekly Auction

Comic Connect

eBay Auction

eBay Buy it Now or Best Offer Pricing

...any other way?

 

...and for selling commissions / sketches, which seem to take a back seat to published work, what's the best way to sell those? I'd speculate some auction houses reject/refuse some of those proposed consignments if not rendered by a really popular in-demand artist, so think maybe they're relegated to only effectively selling on eBay, but could be wrong.

 

THANKS!

[Silver Surfer]

Well I hate to say it but these boards are the toughest place to sell OA.

[eewwnuk]

Well I hate to say it but these boards are the toughest place to sell OA.

 

unless you are Tupenny

[suspense39]

Well I hate to say it but these boards are the toughest place to sell OA.

 

I think person to person sales always seem difficult.....you can offer something around at one price with no takers or even interest, and then put it at auction/ebay, and it will go for way more than when you were trying to sell it one on one.

[Bronty]

^ competition does bring out the best prices.

[Bronty]

Well I hate to say it but these boards are the toughest place to sell OA.

 

I think person to person sales always seem difficult.....you can offer something around at one price with no takers or even interest, and then put it at auction/ebay, and it will go for way more than when you were trying to sell it one on one.

 

I'm not directly answer the question but two of the best ways to sell are

 

1) Don't overpay when you buy.

2) Don't buy pieces you're going to end up flipping later.

 

If you do those things then you won't need to sell at all (#2), or won't need to ask a deal-breaking price (#1).

 

You get in trouble when you love something this week and pay whatever it takes and then try to sell it for the same money next week.

[batman_fan]

Well I hate to say it but these boards are the toughest place to sell OA.

 

I think person to person sales always seem difficult.....you can offer something around at one price with no takers or even interest, and then put it at auction/ebay, and it will go for way more than when you were trying to sell it one on one.

 

I'm not directly answer the question but two of the best ways to sell are

 

1) Don't overpay when you buy.

2) Don't buy pieces you're going to end up flipping later.

 

If you do those things then you won't need to sell at all (#2), or won't need to ask a deal-breaking price (#1).

 

You get in trouble when you love something this week and pay whatever it takes and then try to sell it for the same money next week.

 

+1. I have watch this play out multiple times even on this message board. Not fun to watch.

[Terry Doyle]

You get in trouble when you love something this week and pay whatever it takes and then try to sell it for the same money next week.

 

I call it the, "Grail today . . . forced to sell tomorrow" syndrome.

[zhamlau]

Having tried a few options, I like CL.

[BrianR]

I prefer Facebook. Most of my sales come from connections on there.

 

Secondly I would rather trade if possible.

[malvin]

Well, here are my thoughts, and there is no real data. And this applies more to "middling" pieces. Prime stuff will always get the right price.

 

I avoid selling towards the holidays, November to around January. I think that Thanksgiving/X-mas tends to distract people, and of course Jan/Feb people might have x-mas bills to pay.

 

But the rest of the year is pretty even I think. I would avoid SD and maybe NYCC but there is a biggish con almost every other weekend so you can't really avoid them.

 

I use to think there was a boost around April for tax refund time, but there is also more supply, there are many people that have to sell to pay for taxes.

 

Malvin

 

[Dave Aikins]

I sell on ebay. I've sold 44 of the 50 art auctions I started in August/September. I didn't have any issues with any of the buyers, or the post office (WOO HOO).

 

But, as others have stated, I'm selling things that were purchased for reasonable prices over the past 20 years or so. Most of the things I just sold were smaller convention sketches under $100.

 

If I were selling higher end items worth thousands, I don't know if I would feel as comfy selling on ebay.

 

 

As for timing, I tend to have free time in September, so I sell then. But I think that the holiday season isn't a bad time, as folks are looking for gifts for family or themselves...

[Terry Doyle]

I've sold a heck of a lot of stuff directly to buyers, usually at (or close to) my asking prices. Some stuff I sold over the years has been via consignment to dealers (where I usually factored-in the 10% dealers fee in the overall asking price).

 

Personal observation indicates that (nowadays) collectors tend to focus their attentions on the auction house offerings. The auctions generate a terrific buzz within the collecting community and would-be buyers don't want to miss out on stuff they're actively seeking.

 

With the exception of the high-demand stuff that shifts very quickly, a lot of art sits on dealer's sites for lengthy periods of time. I suspect collectors can get a bit complacent about such art, maybe thinking it's going nowhere fast and shift their attention towards auction offerings instead.

 

Although I'm not actively looking to sell anything further for quite some time (my early-retirement funds are sitting in the bank and I've been living a life of leisure these past three months, free from the rat-race of having to go out and make a living), I may well consider going the auction route at some future point, if the need should arise.

 

 

[Nexus]

Well I hate to say it but these boards are the toughest place to sell OA.

 

I think person to person sales always seem difficult.....you can offer something around at one price with no takers or even interest, and then put it at auction/ebay, and it will go for way more than when you were trying to sell it one on one.

 

I'm not directly answer the question but two of the best ways to sell are

 

1) Don't overpay when you buy.

2) Don't buy pieces you're going to end up flipping later.

 

If you do those things then you won't need to sell at all (#2), or won't need to ask a deal-breaking price (#1).

 

You get in trouble when you love something this week and pay whatever it takes and then try to sell it for the same money next week.

 

+1. I have watch this play out multiple times even on this message board. Not fun to watch.

 

I disagree. It's amusing as hell to watch! And it's always amazing to see it play out over and over again. Either some guys never learn their lesson, or this is just how they collect. Craziness to me, but to each their own, I guess.

[Nexus]

You get in trouble when you love something this week and pay whatever it takes and then try to sell it for the same money next week.

 

I call it the, "Grail today . . . forced to sell tomorrow" syndrome.

 

They may only own the piece for five minutes...but it is a glorious five minutes!

[malvin]

Well I hate to say it but these boards are the toughest place to sell OA.

 

I think person to person sales always seem difficult.....you can offer something around at one price with no takers or even interest, and then put it at auction/ebay, and it will go for way more than when you were trying to sell it one on one.

 

I'm not directly answer the question but two of the best ways to sell are

 

1) Don't overpay when you buy.

2) Don't buy pieces you're going to end up flipping later.

 

If you do those things then you won't need to sell at all (#2), or won't need to ask a deal-breaking price (#1).

 

You get in trouble when you love something this week and pay whatever it takes and then try to sell it for the same money next week.

 

+1. I have watch this play out multiple times even on this message board. Not fun to watch.

 

I disagree. It's amusing as hell to watch! And it's always amazing to see it play out over and over again. Either some guys never learn their lesson, or this is just how they collect. Craziness to me, but to each their own, I guess.

 

Heh, actually this reminds me, there were a couple of times that I sold a piece, then ended up buying it back for less when the seller re-sold. Which I later resold for more again! One of those people is no longer in the hobby, surprise surprise..

 

Malvin