When your eyes are bigger than your wallet... 1 1

[BuraddoRun]

I'm sure a lot of new collectors do this but, I got a little carried away with wanting to build up my comic art collection. Within the span of a few months, I bought a few pieces on eBay, put things on layaway with 3 different dealers/reps, reached out to a few CAF gallery owners, and contacted a few artists directly. On the bright side, I've learned a lot very quickly (also posting and talking with people here, of course), got some nice pieces to add to my collection, and met some cool people. On the other hand...well yeah, like the title says. The good news is that I'm slowing down now. I paid off 2 out of the 3 layaway pieces, and should have the 3rd paid of well before the agreed due date. Of the people I contacted on CAF, only 1 responded positively, and that happened to be someone that had some unlisted stuff that was high on my want list. We worked out a deal and now I'm just waiting to get those pieces in the mail. As for the artists, I'm waiting while the ones that responded have me on hold for a later date when they're able to sell the art I inquired about. That gives me some time to save up. And now, I'm looking at stuff here and there, but closing the wallet for the most part until I get caught up. LOL. The other good thing is that I've been selling off some things (non art related) that I don't want anymore that's helping me with these purchases.

Anyhow, have any of you done things like this? I'm sure it's common for new collectors, and probably for many seasoned collectors when they feel an itch as well.

Edited September 19, 2020 by BuraddoRun

[Rick2you2]

After reading what you wrote, my immediate reaction was “teenage sex drive”. It happens to everyone.

Self-dIscipline is not fun. Just remember, you cannot buy all the good art out there, and some art is better than other art. So my suggestion is that you specialize. It could be by artists, character, theme (faux Sugar and Spike covers) or situation. That way, you will naturally apply the brakes to buying outside your specialization. For example, I keep coming back to a series of commissions showing up on eBay where someone apparently collected a lot of Batman on gargoyle images— and most are excellent. By doing so, and developing preferences, you will slow down your buying instincts. Also, be very careful about going after commissions— too easy in many cases to get and unless special to you, a waste of funds. I went through that period, and now will only rarely buy them. Some other people scratch that itch by buying art books which let them look at things “on the cheap”. Or, consider prints.

I am going through something similar right now. I guess I’ll have to make do with sex.

[The Voord]

I certainly wouldn't recommend specializing, as you'd be shutting yourself off from lots of potentially great art.  Just let the dust settle on your initial feeding frenzy and let your wallet build up reserves..  While that's happening, you could be perusing what's out there and available to you.  It's a safe bet that you've come from a comic-book collecting background . . . so transpose that interest into comic art that ties-in to the stuff that's pushed your buttons over the years.

Speaking personally, if I specialized from the git go, I'd never have owned such a diverse collection during the course of the past 38 years . . . 

https://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryDetail.asp?GCat=1865

Edited September 19, 2020 by The Voord

[Bronty]

I agree with that.   Specializing is great but a lot of people need some exposure to different art to learn what they like before they go down that road.  Buying some stuff you end up regretting  is in my opinion part of the process of figuring out what you do like.  
 

Specialize too early and you might end up regretting every purchase instead of just some of them

Edited September 19, 2020 by Bronty

[Varanis]

40 minutes ago, The Voord said:

I certainly wouldn't recommend specializing, as you'd be shutting yourself off from lots of potentially great art.  Just let the dust settle on your initial feeding frenzy and let your wallet build up reserves..  While that's happening, you could be perusing what's out there and available to you.  It's a safe bet that you've come from a comic-book collecting background . . . so transpose that interest into comic art that ties-in to the stuff that's pushed your buttons over the years.

Speaking personally, if I specialized from the git go, I'd never have owned such a diverse collection during the course of the past 38 years . . . 

https://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryDetail.asp?GCat=1865

I find specializing fairly rewarding. It elevates my collection to be more than the sum of its parts. I buy a reasonable amount of art outside my specific niche as well, but as @Rick2you2 says, I find the specialization to help substantially with limiting my purchases. There's a near infinite amount of amazing art out there. Much of it I'm happy to observe rather than own. I think there's pros and cons to both specializing and not, but I don't feel having a diverse collection is an inherently good thing. All that really matters is one has a collection that is personally meaningful and enjoyable.

