OA Collecting Goals for 2023 1 1

[Xatari]

On 4/5/2023 at 10:21 PM, Xatari said:

Three months in... I failed.

There's always next year.

I continue to fail in epic fashion. Who knew people would get scared and continue to unearth insane pieces?

[Ricksneatstuff]

I started this year with these goals:

Watterson published 

Raymond published

Wrightson published 

Two out of three ain’t bad, and the year isn’t over.  

[Aahz]

These next few auctions are not going to help with the "not going to spend" goal.

[Rick2you2]

I broke my promise to myself after buying a big piece (for me at least) in March, and still bought a bunch of little ones afterward. I remain annoyed that budgeting cost me a prelim to Animal Man 26 (I doubt I would buy the final if it ever came up). But, those little ones included some gems which make me happy. Still would like to end the year with a bang. So would my better half.

[KirbyCollector]

Spent the year collecting whatever caught my eye, high or low. It was fun, but I am going to spend 2024 unwinding my older pieces to raise cash. If what I think happens will happen with the economy, 2024 will be analogous to 2008 -- meaning there will be tremendous opportunities to buy everything (real estate especially) at a discount in 2025 and for a few years afterward. 

Edited November 3, 2023 by KirbyCollector

[vodou]

On 11/3/2023 at 8:14 AM, KirbyCollector said:

If what I think happens will happen with the economy, 2024 will be analogous to 2008 -- meaning there will be tremendous opportunities to buy everything (real estate especially) at a discount in 2025 and for a few years afterward. 

Worse. 2008 was nothing, but 2024 is also nothing-lite.

[Rick2you2]

On 11/3/2023 at 8:14 AM, KirbyCollector said:

Spent the year collecting whatever caught my eye, high or low. It was fun, but I am going to spend 2024 unwinding my older pieces to raise cash. If what I think happens will happen with the economy, 2024 will be analogous to 2008 -- meaning there will be tremendous opportunities to buy everything (real estate especially) at a discount in 2025 and for a few years afterward. 

I think 2024 will be a mixed bag. Reasonably solid positive economic growth through April, slight down, stable thereafter (unless there is a major war). There is no reason for a crash. Commercial real estate will even stabilize.

[Xatari]

I agree on the CRE side. I work in that space, and companies want their people to be back at the office instead of remote. Because the labor market has cooled and several companies have had layoffs, prospective employees can’t be as demanding about work from home as in the past two years. 

[jjonahjameson11]

On 12/7/2022 at 7:59 AM, jjonahjameson11 said:

1. To grow the good by  Continuing to purchase one or two significant covers.

2.  Had a great opportunity to pick up a MCSPIDEY cover in 2022, but a friend really wanted it and asked me to stay in the sidelines to avoid a bidding war. And so I did, reluctantly, and unfortunately for the seller, it would have sold for at least $100K more.  Afterwards, I realized a McSpidey cover is the final missing piece in my collection, and had I bid and won, I would be done with collecting OA today.  Truly, my biggest regret in my 22 years of collecting nerdy ink on paper.  This goal would supersede goal #1

3. Sell more pages in a continued effort to build a war chest for items 1 and 2 and whittle down my collection to 4 portfolios

4. Not really a collecting goal, but I’d like to resume hosting OA get -togethers at my house with a bunch of local collectors.  It’s always fun to look at artwork by artists/titles you don’t collect, and the accompanying stories that coincide with purchases/trades thereof.  There’s some incredible OA collections in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) and I’m looking forward to seeing all of the new additions post-COVID

1.  As much as I tried, I simply couldn’t find a decent cover at a price I was willing to pay.  I should clarify by stating that I was offered several nice covers, but I wasn’t willing to mortgage my house in order to purchase one.  A seller can ask whatever they want for their artwork, but I see a lot of them now as fisherman rather than sellers

2.  So I was offered a McSpidey cover this year.  It was a solid B+ cover from the adjectiveless run but the seller valued it far beyond rationality.  I understand these covers are rarely available and I was just happy to have the seller reach out and offer it to me.

3. EPIC. FAIL!  While I have been selling stuff throughout the year, I’ve actually accumulated 6 full portfolios of OA through purchase and trade.

4. Changed the format: small gatherings of 2-4 local collectors at restaurants, sharing artwork pickups/for sale stuff.  Worked out much better than larger gatherings where you can’t really have a good chat with everyone 

[Michael Browning]

On 11/22/2023 at 8:02 AM, jjonahjameson11 said:

1.  As much as I tried, I simply couldn’t find a decent cover at a price I was willing to pay.  I should clarify by stating that I was offered several nice covers, but I wasn’t willing to mortgage my house in order to purchase one.  A seller can ask whatever they want for their artwork, but I see a lot of them now as fisherman rather than sellers

2.  So I was offered a McSpidey cover this year.  It was a solid B+ cover from the adjectiveless run but the seller valued it far beyond rationality.  I understand these covers are rarely available and I was just happy to have the seller reach out and offer it to me.

3. EPIC. FAIL!  While I have been selling stuff throughout the year, I’ve actually accumulated 6 full portfolios of OA through purchase and trade.

