OA Investments BARELY meeting Inflation?

[Issa]

I'm finding it harder and harder to collect valuable pieces of OA. For me, OA collecting is both fun and an investment. I like to think that my OA piece appreciates at least 3% each year to match inflation. However, I'm finding such pieces to be priced anywhere from $5,000 to $20,000. (No thanks to Albert Moy's incredibly inane prices). Being a 22 year-old engineer, just out college and making about $60k/year, I'm finding it difficult to make OA investments that will yield the slightest positive return.

 

My question is: Are there OA pieces for under $2,000 that can possibly appreciate moderately over the next 5, 10 or 15 years? If so, which artists do you envision to be most valuable? For example, I have an Andy Kubert, Wolverine DPS which I'm very happy to own. However, I'm not 100% sure how Andy's Kubert's future work will translate into profit for myself and my OA piece.

 

-Issa

[Big Daddy]

So you don't collect for the pleasure of it?

 

[Hawkman]

that's what i thought. forget investments. buy what you love. buy stocks, bonds, LAND or just put money in a savings account if you want investments. buy comics, OA, etc because you love what you're buying. if it increases in value, cool. if not, so what, you love it.

[Issa]

Don't get me wrong. I love, LOVE OA. At the same time, I like to think that my OA piece at least maintains its value over time. Especially as some pieces exceed $10,000. It amazes me, sometimes.

 

-Issa

[mrpunch0]

I've never spent CLOSE to 10K and I like to think I've got a nice little collection.

 

The only time money even crosses my mind on a piece is when buying an expensive piece I ask myself - "Self. If you HAD to sell this in a year to finance an organ transplant – could you get back what you're about to pay for it?" If the answer is no, then I don't buy it.

 

Unless I really, really like it.

 

There is no "sure thing" when it comes to OA as an investment. Romita, Kirby and Ditko are already expensive. (Will they go up? Maybe. But I'm not spending that kind of money just to try to make a few bucks.) As for current artists - many have priced thier work on the high end, because collectors will pay it.

 

If you want a sure thing OA investment - your best bet is to "catch a rising star" while they are still selling cheap or nab one of those eBay auctions where someone mistakenly lists a Kirby cover under "knitting accessories."

[artdealer]

Never buy OA as an inveesment. It can and most of the time, will come back to bite you in the butt.

If anyone knew if OA was going to go up in price, you could start your own psychic network.

Buy what you like and don't look so hard for investments!

 

Mitch Itkowitz

Graphic Collectibles

[Kevin76]

I collect art this way....I buy my favorite artist and buy what that artist is famous for and try to get the best example of it...For example,I like Jim Lee and Jim Lee is famous for his X-Men work,So I would try and find the best example of his X-men that I could afford.

[helionaut]

Early work by artists who will be superstars next year, or a key page from the first appearance of an iconic character or special event, which is just as hard to predict as the mainstream fine art market. I'm still kicking myself for not buying the Marvel Zombies 'Hank-Pym-bites-Wasp's-head-off' page for $300 or so, or the many other nice pages for under $200. That page I'm sure would sell for much more than $306 today.

 

But if buying for investment, stick to the same rules as any other art or collectible. Buy the highest quality of the biggest name you can afford. Quality wins out in the end, but nothing is guaranteed.

[WOXL]

If you want a sure thing OA investment - your best bet is to "catch a rising star" while they are still selling cheap or nab one of those eBay auctions where someone mistakenly lists a Kirby cover under "knitting accessories."

 

I'm pretty new to the field but completely agree with this advice. I've been buying relatively inexpensive pieces of favorite NEW characters by my favorite modern modern (i.e. got started in the late 90s) artists. Some of these characters may take off and these early appearances could be worth something someday or they could be killed off tomorrow and the pieces worth nothing. I've found myself finding a whole new dimension to my comic enjoyment when buying pieces like this - nothing gets you to care about a character's future like having real money invested in them

 

Someday I'd like to own a big $10k piece by one of the all-time greats. But I also hope that I'm rich as an abusive pimp so the money isn't such a big deal to me then. If the value were a large percentage of my income, I think I would be constantly worried about its value and that would get in the way of my love for the piece.

