Cool Lines Art Work Inquiry 1 1

[comicwiz]

I'd say make an offer, don't negotiate and let it stand as is, but know the odds are a deal won't be made and you'll possibly faint by the counteroffer pricing they'll offer to you.

 

[chrisco37]

Also, never say never, but i f you are looking for grade A prime items like classic uncanny x-men art, it's not realistic to do it on a budget

 

Malvin

 

That was my first thought as well. Classic Uncanny Xmen and "budget" don't belong in the same sentence.

 

What if this is the sentence, though: "When buying classic Uncanny X-Men art, you'd best have an unlimited budget to do so."

 

 

Touche!

[chrisco37]

I'm looking for classic Uncanny X-Men art but on a budget. Cool Lines has an insane amount of it, but don't list any of their prices. I'd prefer to see the cost up front to determine what I can and can't afford. There's no way I can ask them for them to list the 50 or so pieces I'm interested in just so I can figure out if I can afford them, is there? Anyway and input or information would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks!

 

Check your PM's....

[Mephisto]

I'm looking for classic Uncanny X-Men art but on a budget.

 

I don't think it would be unfair or unkind to say that Coollines does not cater toward the budget-oriented collector.

 

Agreed the fact that was prefaced in your brief summary, I would not even bother inquiring with them.

[comix4fun]

I actually have a thread about cool lines in general and Steve Donnelly specifically and their business practices and how they specifically impacted one good collecting friend of mine.

 

I think it will be a must read for all collectors.

 

Posting this evening.

[IngelsFan]

we should start a cool lines pricing thread and anytime anyone gets an actual price it gets listed in the thread!

 

 

Wouldn't make any difference, since they'd quote a different price to the next person inquiring. Or sometimes even to the same person inquiring.

 

[comix4fun]

They have some nice things I wouldn't mind buying. I'm not exactly cheap when I want something but I think a general rule is that if you think you have a handle on FMV for a piece, their price will be 2.5 times that amount. That's a bit too much for me personally (in some cases). I would pay multiples of FMV for many pieces, but nothing they have grabs me to that extent.

 

It is their art and business so of course can do it how they see fit. I know they do sell pages, so something is working.

 

 

Pricing is one thing.

 

A friend of mine had an entirely different problem.

 

http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=9725486#Post9725486

 

 

[Superhero]

Just say no. As a very good friend of mine said when dealing with these guys, "pretend it was burned up in a fire" *cough* Chris *cough*. The first rule of buying art is learn who to stay away from.

[JadeGiant]

As the overwhelming advice in the thread so far, I would also suggest avoiding them completely.

 

If you decide to put this advice aside and interact with them you need to decide in advance what the absolute highest price you will pay on a page before inquiring. When you inquire, you will get a price that will likely shock you. If their price falls in your acceptable range, buy it immediately. If you wait at all, they will increase the price. Don't take time to mull the price over. Either buy or pass right away.

 

As unlikely as I find this fact, people on this board do buy from them which means on some art they are within a reasonable range of FMV (or more likely people are willing to pay more than what falls in a reasonable range of FMV)

 

I speak from experience as I have inquired on art and kept the price quotes as reference as I shopped around. When I went back to talk about the art again the prices had been raised, sometimes dramatically. It's one of their many signature moves.

 

 

Edited December 31, 2016 by JadeGiant

[Rune]

Not to defend anyone, but I found a nice published cover in the recent PedigreeComics auction. I realized immediately I've seen the piece before, and it was from the Donnelly’s. The piece did not sell possibly due to a high reserve price - but I didn't think the reserve price was that high.

 

I contacted Steve and he offered me the piece at the reserve price, and that was fine with me. Maybe the reserve price was 30 % higher than FMV, but probably not higher, compared to recent auction prices on HA.com for similar covers.

 

Steve arranged for FedEx shipping, even though he doesn't usually use FedEx and Steve only billed me exact costs for shipping (which was expensive, more than $100, it was an international shipment). He (actually his brother Rich) shipped the piece a few days after receiving my payment. Payment was sent to "friends and family" using PayPal (Steve required this), I was slightly nervous about this, but everything worked out fine.

 

Before buying the piece I did ask Burkey (Romitaman.com) for his opinion about the piece, and he didn't find anything wrong or suspicious about the piece.

