Insight on Dealer Trade-ins 1 1

[Dr. Balls]

We’ve all seen the artwork that perhaps didn’t sell on Ebay by a private seller that ended up on a dealers site for a higher price. I’m not going to lay out any specifics, and this isn’t meant to be a thread to vilify dealers. 

I’m curious to hear from people who have made trades to dealers (no specifics are required): 

Let’s say you’re asking $1000 for a piece of art, but it’s not moving. You trade it to a dealer who then posts it for $2000. Did you get $1000 in trade for something else in their stock? Did you trade it for less than $1000?

[Dr. Balls]

[JC25427N]

I've done a trade-in once with a dealer, it wasn't a piece I was actively selling but something I offered up since the piece I was trying to get from them was by the same artist as the piece I was offering for trade, got trade in value equal to the amount I paid for it (I'd bought it about one year ago), then they listed it for 33% more. So, pleasant experience I'd say.

Edit: This was with Glen from PanelPageArt

Edited November 20, 2023 by JC25427N

[Mickey7]

I've actually done several, what I would consider, successful trades with dealers.  Most of the time the negotiations went very well and I got fair value in trade.  Maybe a couple times I traded something knowing I left a little money on the table.  But, that was giving something up I had less affinity for than the item I acquired.  Sure I've seen a few of my pieces show up at higher markups than expected, but I've not regretted the deals at all. 

[mtlevy1]

What dealers did you trade with that provided the positive experiences mentioned - I am sure positive feedback will be ok to share?

[Mickey7]

I've had good experiences trading/buying with Bechara, Albert Moy, and Anthony Snyder.  Not a 100% success rate, but I've acquired some nice items doing deals with them.  I especially like chatting with Bechara, and he always has stuff not on his website.  

[Unstoppablejayd]

I’ve made trades with most of the bigger dealers (Burkey Anthony Moy Bechara even one of the Bros) happy with all of the deals but each is different some you are getting the least value (Moy) some close to ask/value if reasonable (burkey / Anthony) some you have to trade like for like to get the value (Bechara and the Bros).. but with each it takes some finesse and understanding in the negotiations. Not sure you can really quantify a hard and fast number. 

[Dr. Balls]

On 11/20/2023 at 9:48 PM, Unstoppablejayd said:

I’ve made trades with most of the bigger dealers (Burkey Anthony Moy Bechara even one of the Bros) happy with all of the deals but each is different some you are getting the least value (Moy) some close to ask/value if reasonable (burkey / Anthony) some you have to trade like for like to get the value (Bechara and the Bros).. but with each it takes some finesse and understanding in the negotiations. Not sure you can really quantify a hard and fast number. 

Very true. I imagine it also depends a lot on what you are trading for with the dealers. I appreciate everyone's input! I've got a small pile of pages I'll probably be looking at parting with next year, nothing monumental, but collectively they are sellable pieces - just stuff that doesn't fit my collecting focus in hopes to trade for one piece that does fit my focus, and I have never done a art-for-art dealer trade. I've dealt with Mike and Anthony frequently with great results, they'd probably be my first approach.

Edited November 22, 2023 by Dr. Balls

[Michael Browning]

On 11/22/2023 at 10:19 AM, Dr. Balls said:

Very true. I imagine it also depends a lot on what you are trading for with the dealers. I appreciate everyone's input! I've got a small pile of pages I'll probably be looking at parting with next year, nothing monumental, but collectively they are sellable pieces - just stuff that doesn't fit my collecting focus in hopes to trade for one piece that does fit my focus, and I have never done a art-for-art dealer trade. I've dealt with Mike and Anthony frequently with great results, they'd probably be my first approach.

Keep this in mind: Dealers say it's easier to sell one big piece than it is to sell several lower-priced pieces. That's been told to me several times over the 25 years I've been collecting and, although art I've tried to trade up for has sat for many years on some dealers' sites while my smaller pages sold almost immediately upon me putting them up for sale, that's generally the rule they go by.

Here's another tip: Dealers don't often like to trade one, big piece of Marvel art for a bunch of DC art. I know there are those who don't believe Marvel art sells better and higher than DC art, but it sure does.

When making a trade with a dealer, you also have to give a little extra, because, unless your piece is a Todd McFarlane ASM cover and you're offering to trade it for a Murphy Anderson Mystery in Space cover of equal value (is that even possible? Nah, I'm just saying, is all) a straight-up trade rarely works. They're not in this to trade piece for piece and dollar for dollar. So, think about what the incentive to trade with you would be for a dealer and go at it from that angle.

Nowadays, dealers aren't easy to trade with. Back in the good old days of the late-1990s and early-2000s, dealers were a lot more fun to deal with and they were often open to trades. Now, not so much.

Trades can be a lot of fun. I get the itch once or twice a year to try to make a trade, and have made many trades in the past, but I don't think I've made one at all this year.

 

[Unstoppablejayd]

On 11/22/2023 at 12:05 PM, Michael Browning said:

Keep this in mind: Dealers say it's easier to sell one big piece than it is to sell several lower-priced pieces. That's been told to me several times over the 25 years I've been collecting and, although art I've tried to trade up for has sat for many years on some dealers' sites while my smaller pages sold almost immediately upon me putting them up for sale, that's generally the rule they go by.

