art purge

[SpectatorGuy]

Whenever I commission something I know in the back of my mind that I will never be able to sell it. Not that I ever plan to, but I know that if it get dire enough to where I need to sell them I won't get the money that I put in back.

I'm tailoring off collecting commissions but every now and then I still get the urge because I love the experience of talking to an artist and getting a piece from them. "Smart thing" would be to put my money into actual pages but I don't like those as much for some reason (also the huge price tags)

[galactus]

Originally Posted by JadeGiant

I always get a chuckle on the topic of hobbies and investments. I personally make sure not to view them as one in the same. They are distinct. If you are talking investment when it comes to collecting then you are a gambler as they are generally not a wise choice (sure, some will pay off but many won’t). I think we often entertain the notion of our collectibles being investments to rationalize more and more purchases (investment money + hobby money = more stuff we can buy). Commissions are clearly not good investments and I am fine with that. I commission what I enjoy so that I don’t have to worry about the selling on the back end.

Right on Dave. Unless you're talking about truly historic artwork (first appearances of major characters, pivotal pages from major storylines), comic artwork of ANY form shouldn't be considered an investment.

I can't tell you how many times people asked me "how did you know?" what to collect as the value of many of my pieces has risen tremendously over the past number of years. My response is always the same, "I didn't know anything. I collected what I liked and got lucky."

[ratchet]

To be fair - I wasn't collecting as an investment either - but nothing deflates my excitement more than when I pay a premium for something only to be told it is pretty much worthless.

That's just me - I'm not asking for a piece to appreciate - but to be worth little to nothing after you've paid $300-$1K for something is hard to swallow.

I still enjoy going to cons and meeting the creators and getting a little something from them in person - but that's because the piece is now associated with a great memory. Emailing an artist and getting a piece through the mail really holds no interest for me.

[carlito1978]

as someone said, it depends on character, artist and outcome of the commission.

I don't sell a ton of art / commissions but what I have sold has sold for prices that I've been comfortable with - some up, some down.

[JadeGiant]

Originally Posted by ratchet

To be fair - I wasn't collecting as an investment either - but nothing deflates my excitement more than when I pay a premium for something only to be told it is pretty much worthless.

That's just me - I'm not asking for a piece to appreciate - but to be worth little to nothing after you've paid $300-$1K for something is hard to swallow.

I still enjoy going to cons and meeting the creators and getting a little something from them in person - but that's because the piece is now associated with a great memory. Emailing an artist and getting a piece through the mail really holds no interest for me.

I agree with this Ryan. Have you bought any big ticket items only to see them to decrease in value by a large measure? I don’t sell much (hardly anything) so I don’t have a real good gauge on things. Curious to hear those items that dropped a huge amount.

[MONSTER]

Originally Posted by galactus

Right on Dave. Unless you're talking about truly historic artwork (first appearances of major characters, pivotal pages from major storylines), comic artwork of ANY form shouldn't be considered an investment.

I can't tell you how many times people asked me "how did you know?" what to collect as the value of many of my pieces has risen tremendously over the past number of years. My response is always the same, "I didn't know anything. I collected what I liked and got lucky."

That's been a double edged sword for me. I love that the stuff I have is worth a nice chunk of change now but now its hard to add to the collection as I can no longer afford most of the stuff I collect.

I'm all for the market crashing so I can start getting lots of stuff again.

[ratchet]

Originally Posted by JadeGiant

I agree with this Ryan. Have you bought any big ticket items only to see them to decrease in value by a large measure? I don’t sell much (hardly anything) so I don’t have a real good gauge on things. Curious to hear those items that dropped a huge amount.

I've enever gone for high ticket pieces - the most I have paid for a statue was the SS Gladiator Hulk and even that I got for a discount. Guys like you and me are pretty lucky as most Hulk items seem to retain or appreciate in value. I haven't sold much either - and haven't sold in a few years so I'm not really aware of the market at the moment either

[ratchet]

Originally Posted by MONSTER

That's been a double edged sword for me. I love that the stuff I have is worth a nice chunk of change now but now its hard to add to the collection as I can no longer afford most of the stuff I collect.

I'm all for the market crashing so I can start getting lots of stuff again.

Market crash sounds good to me too - would let me get back in the game of actually affording a herb Trimpe page...

[galactus]

Originally Posted by ratchet

To be fair - I wasn't collecting as an investment either - but nothing deflates my excitement more than when I pay a premium for something only to be told it is pretty much worthless.

That's just me - I'm not asking for a piece to appreciate - but to be worth little to nothing after you've paid $300-$1K for something is hard to swallow.

I still enjoy going to cons and meeting the creators and getting a little something from them in person - but that's because the piece is now associated with a great memory. Emailing an artist and getting a piece through the mail really holds no interest for me.

Agreed, which is why I got out of commissions and into OA. It's somewhat more stable.

[galactus]

Originally Posted by MONSTER

That's been a double edged sword for me. I love that the stuff I have is worth a nice chunk of change now but now its hard to add to the collection as I can no longer afford most of the stuff I collect.

I'm all for the market crashing so I can start getting lots of stuff again.

Yeah, we've discussed this. It's great to have a collection go up in value, except you can't buy anything because it's all priced too high