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Comic Art Con April 3 Secaucus, NJ

Started by Comic Art Con,

120 posts in this topic

jaybuck43

jaybuck43

Posted
Posted
As a HUGE favor to those of us that can't make it to the show, could you guys please take a few pics of each of the dealers booths and post them to CAF?

 

Thanks!

 

I have my DSLR all packed. As long as the dealers are ok with it, I will have copious pictures in this thread.

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BCarter27

BCarter27

Posted
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Except for Will Gabri-EL, Tri-State, Anthony Snyder, and Jim Warden, there was nothing fairly priced at this show. Note, I said "fairly priced". Forget about anything resembling a deal.

 

Granted, I am a Copper and Modern person (of which there was little), but it seems the dealer's fixed-price market needs a serious correction.

 

I had cash at the ready, and was even ready to go to the mat if I saw something special, but everything was AT LEAST double FMV. I don't mind stretching 20, 30, 40% over FMV for a piece (especially paying direct to an artist or rep), but overpaying like this would have been humiliating.

 

The room was sparsely-populated and the only transactions I saw were dealer-to-dealer. And mainly trades at that.

 

Maybe it was the lack of an extensive artist's alley, a minimal number of reps vs dealers, or just that there were no comic book dealers to obfuscate the situation... but taking in a concentrated dose of the country's major art dealers all in one show, I was really put off from the hobby on the ride home.

 

It is clear that the business model of most dealers is to catch that one Wall Street or Hollywood guy who can't be bothered to vet pricing thoroughly. I guess that would cover the dealers table and expenses. But I didn't see those whales here. Just the few hardcore collectors.

 

So, this felt more like a trade show between dealers to me as I am not sure who the audience was. The dealers were not providing any incentive to buy for the collectors who were already familiar with their stock. No sales, or specials, or any reason to pull the trigger on stale inventory.

 

Albert Moy had stock that was not on his site, as well as Bechara Maalouf, Jim Warden, and some of the smaller tables. But 95% of the stock in the room was already priced online. You were better off searching the web at home.

 

I can see several ways to improve this show...

 

1. Increase the artist's alley. (Rudy Nebres had a STACK of stunning Savage Sword pages that were being picked clean when I left. I didn't get a chance to inquire on price.) However, I can see artists staying away with the lack of crowds. So, maybe this is a bad suggestion after all.

 

2. Move it to Manhattan or Brooklyn or somewhere more heavily-populated and promote it alongside Mocca or another non-competing show.

 

3. Invite more reps. Perhaps this would expose the price gap against the dealers. Reps seem more incentivized to price to sell. Or maybe this wouldn't work, and dealers would just scoop up pages to sit on.

 

4. Show organizers need to lean on dealers to run sales. Tell them not to forget to remove those special NYCC and SDCC price tags.

 

All in all, a very disappointing experience. I hope others can offer better recollections from the day...

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BCarter27

BCarter27

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As a P.S., the dealers need to realize they are losing money by not turning over stock regularly. Eventually, they will just be ignored as their stock stales and prices do not correct. As a middle-budget collector, I have so many outlets available to me to buy art -- DeviantArt, IlluxCon, major and minor auction houses, artist-direct, 2d, reasonable art dealers, LCSs, reps, this forum, CAF, CAF, CAF, and, of course, the great equalizer, ebay.

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BCarter27

BCarter27

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With my rant over... how about I end on a more positive note?

 

From a purely aesthetic POV, a few things I thought might fly under the radar-

 

Will Gabri-El had some Perez/Gammill/Breeding Superman pages that were very solid as well as some amazing, detailed Phil Jimenez Tempest pages.

 

Albert Moy had a P Craig Russel Sandman oversized color specialty piece that was incredible. And a full portfolio of Jae Lee Justice League pencils that were breathtaking in person. Truly ground-breaking modern comic art. Jae Lee's art is a hard-right turn that we haven't seen since maybe Bill Sienkiewicz first landed.

 

And Coollines had several Chris Bachalo Death pages, including splashes, that were a rare treat to see.

 

I think it was Dan Jerome in the corner who had a huge Golden Age splash from... I am drawing a blank. But it was massive and sexy and very cool. Somebody know what I am talking about?

 

Jim Warden had two poster-sized commission samples from John Byrne on display. Not joking... these things were huge. One of the DC trinity and the other was Avengers vs Ultron.

 

Bechara Maalouf had a beautiful Mark Schultz Xenozoic splash (or cover). And a Neal Adams Power Records Batman cover and a Man-Bat page that made me hear that read-along record in my head from 30 years ago.

 

There were more things I was interested in, but I won't tell you in case the prices come down. :-)

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BCarter27

BCarter27

Posted
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Pictures. :taptaptap:

 

Did 75k become the new 65k?

 

No pics. Too busy complaining. Sorry.

 

Anything under 65K was burned in a trash can fire at the door for warmth because the howling 50 mph wind turned the place into an ice box.

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kbmcvay

kbmcvay

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I went to this show 2 years ago and basically agree with most of what you said. However, I thought Albert Moy was very willing to negotiate on pieces where he had room to. I ended up getting a Perez cover for 20% off what it was marked at. The negotiation took about 30 seconds total. There was a Neal Adams Batman piece he had that I tried to negotiate on earlier that day, but he said it was only $200 higher than what he paid and couldn't do anything on the price, which was understandable. Bottom line, he seemed like he was there to sell art and he sold a good amount at that show.

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dem1138

dem1138

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I had cash at the ready, and was even ready to go to the mat if I saw something special, but everything was AT LEAST double FMV. I don't mind stretching 20, 30, 40% over FMV for a piece (especially paying direct to an artist or rep), but overpaying like this would have been humiliating.

 

Can you give any concrete examples?

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AnkurJ

AnkurJ

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Overpriced art is nothing new in this hobby. Whether it be from dealers or other collectors. There were a few pieces I was interested in that were priced higher than I would pay. After an offer was declined, I simply moved on. There was quite a bit to see in the room. And when certain pieces become too expensive, I start looking into other artists/characters.

 

The great thing about this show is not just buying art, it's meeting with other collectors who share the same passion as you and sharing your stories. I had lunch with a great group of guys and we had a blast! I would come to this show for that sole reason. But that's just me. Gotta make lemonade out of lemons.

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LostDreams

LostDreams

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You might as well get used to it...it's not going to change. It's why I stopped going to San Diego Con about a decade ago after having made the trip for about 20 years in a row. I used to think I have to go just in case I miss out on that "special something" for the collection, but with the prices being the way they are, it's not worth it anymore...if I want to check in with fellow collectors to catch up on things or talk shop I can email, call them, use Skype, etc. Only attend a convention if there is one locally...

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GreatEscape

GreatEscape

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Awesome pics, thanks for sharing! Looks like alot of great art, people having fun making new friends or catching up with fellow collectors. It's natural that dealers take the opportunity to explore price levels for highlight pieces or new inventory, especially early in the show...quoting prices well above FMV but willing to negotiate with serious/known inquirers.

 

Although I could not attend, I think it's really wonderful to have an event dedicated to OA.

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