Do Creators Keep Track of the Going Rate for Their Sigs? 1 1

[kav]

Like check ebay to see how much value their sig adds to a book Or do they just look around and see what the other guys are charging?  Do they price sigs based on what flippers are getting or focus on the fans and try to keep the prices lower?

Edited September 3, 2019 by kav

[ADAMANTIUM]

12 minutes ago, kav said:

Like check ebay to see how much value their sig adds to a book Or do they just look around and see what the other guys are charging?  Do they price sigs based on what flippers are getting or focus on the fans and try to keep the prices lower?

No because I don't see them lowering the price at all..... as they should

But

Adam Hughes and his team keep an eye on sketches, If they see it priced too high they make a Facebook post that someone ef is over charging....

Edited September 3, 2019 by ADAMANTIUM

[kav]

4 minutes ago, ADAMANTIUM said:

No because I don't see them lowering the price at all..... as they should

But

Adam Hughes and his team keep an eye on sketches, If they see it priced too high they make a Facebook post that someone ef is over charging....

They should have a sliding scale-one book equals fan-price $20.  Stack of books = flipper-price $50.

[ADAMANTIUM]

Just now, kav said:

They should have a sliding scale-one book equals fan-price $20.  Stack of books = flipper-price $50.

Wouldn't work. With all those that say it's cheaper on shipping if you submit more to cgc at a time. They might charge more for "special facilitators signings, but that doesn't really work either.

I could see if raw sigs were actually "worth something" then the 50 stack as oppose to 3 stack of book upcharge would then make sense...

[kav]

Just now, ADAMANTIUM said:

Wouldn't work. With all those that say it's cheaper on shipping if you submit more to cgc at a time. They might charge more for "special facilitators signings, but that doesn't really work either.

I could see if raw sigs were actually "worth something" then the 50 stack as oppose to 3 stack of book upcharge would then make sense...

but a fan that just wants to have a book signed by one of his beloved artists would just have that book, not a flipper stack.

[ADAMANTIUM]

Besides 

Artists and creators want that cash the same as the flippers....

[kav]

If he's submitting a stack signed by various artists to save on shipping, again-fan not flipper-he gets the lo price.

[ADAMANTIUM]

Then you have people like John Byrne who is the polar opposite and won't do cgc, regardless of reasoning, he just signs at minimum cost.

But when that is common knowledge, I can see his "raw sig" still be worth "something", because everyone knows he doesn't do cgc

There is just no sense in debating middle ground, it'll all turn to grey area, your eyes will bleed, you'll develop vertigo and plotz on the kugal....

[kav]

2 minutes ago, ADAMANTIUM said:

Then you have people like John Byrne who is the polar opposite and won't do cgc, regardless of reasoning, he just signs at minimum cost.

But when that is common knowledge, I can see his "raw sig" still be worth "something", because everyone knows he doesn't do cgc

There is just no sense in debating middle ground, it'll all turn to grey area, your eyes will bleed, you'll develop vertigo and plotz on the kugal....

yep thats what's happening.  

[kav]

Sigs used to be free did flippers ruin it for everyone?

[Cman429]

Celebrities ruined it. I talked with Bob Layton once about this and he made the good point that if the guy who played the third Wookiee on the left in Phantom Menace can charge $40 for an auto, why can’t the creator of Iron Man ask for $10?

Which isn’t to say ebay is blameless. Creators have told me they look at what flippers charge on eBay so many are definitely aware and want “their piece” of the pie as it were. But what most of them don’t comprehend is just because someone lists a $15 modern for $299 after its signed doesn’t mean they actually GET that. 

Personally, I think the flippers thing is just a convenient crock for creators to justify charging for worthless autographs.

[dupont2005]

Some probably couldn’t care less but I’m sure at least a few have researched it thoroughly. 

[kav]

5 minutes ago, Cman429 said:

who played the third Wookiee on the left in Phantom Menace

[kav]

I can just see all the fans lined up for their third wookie from the left sigs and suddenly someone shouts "Look it's the second wookie from the left!!!" and everyone rushing over-

[Turtle]

6 hours ago, Cman429 said:

Celebrities ruined it. I talked with Bob Layton once about this and he made the good point that if the guy who played the third Wookiee on the left in Phantom Menace can charge $40 for an auto, why can’t the creator of Iron Man ask for $10?

He's not still claiming to be the co-creator of Iron Man, is he?

[punksdropdirtysrh]

Neal Adams gave me a hard time when I first met him for an autograph ($60 for 3 signed prints) because I didn’t want them personalized. At first I was confused and didn’t know why he seemed so annoyed, but a bit later i surmised that maybe he thinks I’m a flipper since I don’t want my name written on the prints. Just not my thing when it comes to prints or covers.  Sorry Neal...

[Dmac538]

As a witness at the shows, prices are all over the place, there is just no way to figure it out. Sometimes i have had creators ask "what should i charge?", the best response is what do you need it for? Some creators actually make ends meet at these shows, so it is hard to judge what they are charging, remember they get no residuals.  The average fee ranges from nothing, to Rob Liefield getting $80, most charge $10- $20, some charge to help other creators for the Heroes Initiative for example Jim Starlin, Mike Mignola and Whilce Portacio. Another point is buyers are sometimes oblivious how much money goes into a book before it gets to Ebay, between buying the book , grading fees, writer and artist fees, you maybe looking at whopping $90 before it's even sold.

[Will_K]

Way before there was such a thing as slabbing and paying for signtures, I would get my comics signed almost always on the first page.

A couple years ago, I was at a show and Simon Bisley was charging for $10 per signature.  It had been well over 10 years since I've gotten comics signed by someone other than "some guy" in Artist Alley..  And I had never paid for a signature but I really wanted him to sign my 4 issues of his Lobo mini-series. 

OK, fine.  So I paid my $40 and got my comics signed on the first page.  I had also paid him for a sketch so I was checking back every so often.  And I saw him signing lots books left and right but never charging for signatures.  I felt like a total schmuck.  And my sketch turned out horribly (for what it cost).  So, I'll never get anything from Bisley again.

An alternative to charging for signatures is signing for free (or reduced fee).  BUT only if it's on the inside of the book.  So even with a witness and being a SS, you can't see the signature.  I know part of the appeal is seeing the signature but if you wanted it signed, it's signed.

 

[theCapraAegagrus]

I charge $3.50 per signature FYI.

[newshane]

10 hours ago, Cman429 said:

I talked with Bob Layton once about this and he made the good point that if the guy who played the third Wookiee on the left in Phantom Menace can charge $40 for an auto, why can’t the creator of Iron Man ask for $10?

 

One problem...Bob was NOT the creator of Iron Man,