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Dear Dealers, Quit buying art off auction sites and ebay and telling us you got it in a trade
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13 posts in this topic

On 5/25/2023 at 11:45 AM, Matches_Malone said:

This one?

image.thumb.png.8f533d8ae508dd500b24e14ae404ab15.png

Yup- it was traded to him at c2e2

another piece from the Adam Kubert claim sale on caf was almost immediately traded to him . So it is definitely happening. And I’m sure if it is happening to him , burkey is getting the same thing. Keeps flippers anonymous without being shamed lol 

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On 5/25/2023 at 3:34 PM, Dr. Balls said:

I always figured it was better business to buy cheap, sit on it for awhile, then throw it out there - doing it a month after the last auction sale seems counterproductive to driving up hype for the sale.

In one case (not on DD), I was 2nd highest bidder on a piece that went for $260 on an auction site, it shows up a month later on a live show for almost 3x the hammer price. I’d probably have given up 20%-30% especially right after the auction (I’ve done this on HA for a piece I really wanted) - but no way am I going to get bent over on it. There’s plenty of art to chase in the $500-2500 price range. I don’t know if other people walk away from stuff like this, but I generally do.

Even with live shows, it’s only 20-30 seconds to do some price comparisons. I understand dealers make money on bigger pieces to pay for smaller ones that sit - but the curtain has been pulled back and we see how some of the magic works.

I am almost exclusively looking on auction sites now, I just don’t want to pay the huge markups dealers are asking for on pieces that sell for much less a month or two previous.

But sometimes, stuff which has been sitting in a dealer’s pile somewhere gets put up for auction, and the price shoots up. And don’t forget to tap artists who are working; they save stuff not just because they don’t want to let anything go (some of which I have really wanted), but just don’t seem to be into marketing. 

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On 5/26/2023 at 12:21 AM, Rick2you2 said:

But sometimes, stuff which has been sitting in a dealer’s pile somewhere gets put up for auction, and the price shoots up. 

Very true.

I think collectors get complacent about art sitting unsold on dealers' sites, even if the initial interest might be there, but when the same art reaches auction it becomes make-or-break time for potentially interested buyers - who are then spurred into action.

I had a Ditko cover up for sale over a period of time with no buyers at my asking price.  Put it up for auction a few years back and the hammer price exceeded my ask price when I had it up for personal sale.

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I called Mike on the Jim Calafiore Spider-Woman commission that he put yesterday for sale for more than 3 times what it sold. I am not sure it was him that bought it off ebay but if he didn't someone was wise enought o flip it to him immediately for a profit. 

Prices on that show are getting ludicrous but it is mostly potentialed by collectors. If they wouldn't sell anything then I am sure the show would die like Glen, Will and Bichara's show which wasn't succesful or at least they would be willing to lower there prices more drastically in order to get those sales. As an example I can site the jam Anthony had yesterday for $1,400 he lowered his price to I think $1,100 but I wasn't willing to go that high but someone else nabbed it for that price. I honestly don't like to overpay so it's why I continously do research on current market prices. 

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Dueling dealers is pretty successful - a lot of material that was available at CAL was nicer and relatively less expensive and no one bites but on DD, almost anything nice gets picked up if the price isn't silly. After buying a piece and seeing it had been sold on HA for quite a bit less not long before, I often check to see if a piece was a recent auction pickup - not that it really matters but psychologically it does.

 

 

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