Are OA prices out of control? 7 7

[Gary Strange]

I haven’t looked at original comic art in a couple years, I’ll admit, but I watched a video or two on YouTube from the OA art show down in Orlando and the asking prices on interior pages and roughs seems astronomical. Looks to me like $300-500 art is now priced at $2000 or better. What’s going on????

[vodou]

On 5/28/2024 at 1:49 PM, Gary Strange said:

What’s going on????

Inflation; heard of it? 

[tth2]

[Fischb1]

On 5/28/2024 at 1:49 PM, Gary Strange said:

I haven’t looked at original comic art in a couple years, I’ll admit, but I watched a video or two on YouTube from the OA art show down in Orlando and the asking prices on interior pages and roughs seems astronomical. Looks to me like $300-500 art is now priced at $2000 or better. What’s going on????

As the hobby grows and the really good stuff becomes very hard to make someone move, the next stuff down also grows in price (supply and demand). Some stuff will move temporarily (caution here), and some stuff will move permanently. The game is either A) Figure out which is which or, B) Just buy what you love!

Edited May 28 by Fischb1

[MAR1979]

warning broad generalization below.

For Published pre 1990 Marvel and certain DC; It was never a hobby for the "poor", but now it's a hobby only for the "wealthy"

Yeah folks when you have $2500 a pop to spend not using credit on Spidey Super Story panel pages you are wealthy in relation to the USA median income.

 

Edited May 28 by MAR1979

[vodou]

On 5/28/2024 at 4:10 PM, MAR1979 said:

For Published pre 1990 Marvel and certain DC; It was never a hobby for the "poor", but now it's a hobby only for the "wealthy"

It was in the 1990s. 80s Marvel was dirt cheap, covers for a few hundred, splashes for 100-150, panel pages for well under a hundred.

[MyNameIsLegion]

in 2000 I could buy Philippine Studio artists output for DC by the linear foot, same for Archie art.

[MAR1979]

On 5/28/2024 at 4:30 PM, vodou said:

It was in the 1990s. 80s Marvel was dirt cheap, covers for a few hundred, splashes for 100-150, panel pages for well under a hundred.

You removed my disclaimer in your quoting; "warning broad generalization below" 

[vodou]

On 5/28/2024 at 4:48 PM, MAR1979 said:

You removed my disclaimer in your quoting; "warning broad generalization below" 

Redundant; this entire board, every post is "that" 

[Will_K]

At least in the last year or so, wasn't there a lot of discussion that during Covid, nostalgia was strong in driving demand (and prices) ?  I think that was especially true for lower priced tiers where a $ 500 page was going for double or triple.  Bidding from home makes it easy.

[1classics]

I would argue most everything in the last few years or from pre-covid has gotten out of hand not just OA prices. Remember when it used to cost $10 for a decent lunch? Now try $20 buy in on up for a decent lunch. I don't wanna even get into going out for a decent dinner LOL. Same analogy applies for a lot of good and services, especially in collectibles.

And I believe it was already mentioned above, the bigger issue is everyone thinks their piece is now worth a hell of a lot more, or will likely never be able to get another piece from that run or artist, so they're less likely to sell, or if they are for a much higher price and comps move up dramatically at times. If you look at the OA market 5 years ago, yikes. 10 years ago and wow what a deal, but then again lunch was a good deal then too LOL! 

[Dr. Balls]

There is an ocean of overpriced pages, but you gotta put on them goggles and dive around for the gems. I can only speak to my collecting focus: there are *normal* priced pieces out there, but they are difficult to suss out with all the other stuff. I enjoy the hunt and detective work.

[Michael Browning]

You're talking about a hobby where the buy-in for a good piece of art is $1000. But, back when I started in the 1990s, paying $100 for a page was like paying $5000 because I was making much less. I bought an LB Cole page for $110 on eBay and had to borrow the extra $10 from my parents plus a couple dollars for the money order. As time has gone on, art prices have gone up, but everything else has, too.

Many of us are not wealthy, but, have tried to be smart with our cash and have moved other collectibles to buy OA. I bought a fairly significant golden age comic book collection on a $3.45 minimum wage job buying a $20 book each month, then buying a $50 after I got bumped to $4 an hour and then a $100 book as I got another raise and the I went to a $700 book when I started making $8.50 an hour. That was BIG money back then. After awhile, I had a large collection. I sold it all off to buy original art and I'm still selling off my silver age comics collection and my huge collection of graphic novels and buying art with that.

[Rick2you2]

On 5/28/2024 at 1:49 PM, Gary Strange said:

I haven’t looked at original comic art in a couple years, I’ll admit, but I watched a video or two on YouTube from the OA art show down in Orlando and the asking prices on interior pages and roughs seems astronomical. Looks to me like $300-500 art is now priced at $2000 or better. What’s going on????

If you buy popular artists or subjects, the price has gone up a good deal. But, that doesn’t make in “better”. A lot of the pricing is a function of nostalgia, not necessarily “quality”. But, if you don’t plan to sell pages, and then use the proceeds to buy more expensive pages, it really doesn’t matter very much. 

[Gary Strange]

On 5/28/2024 at 5:24 PM, Rick2you2 said:

If you buy popular artists or subjects, the price has gone up a good deal. But, that doesn’t make in “better”. A lot of the pricing is a function of nostalgia, not necessarily “quality”. But, if you don’t plan to sell pages, and then use the proceeds to buy more expensive pages, it really doesn’t matter very much. 

But a random John Ridgeway mid eighties Marvel interior page with a $2700 price tag? That seems downright ridiculous. 

Edited May 28 by Gary Strange

[Michael Browning]

On 5/28/2024 at 7:48 PM, Gary Strange said:

But a random John Ridgeway interior page with a $2700? That seems downright ridiculous. 

I will sell you a very good John Ridgway twice-up for much less than that. Seriously. I don't know his market that well and I would have to believe that Ridgway's work isn't in extremely high demand, so, unless it's some major key issue that he drew, then, yes, $2700 for a Ridgway page seems ridiculous.

[Readcomix]

On 5/28/2024 at 7:48 PM, Gary Strange said:

But a random John Ridgeway mid eighties Marvel interior page with a $2700 price tag? That seems downright ridiculous. 

There’s a Dr Who magazine page on eBay right now for just under $400. (I don’t know the seller; heck I never even heard of John Ridgway until you mentioned him, so I got curious.) Hope this helps.

[John E.]

The slogan I’m campaigning on this election cycle is

“It’s the flippers, doofus.”

[Xatari]

On 5/28/2024 at 3:14 PM, Michael Browning said:

I sold it all off to buy original art and I'm still selling off my silver age comics collection and my huge collection of graphic novels and buying art with that.

Same.  Pre-pandemic I was after the rarest and highest grade comics I could afford.  When I got into art four years ago, I saw a very small window of buying opportunity, so I literally sold everything I could around the house that I had collected throughout my life... sneakers, comics, video games, action figures, and even a 90s Acura NSX then rolled everything I could afford into first appearance art.  My friends (especially those who were into cars) thought I was absolutely nuts and tried to talk me out of it.  

 No NSX, but I do have a first appearance page of Yelena Belova on an NSX.  Good enough for me.

https://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=1772420

[Rick2you2]

On 5/28/2024 at 8:02 PM, Readcomix said:

There’s a Dr Who magazine page on eBay right now for just under $400. (I don’t know the seller; heck I never even heard of John Ridgway until you mentioned him, so I got curious.) Hope this helps.

Same here. CAF has a nice page for $500 with the Spectre on it.