4. Changed the format: small gatherings of 2-4 local collectors at restaurants, sharing artwork pickups/for sale stuff.  Worked out much better than larger gatherings where you can’t really have a good chat with everyone 

I filled six portfolios last year, but only four this year. I bought my wife a car in late September and it took a chunk out of my war chest. But, I wasn’t buying like I had in the past few years. In 2022, I filled six portfolios and found some decent deals; this year, the deals were all dried up.

I didn’t buy too many major pieces this year because I’ve mostly got what I wanted and collectors who paid way too much in 2021 and 2022 for art were looking to make a profit and it was at prices I just couldn’t afford. Even when I had the cash for a piece like the Ghost Rider #70 cover by Budiansky, I didn’t want to pay $21,000+ to get it back (I owned it 20 years ago). It’s a great cover and I’m the biggest Budiansky fan, but, if I needed to sell it, getting my cash back would have been nigh impossible and I don’t take selling at a loss lightly. (I dropped a quarter in the checkout line at a Books-A-Million back in 2006 and was talking with a guy in the line and forgot to pick it up and I still have nightmares about that lost quarter…)

I never set any goals for the upcoming year. I just buy what I like and what I can afford. There are still deals out there and I hope to buy my 2,000th piece of art in 2024, but, I still don’t have any goals to meet.

BTW, I love the idea of smaller meetups. It’s more personal and you can talk and enjoy the time with other art collectors and wheel and deal a little. I would love to do that with some of my Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia friends.

[vodou]

On 11/22/2023 at 8:56 AM, Michael Browning said:

(I dropped a quarter in the checkout line at a Books-A-Million back in 2006 and was talking with a guy in the line and forgot to pick it up and I still have nightmares about that lost quarter…)

A true LOL moment I just had reading this; me too but different store(s) and year(s); PTSD inducing for sure, thanks for sharing 😉

[vodou]

On 11/22/2023 at 8:56 AM, Michael Browning said:

…and I hope to buy my 2,000th piece of art in 2024

This reminds me of a question I’ve had for a while, with prices being where they are and have been the last ten years, along with the steep price increase trajectory, large collections are harder to build and hold together…what is the largest piece count private collection(s) (not dealer inventory) known?

I’maware of at least one exceeding 10,000 and probably closer to 12 or 13,000 pieces.

[Aahz]

On 11/23/2023 at 2:04 AM, vodou said:

This reminds me of a question I’ve had for a while, with prices being where they are and have been the last ten years, along with the steep price increase trajectory, large collections are harder to build and hold together…what is the largest piece count private collection(s) (not dealer inventory) known?

I’maware of at least one exceeding 10,000 and probably closer to 12 or 13,000 pieces.

Honestly, I wonder how to enjoy a collection of that size.  No criticism of those that may have a collection of several thousand.  I just wonder how you can get your arms around a collection like that and appreciate each piece.

[Michael Browning]

On 11/23/2023 at 9:50 AM, Aahz said:

Honestly, I wonder how to enjoy a collection of that size.  No criticism of those that may have a collection of several thousand.  I just wonder how you can get your arms around a collection like that and appreciate each piece.

I love all the art that I have. I don't have much framed and hanging on the walls. I have a Frazetta oil and two Frazetta drawings, a Tom Yeates Saga of the Swamp Thing cover, the Mike Okamoto Lost in Space 1 cover painting, a Teri S. Wood Swamp Thing painting, another Okamoto cover painting, a He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Magazine comic page and, my favorite piece in my collection, the Bob Larkin Crystar #1 cover painting. The rest all stay in portfolios that I look through quite often. I like to take time to look through them, enjoying each and every piece from time to time.

[Xatari]

I remember thinking at one point early on, “Can you imagine owning 10 key pieces of original art?” Fast forward a few years and five portfolios later…

However, like Michael above, I do regularly flip through the art I store in portfolios and enjoy them immensely. A few pieces are on loan to different exhibits, and I also love seeing these on display in a public setting so many more may enjoy them. I love watching the reactions of others when they engage with these pieces for the first time. Such a cool experience! 

[Brian Peck]

On 12/7/2022 at 1:25 PM, Brian Peck said:

Kirby Red Skull page

Charles Addams cartoon

Edward Gory drawings

Enemy Ace page by Joe Kubert

Shadow Strikes cover by Eduardo Barreto 

I didn’t achieve any of my collecting goals that I listed for 2023
But I did acquire two pieces which met goals of previous collecting years that included

Bob Kane artwork

 

 

Gil Kane page featuring Morbius not from ASN but a minor series

Giant Size Super-Heroes #1

 

[cloud cloddie]

On 12/9/2022 at 8:56 PM, cloud cloddie said:

My goals remain mostly the same. Keep looking for pages from a few specific books. There’s a higher ticket piece I’ve been wanting, and I think 2023 is the year I try to pry it loose from a collector. 

Found 1 page to a book I’m working on, so progress is progress. Made an offer a few weeks ago for the higher ticket item, worked out a price, and picked it up from FedEx today. So overall good year.