 

In short, I had a positive experience, I don't think I paid much above FMV, shipping was fast and packaging great - but I did pay what Steve asked - and I bought a published cover (for example unpublished pieces and commissions may be harder to investigate for added pieces etc.)

 

After receiving the piece I asked if Steve could remove the piece from his site including CAF - and he did that in minutes, quote from his email reply:

 

"It has been removed from all galleries on our site.

 

Please let me know whenever you see anything else on our web site that you like???

 

Best,

Steve

 

coollinesartwork - new listings

http://coollinesart.com/newgalleryroom.asp

 

COOL LINES ARTWORK

www.coollinesartwork.com

Comic book and newspaper strip artwork...

bought sold and traded

http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryDetail.asp?GCat=3563

email valnstevez@aol.com"

 

Actually I never had trouble getting e-mail replies from Steve, typically he wrote back in a few hours or a day - again I know other collectors have had different experiences; this post is just to inform about my experience buying from Steve in October 2016.

[Eric Seffinga]

And in typical Donnelly flip flop fashion, I had a Coollines experience around the same time as yours. Even though I knew full well what to expect, I gave it a shot. Mine went like this....

 

They had a few pieces of Guy Davis Sandman Mystery Theater art pop up on their CAF with the usual note about asking for a price. They had just listed a few pages of Davis' work on eBay the week before. Same book. All around the same quality and all at around $600-800 a page. Really high for Davis' work, which is normally around $200-500, but the page they listed on CAF was one I really liked. Again content, time period, historical "significance" all around the same equivalency. I figured even if the one I asked about was more like $900 I'd hold my nose and cross my fingers.

 

The price that came back when I asked about it? Had to have been at least $1800. I want to say might have been over 2k. I was just looking for the emails to see who it was that responded and gave me the numbers, but seem to have deleted it out of frustration. I simply thought "of course it is" and moved on.

 

Same old same old. Buyer beware.

 

If someone knows for sure what the actual story behind the art is (not what they purport it to be) and it's at a price the buyer can live with, and they actually follow through without changing their mind or conditions... more power to the buyer.

 

All others... you know what they say about fools and their money.

[comix4fun]

Not to defend anyone, but I found a nice published cover in the recent PedigreeComics auction. I realized immediately I've seen the piece before, and it was from the Donnelly’s. The piece did not sell possibly due to a high reserve price - but I didn't think the reserve price was that high.

 

I contacted Steve and he offered me the piece at the reserve price, and that was fine with me. Maybe the reserve price was 30 % higher than FMV, but probably not higher, compared to recent auction prices on HA.com for similar covers.

 

Steve arranged for FedEx shipping, even though he doesn't usually use FedEx and Steve only billed me exact costs for shipping (which was expensive, more than $100, it was an international shipment). He (actually his brother Rich) shipped the piece a few days after receiving my payment. Payment was sent to "friends and family" using PayPal (Steve required this), I was slightly nervous about this, but everything worked out fine.

 

Before buying the piece I did ask Burkey (Romitaman.com) for his opinion about the piece, and he didn't find anything wrong or suspicious about the piece.

 

In short, I had a positive experience, I don't think I paid much above FMV, shipping was fast and packaging great - but I did pay what Steve asked - and I bought a published cover (for example unpublished pieces and commissions may be harder to investigate for added pieces etc.)

 

After receiving the piece I asked if Steve could remove the piece from his site including CAF - and he did that in minutes, quote from his email reply:

 

"It has been removed from all galleries on our site.

 

Please let me know whenever you see anything else on our web site that you like???

 

Best,

Steve

 

coollinesartwork - new listings

http://coollinesart.com/newgalleryroom.asp

 

COOL LINES ARTWORK

www.coollinesartwork.com

Comic book and newspaper strip artwork...

bought sold and traded

http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryDetail.asp?GCat=3563

email valnstevez@aol.com"

 

Actually I never had trouble getting e-mail replies from Steve, typically he wrote back in a few hours or a day - again I know other collectors have had different experiences; this post is just to inform about my experience buying from Steve in October 2016.

 

 

It makes sense he was responsive to you, you were willing to pay his price, and it was above market. However, even though he was making a sizable profit over market, his first move was to penny pinch you for a form of payment that's specifically barred for businesses in a transaction such as this and a form of payment that strips you of any recourse through PayPal.

