Where do most of your OA pickups come from? Dealers? Auctions? Conventions? Artists? 2 2

[Dr. Balls]

I am far, far away from conventions, so I am generally relegated to sleuthing around the internet turning over rocks and bidding on auctions. I wonder about how fun and exciting it might be to attend a convention and actually buy a piece of artwork there as you hold it in your hands, and how many people get to do that - or even if it's their preferred way of purchasing.

[Rick2you2]

Rarely. A lot of artwork is on line, either via auction or private sales. Other times, I contact the artist on-line directly (not always easy to find, or get an answer; one took around 14 months to answer). I have bought some at conventions, however, but not a lot. Generally, from the artist who decided to go into his basement/storage bin to find something to sell. 

[G.A.tor]

I have a couple of good dealers that find me pieces. And i find a few at auctions. Also have a couple of good collectors that have provided me with some great pieces. 
 

and on occasion something finds me at a con. So all of the above I guess 

[Twanj]

I've never been to a con, but everything else.

I do have a dealer locally that I've met up with from time to time.

[Dr. Balls]

On 9/24/2022 at 10:45 AM, Rick2you2 said:

Other times, I contact the artist on-line directly (not always easy to find, or get an answer; one took around 14 months to answer).

I have tried this method with about a 50% chance of reply, which sounds like I might be doing ok. The art I'm looking for (90s) has generally been long sold off by the artist, but I figure it can't hurt to reach out.

[malvin]

All of the above for me, although I wasn't going to as many conventions lately (even before COVID).

If I had to rank by volume of pages, my order would be: Auctions, Dealers, Conventions, Artists.

Conventions are fun as you often see art that is not online and I have on many occasions but tons of pages at once from some artists.

Malvin

[Andahaion]

I guess I've done it all also, except I've not purchased at a convention (though I do attend locally when schedules align).  I do prefer to buy from the artist when possible.  

[cloud cloddie]

My ranking by percentage of art would be Artists/reps first, then Auctions, Conventions, other collectors, and dealers last. 

[Lago32]

10-20 years ago, it was a mix for me. Nowadays, it is almost strictly at auction for a few reasons. First, with prices escalating as they have been, I find trying to work private deals with collectors to be frustrating and often fruitless as many are indecisive and greedy as everyone is scared of leaving money on the table. Likely as a result of this first reason, Second is that most good art now seems to be going to auction vs dealers as anything can seem to happen in a live bidding environment. Third, after 20+ years in this hobby, my tolerance of the shenanigans and brutal customer service from many of the dealers is basically nil at this point. And finally Fourth, I just don’t have the energy or interest any more in tracking down art outside of what is offered at auctions, for a bunch of reasons including some that I just mentioned…different phase of collecting now for me I suppose. 

[Buzzetta]

I have zero connections so I am usually at the mercy of finding things at auction from people sacrificing what they consider lower tier pieces to fund the big piece they want lol. 

That and I beg at cons. 

[Dirtcheap31]

My best pieces have always been acquired through online friends through CAF off the grid deals I occasionally buy smaller 1-3k pages at auction bigger buys always timed payments to trusted CAF members 

[Ecclectica]

Everything, Everywhere, but not All at Once

[batman_fan]

My buying has changed over the years

1980s and 1990s = mail order catalogs exclusively

2000 to 2005 = Ebay and offers on CAF

2005 and beyond = Auction houses

[barneythecantankerous]

Directly from artists and auctions. 

Edited September 25, 2022 by barneythecantankerous
Gutted my rant

[RBerman]

A mix for sure. Online auctions are always running. So are artist web sites. But conventions are a convenient opportunity to encounter good artists that you wouldn't have thought to look for, often cheaper than the artists that were already on your radar. Some of my favorite pieces have been acquired that way.

[timguerrero]

I try my best to do artist/rep first, after that comes other collectors, then ebay and lastly dealers. Just 2 years ago I made my first purchase at Hake's and this year my first purchase at Heritage.

[alxjhnsn]

 Here’s the info from my collection. Direct from the artist is the major source. That could be in person or by mail. 

 

Edited September 30, 2022 by alxjhnsn

[Unstoppablejayd]

I try to avoid auctions like the plague... a combo platter of stiff competition , fees, taxes etc usually leaves me unhappy with the price at the end.. I would say most comes from private sales, dealers/reps or hunting! I love the hunt of finding pieces in unusual places! 

[Hockeyflow33]

I don't think I've bought more than a handful of items from dealers. My order seems to be;

1) artists

2) ebay

3) other collectors

4) reps

[Rick2you2]

On 9/27/2022 at 9:26 AM, alxjhnsn said:

 Here’s the info from my collection. Direct from the artist is the major source. That could be in person or by mail. 
 

 

Auction - LiveAuctioneers	1	0%
Auction – Baltimore Comic Con	1	0%
Auction – CBLDF	1	0%
Auction – ComicLink	5	2%
Auction – Heritage	5	2%
Auction – HeroesCon	2	1%
Auction – NYCC	1	0%
Dealer – Aardwolf	2	1%
Dealer – Anthony Snyder	5	2%
Dealer – Bedrock City Comic Company	1	0%
Dealer – Frank Giella	1	0%
Dealer – Ike Wilson	1	0%
Dealer – J. David Spurlock	1	0%
Dealer – Mike Burkey	1	0%
Dealer – Pop Culture Co. Houston	1	0%
Dealer – Roger Clark	1	0%
Dealer – Spencer Beck	2	1%
Dealer – SplashPage Art	1	0%
Dealer – Steven Wyatt	2	1%
Dealer – Vincent Zurzolo	1	0%
Direct	145	57%
eBay	26	10%
Gift	6	2%
Heritage	1	0%
Hero Initiative	5	2%
IDW	3	1%
Kickstarter	19	7%
Private Purchase	6	2%
Total	254

Why do I have a feeling your desk is absolutely neat and organized?