kbmcvay Posted October 24, 2017 Share Posted October 24, 2017 Serious question: not looking for names or a list (but provide whatever you want), how many "whales" are in the hobby? I'm specifically referring to people that can and often do drop 6 figures on OA frequently (monthly or whenever they want). Excluding the high volume known dealers, of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tth2 Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 (edited) The number can be derived from the following formula, known as "The Park Theorem": A + B + C + D + E + F Where: A = all Hollywood/showbiz celebrities with a net worth above $10 million B = all professional athletes with a net worth above $10 million C = all people working in Silicon Valley with a net worth above $10 million D = all Chinese billionaires E = all Russian billionaires F = all Middle Eastern billionaires Edited October 25, 2017 by tth2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilipB2k17 Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 1 hour ago, tth2 said: The number can be derived from the following formula, known as "The Park Theorem": A + B + C + D + E + F Where: A = all Hollywood/showbiz celebrities with a net worth above $10 million B = all professional athletes with a net worth above $10 million C = all people working in Silicon Valley with a net worth above $10 million D = all Chinese billionaires E = all Russian billionaires F = all Middle Eastern billionaires Too wide a net. And it would have to be $25 Million. Net worth includes illiquid assets like houses, real estate, cars, boats, stocks, bonds, business interests, etc. Your house/apartment could hit the $10 Million mark easily in places like SF, LA, NY, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ESeffinga Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 I don't know about you guys, but I personally can't sleep at night unless I've dropped at least 6 figures for the month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilipB2k17 Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 4 hours ago, ESeffinga said: I don't know about you guys, but I personally can't sleep at night unless I've dropped at least 6 figures for the month. Yeah, it's all academic to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquareChaos Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 A rare photo of an OA whale on it's way to ruin your auction dreams. Joking aside, I think there must only be a handful of true high rollers, you hear about them in threads here and there. I'd say, as far as someone that may "regularly" drop 6-figures on OA? Has to be 25 or less right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilipB2k17 Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 (edited) 18 hours ago, SquareChaos said: A rare photo of an OA whale on it's way to ruin your auction dreams. Joking aside, I think there must only be a handful of true high rollers, you hear about them in threads here and there. I'd say, as far as someone that may "regularly" drop 6-figures on OA? Has to be 25 or less right? Probably. It only takes 2-5 high rollers to completely change the entire OA market. If 2-5 high rollers start bidding up, say, Mark Bagley Spider-Man clone saga pages for some reason, then that stuff will rocket up in price, and probably start spilling over into all of Bagley's pages. Whether you and I think it makes any sense is irrelevant. I don't get the Herb Trimpe Hulk OA bump, for example. But, whatever. If people want to pay that kind of money for that stuff, so be it. I am not, so they are welcome to all of those pages. Edited October 26, 2017 by PhilipB2k17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquareChaos Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 21 minutes ago, PhilipB2k17 said: Probably. It only takes 2-5 high rollers to completely change the entire OA market. If 2-5 high rollers start bidding up, say, Mark Bagley Spider-Man clone sage pages for some reason, then that stuff will rocket up in price, and probably start spilling over into all of Bagley's pages. Whether you and I think it makes any sense is irrelevant. I don't get the Herb Trimpe Hulk OA bump, for example. But, whatever. If people want to pay that kind of money for that stuff, so be it. I am not, so they are welcome to all of those pages. Sure, I obviously agree, two people that want something real bad are all you need. I was just attempting to take a WAG at the 'how many' question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MagnusX Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 48 minutes ago, PhilipB2k17 said: Probably. It only takes 2-5 high rollers to completely change the entire OA market. If 2-5 high rollers start bidding up, say, Mark Bagley Spider-Man clone sage pages for some reason, then that stuff will rocket up in price, and probably start spilling over into all of Bagley's pages. Whether you and I think it makes any sense is irrelevant. I don't get the Herb Trimpe Hulk OA bump, for example. But, whatever. If people want to pay that kind of money for that stuff, so be it. I am not, so they are welcome to all of those pages. This is an interesting analogy, at least to me; since I Love Trimpe on Hull, and Hate Bagley on Everything... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc McCoy Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 This is veering dangerously close to “Cabal” territory. Many of you may have already said too much. F For Fake 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delekkerste Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 21 minutes ago, Doc McCoy said: This is veering dangerously close to “Cabal” territory. Many of you may have already said too much. You're all on The Cabal's blacklist now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilipB2k17 Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 26 minutes ago, delekkerste said: You're all on The Cabal's blacklist now. Can someone please PM me on who all these people are? LOL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stinkininkin Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 18 minutes ago, PhilipB2k17 said: Can someone please PM me on who all these people are? LOL! The hat on one of these nefarious caballers is a dead giveaway! Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eewwnuk Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 (edited) sodas and water? not cabal level. pic needs more champagne and bottles of wine. Edited October 25, 2017 by eewwnuk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sideshow Bob Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 41 minutes ago, eewwnuk said: sodas and water? not cabal level. pic needs more champagne and bottles of wine. Hardly. They are hoisting glasses full of tears of the underbidders. Bill C and BCarter27 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilipB2k17 Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 F For Fake and Twanj 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t3quila Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 On 24/10/2017 at 8:26 PM, kbmcvay said: Serious question: not looking for names or a list (but provide whatever you want), how many "whales" are in the hobby? I'm specifically referring to people that can and often do drop 6 figures on OA frequently (monthly or whenever they want). Excluding the high volume known dealers, of course. Ok let's have a crack at this and estimate using Fermi's method for the US only. (All numbers are pulled out of my ****hole) 323 Million people in the US Let's say 1 in 1000 people collect comics so 323,000 comic collectors in the US. (Given that Batman can sell 100,000 copies that is probably not unreasonable) Top 1% of US Income ($456,000 annually) 3230 comic collectors in the 1% income bracket. 1 in 10 Comic collectors may be art collectors (it is more niche) 323 people. People able to spend a million a year let's say 10% so 32 people. There were 13 people in the Cabal photo, and the one taking the photo........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
batman_fan Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 I am only aware of two. Gene and Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilipB2k17 Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 8 hours ago, batman_fan said: I am only aware of two. Gene and Tim Then there’s Mark, who dropped $160K on a BWS Conan story only to complain about the condition later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John S. Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 (edited) 11 hours ago, t3quila said: Ok let's have a crack at this and estimate using Fermi's method for the US only. (All numbers are pulled out of my ****hole) 323 Million people in the US Let's say 1 in 1000 people collect comics so 323,000 comic collectors in the US. (Given that Batman can sell 100,000 copies that is probably not unreasonable) Top 1% of US Income ($456,000 annually) 3230 comic collectors in the 1% income bracket. 1 in 10 Comic collectors may be art collectors (it is more niche) 323 people. People able to spend a million a year let's say 10% so 32 people. There were 13 people in the Cabal photo, and the one taking the photo........ Most if not all the people at that table could drop 6 figures on a piece of art, the question is how many of them actually have dropped 6 figures on a piece of art? In my opinion there are no more than 10 whales in this industry that can and do regularly spend 6 figures on artwork (not including dealers). I may be wrong, and no doubt Gene will correct me, but i believe that the majority of high rollers sitting around that table, would only pay a six figure amount on a piece of art if it was something they really really wanted, and as those kind of pieces dont come around too often, I would not classify them as whales using the definition set out by the OP -" I'm specifically referring to people that can and often do drop 6 figures on OA frequently (monthly or whenever they want" Edited October 26, 2017 by John S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...