Need references on Albert Moy

[Marwai]

All we do at Albert's booth is called "Loss Prevention". The people who are at Albert's booth are not salesmen and we cannot negotiate prices. We can engage in friendly banter as collectors, but we do not conduct business on our own behalf at the booth. In general, we can help customers locate art in his booth if they speak up, help Albert bag art, take down information on receipts, prevent loss, and set up tables/displays and take it all down at the end of the show. I'm not even speaking on his behalf in this post. We are fanboys who do not get paid in money to be at the booth, so we would be fans of Erik Larsen or other artists.

 

Some of the people that sit at his table are customers who needed needed to sit down and rest after a long day of walking the convention and just want a place to talk. Albert allows this to some of his customers depending on how crowded it is inside the booth. They are not required by Albert to sell his art for him.

 

Looking at the big picture, it really depends on how the average con goer approaches the booth. We are not trained to hard sell and wrangle in customers on the aisles to spend thousands of dollars at the booth by explaining how comics are made with pieces of art board. When someone approaches the booth who has no clue as to what Albert is selling, they are attracted by the pictures or see a huge price tag. They will comment on how expensive the prices are compared to the prints of the artists in artist alley and that this "Albert Moy" guy is a good artist. We are happy to explain that they aren't prints and aren't posters, that they are hand done drawings, and Albert can't draw.

 

The general sense is that you already know what it is you are looking at when you walk up to the booth and start flipping through portfolios and would not need a lesson in why they are what they are, who's good, who's hot, why is this priced this way, etc. The only help you should need is how to find certain artwork as it is dependent on how Albert organizes and arranges his portfolios and displays.

 

Maybe this gap between the average con goer and the just starting out collector is still too wide. I hear in Felix's podcasts a recurring theme in questioning as to why art collectors gave up on comic books and began to buy original artwork. The answers are all valid and perhaps as members of this forum we should create a pamphlet that can be used by every art dealer at a convention to explain to the general con goer what comic art is and why it is collectible, just to promote the hobby as a whole.

 

I will forward your complaint to Albert and provide him suggestions as how to provide priority white glove treatment / concierge service in the future.

 

My suggestion is to speak up if you need help. We will look in your general direction to prevent loss, but we don't put in the death stare waiting for you to speak up. Also, Albert has already given out thousands of "Got Art?" grey, white, orange t-shirts and buttons over the years to identify people who are into comic art. I'm sure if you sport that gear, you will be given attention.

[aqualad34]

 

I will forward your complaint to Albert and provide him suggestions as how to provide priority white glove treatment / concierge service in the future.

 

 

 

I don't know if you need all that but certainly a "Hey, let me know if you need anything" wouldn't be a bad start.

[Marwai]

Well, this story was back at SF Wondercon 2003-2011, so there has been turnover through the years. For sure there were/are people who were less chatty than others at the booth, but there are a few regulars who've been with Albert since the 80's who will talk to anyone. Richard Martines talks to everyone, right? I have no idea who was at the booth at the time, it could have been just Albert by himself with a few of his customers sitting down inside his booth. He could have been busy buying, trading, with another customer etc. Anyways, everything was less professional 5 or 13 years ago and we can only address/discuss it going forward.

[comix4fun]

 

I will forward your complaint to Albert and provide him suggestions as how to provide priority white glove treatment / concierge service in the future.

 

 

 

I don't know if you need all that but certainly a "Hey, let me know if you need anything" wouldn't be a bad start.

 

 

I hear if Albert really likes you, you may find champagne and strawberries in your hotel room at a convention. Could be a rumor, but entirely possible.

[Mr. Machismo]

All we do at Albert's booth is called "Loss Prevention". The people who are at Albert's booth are not salesmen and we cannot negotiate prices. We can engage in friendly banter as collectors, but we do not conduct business on our own behalf at the booth. In general, we can help customers locate art in his booth if they speak up, help Albert bag art, take down information on receipts, prevent loss, and set up tables/displays and take it all down at the end of the show. I'm not even speaking on his behalf in this post. We are fanboys who do not get paid in money to be at the booth, so we would be fans of Erik Larsen or other artists.

 

Some of the people that sit at his table are customers who needed needed to sit down and rest after a long day of walking the convention and just want a place to talk. Albert allows this to some of his customers depending on how crowded it is inside the booth. They are not required by Albert to sell his art for him.

 

Looking at the big picture, it really depends on how the average con goer approaches the booth. We are not trained to hard sell and wrangle in customers on the aisles to spend thousands of dollars at the booth by explaining how comics are made with pieces of art board. When someone approaches the booth who has no clue as to what Albert is selling, they are attracted by the pictures or see a huge price tag. They will comment on how expensive the prices are compared to the prints of the artists in artist alley and that this "Albert Moy" guy is a good artist. We are happy to explain that they aren't prints and aren't posters, that they are hand done drawings, and Albert can't draw.

