CGC Announces New Signature Series Program

[Raphael]

But all of this is going to create inflated demand and prices. Look at how much SS and universal slabbed books go for. A modern universal regularly is sold at 10x cover price. You can't tell me that you don't see this completely changing the way con sketches are done. All I'm saying is that the collector is the one who is going to take the hit in the end. We are all collectors here, we are going to pay if the only sketch we can get is SS (which I eventually see certain artists doing). You can't say "well than don't buy it than", that's not realistic.

 

A modern universal - 10 x cover price is $30, but that's writing off the cost of the SERVICE. To get that book graded cost the submitter $16 plus the cost of the book plus shipping - so let's say they spent $20 to get that money back plus make a $10 profit.

 

Or Signature Series, the stellar examples may go for big money, but the standard run of the mill items go for, sometimes, less than it would cost for you to buy the book and get it SS'd (about $30) and shipped back to you.

 

Or you can just pay $3 and get the comic from the stand. Or spend time in line and get that $3 comic signed.

 

Ditto for the con sketches. If it costs you $20 or $50 to get a sketch from the artist, would you pay 10 times that for the encapsulated version? Realistically, NO you won't. Some people MAY, but it would have to be an outstanding piece to warrant a $200 - $500 price tag.

 

 

We'll see. We should save this thread and get back to this discussion a year or two from now. I don't think you'll be able to get a con sketch for $20-$50 by many artists.

 

are you saying that within a year or two from now . . . " I don't think you'll be able to get a con sketch for $20-$50 by many artists"? Because most of the sketches that I get from artists at cons are usually in that price range.

 

as it has been mentioned before elsewhere, i would also pay a premium price for a piece from an artist that i really like.

[Kevin Boyd]

Yeah, but that might have as much to do with the state of your economy more than a small percentage of people selling encapsulated back board sketches on eBay. With the falling dollar people have to do what they have to do. To you a $50 sketch may seem like a lot, but to a European or Canadian with money to burn that seems really cheap.

 

 

 

 

[armydoc]

But all of this is going to create inflated demand and prices. Look at how much SS and universal slabbed books go for. A modern universal regularly is sold at 10x cover price. You can't tell me that you don't see this completely changing the way con sketches are done. All I'm saying is that the collector is the one who is going to take the hit in the end. We are all collectors here, we are going to pay if the only sketch we can get is SS (which I eventually see certain artists doing). You can't say "well than don't buy it than", that's not realistic.

 

A modern universal - 10 x cover price is $30, but that's writing off the cost of the SERVICE. To get that book graded cost the submitter $16 plus the cost of the book plus shipping - so let's say they spent $20 to get that money back plus make a $10 profit.

 

Or Signature Series, the stellar examples may go for big money, but the standard run of the mill items go for, sometimes, less than it would cost for you to buy the book and get it SS'd (about $30) and shipped back to you.

 

Or you can just pay $3 and get the comic from the stand. Or spend time in line and get that $3 comic signed.

 

Ditto for the con sketches. If it costs you $20 or $50 to get a sketch from the artist, would you pay 10 times that for the encapsulated version? Realistically, NO you won't. Some people MAY, but it would have to be an outstanding piece to warrant a $200 - $500 price tag.

 

 

We'll see. We should save this thread and get back to this discussion a year or two from now. I don't think you'll be able to get a con sketch for $20-$50 by many artists.

 

are you saying that within a year or two from now . . . " I don't think you'll be able to get a con sketch for $20-$50 by many artists"? Because most of the sketches that I get from artists at cons are usually in that price range.

 

as it has been mentioned before elsewhere, i would also pay a premium price for a piece from an artist that i really like.

 

I just think that certain artists will know how much their sketch is going to fetch once its slabbed, and they're going to adjust their prices accordingly. My two favorite Walking Dead artists come to mind for some reason as I type this.

[chrisco37]

Kinda cool idea, but I'd rather not see it.

 

I see two things happening:

 

1. Artists increase their prices dramatically (as they know it's just going on to eBay for a flip). Some artists have already been doing it. I didn't even consider getting a sketch at Heroes b/c most were asking $40-100. What happened to the $10-15 or (gasp) free Con Sketch?

 

2. Alot of artists might go "Steranko" and require a personalization to prevent easy flips.

 

Steranko doesn't even sketch anymore

 

I know. Shoulda been clearer. He won't even sign a book w/out personalizing it.

[Jason Truong]

We've been discussing this with artists as well.

 

Here's the situation: you might get charged $20 for a sketch on a back board by an artist NOW. If you then have to pay $15 (I'm making up a price as I don't know what the price will be) to get it encapsulated plus shipping, then your investment in the piece is another $20+. You've got a $40 investment in a $20 sketch.

 

If you got that sketch framed, you might pay $10-15 for a frame.