[Latverian Tourism Board]

9 hours ago, BuraddoRun said:

I'm sure a lot of new collectors do this but, I got a little carried away with wanting to build up my comic art collection. Within the span of a few months, I bought a few pieces on eBay, put things on layaway with 3 different dealers/reps, reached out to a few CAF gallery owners, and contacted a few artists directly. On the bright side, I've learned a lot very quickly (also posting and talking with people here, of course), got some nice pieces to add to my collection, and met some cool people. On the other hand...well yeah, like the title says. The good news is that I'm slowing down now. I paid off 2 out of the 3 layaway pieces, and should have the 3rd paid of well before the agreed due date. Of the people I contacted on CAF, only 1 responded positively, and that happened to be someone that had some unlisted stuff that was high on my want list. We worked out a deal and now I'm just waiting to get those pieces in the mail. As for the artists, I'm waiting while the ones that responded have me on hold for a later date when they're able to sell the art I inquired about. That gives me some time to save up. And now, I'm looking at stuff here and there, but closing the wallet for the most part until I get caught up. LOL. The other good thing is that I've been selling off some things (non art related) that I don't want anymore that's helping me with these purchases.

Anyhow, have any of you done things like this? I'm sure it's common for new collectors, and probably for many seasoned collectors when they feel an itch as well.

It’s so easy to do this. We are collectors, so we get excited about stuff (and then we buy it...sometimes a lot of it). Making your want lists is loads of fun, as is the search for pages, but we all have to be patient. What you want will come available for purchase...eventually. We all have to sell to get that next page we want, so stuff you want inevitability comes loose.

I waited for nearly 5 years for a Buscema Galactus the Devourer page to show back up that I’d sold and instantly regretted. It completely disappeared on me, with no trace of where it went. I looked all the time and, finally, it showed up one day in an auction. Now it’s mine again.

Personally, I have a text thread to myself where I dump page links to keep an eye on. I just went through it a few minutes ago to prune out sold pages. I’m paying off a huge piece I bought, so no new purchases for me for a while, but looking around and making lists scratches the itch a bit. I get how hard it is to wait, though. 😁

[The Voord]

10 minutes ago, Varanis said:

I find specializing fairly rewarding. It elevates my collection to be more than the sum of its parts. I buy a reasonable amount of art outside my specific niche as well, but as @Rick2you2 says, I find the specialization to help substantially with limiting my purchases. There's a near infinite amount of amazing art out there. Much of it I'm happy to observe rather than own. I think there's pros and cons to both specializing and not, but I don't feel having a diverse collection is an inherently good thing. All that really matters is one has a collection that is personally meaningful and enjoyable.

There was a guy who specialized in collecting Silverfish commissions (yeah, the insect variety).  Seemed like a nutty idea at the time and I sometimes wonder if he ever got sick to death with his specialized field?

 

[Varanis]

5 minutes ago, The Voord said:

There was a guy who specialized in collecting Silverfish commissions (yeah, the insect variety).  Seemed like a nutty idea at the time and I sometimes wonder if he ever got sick to death with his specialized field?

 

I assume you're kidding, but if that makes someone happy - who cares?

[vodou]

Going back to the title of the thread, it's not specialization that matters or not, it's being too late. I think anybody coming in the last ten years, probably the last twenty years even has had to specialize. Prices have run up much faster than incomes; those of us that were around earlier and noticed that happening either ramped up our own efforts (thus reinforcing the ramp effect too) to "keep up" or backed off and enjoyed what we already had. Unfortunately, a few saw it as an opportunity to cash out "at obvious all-time highs" and they now have little/no art and not coincidentally little/no presence in the hobby today.

I don't want to discourage anyone from using comic art to build:

16 minutes ago, Varanis said:

...a collection that is personally meaningful and enjoyable.

But...there is a lot more "other/non-comic art" out there. If the art bug has bitten you hard, you'll likely enjoy "art" in many forms; there are always opportunities to get in early, you just have to be willing to strike your own path and buy/collect where few (or at least fewer) are. Mostly this requires more of a leader than follower personality, not raw income. Really. That's it. And you can spend like a madman, get more art than you could imagine, and not even move the "ramp" up against your own future acquisition efforts. That's how it was collecting 1980s comic art 25 years ago.

