stress of art collecting

[Mr. Machismo]

Originally Posted by snappahead

Pussy

I think it's best to go with those guys in the middle. Artists that have an established name and rep, but haven't gotten too big. That's the sweet spot. Guys like that will produce art just as good as anyone out there, but won't price too high or be unprofessional.

Hah. Maybe, I just feel bad posting that sort of thing publicly. Not my place.

Why can't everyone just deal like you, Chris xD

[risingstar]

Unfortunately, prices have soared way past my comfort zones. I'm now left waiting for the right deal to come my way. However, this is not to say dealers are nuts. If they're able to get these numbers, who are we to judge?

Look at this for a moment: It's a John Cassaday piece with an asking price of 25k. Wow.

http://albertmoy.com/gallerypiece.asp?Piece=13998

[Mr. Machismo]

His DKIII cover sold quite quickly for 18K, if I recall correctly. DKIII variant covers bumped up a number of artist rates, it seems. Dell Otto's prices have since nearly doubled (and tripled for Batman work.) Insanity.

[JadeGiant]

Originally Posted by risingstar

Unfortunately, prices have soared way past my comfort zones. I'm now left waiting for the right deal to come my way. However, this is not to say dealers are nuts. If they're able to get these numbers, who are we to judge?

Look at this for a moment: It's a John Cassaday piece with an asking price of 25k. Wow.

http://albertmoy.com/gallerypiece.asp?Piece=13998

Albert is trying to get into George Lucas' pants, ... err pockets

[snappahead]

Originally Posted by Mr. Machismo

Hah. Maybe, I just feel bad posting that sort of thing publicly. Not my place.

Why can't everyone just deal like you, Chris xD

Understood. But then, if he really is a knob, I think it's ok to make it known. Collectors need to watch each other's backs.

Iknowright?!

[BillC]

Oh man I missed the fun, didn't see the post before deletion.

Anyway, the hobby used to be stressful in the sense that there was about a 6 year span where comic art was on my mind nonstop- night and day. I spent every cent (and those I didn't have) on it. Then of course a large number of nightmare commissions took their toll emotionally.

For the last year and a half I've been very selective in picking stuff up. Less deals= less stress. The commission experiences have all been horrible but the number of those have gone down, so that = less stress. I try not to have more than one outstanding commission at any time. I'm getting pickier with them and much more willing to walk away if I see potential trouble with an artist. Some of the deals for published pages have been nightmares also- but since I am buying much less, there are of course less troublesome deals. I've been delving into a couple other hobbies, which has taken my mind off OA greatly.

Don't know that I will ever fully stop collecting published art and commissions. I'll just pick up stuff at a slow rate so it's more about enjoying what I have and picking up something cool now and then. All that said I did finally splurge a bit and bought like a dozen more Valentino GOTG pages in the last couple days (but that was through Spencer, who for me has always been extremely smooth to deal with).

[carlito1978]

Who is John Cassady?

[JadeGiant]

Originally Posted by BillC

Oh man I missed the fun, didn't see the post before deletion.

Anyway, the hobby used to be stressful in the sense that there was about a 6 year span where comic art was on my mind nonstop- night and day. I spent every cent (and those I didn't have) on it. Then of course a large number of nightmare commissions took their toll emotionally.

For the last year and a half I've been very selective in picking stuff up. Less deals= less stress. The commission experiences have all been horrible but the number of those have gone down, so that = less stress. I try not to have more than one outstanding commission at any time. I'm getting pickier with them and much more willing to walk away if I see potential trouble with an artist. Some of the deals for published pages have been nightmares also- but since I am buying much less, there are of course less troublesome deals. I've been delving into a couple other hobbies, which has taken my mind off OA greatly.

Don't know that I will ever fully stop collecting published art and commissions. I'll just pick up stuff at a slow rate so it's more about enjoying what I have and picking up something cool now and then. All that said I did finally splurge a bit and bought like a dozen more Valentino GOTG pages in the last couple days (but that was through Spencer, who for me has always been extremely smooth to deal with).

You've got that market about cornered right?

I love a focused collection - yours is definitely that

[thecollector80]

what do you guys do when after waiting say 1 year for your $600 commission to get in....you find out it has damages from shipping like creasing, holes, tears, etc. you might be able to claim insurance easy enough but the artwork is ruined. do you keep it....sell it...return it...burn it...or fix it?

[Mr. Machismo]

Originally Posted by snappahead

Understood. But then, if he really is a knob, I think it's ok to make it known. Collectors need to watch each other's backs.

Iknowright?!

Wise Chris is wise! I agree -- it's more so me not wanting to hinder sales of any of his artists. Unlikely, but still a slim possibility, and one I rather not influence.