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With all of the exclusive creator/talent signing deals...
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252 posts in this topic

10 minutes ago, seanfingh said:

I'm just saying that we've all made good bread on books before, and it is not fair to paint with too broad of a brush.

 

 

I also firmly believe that the market will take care of price gouging on its own.

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3 minutes ago, seanfingh said:

I'm just saying that we've all made good bread on books before, and it is not fair to paint with too broad of a brush.

 

 

I totally get that I guess when I break it down the community that once was here is no longer even 1/10th of what it was in the SS community. I strongly feel that "stabling of talent" has caused this 

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7 minutes ago, seanfingh said:

I'm not sure why "true cost" enters into it.  Do you research the "true cost" of a $50 steak or a $45,000 roadster?  These are luxury items, and it is either worth your discretionary spending dollars or it isn't.  I have paid anywhere between $175 and $350 on numerous occasions for books with free signatures. Why? Because I wanted it, and I wasn't able to get it done myself.  Did I get "bent over?"  No more so than the last time I went to Ruth's Chris.

Completely agree...that was my point as well....

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8 minutes ago, dhurley said:

I totally get that I guess when I break it down the community that once was here is no longer even 1/10th of what it was in the SS community. I strongly feel that "stabling of talent" has caused this 

There are a lot of guys (myself included) that have gotten farther and farther away from the program the less it becomes a community of like minded collectors, and more a business division. Not making a value judgment, but it is something I agree with you 100% as it relates to the actual dynamic at shows and in the program.

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1 hour ago, TheRealVenom said:

2) When pre selling celebrity signed books, Charging up front and not being honest or upfront about when the signing actually is. Why do you need my money today when the signing is 4 or 5 months away? Im more than happy to pay up front but be honest about when the signing is and let me know why you need my money 5 months ahead of time!

Sometimes there may be a legitimate need to pay the celebrity up front or make sure you have the cash on hand when payment becomes due but if someone is taking more than just a deposit on a large $$$ transaction you're pretty much giving that facilitator an interest free small business loan IMHO (and others).

In the case of my sales threads - when I sell something I pay for it first 99% of the time or have a deal in place before I even sell it. I don't invoice customers until after the show is over and all books have already been subbed to CGC. This way customers know what they are getting and know they will be getting a 9.8 in the mail whether it be blue or SS. I and many others have been doing this for years without customer issues. The cash grab as of late has led to many the headache in the marketplace where some were receiving less than promised.

Edited by BeachBum
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1 hour ago, seanfingh said:

There are a lot of guys (myself included) that have gotten farther and farther away from the program the less it becomes a community of like minded collectors, and more a business division. Not making a value judgment, but it is something I agree with you 100% as it relates to the actual dynamic at shows and in the program.

I miss the days when we were all running around shows together and looking out for each other and each other's customers. Many a Facilitator would even hit me up for my advice on the grade of book and I'd happily oblige. Now it's just a free for all I feel. It's sad because there are a lot of great and talented people who are on the sidelines who just don't want to deal with it anymore. :frown:

That being said there are people I just won't deal with anymore after hearing some of the stuff coming out of their mouths publicly.

Edited by BeachBum
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10 minutes ago, BeachBum said:

Sometimes there may be a legitimate need to pay the celebrity up front or make sure you have the cash on hand when payment becomes due but if someone is taking more than just a deposit on a large $$$ transaction you're pretty much giving that facilitator an interest free small business loan IMHO (and others).

In the case of my sales threads - when I sell something I pay for it first 99% of the time or have a deal in place before I even sell it. I don't invoice customers until after the show is over and all books have already been subbed to CGC. This way customers know what they are getting and know they will be getting a 9.8 in the mail whether it be blue or SS. I and many others have been doing this for years without customer issues. The cash grab as of late has led to many the headache in the marketplace where some were receiving less than promised.

another one of the good guys :foryou:

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18 minutes ago, dhurley said:

another one of the good guys :foryou:

I just hate getting messages from people who bought books months before released from someone, not getting what they paid for, then coming to me looking for the same item that I legitimately had at the time of the show but can't help them out anymore because it's gone.

Edited by BeachBum
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I can say personally I have dealt with Dscott, Rich Henn, and Par2ch in regards to my own books and have always found them to be great to deal with. I haven't had a bad experience yet...and as of most recent some amazing opportunities and stories. Just had my first Toast purchase (non-graded) that went really well too. For having never really met anyone on the boards, its been a pleasure to deal with you all. Just stop taking all my money before my wife kills me...