 

Frankly, as an international buyer, having PayPal protection is the only viable means of resolution should there have been a problem with the deal that the seller didn't voluntarily fix. Using the courts from outside the country becomes an arduous task.

 

I'm glad it worked out for you in this transaction though.

[comicwiz]

Not to defend anyone, but I found a nice published cover in the recent PedigreeComics auction. I realized immediately I've seen the piece before, and it was from the Donnelly’s. The piece did not sell possibly due to a high reserve price - but I didn't think the reserve price was that high.

 

I contacted Steve and he offered me the piece at the reserve price, and that was fine with me. Maybe the reserve price was 30 % higher than FMV, but probably not higher, compared to recent auction prices on HA.com for similar covers.

 

Steve arranged for FedEx shipping, even though he doesn't usually use FedEx and Steve only billed me exact costs for shipping (which was expensive, more than $100, it was an international shipment). He (actually his brother Rich) shipped the piece a few days after receiving my payment. Payment was sent to "friends and family" using PayPal (Steve required this), I was slightly nervous about this, but everything worked out fine.

 

Before buying the piece I did ask Burkey (Romitaman.com) for his opinion about the piece, and he didn't find anything wrong or suspicious about the piece.

 

In short, I had a positive experience, I don't think I paid much above FMV, shipping was fast and packaging great - but I did pay what Steve asked - and I bought a published cover (for example unpublished pieces and commissions may be harder to investigate for added pieces etc.)

 

After receiving the piece I asked if Steve could remove the piece from his site including CAF - and he did that in minutes, quote from his email reply:

 

"It has been removed from all galleries on our site.

 

Please let me know whenever you see anything else on our web site that you like???

 

Best,

Steve

 

coollinesartwork - new listings

http://coollinesart.com/newgalleryroom.asp

 

COOL LINES ARTWORK

www.coollinesartwork.com

Comic book and newspaper strip artwork...

bought sold and traded

http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryDetail.asp?GCat=3563

email valnstevez@aol.com"

 

Actually I never had trouble getting e-mail replies from Steve, typically he wrote back in a few hours or a day - again I know other collectors have had different experiences; this post is just to inform about my experience buying from Steve in October 2016.

 

 

It makes sense he was responsive to you, you were willing to pay his price, and it was above market. However, even though he was making a sizable profit over market, his first move was to penny pinch you for a form of payment that's specifically barred for businesses in a transaction such as this and a form of payment that strips you of any recourse through PayPal.

 

Frankly, as an international buyer, having PayPal protection is the only viable means of resolution should there have been a problem with the deal that the seller didn't voluntarily fix. Using the courts from outside the country becomes an arduous task.

 

I'm glad it worked out for you in this transaction though.

 

This is great advice, and I'm going to put it out there that while I didn't always follow it myself, mainly because my other hobbies outside of OA are comics and toys, and I did rely heavily on the self-regulating community functions in each of those hobbies to keep members from straying from their duty and obligations, OA has been a very different dynamic. I've been dealing with a lot of new people, privately, off-eBay, and sometimes with people contacting me out of the blue asking if I'd be interested in a piece. My confidence drops to zero when this type of transactional pattern emerges, and PayPal's buyer protection is not something I'd be willing to risk or give up for any reason.

[vodou]

However, even though he was making a sizable profit over market, his first move was to penny pinch you for a form of payment that's specifically barred for businesses in a transaction such as this and a form of payment that strips you of any recourse through PayPal.

 

Frankly, as an international buyer, having PayPal protection is the only viable means of resolution should there have been a problem with the deal that the seller didn't voluntarily fix. Using the courts from outside the country becomes an arduous task.

All the above for sure, but hey let's not mince words...depending on which country you are in today and how the winds are blowing in the USA on any given day, the way you paid could be construed as money laundering. And that more and more tends to = terrorism (ridiculous, yes I know!) Depending on how the Donnelly's (cuz who knows who really owns this piece..right?) file their tax returns...it could be tax evasion too. And if any of the information or numbers on the outgoing customs declaration aren't correct (and equally matching the actual PayPal transaction information)...err, potential deeper hole for all parties? For the most part none of this has much mattered in the past, it just wasn't being enforced but the potential legal repercussions were always there. Just because it was worth it to skate around in the past, will that always be true? I'd say in 2016, heading into 2017 where cash carrying and transactions are frowned upon (and outlawed above certain amounts in several EU countries and "large" denomination notes are being demonetized in India and proposed in many other jurisdictions)...simply "bad risk" all around.