 

-Bob

[Artemaria]

I collect art this way....I buy my favorite artist and buy what that artist is famous for and try to get the best example of it...For example,I like Jim Lee and Jim Lee is famous for his X-Men work,So I would try and find the best example of his X-men that I could afford.

 

This is a good compromise between buying what you love and buying for investment. If you love the artist, then you won't feel as bad if their stuff tanks because they are not the "artist of the minute" anymore.

 

Another thing to consider is just buying stuff you like, but keep it reasonable. If there is an image you find compelling, then there is a decent chance that others may find that image compelling as well. If your page is by someone who is not all that well known, but it is a great page, then you might be able to get it for not alot of money, so you won't feel so bad if it doesn't appreciate all that much.

 

I've not been doing this all that long, but I feel that buying this stuff as an investment is just too difficult. It is more volatile than the stock market and I believe if you buy a hot artist in his prime (see Albert Moy's prices on Jim Lee covers) it will be rather hard to get your money back unless you hold onto it for a long time. If you love the cover, however, then you will have years of enjoyment of looking at it on your wall.

 

Good luck!

[Pirate]

I'm finding it harder and harder to collect valuable pieces of OA. For me, OA collecting is both fun and an investment. I like to think that my OA piece appreciates at least 3% each year to match inflation. However, I'm finding such pieces to be priced anywhere from $5,000 to $20,000. (No thanks to Albert Moy's incredibly inane prices). Being a 22 year-old engineer, just out college and making about $60k/year, I'm finding it difficult to make OA investments that will yield the slightest positive return.

 

My question is: Are there OA pieces for under $2,000 that can possibly appreciate moderately over the next 5, 10 or 15 years? If so, which artists do you envision to be most valuable? For example, I have an Andy Kubert, Wolverine DPS which I'm very happy to own. However, I'm not 100% sure how Andy's Kubert's future work will translate into profit for myself and my OA piece.

 

-Issa

 

that's krazy talk

[snappahead]

The comments about collecting what you love and all the other phrases that are used ad nauseum when the subject of investment is brought up are all well and good, but I'm sure everyone at least thinks about it any time they buy a piece. I mean, when plunking down what you consider big money, it's impossible not to think about it. I find it harder to pay big dollars for modern art, but don't think twice when it's older stuff. I don't know why, but it's just me. It seems like older stuff is more secure or something. I may be kidding myself, but like the rest of you, I buy what floats my boat first and worry about investment second. Doesn't mean I don't think about the future though. Nothing wrong with that. Like many, I think about investment if for no other reason, than for purposes of trade or sale toward a new piece down the line. I think it's a good thing to consider these things before pulling the trigger. Whether it's a $100 page or a $2000 cover.

[Artemaria]

Of course you think about it. Maybe tomorrow you wake up, and your girlfriend who got you into comics breaks up with you, and you decide you hate comics and want to sell all of your OA. You don't want to lose your shirt.

 

Unexpected stuff happens, so you can't be a *spoon* about stuff. Especially at today's prices.

 

So everybody thinks about it.

 

However, if you buy something that really does not appeal to your aesthetics, but you buy it strictly for investment purposes (let's say a Ditko Spidey page - some of which are neither dynamic, nor impressive). And then the market falls out on those pages. Then you are stuck with it.

 

I would wager you would feel worse with that decision than you would if you bought something you really liked (let's say a Byrne X-men page) and the market fell out, you'd sit there and say, well, I still like it. And it hangs on your wall and it makes you smile, and that has some value. So, you're still stuck with it, but it doesn't bother you in the way the red-headed stepchild (or page you don't care for) does.

 

That's why people say this ad nauseum. Because it's true.