Here's another tip: Dealers don't often like to trade one, big piece of Marvel art for a bunch of DC art. I know there are those who don't believe Marvel art sells better and higher than DC art, but it sure does.

When making a trade with a dealer, you also have to give a little extra, because, unless your piece is a Todd McFarlane ASM cover and you're offering to trade it for a Murphy Anderson Mystery in Space cover of equal value (is that even possible? Nah, I'm just saying, is all) a straight-up trade rarely works. They're not in this to trade piece for piece and dollar for dollar. So, think about what the incentive to trade with you would be for a dealer and go at it from that angle.

Nowadays, dealers aren't easy to trade with. Back in the good old days of the late-1990s and early-2000s, dealers were a lot more fun to deal with and they were often open to trades. Now, not so much.

Trades can be a lot of fun. I get the itch once or twice a year to try to make a trade, and have made many trades in the past, but I don't think I've made one at all this year.

 

You haven’t???? 

[Unstoppablejayd]

On 11/22/2023 at 10:19 AM, Dr. Balls said:

Very true. I imagine it also depends a lot on what you are trading for with the dealers. I appreciate everyone's input! I've got a small pile of pages I'll probably be looking at parting with next year, nothing monumental, but collectively they are sellable pieces - just stuff that doesn't fit my collecting focus in hopes to trade for one piece that does fit my focus, and I have never done a art-for-art dealer trade. I've dealt with Mike and Anthony frequently with great results, they'd probably be my first approach.

If you are looking to move a bunch of pieces - I can’t recommend enough talking to Bill about doing an amateur dueling dealers  … it’s loads of fun and you can get pieces to collectors and make lots of connections! 

[Dr. Balls]

On 11/22/2023 at 10:37 AM, Unstoppablejayd said:

If you are looking to move a bunch of pieces - I can’t recommend enough talking to Bill about doing an amateur dueling dealers  … it’s loads of fun and you can get pieces to collectors and make lots of connections! 

That might be kind of fun, I’d have no problem doing that. I guess we’ll see what I have to part with in the coming months and find out if it’s DD worthy!

[Michael Browning]

On 11/22/2023 at 12:35 PM, Unstoppablejayd said:

You haven’t???? 

🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

Oh yeah, I have made a trade this year! My apologies! We made a great trade that was good for both of us and I am so appreciative of you doing that! (Man, my memory is terrible.)

I haven’t made a trade with a dealer this year, though. 😉

[John E.]

On 11/22/2023 at 11:35 AM, Unstoppablejayd said:

You haven’t???? 

On 11/22/2023 at 2:07 PM, Michael Browning said:

🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

Oh yeah, I have made a trade this year! My apologies! We made a great trade that was good for both of us and I am so appreciative of you doing that! (Man, my memory is terrible.)

I haven’t made a trade with a dealer this year, though. 😉

 

[J.Sid]

Success rate goes up greatly if you target pieces that have been on the dealer's website for a while (1+years).

Edited November 27, 2023 by J.Sid
typo

[Michael Browning]

On 11/27/2023 at 1:40 PM, J.Sid said:

Success rate goes up greatly if you target pieces that have been on the dealer's website for a while (1+years).

That is 100% true. If they can't sell it and think they can sell your pieces easier, it makes the trade easier.

[Dr. Balls]

On 11/27/2023 at 11:40 AM, J.Sid said:

Success rate goes up greatly if you target pieces that have been on the dealer's website for a while (1+years).

 

On 11/27/2023 at 11:55 AM, Michael Browning said:

That is 100% true. If they can't sell it and think they can sell your pieces easier, it makes the trade easier.

That's a solid plan. I'm not expecting to trade a small pile of stuff for a Jim Lee piece, I'm just hoping to trade some off-focus stuff for a piece that fits in my collection better.

[timguerrero]

I've done a couple of trades with Mike Burkey and overall I was satisfied with the results on both ocassions. I did 1 deal with Anthony in order to pay for a DD win and wasn't really happy with that deal. Since I already owed Anthony I think he might have taken advantage of that when pricing the art I gave him in exchange but it is what it is.

[Unstoppablejayd]

On 11/28/2023 at 12:31 PM, timguerrero said:

I've done a couple of trades with Mike Burkey and overall I was satisfied with the results on both ocassions. I did 1 deal with Anthony in order to pay for a DD win and wasn't really happy with that deal. Since I already owed Anthony I think he might have taken advantage of that when pricing the art I gave him in exchange but it is what it is.

Interesting- you say he “took advantage” - how do you mean? 
 

if you didn’t like his evaluation why didn’t you just pay cash for your commitment then? 

[timguerrero]

On 11/28/2023 at 1:54 PM, Unstoppablejayd said:

Interesting- you say he “took advantage” - how do you mean? 
 

if you didn’t like his evaluation why didn’t you just pay cash for your commitment then? 

I'm sure it would have been different if I had shown the art before owing him money already. And I didn't pay cash because I didn't want to. I am continously monitoring auctions and sale prices for art so I think I have a good grasp on what a piece is worth.

Edited November 30, 2023 by timguerrero