 

The general sense is that you already know what it is you are looking at when you walk up to the booth and start flipping through portfolios and would not need a lesson in why they are what they are, who's good, who's hot, why is this priced this way, etc. The only help you should need is how to find certain artwork as it is dependent on how Albert organizes and arranges his portfolios and displays.

 

Maybe this gap between the average con goer and the just starting out collector is still too wide. I hear in Felix's podcasts a recurring theme in questioning as to why art collectors gave up on comic books and began to buy original artwork. The answers are all valid and perhaps as members of this forum we should create a pamphlet that can be used by every art dealer at a convention to explain to the general con goer what comic art is and why it is collectible, just to promote the hobby as a whole.

 

I will forward your complaint to Albert and provide him suggestions as how to provide priority white glove treatment / concierge service in the future.

 

My suggestion is to speak up if you need help. We will look in your general direction to prevent loss, but we don't put in the death stare waiting for you to speak up. Also, Albert has already given out thousands of "Got Art?" grey, white, orange t-shirts and buttons over the years to identify people who are into comic art. I'm sure if you sport that gear, you will be given attention.

 

Great post, very cool 'story.' Thanks.

[NelsonAI]

 

I received an orange T-shirt along with the strawberries and diet coke, (my beverage of choice), from Albert.

 

The shirt of course provides free advertising for Albert. .

My only recommendation? Albert should order more of the larger sizes instead of those S/Med. But he already knows.

 

- I have bought from him by mail but primarily in person. No issues regarding his shipping or packaging.

 

- I think everyone charges too much for art, (except for me). Everyone, please lower your prices so I can buy more.

 

- Albert's prices are generally firm for artists he represents. For art from his own inventory, he might be slightly negotiable on higher end art.

 

 

Cheers!

N.

 

 

[Will_K]

This is not a business in the traditional definition...

 

...it’s all over the map from my experience.

 

I don't expect any kind of uniformity in anything related to the comics business. Especially anything you'd see at a convention.

 

Free sketches vs con drawings starting at $200 ??

Comics in the dollar box vs a "wall comic" with a price that ends with 000 ??

Richard Grayson vs Tim Drake ??

Free autographs vs 1st 5 signatures are free vs $40 for a signed 8x10 ??

A comic with a Poor grade due to writing vs a slabbed 9.6 CGC Signature Series with a drawing all over that nice clean white cover ??

Joe Shmoe unknown artist alley guy sitting next to Rockstar Super Nova hot artist guy ??

 

People that don't know the why there's a difference are probably just "casual". It would take SO long to explain. There's a reason for those differences, just like in the "outside world".

 

I prefer to be left alone when I'm shopping, whether in a convention or department store or wherever. Never experienced any dealer not responding to my e-mail.

 

I've never dealt with Albert regularly but I've always been happy to do so. No complaints re: Albert. For a lot of the art that he sells, Albert is repping the artist. It's his job to get the most $$$ he can for them. He works for them, not the other way around. I'm sure the talent is happy with Albert.

 

 

 

[feder241]

In my very limited experience with Albert (bought 2 pieces off of him, a Perez NTT and a Charest WildCATS at cons) many many moons ago, I don't have any complaints. I like that he's hands off at his booth, because being the OA n00b that I am, I like just flipping through art without any pressure to do anything and risk outing myself as a n00b. He was always happy to answer any question I had.

[F For Fake]

Never closed a deal with Albert, but have spoken with him through email a few times. Always seemed brief but polite. As for shopping his booth, I've never done so, but I'd LOVE to be left alone while I'm browsing. If I have a question, I'll ask. Otherwise, leave me be. Wish I could apply that to all facets of life!

[Marwai]

 

I will forward your complaint to Albert and provide him suggestions as how to provide priority white glove treatment / concierge service in the future.

 

 

 

I don't know if you need all that but certainly a "Hey, let me know if you need anything" wouldn't be a bad start.

 

 

I hear if Albert really likes you, you may find champagne and strawberries in your hotel room at a convention. Could be a rumor, but entirely possible.

 

You might think that I was trying to be funny with that line, but for customers at SDCC in addition to free t-shirts last year, we have a bag of mints on the table, a bottle of hand sanitizer to use, chairs for people to sit down inside if they needed it, Albert has paid for the extra padding underneath the carpet inside the booth, offered people bottled water inside the booth, provided a WIFI hotspot in case the con WIFI was congested, and last year we experimented with having an huge ice chest of beverages one day. Very few people took advantage of that when offered so we probably won't do it again. (We wound up drinking the rest ourselves) All complimentary to customers.

 

The original post asked for people who have been customers of Albert to comment. Shipping with cardboard, how he sometimes drops the ball on emails (I've seen his mailbox, it was over 800 messages he keeps new at the last SDCC), and how the prices are from artists he represents are of concern. On the last one, no one complained about the Dave Stevens art prices that flew out the door, so yes he does price them at what they tell him to and takes his commission. If it was just about the money, he could have just as easily bought them all himself, marked it up, and then slowly release them for sale/auction. But he does what is in the best interest of the client.

