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Worst flips that have happened to you….
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41 posts in this topic

On 9/28/2021 at 8:59 AM, John E. said:

I know others have suffered worse, but early in my collecting I had bought a page from Anthony Snyder for about $110, decided I no longer wanted it, and put it up on eBay at a low starting price in hopes of getting some action on it. The final hammer was something like $28. That hurt and it taught me a lesson about auctioning. But it’s the tuition we all gotta pay in this hobby. 

Ouch, that stings. Thanks for sharing.

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I was overjoyed to get one of the painted covers from Mike Grell's Longbow Hunters. And I paid out the nose to convince the seller to let me buy it. But a year later, I realized it wasn't working in my collection, and I sold it at Heritage thinking there were at least two other people ready to jump at the chance to own it. I was sorely mistaken. Lost half my purchase price after fees. Learned to be a little more deliberate and have a plan for what I was going to buy, something beyond just the joy of winning.

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I really love Gerald Parel's art, and so I jumped on his commission list ( $1500 ) for an A3 figure.

IMO, it didn't deliver. I actually hated it for the price I paid. So, I had the facilitator sell it for $1250. They took a 20% cut of the sale, so I ended up losing $500 and getting $1000 back. Lesson learned.

Later it sells on HA for $480 (which includes the BP) lol.

https://comics.ha.com/itm/original-comic-art/gerald-parel-batman-specialty-illustration-original-art-undated-/a/122108-17838.s

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On 9/28/2021 at 11:16 AM, aqn83 said:

… and so I jumped on his commission list…

IMO, it didn't deliver. I actually hated it for the price I paid. 


This has definitely happened to me more times than I’d want to admit. Always lost money on the subsequent sale. But I just use the proceeds towards the next commission to keep satisfying my addiction…

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On 9/28/2021 at 11:58 AM, aqn83 said:

Or just completely abandon commissions in general, as was my case.

You are made of sterner stuff than I… Some would argue (like my wife) I’m basically flushing money down the toilet but the high of those commissions that meet (and some even exceed) expectations is hard to top. 

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On 9/28/2021 at 11:58 AM, aqn83 said:

Or just completely abandon commissions in general, as was my case.

They almost never turn out well, financially, from what I’ve heard, and they certainly won’t turn out well for me because of my niche interest. But they are almost always worth it because of the connection it makes to the artist. One thing I do recommend is to not ask the artist for a simple figure. Give him an idea to frame a single image around, even something simple, like eating a slice of pizza. Let his imagination show off his artistry instead of just his drawing skills. He’ll enjoy it more, too.

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On 9/28/2021 at 8:16 AM, aqn83 said:

I really love Gerald Parel's art, and so I jumped on his commission list ( $1500 ) for an A3 figure.

IMO, it didn't deliver. I actually hated it for the price I paid. So, I had the facilitator sell it for $1250. They took a 20% cut of the sale, so I ended up losing $500 and getting $1000 back. Lesson learned.

Later it sells on HA for $480 (which includes the BP) lol.

https://comics.ha.com/itm/original-comic-art/gerald-parel-batman-specialty-illustration-original-art-undated-/a/122108-17838.s

Looks like you were lucky to be able to net $1K out of it! Congrats (better than you directly selling it for $480.. which would leave you with $300'is! :flamed:

 

Malvin

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On 9/28/2021 at 3:32 PM, aqn83 said:

You're quite right. I sold it within a couple of weeks of owning it. I wanted it gone that badly.

 

I actually asked for a specific image re-created traditionally. I specifically requested a dark piece with highlights here and there, and a flowing cape. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

badass-batman-and-bizarro-art-by-gerald-

I actually like it a lot. The pose is unusual, and it shows his brooding character. I would have been very happy with it. Someone got a good piece at a low price.

I recently got a commission which was not what I expected, either, but it was a skillful job and very much complimented (at least on Facebook). Yes, I will definitely be keeping mine.

That’s the think about artists. Sometimes they insist on using their artistic skills, even if we weren’t expecting the result.

You can reduce the risk of something radically different by asking for a preliminary before he does a final.

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On 9/28/2021 at 11:16 AM, aqn83 said:

I really love Gerald Parel's art, and so I jumped on his commission list ( $1500 ) for an A3 figure.

IMO, it didn't deliver. I actually hated it for the price I paid. So, I had the facilitator sell it for $1250. They took a 20% cut of the sale, so I ended up losing $500 and getting $1000 back. Lesson learned.

Later it sells on HA for $480 (which includes the BP) lol.

https://comics.ha.com/itm/original-comic-art/gerald-parel-batman-specialty-illustration-original-art-undated-/a/122108-17838.s

So the facilitator took a cut from the the commission itself, and to sell it for you? Wow....

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