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9 hours ago, Rich_Henn said:

I have had a number of customers stop giving me books for a great deal of creators who charge, who up until recently didn't charge before.

The creators who could actually use the money, not only do not charge, but they typically refuse to accept anything.

Wrightson was one of those guys, Wiacek comes to mind, the best was Kelly Sue DeConick.  She signed about 30 books for a client that I was working with 2 years ago, and when I offered to give her something, she was grateful but politely declined, even after I pressed her to compensate.

She verbalized how she was genuinely happy that fans buy her book, support her work, regardless of the qty, because that's us supporting her career.

We talked for a few minutes about this, and I told her how one other creator said the same thing to me and then a week later was $10 per book.

She seemed genuinely put off that this creator, who is an lawyer by trade, said "Let me tell you something----he doesn't need your money.  He's a high powered attorney.  I've been in this business much longer than him, and I know for a fact that my signature is worth more than his.  Once you buy my book, our transaction is complete."

Very sobering.

 

 

Charles Soule?

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I have had the pleasure of getting items from Dre, toast, stevefrench, and rich in the past year when I just starred this hobby. I have never had a bad experience with these guys and even offered my standing in line getting stuff signed services to Rich for cons in Texas that I atttend.

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9 hours ago, Dwitkin82 said:

 

9 hours ago, seanfingh said:

I'm not sure why "true cost" enters into it.  Do you research the "true cost" of a $50 steak or a $45,000 roadster?  These are luxury items, and it is either worth your discretionary spending dollars or it isn't.  I have paid anywhere between $175 and $350 on numerous occasions for books with free signatures. Why? Because I wanted it, and I wasn't able to get it done myself.  Did I get "bent over?"  No more so than the last time I went to Ruth's Chris.

Completely agree...that was my point as well....

 

Free markets are fine for pricing. But only when they're really free. That is, no monopolies. 

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18 hours ago, BeachBum said:

Sometimes there may be a legitimate need to pay the celebrity up front or make sure you have the cash on hand when payment becomes due but if someone is taking more than just a deposit on a large $$$ transaction you're pretty much giving that facilitator an interest free small business loan IMHO (and others).

In the case of my sales threads - when I sell something I pay for it first 99% of the time or have a deal in place before I even sell it. I don't invoice customers until after the show is over and all books have already been subbed to CGC. This way customers know what they are getting and know they will be getting a 9.8 in the mail whether it be blue or SS. I and many others have been doing this for years without customer issues. The cash grab as of late has led to many the headache in the marketplace where some were receiving less than promised.

Most of the other forums that I belong to have a rule about this.  If the item is not in your possession then you can not list it for sale which eliminates the possibility of receiving less than promised.

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29 minutes ago, cms1 said:

Most of the other forums that I belong to have a rule about this.  If the item is not in your possession then you can not list it for sale which eliminates the possibility of receiving less than promised.

If I were to go into the Sales Marketplace here https://www.cgccomics.com/boards/forum/63-comics-market-forum-only-selling-area/ and start up a sales thread for next weekend's Con Exclusives (Fan Expo/Wondercon) right now it would get yanked because it's a pre-sale thread which is not allowed. The fact that it is allowed here in the Sig room and via these massive PM threads is an issue. It's a straight up work-around to circumvent the rules and an attempt monopolize/get to market first here on the boards in my and other's opinion - A lot of other dealers/facilitators have contacted me about this. I could start doing this but I'd rather not because I prefer to be transparent with my business dealings here on the board.

I've had many a sales threads yanked quickly in the past because a Moderator mis-understanding of what I was selling before a show was already in my possession or already paid for. I've had to send PMs showing invoices/emails to get my threads back up.

Sales of stuff other than SS opps/sketch opps/SS already in possession should be moved to the Forum sales marketplace already. It would cut down on all the drama.

Edited by BeachBum
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This is not about customer service .. if you pay the price they will treat you well

this is about the SS community going from who can help who to who can lock up the most creators and charge the most money possible for a sketch/ and or sig.

12 hours ago, RattyLa said:

I have had the pleasure of getting items from Dre, toast, stevefrench, and rich in the past year when I just starred this hobby. I have never had a bad experience with these guys and even offered my standing in line getting stuff signed services to Rich for cons in Texas that I atttend.

Facilitators you mentioned here don't play the stable game .. these guys grind at each show or with one off private signings to get amazing books done for their customers. 

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