Comicartfans purchases 1 1

[BuraddoRun]

Do many of you make purchases on comicartfans? How does it work, exactly, when someone lists something for sale that you want to buy? Is it a trustworthy place to find art from? I realize it's full of collectors and not a site like Anthony's or anything, but I guess I'm just looking for tips and experiences, since I literally signed up just today and have no experience there. Thanks!

[visarspike]

i often buy on CAF, and never had any problem

[aokartman]

1 hour ago, BuraddoRun said:

Do many of you make purchases on comicartfans? How does it work, exactly, when someone lists something for sale that you want to buy? Is it a trustworthy place to find art from? I realize it's full of collectors and not a site like Anthony's or anything, but I guess I'm just looking for tips and experiences, since I literally signed up just today and have no experience there. Thanks!

I have bought and sold through CAF with no issues, just US only, though.  You shouldn't have any problems.  Ask for references if you need to for your own comfort!

Best,  David S. Albright

[ESeffinga]

Some of my friends I’ve had in the hobby for the last decade plus, came from conversing with fellow collectors on CAF.

The biggest thing in the hobby is to get a feel for who people are. Cant know everyone of course, though. So the usual rules to buying online from a stranger apply. 

1 - Be courteous. The guy you treat rudely today might have something you really want 3 years from now. You may not even remember them, but if you act jerkish at all, they’ll probably remember you.

2 - Don’t pay anyone you aren’t close to with Friends and Family via PayPal. A lot of folks ask to save themselves the fees, but if things go south, you are the one that is definitely hosed.

3 - If you don’t know the person you are looking to buy from, check with other folks you do now in the hobby. Or ask around. People post threads here, or on social media all the time as an open call whether this person or that dealer is reputable. Some are. Some are less so, or haves mixed Reps. Everyone is generally more than happy to give props to folks that have done them right. Which is why #1 is so important. Reputation is often everything in the hobby. Make yours a good one as well.

4 - If you don’t know the person with the art, and no one is responding about dealing with that person, you can ask them for references of people that do know them. One simple way to get to know them is if they have an eBay handle. Ask for it. Look at their feedback. See if they can send you some names of other folks on CAF with galleries of art. Some folks legit don’t post their collections on CAF, but I always feel better dealing with folks that participate in the hobby, and I see sharing at least part of my collection with folks via CAF as a way to participate and give back.

5 - reach out. Have a conversation with the person who is selling the piece. More often than not, art collectors love talking about art they are into. You can get a feel for some folks in the way they respond. Don’t be a time waster or a tire kicker. Reaching out and then disappearing without letting them know you are no longer interested happens ALL the time, and is a jerk move. Eating up a bunch of someone’s time with no real interest in buying the piece is also disrespectful. But a genuine and open honest conversation about the piece itself can often lead to talking about other pieces in your collections, and every once in a while, you might strike up a friendly convo that leads to a mutual respect and even friendship. Don’t be afraid to chat people up. Just remember #1. Courtesy and respect. They will take you farther than anything.

6 - Until you have a solid understanding of where, who and how to buy from folks, be wary of listings that say “offers”. Most often these are sellers that art fishing. They don’t know how much a piece will sell for, or are hoping someone will offer them way above the legit street price of the art. They are afraid of leaving $1 on the table, even though they clearly don’t know the selling price should be i their own mind. I’ve always seen offers people as the wanting their cake and eating it too sort. Some folks are cool with it. I’m not, generally speaking. Especially for someone just getting their feet wet.

7. - Read the thread about new to collecting advice and tips. Really. You never know what nuggets of golden advice you might stumble across in there.

[comix4fun]

3 hours ago, BuraddoRun said:

Do many of you make purchases on comicartfans? How does it work, exactly, when someone lists something for sale that you want to buy? Is it a trustworthy place to find art from? I realize it's full of collectors and not a site like Anthony's or anything, but I guess I'm just looking for tips and experiences, since I literally signed up just today and have no experience there. Thanks!