 

The other complaints were from people who do not do business with him.

 

When I forwarded my post to him, Albert has told me that people have on occasion confronted him in person about him being a jerk at a convention. Albert said he didn't realize it at the time and has apologized to them.

[comix4fun]

 

I will forward your complaint to Albert and provide him suggestions as how to provide priority white glove treatment / concierge service in the future.

 

 

 

I don't know if you need all that but certainly a "Hey, let me know if you need anything" wouldn't be a bad start.

 

 

I hear if Albert really likes you, you may find champagne and strawberries in your hotel room at a convention. Could be a rumor, but entirely possible.

 

You might think that I was trying to be funny with that line, but for customers at SDCC in addition to free t-shirts last year, we have a bag of mints on the table, a bottle of hand sanitizer to use, chairs for people to sit down inside if they needed it, Albert has paid for the extra padding underneath the carpet inside the booth, offered people bottled water inside the booth, provided a WIFI hotspot in case the con WIFI was congested, and last year we experimented with having an huge ice chest of beverages one day. Very few people took advantage of that when offered so we probably won't do it again. (We wound up drinking the rest ourselves) All complimentary to customers.

 

The original post asked for people who have been customers of Albert to comment. Shipping with cardboard, how he sometimes drops the ball on emails (I've seen his mailbox, it was over 800 messages he keeps new at the last SDCC), and how the prices are from artists he represents are of concern. On the last one, no one complained about the Dave Stevens art prices that flew out the door, so yes he does price them at what they tell him to and takes his commission. If it was just about the money, he could have just as easily bought them all himself, marked it up, and then slowly release them for sale/auction. But he does what is in the best interest of the client.

 

The other complaints were from people who do not do business with him.

 

When I forwarded my post to him, Albert has told me that people have on occasion confronted him in person about him being a jerk at a convention. Albert said he didn't realize it at the time and has apologized to them.

 

I was actually referring to a practical joke I played on Albert one year at Heroes con. He seriously thought he had a stalker at one point. Ahhh. Good times.

[Terry Doyle]

Remember attending a London-based comics event a while back where Sydney Jordan (of the British long-running science-fiction newspaper strip, Jeff Hawke) had a table selling stacks and stacks of his old originals.

 

Syd had a helper with him who was incredibly pushy. As I attempted to look at some originals, I had this guy giving me a lesson in OA collecting and was shown the kind of examples, 'I ought to be buying'. Very, very off-putting . . . I ended-up walking away. Came close to telling this person to f**k off, but didn't want to create a scene with Syd Jordan present.

 

So, if Albert allows you to browse in peace . . . that sounds wonderful to me.

[ciorac]

I've dealt with Albert twice. Once on some golden age art that I sold him. He offered me more than the other dealers at that particular show, and we closed the deal. He wasn't the most enjoyable person to deal with, but in the end it worked out.

 

The other time was on a big silver age page that I was selling, he bought it. And it is now priced at ten times what I sold it to him for. So, I certainly had a lot to learn in those nascent days of dealing with art dealers

[zhamlau]

Never had a problem with Albert in I think 20 years. Guy knows his stuff...only did one deal i think, sold him a page back in the late 90s if i remember correctly but he paid right away and didnt try to insult me with the offer, hard to ask more then that.

[buttock]

I've done one deal with Albert and it was as smooth as a deal could possibly go. My only complaint would be that he needs to open up his personal collection and cut prices, but only for me.

[rocket1312]

Sorry for the bump, but if I submitted a purchase request to Albert for piece on his site a few weeks back and still haven't heard anything, can I assume it's no longer available?

[Catwoman_Fan]

Sorry for the bump, but if I submitted a purchase request to Albert for piece on his site a few weeks back and still haven't heard anything, can I assume it's no longer available?

 

You could try calling him. I had luck getting ahold of him a couple times that way. He still wanted me to order stuff through the site, he keeps track that way, but your call may prompt a quicker response.

[igotnogame]

I'd give him some extra time. Depending on when you ordered, he was heading out to SDCC, and he blocks some "unavailable" time before and after.

 

From a email that was sent out, "Albert will be taking his annual trip to San Diego Comic Con and his artwork will be packed away by July 7th to make the trip acros the country. He can still take your orders during transit, but the art will ship out after he gets the art back to New York towards the end of July."

 

If you don't hear anything before, I'd maybe ping him again late this week.

 

Good luck.

[Marwai]

He told me the artwork is still in transit coming back from San Diego Comic Con. He doesn't have access to take inventory and check if the piece you asked for is still available.

[rocket1312]

Thanks for the info guys. It was a week or two before SDCC that I made the request, but probably wasn't before the 7th when everything was packed up. Makes sense that I wouldn't have heard anything.