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I can't stand dealers who keep sold art listed !
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64 posts in this topic

Well, it's all in the title.

Between those who keep sold OA as available (the worst, The Artist Choice for example but he is not the only one) and those who indicate it's sold but keep hundred of sold pages on their website making very hard to find the available ones (Artcoholics ... ) it is hard to believe they are professionals.

 

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2 minutes ago, Mycroft said:

Well, it's all in the title.

Between those who keep sold OA as available (the worst, The Artist Choice for example but he is not the only one) and those who indicate it's sold but keep hundred of sold pages on their website making very hard to find the available ones (Artcoholics ... ) it is hard to believe they are professionals.

 

I know I forget to update my CAF with a piece or two that I move from time to time. 

I can only imagine what that's like on the scale of something like The Artists Choice that, for years, fluctuated between 40,000 and 80,000 pages of artwork. 

Spencer's always been good about confirming when a piece is out of stock when I place an order however. 

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Yes, but he doesn't bother to correct it ....

They're is another dealer on CAF who can't tell me if some pages are available, because the (well known) artist is too busy to tell him ... (and that after telling me that at least one page listed as for sale is sold).

I send my first mail in october !!!

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8 minutes ago, Mycroft said:

Yes, but he doesn't bother to correct it ....

They're is another dealer on CAF who can't tell me if some pages are available, because the (well known) artist is too busy to tell him ... (and that after telling me that at least one page listed as for sale is sold).

I send my first mail in october !!!

Not that this is necessarily relevant, but I bought a page directly from an artist at a convention, and then contacted that artist's rep to buy another one a couple of months later. I mentioned that I bought another page from the artist, and they asked me which one. I told them, and the rep said "Oh, so THAT's where that page went! I thought it was lost!"

Sometimes, people lose track of stuff. (shrug)

 

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I think it makes a lot of sense for them to leave art listed as SOLD on their site... for many reasons, lots of them obvious. However... please provide us with a way to filter the sold from the available. It isn't that hard.


As for those that don't even keep track of what they actually have sold on their site... they're very aware of it, they just don't care. It has been talked about before in this forum, but in general, customer service isn't seen as a focus in the comic art marketplace, though some manage a fine job with it.

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I own—for years—several pieces of art that are still “for sale” on two different sites. What kills me is that when I’m ready to sell, which is soon, I may be subjected to mistrust by potential buyers as I may appear as a scammer or, what is it called? A drop shipper? Not long ago I saw a piece on one dealer’s site that was on sale at another’s that I made an inquiry about whether or not it was really in his possession. It’s the sad side of the marketplace. 

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3 minutes ago, Jay Olie Espy said:

I own—for years—several pieces of art that are still “for sale” on two different sites. What kills me is that when I’m ready to sell, which is soon, I may be subjected to mistrust by potential buyers as I may appear as a scammer or, what is it called? A drop shipper? Not long ago I saw a piece on one dealer’s site that was on sale at another’s that I made an inquiry about whether or not it was really in his possession. It’s the sad side of the marketplace. 

If you decide to move those pieces maybe give full disclosure in the listing and say the dealers you bought them from never took them down - as this thread shows, this type of scenario is hardly unfamiliar to comic art buyers.

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Just now, SquareChaos said:

If you decide to move those pieces maybe give full disclosure in the listing and say the dealers you bought them from never took them down - as this thread shows, this type of scenario is hardly unfamiliar to comic art buyers.

It’s funny, I was just thinking that. One site I may just reach out before I do with potential for success. The other, well, at least there’s not a price listed if you know what I mean, so I don’t expect anything to happen. 

I never saw this as a priority, but now that I think of it, it did me no favors not acting quicker. I bought these pieces years ago and though I don’t believe their value has doubled, I’d like to adjust the price just to get my money back or close to it after fees, etc. Hypothetically, if the dealer took down the art tonight and I listed the piece tomorrow, I’d look like a flipper. 

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Robert Plunkett has a listed page which I knew he had sold about 7-8 months previously because I had asked about it. He said it was sold, but, it's still on the CAF site. (Ironically, the one I bought, he took down). 

