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John E.

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Posts posted by John E.

  1. One of the most impressive pieces in the interior page category I voted for was the New Mutants 98/1st app of Deadpool. Not only are those rare as hen’s teeth but most of them are owned by Jim Halperin, and this was not Jim’s. People must be sick of Deadpool and his omnipresence in culture because in the end the page was met with a 8-way tie for 14th place (it’s like #42 in the gallery). That’s why I don’t fret about blackhole pieces getting posted because there is no guarantee anything will take the Prize. Too many collectors from different generations with too many tastes. (If this Rob Liefeld example is any indication, too many with good taste apparently.)

  2. @szav

    There are various ways to get these done. Typically, you go to a comic convention where CGC has a table. At this table are hired CGC witnesses. You go to the con and ask/pay an artist for a sketch. Before the artist hands it to you, you have to ask a CGC witness to come with you so they can witness the artist hand over their sketch. So the witness is the neutral third party who authenticates that it is indeed the artist who did this. Then you go to fill out the appropriate paperwork and pay the CGC witness and slabbing fee.

    This isn’t the only way. For example, CGC may agree to send a witness to a smaller regional show where they don’t have a table set up, or a store signing. Or CGC may have mail-in events.

    The Artgerm could be a pre-arrange at-home commission in which he and the fan have agreed to a comic-con pickup. The fan just needs a witness with him. The art looks printed but its original art. It is done with copic markers.

    Same thing with the George Perez. I never met him but I heard he’d have lines out the door. The only way he could accommodate fan was by doing quick sketches like that for a fraction of his at-home commission fee. It may very well be that a CGC witness sat next to him watching him sketch and if you wanted to, you just pull aside and fill out the paperwork. 

  3. On 1/28/2024 at 10:07 PM, Xatari said:

    Hey @John E.,

     

    I try not to sell art right now except in the rare instance it either provides some benefit to my family or helps me purchase a piece I don’t otherwise be able to afford. 

    To answer your question about reading though, I read more comics today than in past years. There was a 20 year gap during which I missed things like Age of Apocalypse, but I am slowly making my way back through. There are some really good stories being told today though. Some of my favorites include Something Is Killing the Children, Ultimate Spider-Man (only one issue so far), Hulk (Klein is blowing me away), and Venom (I enjoy Dylan Brock). 

    Thanks for the reply, Mike. I had written a long response, hit submit, and *poof* it all disappeared. I guess that was the universe saying no one wants to read this lol.

  4. On 1/28/2024 at 7:19 PM, Xatari said:

    I think it takes so much capital to make a splash in today’s market so likely few and far between. 

    In today’s market, yes. But around the time you entered when collectibles were at the top of the market and you can sell (as you did) to enter the OA hobby is the time frame I’m referring to. Also, there was more exuberance for the MCU back then than there is today.

    My main question, which resonated with your post, is whether “new” collectors who entered the hobby buying only/mainly new art from “new art drops” (or commissions from those “hot” artists) are still around today? In that 2012-2016 time period when I was still reading new books off the shelves and seeing the art from those books get dropped just about weekly which seems to have continued to present day, well, is/was that really a sustainable model? Meaning, it may have been an affordable entry to the hobby, but was it a sustainable one for longevity? Was that a cause of burnout, trying to keep up?

    Mike, you were a key comic collector. Have you been reading comics “all your life?” The earliest comic that I own is from when I was 5 years old. Although there have been many lapses (I’m of a generation where comics weren’t cool and you had to grow up some time), comics have always been part of my life somehow. Just wondering if that’s the case for you?

    Anyway…

    :signofftopic:

  5. On 1/28/2024 at 4:55 PM, malvin said:

    I think I know who you are talking about. Was it by chance Batman covers? Over the years I've seen some new collectors making big buys then disappearing. Of course there are also new collectors who make big splashes and keep on going.

    Malvin

    Yes, Batman covers. 
     

    And you’re right, there are those who do make a big splash and are still active. 

  6. On 1/28/2024 at 4:39 PM, MAR1979 said:

    Same is done in Comics where it is significantly less effective. 

    Where they the same 1d10T's who were purchasing Monkey head and torso NFT's ? biglaugh.gif.c092b9b11615463a40c2ca134e84e02a.gif

    IMO good riddance to the Rich Boy's who jumped on any hobby bandwagon during the pandemic.

    NFTs…as far as I know, no.

    Yeah, one I had in mind seemed to have entered the hobby during the pandemic then firesale’d and bailed.  

  7. On 1/28/2024 at 3:43 PM, Xatari said:

    Oh really? I must be out of the loop with the new “hotness” in terms of who is new to the hobby. I’m just coming on four years myself and feel it’s been a whirlwind.