It's as reliable as any other place to buy and sell that has individuals doing the buying and the selling. So it's an email contact situation where you discuss prices and terms off the site. 

Every single gallery is an individual person and needs to be weighed individually. 

I've met some of the best people through CAF, and I've also come across some shady and questionable folks along the way too. Many of the absolute pillars of the hobby have galleries there and have been there since the beginning 16-17 years ago, or near to it, others are newer to the hobby and the site but just as trustworthy...you just have to navigate the waters and figure out your comfort level on an individual, seller-by-seller, basis. 

So you just have to ask a lot of questions, get some references, and look around. You just want to get comfortable that the person you're speaking to is 1) who they say they are, 2) actually own the art they are going to sell you, and 3) will actually send you the art once you've bought it. Seems simple but every transaction and every gallery holder/seller has to be weighed individually. 

And never pay friends and family through PayPal. 

 

[grapeape]

5 hours ago, BuraddoRun said:

Do many of you make purchases on comicartfans? How does it work, exactly, when someone lists something for sale that you want to buy? Is it a trustworthy place to find art from? I realize it's full of collectors and not a site like Anthony's or anything, but I guess I'm just looking for tips and experiences, since I literally signed up just today and have no experience there. Thanks!

Read and reread ESeffinga"s advice above over and over. I think you should spend time getting to know other CAF members. You are able to trade emails back and forth. You could start with a few short emails sending your thoughts about a posted art piece. Keep it friendly. Over time you'll have "friends" here. Check out the Comic Market place thread here on CGC. Many pieces listed are on a CAF site also.

[grapeape]

1 minute ago, grapeape said:

Read and reread ESeffinga"s advice above over and over. I think you should spend time getting to know other CAF members. You are able to trade emails back and forth. You could start with a few short emails sending your thoughts about a posted art piece. Keep it friendly. Over time you'll have "friends" here. Check out the Comic Market place thread here on CGC. Many pieces listed are on a CAF site also.

And never pay friends and family through PayPal.---Comix4fun

2 - Don’t pay anyone you aren’t close to with Friends and Family via PayPal. A lot of folks ask to save themselves the fees, but if things go south, you are the one that is definitely hosed. ESeffinga

Can you guys explain your concerns about paying PayPal friends and family? That would be helpful for the new members.

[comix4fun]

7 minutes ago, grapeape said:

And never pay friends and family through PayPal.---Comix4fun

2 - Don’t pay anyone you aren’t close to with Friends and Family via PayPal. A lot of folks ask to save themselves the fees, but if things go south, you are the one that is definitely hosed. ESeffinga

Can you guys explain your concerns about paying PayPal friends and family? That would be helpful for the new members.

Well I didn't want to assume people hadn't used PayPal in other hobbies or places and come across this issue, so I held off on elaborating. However....

Friends and Family is the wrong method to use unless you're reimbursing someone for something (tickets, dinner, they picked something up and covered the cost, etc.) because there is  1) no protection through PayPal for the payer ( if they fail to deliver your item you cannot have PayPal intervene to get your funds back for you, you're on your own when it comes to PayPal ) and 2) PayPal has been increasingly militant about misuse of friends and family payments (fee avoidance) in violation of their terms. It can and has resulted in accounts getting placed on hold and funds being held in limbo if the payment gets flagged for any of numerous reasons. 

For transactions Goods & Services should be the only thing used. Sellers can build the extra 2.9% & change into their selling price if necessary but, to me, anyone I don't know well that demands Friends & Family payment is sending up a red flag. Many facebook groups live on F&F payments but it's incredibly irresponsible as a general rule. 

[ShallowDan]

Just one quick clarification (that you may already be aware of), but CAF is for all intents and purposes just the host for collections and for-sale galleries.  They make this clear when you message a seller, but it's not a situation where they have vetted sellers, nor are they getting any sort of cut of the sale that puts them in a position to act as mediator if problems arise.  