 

The flippers are the issue here. Is a $40 investment going to pay off in a $50 or more sale (a minimum $5-10 dollar profit) on a $20 sketch? If they do, then the situation you are surmising is that the artist is going to see this and charge $50+ for what was once a $20 sketch. Well, if the flipper can't get more than $50 for an encapsulated sketch then he certainly isn't going to commission more sketches from the artist if the artist is now charging $50 and the artist won't be able to sell as many sketches if he's overpriced himself out of the market... I have seen many artists recently price themselves out of the sketch market. I might like X artist but I would never pay $500 for a $50 sketch, but I might pay artist Y $50 for a sketch and get an amazing piece that might resale for a lot more than $50.

 

So the trick would be in educating creators, which is what we will attempt to do. That an encapsulated sketch means the submitter has already placed an investment of X amount of dollars in getting the artwork encapsulated. That a buyer is paying for the OA and the holder, not just the OA.

 

I guess we're all going to have to wait and see how this turns out.

[Kevin Boyd]

I guess we're all going to have to wait and see how this turns out.

 

And that pretty much brings us around to where we all started. It's been announced, let's see what happens... good or bad.

[MutantKeys]

I havent read the entire thread but I am not sure this is going to work out.

 

How many witness are going to be present when I have my sketch drawn? Do I need to tell the witness what I want the artist to draw on my board, etc..If I cant walk it over to CGC myself then it makes no sense at all.

 

 

I have no problem with CGC slabbing but its the process that leads up to it that I have a problem with. I understand its the only way but I cant see a witness waiting for a sketch for me :shrug: while I am not present and me being happy about slabbing it when I have not seen it :shrug: , etc..

[Kevin Boyd]

I havent read the entire thread but I am not sure this is going to work out.

 

How many witness are going to be present when I have my sketch drawn? Do I need to tell the witness what I want the artist to draw on my board, etc..If I cant walk it over to CGC myself then it makes no sense at all.

 

 

I have no problem with CGC slabbing but its the process that leads up to it that I have a problem with. I understand its the only way but I cant see a witness waiting for a sketch for me :shrug: while I am not present and me being happy about slabbing it when I have not seen it :shrug: , etc..

 

Generally we don't take sketch requests and this service is only being offered to Witnesses (for now), so I would suggest that if you want one now is that you will need to make an arrangement with a Witness at the con who will have to pick it up from the artist's table, with or without you. They don't need to stand there and watch the artist do the entire sketch, just get the finished piece directly from the artist to confirm it is not a forgery and verify that it was done by them. Then the Witness will submit the piece for encapsulation under the account. This is being done on a very limited basis right now.

[armydoc]

I havent read the entire thread but I am not sure this is going to work out.

 

How many witness are going to be present when I have my sketch drawn? Do I need to tell the witness what I want the artist to draw on my board, etc..If I cant walk it over to CGC myself then it makes no sense at all.

 

 

I have no problem with CGC slabbing but its the process that leads up to it that I have a problem with. I understand its the only way but I cant see a witness waiting for a sketch for me :shrug: while I am not present and me being happy about slabbing it when I have not seen it :shrug: , etc..

 

Generally we don't take sketch requests and this service is only being offered to Witnesses (for now), so what happens if you want one now is that you will need to make an arrangement with a Witness at the con who will have to pick it up from the artist's table, with or without you. They don't need to stand there and watch the artist do the entire sketch, just get the finished piece directly from the artist. Then the Witness will submit the piece for encapsulation.

 

Oh, and what will said witness charge for this service? A sketch eats up alot more time than a sig. Should we just add that into the cost/value of the piece? Seems like another fee which will drive up the price of the collectable. It's going to have to be very profitable for a witness to take a half hour on one sketch when they could be off getting 25 sigs in the same amount of time.

 

OK, just seen that the witness doesn't have to stand there. (thumbs u

[Kevin Boyd]

I havent read the entire thread but I am not sure this is going to work out.

 

How many witness are going to be present when I have my sketch drawn? Do I need to tell the witness what I want the artist to draw on my board, etc..If I cant walk it over to CGC myself then it makes no sense at all.

 

 

I have no problem with CGC slabbing but its the process that leads up to it that I have a problem with. I understand its the only way but I cant see a witness waiting for a sketch for me :shrug: while I am not present and me being happy about slabbing it when I have not seen it :shrug: , etc..

 

Generally we don't take sketch requests and this service is only being offered to Witnesses (for now), so what happens if you want one now is that you will need to make an arrangement with a Witness at the con who will have to pick it up from the artist's table, with or without you. They don't need to stand there and watch the artist do the entire sketch, just get the finished piece directly from the artist. Then the Witness will submit the piece for encapsulation.

 

Oh, and what will said witness charge for this service? A sketch eats up alot more time than a sig. Should we just add that into the cost/value of the piece? Seems like another fee which will drive up the price of the collectable. It's going to have to be very profitable for a witness to take a half hour on one sketch when they could be off getting 25 sigs in the same amount of time.

 

Re-read what I wrote. The Witness doesn't need to stand there and watch. They just need to be there when it is picked up.