    By “new” collectors I meant new about 5 years ago. One I had in mind raised his profile with a certain mid-5-figure purchase of a modern cover. Then just disappeared. So was he “victim” of fresh blood in the water? Got taken advantages of and left a hobby that left him with a bad taste in the mouth? It’s what I’m wondering, in general terms. 

  8. On 1/28/2024 at 12:17 PM, Xatari said:

     

    Dealers and reps who hype, pump and dump do a major disservice to new collectors who get burned then don't stick around.  It is short term thinking.

    This popped into my head a few seconds before I read your post. I came to wonder about “new” collectors in recent years who made big splashes buying up art in which the ink hadn’t dried yet, commissioning “It” artists to do big commissions, paying record prices for modern art, appearing on podcasts etc. And yet, they’ve seemed to have disappeared. Sometimes I’ll see that art on auction. I could name names, but happened to them and their supposed passion for the hobby?

  9. On 1/20/2024 at 11:04 AM, alxjhnsn said:

     

      • popularity using the views, likes, and comments from the CAF
        • This is a little weird. I wanted to explore which pieces generated the most attention per $ spent. The results were somewhat surprising. Too much trouble to keep up to date since I can't just download the CAF data and have to type it in. Still, it's a view of the collection and of what others find interesting.

    Yup. For all the veneration of Marvel, covers, and published, most of my top 10 most viewed fall under the categories of non-Marvel, sketches, or unpublished. And forget about price.

  10. Hung jury.

    A crime may have been committed when Sotheby's Samuel Valette sent "formal" emails raising the price of the Modigilani by the hour. According the article, we can apparently "infer that Valette raised the price at Bouvier's request." Although I would like to see the evidence of that request, because that's too important for me to just infer. Then there's skipping Valette's company in the provenance. I don't know what the legality of that is.

    On the other hand, you have a filthy rich oligarch who has entered and disrupted the market. Remember when we all could buy birth pages of Tigra's groomer all-day, every-day for $50? Then all that CGC money poured into the birth page/1st appearance market and now Tigra's groomer pages are $5,000. How can Sotheby's not say that Modigilanis used to be $8M, but now they're $100M once these Russian player got into the market. If I were Sotheby's, I would say that they were grossly underestimating the art and were adjusting prices to the "new normal." I mean geez--all parties honestly or deceptively--underestimated the value of the Mundi.

    In fact, I don't know why the F Sotheby's kept Valette on the payroll when they should have fired him and hired Bouvier. What fault of Bouvier for getting a way better price for the art than Vallete could? Bouvier clocked in 800 transactions over a period of 10 years and Sotheby's didn't jump on that talent? Tsk. I mean, Bouvier acted as a middleman. So instead of making up imaginary owners as a sales tactic, would it have been a crime if Vallete was out of the picture and Bouvier straight up said, "Sotheby's wants $107.5M for this painting.Take it or leave it."

    I mean, do these guys deserve one slap per cheek with a pair of white leather gloves? I wouldn't disagree with that.

  11. On 1/2/2024 at 8:55 AM, KirbyCollector said:

    I felt like Superman, great, right? Wrong... I did all that work without officially opening a case... which got me in hot water and led to 5 days "on the bricks" (the old expression for suspended w/o pay). So good for the sender not so good for me lol

    Even when Spidey saves the day, he still gets slammed on the front page of the Bugle.

  12. On 1/1/2024 at 9:56 PM, Buzzetta said:

    The seller's store is named https://www.ebay.com/str/webuystorageauctions We buy Storage Auctions. 

     

    Screenshot 2024-01-01 at 10.54.05 PM.png

    doh!

    He might as well change the name to:

    ifitlookslikeyourstuffitprobablyis

    No wonder his reply to Phil looked pretty canned. Not his first inquiry.

    It reminds me of The Big Lebowski, and I paraphrase:

    ”Did I pee on your rug? Did I go to your house and personally pee on your rug, Mr. Lebowski? Do I owe a rug to every person in town who’s had their rug peed on?”

    “Well, no. But that’s not the point.”

  13. On 12/31/2023 at 6:47 PM, Phill the Governor said:

     I have the right to sell my items.


    How did you hear about this?

    So this guy pays $100 for a mystery package at a USPS lost mail auction, finds a “$22,000” Charles Schulz Peanuts strip, and says, “Woohoo! I’m going to sell this on eBay! For sure no one’s looking for this!” :makepoint:

  14. Looks like the seller took down the listing. It’s not in his sales history either.

    As Buzzetta says, if you’ve already taken the insurance money there’s not much you can do. But the fact that you are receiving missing mail updates probably means you haven’t?

    I would also ask usps if they have a record of selling this package in their auction. You can’t take this guy’s word for it either. And think you should also make an inquiry with the Postal Inspector. I think they deal with crimes like mail fraud.