chrisco37 Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 A few years ago I bought a collection with the intent to flip it. Worked out really well. But that was "right place, right time". I don't actively seek out art for that purpose. Like others have said/implied, that would be tough to do. I think you'd have a better shot doing that with books than art. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mister_not_so_nice Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 1 hour ago, staffman said: I'm sure collector's who have been doing this since before 2010 can make out nicely if they decide to part with their pieces, but anything from here on out is a big gamble. Not sure that meets the definition of a "flip" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meeley Man Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 14 hours ago, MYNAMEISLEGION said: exactly, because direct sales, trades, ebay, clink, HA, all have differently levels of efficiency (roughly in that order) NO one would go from HA to ebay (unless they are Make-Mine-Marvel and shillin' like a villain) but fresh to market art on ebay still hits Clink and/or HA, though granted the returns are not what they were even 5 years ago. You make point for me. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronty Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 Yeah, its generally a bad idea. I mean the art dealers can't make it work anymore, so what chance the average guy can. It would have to be a very specific type of opportunity for it to work out. Under market... you are the only one who knows the seller... cheap ebay bin... etc. Buying at market and selling into the same market shortly afterwards doesn't work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panelfan1 Posted February 9, 2017 Author Share Posted February 9, 2017 26 minutes ago, Bronty said: Yeah, its generally a bad idea. I mean the art dealers can't make it work anymore, so what chance the average guy can. It would have to be a very specific type of opportunity for it to work out. Under market... you are the only one who knows the seller... cheap ebay bin... etc. Buying at market and selling into the same market shortly afterwards doesn't work. wondering when you say the art dealers cant make it work any more - is there any in particular you are thinking of ? or if its more general - what gives this impression? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Browning Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 I think the hobby is still in its infancy and there are still great bargains out there that you can buy and flip. A few, but you have to do your homework and keep an eye out all the time. But, you'd be better off running an ad in your local paper or on the local radio station trading post asking to buy collections of comics to flip. There's some real money there. With so many people knowing the market and watching for the next bargain to pop up in the art collecting community, the great deals are becoming fewer and fewer and it's harder to buy cheap enough to flip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khazano Posted February 10, 2017 Share Posted February 10, 2017 2 hours ago, MIchaelBrowning said: I think the hobby is still in its infancy and there are still great bargains out there that you can buy and flip. A few, but you have to do your homework and keep an eye out all the time. I completely agree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staffman Posted February 10, 2017 Share Posted February 10, 2017 18 hours ago, mister_not_so_nice said: Not sure that meets the definition of a "flip" Haha. Yeah. I didn't think about that when I wrote the response. Waiting 6 years or more is not really a "flip". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John E. Posted February 10, 2017 Share Posted February 10, 2017 2 hours ago, staffman said: Haha. Yeah. I didn't think about that when I wrote the response. Waiting 6 years or more is not really a "flip". "Flipping" to me was always a fluid term. How fast must you turn a piece around in order to consider it a flip? A day? A week? A month? 90 days? A few years back I saw an eBay auction for an 11x17 illustration of a character who was going to appear in a Netflix show drawn by an up and coming artist. I thought it was something someone might want later. I put in a bid for $25 and it ended at $20 plus change. When that Netflix show aired, I resold it for $100...over a year later. So to me, flipping doesn't have a short timeline, but rather it needs two criteria: 1) intention to resell 2) for profit. Now I concede 6 years is something else. That's not a flip, that's an investment. i think you can flip auctions, but you need prescience and patience. $20 isn't anything, but $200+? If you're already a budget collector that's a lot of money to lock up for the long term. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JadeGiant Posted February 10, 2017 Share Posted February 10, 2017 It’s a matter of perspective really. I tend to look at the term “flip” from an intention perspective. I bought with some thought about selling it at some point. But, you could buy something today and next week something happens to make the piece worth multiples and you take the quick increase by selling. Both are flips …. How do you see it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malvin Posted February 10, 2017 Share Posted February 10, 2017 I don't think it's officially in the dictionary, but most people think of flip as a short term process. Malvin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panelfan1 Posted February 10, 2017 Author Share Posted February 10, 2017 2 hours ago, malvin said: I don't think it's officially in the dictionary, but most people think of flip as a short term process. Malvin When I started the post what I really meant by flip was buy with the pre-conceived intent to sell the art rather than to build/add to your collection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alxjhnsn Posted February 11, 2017 Share Posted February 11, 2017 (edited) I have not "flipped." In fact, I've only sold two pieces in the decade that I've been collecting - a Giordano Green Arrow headshot and a Carol Day strip. In both cases, I knew the buyer was interested and I sold them (at my cost) to make room for a better example. That's it. Edited February 11, 2017 by alxjhnsn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodou Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 On 2/9/2017 at 0:38 AM, malvin said: While there is some logic to that advice, it is based on the fundamental assumption that the comic art market is perfectly efficient. There is no right answer but most people would argue that it is not. Malvin It's not perfectly efficient today but it is relatively efficient. For those that were actively buying in the late 90s and early oughts (early internet era)...it was a free-for-all and the flip potential (if you knew your segmented market/s) was phenomenal. You could (and many of us did) open a side business at whatever level of volume one wanted doing just that. Singular pportunities still exist, but one more tends to stumble on them accidentally and very occasionally vs. literally tripping over the 2-10 insta-baggers. Some of us fell in love with the action (and the extra income!) though and have moved on to greener pastures. Sometimes people get a bit uptight when I talk about non-comic OA markets in a comic OA forum, so I won't get specific here but those that have done PM with me on this know there are plenty of green pastures out there, more volume than you can shake a stick at, just like the old days of comic OA, but (sadly) not in comic OA anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyNameIsLegion Posted February 13, 2017 Share Posted February 13, 2017 8 hours ago, vodou said: It's not perfectly efficient today but it is relatively efficient. For those that were actively buying in the late 90s and early oughts (early internet era)...it was a free-for-all and the flip potential (if you knew your segmented market/s) was phenomenal. You could (and many of us did) open a side business at whatever level of volume one wanted doing just that. Singular pportunities still exist, but one more tends to stumble on them accidentally and very occasionally vs. literally tripping over the 2-10 insta-baggers. Some of us fell in love with the action (and the extra income!) though and have moved on to greener pastures. Sometimes people get a bit uptight when I talk about non-comic OA markets in a comic OA forum, so I won't get specific here but those that have done PM with me on this know there are plenty of green pastures out there, more volume than you can shake a stick at, just like the old days of comic OA, but (sadly) not in comic OA anymore. though not your intent, you post almost sounds like a click-bait Motley Fool headline. "Greener pastures await those willing to get their boots muddy, click here to find out how! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solar Posted February 14, 2017 Share Posted February 14, 2017 I once bought a dealer's inventory of bronze horror pages (an area I have no interest in) for $10 a page on average. Those days are mostly gone, although I'm sure there are exceptions. These days, I buy what I like and usually end up reselling at a moderate profit in a couple years if and when I get a better example. There will always be opportunities for people who invest enough time scouring listings and making offers though. It just takes more effort than sitting back and waiting for cheap art to come up on your CAF notifications (not likely to happen). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