[snappahead]

Artemaria, are you talking to me? Cause I was agreeing with that stuff. Just saying that some people act like they don't even consider the investment side of things, when you know they do...or at least should. I'm totally small time. That means anything I buy is bought strictly cause I want it and not cause it's investment potential. I don't believe anyone is in this hobby strictly for investment. That'd be pointless.

[Sharkey]

 

However, if you buy something that really does not appeal to your aesthetics, but you buy it strictly for investment purposes (let's say a Ditko Spidey page - some of which are neither dynamic, nor impressive). And then the market falls out on those pages. Then you are stuck with it.

 

Villain, thou speaketh blasphemy!!!!

 

 

Seriously though, I agree with the sentiment of buying what you like, from artists that you love. I've owned pages by Ditko that some people seemed to view with disdain because they were inked by others, not pure Ditko, but I loved them just the same because they were pencilled by Ditko. I did not care if they appreciated in value or not. Of course they did, and I traded them for a really spectacular piece, so in the end everybody was happy in Whosville....

[westform]

I don't believe anyone is in this hobby strictly for investment. That'd be pointless.

 

I believe that there are many in this hobby strickly for the investment, especially now that the $'s have gotten so big. I also think you can make good money in the hobby as an investment, but I have seen many new comer investors in the hobby asking for my advice or simply jumping in who just don't know the finer points of the hobby and end up getting badly burned and jumping ship rather quickly... after all, a Kirby page is not a kirby page is not a Byrne page is not a byrne page. Every piece is unique aestically and many investors do not have an 'eye' for it, nor do they care to take the time to acquire one....

[Artemaria]

Artemaria, are you talking to me?

 

Yes.

 

Cause I was agreeing with that stuff.

 

I'm glad we agree.

 

I'm totally small time. That means anything I buy is bought strictly cause I want it and not cause it's investment potential.

 

This describes my current status exactly. I don't know whether or if it will change.

 

I don't believe anyone is in this hobby strictly for investment. That'd be pointless.

 

As for this last part, I just don't know. Where there's alot of money flying around, it seems to attract a great number of "investors." I don't know enough about this hobby just yet to tell who is what. I do know enough to tell that Westform (see above) seems to have a pretty good handle on things.

[snappahead]

Thanks for the input Westform. To me, that's just amazing to hear. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised since the "fine art" world isn't much different, but it still surprises me to hear that. It's hard to picture big money people coming to this hobby to make investments strictly for investment sake. Oh well. I guess it doesn't hurt the hobby at this point.

 

I hear you Artemaria. My small time status probably won't ever change. I'm cool with that. As long as the hobby doesn't grow beyond me means, I can still have fun even with my meager spending ability. I doubt that'll ever happen.

[RaccoonRaccoon]

Some great posts here guys! I too am pretty small time but working up to spending more $$$ when the right OA comes up.

 

Unfortunately I collect Spider-Man, which is the most collected OA known to man-kind..

 

However, I have slowly and relatively cheaply (hundreds of $$) built a small collection of pages that feature Spidey and my favorite villan, the Hobgoblin. The only downside in terms of appreciation is that they are from second tier titles like Web of Spider-Man and the like. I only have one or two pages from ASM. It is possible to collect any title within your means, just be patient and set your expectation level right.

 

On another note, I too get put off when people act like the "I" word (investment) is a bad thing. People collect for many different reasons and if investing is one reason so be it.

[Jesusjon]

Here's my take on the topic:

 

Yes, buy what you love. But what you love can change, and your art then becomes a commodity to be sold or traded to acquire what you love *now*.

 

Cash eliminates the need for "multiple coincidences at once" to occur for you to swap art for art, naturally. So after two years in the hobby, I've now found it important to be very aware of the investment potential of the art I buy. Because, hey, I'm so flighty!

 

Additionally, there are many paths to great art. You'll notice some of the biggest dealers/collectors around have an impressive array of "trade stock" which they don't really love but are always willing to add to in the hopes it could translate someday into something they're looking for. "Investment" isn't all about getting $$$$ out of your art at a later date. Sometimes it's just about "trading up" your collection!!

 

J