OA Investments BARELY meeting Inflation?

[Thomas]

No one spends $20K on a piece and says "If it doesn't rise in value, oh well"..

 

I've got to respectfully disagree on the premise that the people buying 20k pieces are probably pretty well off and can spare that kind of money on comic art and buy it for the enjoyment of the piece the same way I do for a 300.00 page.

[Artemaria]

I buy what I like and want to hold on to. I try not to overpay for anything. I'm not worried about the money I've spent. I'm not buying to flip – so I'm not worried if my 1K piece is suddenly only going to sell for $800.

 

Cause chances are – I'm not looking to sell it anyway.

 

This is essentially the approach that I take. Buy and hold because I like it so much. Try not to overspend. So far, I've been lucky, because I feel that the few pieces I have were well priced.

 

However, my approach is about to be tested, as I've really taken to a piece that likely will cost me a good amount more than others would be willing to pay (although it is far far less than 5 digits), and from the little I understand about this market likely will not appreciate (and in fact probably will depreciate) over time. But it will look real nice in my living room.

 

Decisions. Decisions. Decisions.

[adamstrange]

No one spends $20K on a piece and says "If it doesn't rise in value, oh well"..

 

I wouldn't necessarily agree with that statement. I've spent a significant sum assembling my collection the past 5 years, including a fair number of 5-figure pieces, and investment potential has never figured into the equation. When I buy a piece, of course I want to pay a reasonable price (obviously I don't want to pay more than I have to), but what the value of the piece does post-purchase doesn't concern me that much if I am buying a piece for my own enjoyment (and, almost all of the pieces I buy fall into that category). Sure, if the value of my collection fell by 50%, I wouldn't be jumping up and down for joy, but neither would I be selling off pieces trying to recoup my money; I'd just continue to own and enjoy my collection.

 

If I buy a piece of comic art, I've already made the decision to buy something that pays no interest, dividends and that generates no cash flow. Comic OA is a niche hobby with questionable long-term demographics and characteristics that do not position the hobby well to participating in the global boom we are currently experiencing (see my post in the GS X-Men #1 page thread). So, why should I (or anyone else) be surprised if OA doesn't hold its value over time? The fact that the market has done well in the past is irrelevant to me (mean reversion, anyone???)

 

Buy what you like and only what you can really afford...it's the only way to stay sane in this hobby.

Sorry Delek, not everyone has the insane amount of cash flow you have to not be wondering if thier OA will ever make a return on thier investment.I guess that's why CGC mailes you plaques for best poster.

 

Actually, Gene's post was thoughtful and happens to mirror my own views with regards to not sweating the ROI. I'm not so certain I can predict that the downside is more likely than the upside, but that's a far cry from my believing in a degree of certainty in an upside.

 

And I find it confusing as to why you would think that Gene's comments are so helpful to CGC. Frankly, he's posted mostly pessimistic predictions of the comics hobby as a whole. If everyone followed his advice I suspect there'd be a lot less spending as people would invest in alternative assets and just spend their "mad" money on comics.

[batman_fan]

I don't even give future value a single thought when I buy art. I am sure I paid an agressive price for my most expensive page. Could I recoup what I spent or make money? I don't care, doesn't matter to me. I am certainly not rich but make a decent living but the $5k I spent was not something I had in my car coin box so it represented a reasonable investment for me.

[Issa]

I wouldn't necessarily agree with that statement. I've spent a significant sum assembling my collection the past 5 years, including a fair number of 5-figure pieces, and investment potential has never figured into the equation.

 

This is a no-brainer. If you have the ability to pay a 5-figure sum for anything at will, you shouldn't be looking at Comic Art as an investments. You can do so much more with the money.

 

However, most of us like to think that if we pay for something (for enjoyment or a otherwise), that the investment was worthwhile. Of course, this cannot necessarily be measure objectively.....I don't know how to respond to someone how spends $20,000 on an OA piece and not consider ROI into their purchase. It's akin to selling your car without caring about how much you paid or its current depreciated value....

 

-Issa

[adamstrange]

I don't know how to respond to someone how spends $20,000 on an OA piece and not consider ROI into their purchase. It's akin to selling your car without caring about how much you paid or its current depreciated value....

 

Your analogy isn't quite the same. You're talking about a purchase of art and comparing it to the selling of a car. I know lots of folks who spend big bucks purchasing a car with nary a thought to ROI. Automobiles are one of the easiest ways to waste a lot of money through the course of one's lifetime.