I'm naming names because this one annoys me.

 

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4 minutes ago, eewwnuk said:

what about sellers that don't price their items that are for sale? 

Or when you make a search on the CAF classifieds or Comic Art Shop or when you click on the “Art For Sale” folder only to find that the piece is marked “NFS.” :pullhair:

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personally - I am not a fan of having 'SOLD' items either. it just makes me feel worse to find something I like, but it is SOLD. Its a tease I can do without. Many sites do this (romitaman,albert moy, felix to name 3 that come to mind.) I think leaving an item as sold for a short time after it sells is good - as it tells you that stuff sold and you just missed it - but having too much sold stuff on a site makes browsing that site NOT fun.

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40 minutes ago, Panelfan1 said:

personally - I am not a fan of having 'SOLD' items either. it just makes me feel worse to find something I like, but it is SOLD. Its a tease I can do without. Many sites do this (romitaman,albert moy, felix to name 3 that come to mind.) I think leaving an item as sold for a short time after it sells is good - as it tells you that stuff sold and you just missed it - but having too much sold stuff on a site makes browsing that site NOT fun.

My situation is different from Romitaman's and Albert's in that I'm a rep, not a dealer. My job isn't to sell art I own; rather, it's to help promote the work of artists I rep. Which means making sure their art gets seen!

Art sells quickly off our site. If I were to remove the art the sold right away, most people will have never have had a chance to see it. I believe the more people who are exposed to it, the more who will want it when I have new art down the line. Hopefully.

As it is, everything is left up under "New Art Added" for 90 days:

http://www.felixcomicart.com/NewItems.asp?Type=a&Order=date&List=584

After 90 days, it rolls off the page. I also update each artist's page quarterly (approximately) to remove sold items from their main page. So for my site, sold items are generally up for 90 days. Certainly not forever.

(A smaller consideration is that there are scan collectors who appreciate being able to save scans from the site. No immediate benefit to us, except I believe some scan collectors eventually become art collectors.)

I know this doesn't work for everyone, that some would rather all sold art be removed immediately. But this is what's been working for us. I don't believe we'd be doing better if we removed art from the site as it sold. So until anything changes in that regard, we'll be staying the course, and hope you understand.

 

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On 1/18/2018 at 3:28 PM, comix4fun said:

Spencer's always been good about confirming when a piece is out of stock when I place an order however. 

well, there isn't much alternative, is there? 

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3 hours ago, Nexus said:

My situation is different from Romitaman's and Albert's in that I'm a rep, not a dealer. My job isn't to sell art I own; rather, it's to help promote the work of artists I rep. Which means making sure their art gets seen!

Art sells quickly off our site. If I were to remove the art the sold right away, most people will have never have had a chance to see it. I believe the more people who are exposed to it, the more who will want it when I have new art down the line. Hopefully.

As it is, everything is left up under "New Art Added" for 90 days:

http://www.felixcomicart.com/NewItems.asp?Type=a&Order=date&List=584

After 90 days, it rolls off the page. I also update each artist's page quarterly (approximately) to remove sold items from their main page. So for my site, sold items are generally up for 90 days. Certainly not forever.

(A smaller consideration is that there are scan collectors who appreciate being able to save scans from the site. No immediate benefit to us, except I believe some scan collectors eventually become art collectors.)

I know this doesn't work for everyone, that some would rather all sold art be removed immediately. But this is what's been working for us. I don't believe we'd be doing better if we removed art from the site as it sold. So until anything changes in that regard, we'll be staying the course, and hope you understand.

 

Hi Felix.

I never want to tell anyone how to do their business. You know what works for you.  

For me its not fun to shop in a site where so much art is sold. It discourages me browsing past the first few lines. Even if unsold stuff is below. Some would say -My loss.

I may be wrong but comiccon art has a gallery section seperate from the sales section so you can see prime art by each artist without it showing up on the sales page.

And while its up to you how you organize the pages - perhaps there is a way to keep the for sale/not yet sold items at the top or if mixed up - then with a highlight box around it or some other easy to scan through method.

My 2c

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