[Siege Perilous]

Thanks for all the advice to everyone who contributed in this thread. I'm probably going to stay away from them for the time being. There's just too many Silvestri pieces I need to know the price on and I don't think I'm ready for the sticker shock. Owning a piece of classic x-men art from my childhood is my dream, Ive seen enough of these pages over the years to know that 90% of them are never going to be something I can afford. I'm just holding out that there's a piece somewhere of the team members just having a conversation in their civilian clothes or something that's not obscnenely expensive or even an old convention sketch or commission.

 

A few weeks back HA auctioned an eighties Silvestri sketch of Rogue. I got into a small bidding war but ultimately gave up. I saw that piece listed on their website as "trade only" bargaining chip and it hurt my soul.

Edited December 31, 2016 by ZimmermanTelegram

[cloud cloddie]

I inquired about silvestri x-men about a year ago. These are the prices I got from them, so you can get an idea. My inquiries stopped with these quotes.

Certain artists they'll get in bidding wars with on auction sites, propabaly to help justify the crazy asks on their current inventory. Silvestri (x-men) seems to be one of them.

 

 

SILVESTRI, MARC - Uncanny X-Men 224 pg 15, Storm climbs mountain, demons flies - $2,950

 

SILVESTRI, MARC - Uncanny X-Men #230 pg 14, Colossus, Dazzler, Psylocke - $2,750

 

SILVESTRI, MARC - Uncanny X-Men #236 pg, montage semi-splash - Psylocke senses massacre $2,950

 

SILVESTRI, MARC - Uncanny X-Men #239 pg 29, Inferno - Dark Madelyne Pryor - $3,750

 

SILVESTRI, MARC - Uncanny X-Men #243 pg 18 "Inferno" - Beast Longshot X-Factor Greys & Baby Cable $3,450 NEW

 

SILVESTRI, MARC - Uncanny X-men #246 pg 9, Wolverine & Storm joke about hair - $3,450

 

SILVESTRI, MARC - Uncanny X-Men #246 pg, Rogue & Psylocke gal talk - $2,500

 

SILVESTRI, MARC - Uncanny X-Men #247 pg 29, Black King & Black Queen trick Senator Kelly $2,750

 

SILVESTRI, MARC - Uncanny X-Men #253 pg 24, New Team Line-up - Excalibur UK HQ & Amanda - $1,250

 

SILVESTRI, MARK - Uncanny X-Men #254 pg 20, Mutant villain - ice superhero statues - $2,500

 

SILVESTRI, MARC - Uncanny X-Men #255 pg 12, Mystique & Freedom Force vs Lady Deathstrike $2,750

 

SILVESTRI, MARC - Uncanny X-Men #259 pg 16, Dazzler movie / studio - $1,295

 

SILVESTRI, MARC - Uncanny X-Men #259 pg 8, Dazzler movie / vault - $1,100

 

SILVESTRI, MARC - Uncanny X-Men #260 pg, Banshee & Forge, Dazzler on People Mag $1,850

 

SILVESTRI, MARC - Uncanny X-Men #261 pg 13, Banshee & Forge, Moira $1,750

[Siege Perilous]

I inquired about silvestri x-men about a year ago. These are the prices I got from them, so you can get an idea. My inquiries stopped with these quotes.

Certain artists they'll get in bidding wars with on auction sites, propabaly to help justify the crazy asks on their current inventory. Silvestri (x-men) seems to be one of them.

 

 

SILVESTRI, MARC - Uncanny X-Men 224 pg 15, Storm climbs mountain, demons flies - $2,950

 

SILVESTRI, MARC - Uncanny X-Men #230 pg 14, Colossus, Dazzler, Psylocke - $2,750

 

SILVESTRI, MARC - Uncanny X-Men #236 pg, montage semi-splash - Psylocke senses massacre $2,950

 

SILVESTRI, MARC - Uncanny X-Men #239 pg 29, Inferno - Dark Madelyne Pryor - $3,750

 

SILVESTRI, MARC - Uncanny X-Men #243 pg 18 "Inferno" - Beast Longshot X-Factor Greys & Baby Cable $3,450 NEW