Having said that, I've never had a problem with the small handful of buys I've made there.  As ESeffinga and others have mentioned above, usually when chatting with someone you can pretty quickly get a feel for them.  Generally folks are friendly and fairly enthusiastic to talk about the hobby. 

[Mephisto]

6 hours ago, BuraddoRun said:

Do many of you make purchases on comicartfans? How does it work, exactly, when someone lists something for sale that you want to buy? Is it a trustworthy place to find art from? I realize it's full of collectors and not a site like Anthony's or anything, but I guess I'm just looking for tips and experiences, since I literally signed up just today and have no experience there. Thanks!

Probably more trustworthy collectors on there than Anthony.

[Will_K]

I will pay via PayPal using Friends/Family if I have established a relationship with the seller. 

One of them mentioned that too much incoming $$$ may attract PayPal's attention since it does avoid their Goods/Services fees.

 

Edited August 16, 2020 by Will_K

[Rick2you2]

1 hour ago, Mephisto said:

Probably more trustworthy collectors on there than Anthony.

What makes you say that? I haven’t had, or heard, a bad thing about him. 

[comix4fun]

1 hour ago, Will_K said:

I will pay via PayPal using Friends/Family if I have established a relationship with the seller. 

One of them mentioned that too much incoming $$$ may attract PayPal's attention since it does avoid their Goods/Services fees.

 

That actually happened to me recently. I had placed an order on behalf of several folks for some items, and they reimbursed me, it was the perfect use of F&F and after 5-6 of them PayPal held up one of the payments to investigate...it was $8....it was cleared in a few days when it was passed along to them that it was a reimbursement, but it goes to show that all transactions great and small monitored. 

[Mephisto]

28 minutes ago, Rick2you2 said:

What makes you say that? I haven’t had, or heard, a bad thing about him. 

“Bought” a Jusko Thor painting from him in October 2015 for 4K. Put it in the basket and did the checkout. No response from him for awhile about paying.

Email him asking the status of the piece. Get an email back the next day that it’s a consignment piece and working out the status. Never get another response. Piece disappears from the website shortly later. So I just assume the consigner sold it elsewhere and never informed him.

But of course a few months later it shows up on Anthony’s site now listed at 7K. Several years later I was at NYCC and guess what was sitting in one of Anthony’s bins. The same Thor painting. I would never waste my time on him again plus the rise of auction houses have left him a dealer of comic color guides and very little substantial  comic art.

[Varanis]

It's as dependable and trustworthy as whoever you're dealing with. A lot of collectors on there are very well established and their reputation is worth a lot more than one deal. Not that someone couldn't use the platform for ill intent, but if you're dealing with someone established, they are fairly incentivized to follow through. 

[BuraddoRun]

Thanks for all the advice, everyone, and assuaging my fears. I found a piece for sale that I'm REALLY interested in, but it's higher than I've ever paid for OA before. It's also nicer, a cover.

I guess I should try and scan my OA and get it up on CAF soon as well. I don't have a big enough scanner! But thankfully, I live close to a FedEx copy center.

[JollyComics]

22 minutes ago, BuraddoRun said:

Thanks for all the advice, everyone, and assuaging my fears. I found a piece for sale that I'm REALLY interested in, but it's higher than I've ever paid for OA before. It's also nicer, a cover.

I guess I should try and scan my OA and get it up on CAF soon as well. I don't have a big enough scanner! But thankfully, I live close to a FedEx copy center.

Photography would be sufficient.

[Will_K]

31 minutes ago, BuraddoRun said:

I guess I should try and scan my OA and get it up on CAF soon as well.

I don't use it but maybe... CamScanner ??

https://www.cgccomics.com/boards/topic/458904-camscanner-app-question/

 

[Benedict Judas Hel]

35 minutes ago, BuraddoRun said:

I guess I should try and scan my OA and get it up on CAF soon as well. I don't have a big enough scanner! But thankfully, I live close to a FedEx copy center.

I just use my iPhone to take my CAF pics.  Nothing fancy but it suffices.

[MagnusX]

I have buy and sell a coupe of pieces,
never a problem...