What's a reasonable offer for a J Scott Campbell prelim page with 5-7 figures on it?

[DiscoCougar]

A dear friend of mine is having his first kid in February, and I really want to get him a gift that's a JSC piece that has a specific character on it that he obsesses over, as well as it book ending a great moment we experienced years ago over the artist and said character.

My issue is that even though this is a close friend where money is never a factor between us, money IS still a factor of affordability for me. The owner of the piece has an NFS tag, but was willing to sell it to me for $2250, which is going a bit over the funds I have to afford this. And on top of that price, my next fear is that he won't ship it to me first, even if I sent half the payment up front, so I'll need to send some or all of the money as a goods and services payment, which means I'll need to add on more cash to cover the fee, which will probably make the final cost of everything to me around $2500 for a JSC prelim (let alone me framing it professionally).

So, can I morally low ball his offer for a JSC prelim/multiple character piece that's about 11.5 x 8 inches in size, or is that the going rate I should expect these days?

(and for the sake of the seller somehow seeing this post, or anyone else possibly attempting to get it for themselves, I'm gonna keep the image a secret for now)

Thanks!

[MONSTER]

Just saw this post. I am not at all familiar with the JSC market so I won't be much help. Though 2250 for a prelim seems excessive. Most prelims from modern artists are usually much lower than that. I'm just impressed that you're willing to spend this kind of cash on a friend.

[Luminous]

Originally Posted by MONSTER

Just saw this post. I am not at all familiar with the JSC market so I won't be much help. Though 2250 for a prelim seems excessive. Most prelims from modern artists are usually much lower than that. I'm just impressed that you're willing to spend this kind of cash on a friend.

I have to echo MONSTER'S comments. Both on that seeming very high for a prelim and you dropping that kinda dough on a friend. Lucky friend indeed.

[DiscoCougar]

Unfortunately for me (and my friend) the guy backed out. I guess JSC isn't doing commissions anymore, and this guy wants to hold on to the piece. Which is a shame, cuz it would have been a great gift for my friend who's absolutely in love with the character drawn.

My hesitations in buying it right away was that it was so expensive AND for $2250 I was feeling like I could have just outright purchased a published JSC art piece.

Oh well, maybe I'll try the guy again next year.

Thanks for the replies! =)

[Mr. Machismo]

Given Killing Joke prelims are 1000-1500, 2250 is absurd.

[carlito1978]

Yep...2250 for a prelim is nuts. U can get alex ross high quality prelims for less