 

Presume that if the Witness is putting it thru their account that they are getting their dealer discount rate and you are being charged the full rate (whatever that ends up being). Their fee is the difference. If that isn't enough they'll tell you up front.

[armydoc]

I havent read the entire thread but I am not sure this is going to work out.

 

How many witness are going to be present when I have my sketch drawn? Do I need to tell the witness what I want the artist to draw on my board, etc..If I cant walk it over to CGC myself then it makes no sense at all.

 

 

I have no problem with CGC slabbing but its the process that leads up to it that I have a problem with. I understand its the only way but I cant see a witness waiting for a sketch for me :shrug: while I am not present and me being happy about slabbing it when I have not seen it :shrug: , etc..

 

Generally we don't take sketch requests and this service is only being offered to Witnesses (for now), so what happens if you want one now is that you will need to make an arrangement with a Witness at the con who will have to pick it up from the artist's table, with or without you. They don't need to stand there and watch the artist do the entire sketch, just get the finished piece directly from the artist. Then the Witness will submit the piece for encapsulation.

 

Oh, and what will said witness charge for this service? A sketch eats up alot more time than a sig. Should we just add that into the cost/value of the piece? Seems like another fee which will drive up the price of the collectable. It's going to have to be very profitable for a witness to take a half hour on one sketch when they could be off getting 25 sigs in the same amount of time.

 

Re-read what I wrote. The Witness doesn't need to stand there and watch. They just need to be there when it is picked up.

 

Presume that if the Witness is putting it thru their account that they are getting their discounted rate and you are being charged the full rate (whatever that ends up being). Their fee is the difference. If that isn't enough they'll tell you up front.

 

OK, just seen that the witness doesn't have to stand there. (thumbs u

Sorry, sometimes I'm easily excitable.

 

[MutantKeys]

I havent read the entire thread but I am not sure this is going to work out.

 

How many witness are going to be present when I have my sketch drawn? Do I need to tell the witness what I want the artist to draw on my board, etc..If I cant walk it over to CGC myself then it makes no sense at all.

 

 

I have no problem with CGC slabbing but its the process that leads up to it that I have a problem with. I understand its the only way but I cant see a witness waiting for a sketch for me :shrug: while I am not present and me being happy about slabbing it when I have not seen it :shrug: , etc..

 

Generally we don't take sketch requests and this service is only being offered to Witnesses (for now), so I would suggest that if you want one now is that you will need to make an arrangement with a Witness at the con who will have to pick it up from the artist's table, with or without you. They don't need to stand there and watch the artist do the entire sketch, just get the finished piece directly from the artist to confirm it is not a forgery and verify that it was done by them. Then the Witness will submit the piece for encapsulation under the account. This is being done on a very limited basis right now.

Makes sense (thumbs u

 

 

[Kevin Boyd]

Obviously, since we have never done this before (outside of the Hero 3-Minute Sketches) our Witnesses who are interested in trying out this service will be learning in Baltimore how to apply this within the convention environment.

 

[jonjesper]

I better book my plane ticket now to make sure it gets done right

[Raphael]

Obviously, since we have never done this before our Witnesses who are interested in trying out this service will be learning in Baltimore how to apply this within the convention environment.

 

it looks like i know what the next thing i'm going to get from a ss witness is!

 

[SignatureSelect]

 

 

I just think that certain artists will know how much their sketch is going to fetch once its slabbed, and they're going to adjust their prices accordingly. My two favorite Walking Dead artists come to mind for some reason as I type this.

 

Both Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard charge way more for convention sketches.

 

Tony Moore's rate is 80.00

 

Charlie Adlard starts at 100 I believe. they get that much aswell. I don't think either of them care about what CGC is doing.

 

Their art is worth that and they know.

[Raphael]

 

I just think that certain artists will know how much their sketch is going to fetch once its slabbed, and they're going to adjust their prices accordingly. My two favorite Walking Dead artists come to mind for some reason as I type this.

 

Both Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard charge way more for convention sketches.

 

Tony Moore's rate is 80.00

 

Charlie Adlard starts at 100 I believe. they get that much aswell. I don't think either of them care about what CGC is doing.

 

Their art is worth that and they know.

 

yeah. the artwork they put out speaks for itself.

 

- see the Fallen Son Tony Moore sketch!

[jordanscott]

I think I like this idea.

 

I think a framed sketch with the yellow label would great next to a framed book of the same artist.

 

This going to be going on at Fallcon in MN next month?

[Kevin Boyd]

I think I like this idea.

 

I think a framed sketch with the yellow label would great next to a framed book of the same artist.

 

This going to be going on at Fallcon in MN next month?

 

I think that depends on Jonjesper!

[jordanscott]

I think I like this idea.

 

I think a framed sketch with the yellow label would great next to a framed book of the same artist.

 

This going to be going on at Fallcon in MN next month?

 

I think that depends on Jonjesper!

 

Oh is he a witness?

 

I just thought he really loved his SS books.