Now, I don't expect anybody to read this, drop comic art and start cornering the "whatever art" market instead. I just doubt anybody else will post the thought, even though I know several of us have already been doing just that for quite some time!

[The Voord]

2 minutes ago, Varanis said:

I assume you're kidding, but if that makes someone happy - who cares?

No, I'm not kidding.

Who cares?  Not me.  The OP wanted some advice.  

[vodou]

8 minutes ago, Varanis said:

I assume you're kidding, but if that makes someone happy - who cares?

Not kidding, he was John -something. Then there was Cliffguy too, commissions that all have 'cliffs'. That's how collecting was 20 years ago!

[The Voord]

2 minutes ago, vodou said:

Going back to the title of the thread, it's not specialization that matters or not, it's being too late. I think anybody coming in the last ten years, probably the last twenty years even has had to specialize. Prices have run up much faster than incomes; those of us that were around earlier and noticed that happening either ramped up our own efforts (thus reinforcing the ramp effect too) to "keep up" or backed off and enjoyed what we already had. Unfortunately, a few saw it as an opportunity to cash out "at obvious all-time highs" and they now have little/no art and not coincidentally little/no presence in the hobby today.

I don't want to discourage anyone from using comic art to build:

But...there is a lot more "other/non-comic art" out there. If the art bug has bitten you hard, you'll likely enjoy "art" in many forms; there are always opportunities to get in early, you just have to be willing to strike your own path and buy/collect where few (or at least fewer) are. Mostly this requires more of a leader than follower personality, not raw income. Really. That's it. And you can spend like a madman, get more art than you could imagine, and not even move the "ramp" up against your own future acquisition efforts. That's how it was collecting 1980s comic art 25 years ago.

Now, I don't expect anybody to read this, drop comic art and start cornering the "whatever art" market instead. I just doubt anybody else will post the thought, even though I know several of us have already been doing just that for quite some time!

'Aunt May- guy' is the next big thing . . . 

[The Voord]

1 minute ago, vodou said:

Not kidding, he was John -something. Then there was Cliffguy too, commissions that all have 'cliffs'. That's how collecting was 20 years ago!

Was it Walt Parrish who collected the3 Silverfish stuff?

[Varanis]

2 minutes ago, The Voord said:

No, I'm not kidding.

Who cares?  Not me.  The OP wanted some advice.  

Oof, just the thought of silverfish makes me cringe. I hope that individual still enjoys their collection. I assume they had to know it had no financial merit when getting into it.

[vodou]

Just now, The Voord said:

'Aunt May- guy' is the next big thing . . . 

Oh, we're on to "big thing"s now...that's a theme too, male nude commissions! Awesome. For others. Not for me

[vodou]

Just now, The Voord said:

Was it Walt Parrish who collected the3 Silverfish stuff?

Walt = Cliffguy.

I was a bit sad to see them start appearing on the market. Nobody collects forever. I guess

Another was Joel Thingvall's Wonder Woman collection. Once massive, that's been selling off over many years, still large though.

[vodou]

And then there was Kasra as ModokGuy, so much Modok. Gah. All examples of specialization overindulgence.

[The Voord]

1 minute ago, vodou said:

And then there was Kasra as ModokGuy, so much Modok. Gah. All examples of specialization overindulgence.

We could maybe do a themes list for newbie collectors to specialize in, offering a patent?

How about Willie Lumpkin?  He could wiggle his ears real good . . .

 

 

 

[vodou]

1 hour ago, The Voord said:

a themes list for newbie collectors

How did we forget OML?

[ESeffinga]

My now wife, did one of the Silverfish pieces back when we were still dating. 

There was a collection of Literary based commissions (authors and subjects). 

Aunt May was already (Un)covered. ...shudder.

There was the super heroines knocked out or passed out guy.

The Julie Newmar guy.

The superheroines in scuba gear guy.

Enrico was getting Frank Zappa commissions.
 

Once upon a time we all had our own theme commissions websites. All before there was a CAF.

Edited September 19, 2020 by ESeffinga