 

SILVESTRI, MARC - Uncanny X-men #246 pg 9, Wolverine & Storm joke about hair - $3,450

 

SILVESTRI, MARC - Uncanny X-Men #246 pg, Rogue & Psylocke gal talk - $2,500

 

SILVESTRI, MARC - Uncanny X-Men #247 pg 29, Black King & Black Queen trick Senator Kelly $2,750

 

SILVESTRI, MARC - Uncanny X-Men #253 pg 24, New Team Line-up - Excalibur UK HQ & Amanda - $1,250

 

SILVESTRI, MARK - Uncanny X-Men #254 pg 20, Mutant villain - ice superhero statues - $2,500

 

SILVESTRI, MARC - Uncanny X-Men #255 pg 12, Mystique & Freedom Force vs Lady Deathstrike $2,750

 

SILVESTRI, MARC - Uncanny X-Men #259 pg 16, Dazzler movie / studio - $1,295

 

SILVESTRI, MARC - Uncanny X-Men #259 pg 8, Dazzler movie / vault - $1,100

 

SILVESTRI, MARC - Uncanny X-Men #260 pg, Banshee & Forge, Dazzler on People Mag $1,850

 

SILVESTRI, MARC - Uncanny X-Men #261 pg 13, Banshee & Forge, Moira $1,750

 

THANK YOU!!!! This is what I was looking for and sadly what I was expecting. Much appreciated.

[comix4fun]

I inquired about silvestri x-men about a year ago. These are the prices I got from them, so you can get an idea. My inquiries stopped with these quotes.

Certain artists they'll get in bidding wars with on auction sites, propabaly to help justify the crazy asks on their current inventory. Silvestri (x-men) seems to be one of them.

 

 

SILVESTRI, MARC - Uncanny X-Men 224 pg 15, Storm climbs mountain, demons flies - $2,950

 

SILVESTRI, MARC - Uncanny X-Men #230 pg 14, Colossus, Dazzler, Psylocke - $2,750

 

SILVESTRI, MARC - Uncanny X-Men #236 pg, montage semi-splash - Psylocke senses massacre $2,950

 

SILVESTRI, MARC - Uncanny X-Men #239 pg 29, Inferno - Dark Madelyne Pryor - $3,750

 

SILVESTRI, MARC - Uncanny X-Men #243 pg 18 "Inferno" - Beast Longshot X-Factor Greys & Baby Cable $3,450 NEW

 

SILVESTRI, MARC - Uncanny X-men #246 pg 9, Wolverine & Storm joke about hair - $3,450

 

SILVESTRI, MARC - Uncanny X-Men #246 pg, Rogue & Psylocke gal talk - $2,500

 

SILVESTRI, MARC - Uncanny X-Men #247 pg 29, Black King & Black Queen trick Senator Kelly $2,750

 

SILVESTRI, MARC - Uncanny X-Men #253 pg 24, New Team Line-up - Excalibur UK HQ & Amanda - $1,250

 

SILVESTRI, MARK - Uncanny X-Men #254 pg 20, Mutant villain - ice superhero statues - $2,500

 

SILVESTRI, MARC - Uncanny X-Men #255 pg 12, Mystique & Freedom Force vs Lady Deathstrike $2,750

 

SILVESTRI, MARC - Uncanny X-Men #259 pg 16, Dazzler movie / studio - $1,295

 

SILVESTRI, MARC - Uncanny X-Men #259 pg 8, Dazzler movie / vault - $1,100

 

SILVESTRI, MARC - Uncanny X-Men #260 pg, Banshee & Forge, Dazzler on People Mag $1,850

 

SILVESTRI, MARC - Uncanny X-Men #261 pg 13, Banshee & Forge, Moira $1,750

 

THANK YOU!!!! This is what I was looking for and sadly what I was expecting. Much appreciated.

 

 

And that was last year. You can probably move the decimal over one spot to the right.

 

 

I look at this price list and all I see is:

 

[JadeGiant]

Yep, a year and another inquiry on the art means that your quote has to go through the Cool Lines price multiplier algorithm. Good luck in your search

[grapeape]

ha ha ha!! I've been watching a page owned by the brothers for ten years and it goes up every time I inquire :-( I've learned to detest the word inquire by the way. Happy New Year!!!