Odd pricing logic. Raising prices on unsold art v. Cadence Comic Art 1 1

[aqn83]

I like Rafael Albuquerque's work, and once in a while i'll pop onto Cadence to see if they lowered his prices on the DOZENS of covers he did for Batman related books.

A lot of these covers have been on his site for 2-3 years, unsold. 

They recently updated these covers and RAISED the prices.

What's the logic behind this?

[Unstoppablejayd]

Crazy market?? it does not make a lot of sense to me in the normal world.. but in the OA world when things sit the prices go up!

[Rick2you2]

58 minutes ago, aqn83 said:

I like Rafael Albuquerque's work, and once in a while i'll pop onto Cadence to see if they lowered his prices on the DOZENS of covers he did for Batman related books.

A lot of these covers have been on his site for 2-3 years, unsold. 

They recently updated these covers and RAISED the prices.

What's the logic behind this?

First, check to see if any pieces have been sold at a higher price. He may be resetting the prices based on sales elsewhere. That’s also a primary reason I have complained loudly about shilling.

Second, the market has gone a bit nuts overall, and you may be looking at someone trying to take advantage of it. I have a similar problem with the recent pricing of some of Jesus Marino’s work and the price Kirby’s is setting for it.

Finally, you can always make a lower offer, pointing out the change in pricing to the dealer. If he bites, you’re okay. If not, nothing ventured nothing gained.

[vodou]

I'll let you guys do your own legwork but there are examples of things priced on CAF (still) at lower prices than the "new" Cadence prices. People can do what they want but it might work out better if they swept their backtrail too  

[GotSuperPowers?]

It's worth stating that they are a rep and likely informed on pricing by their artists.  So yes, if a piece sets a new price point or the artist simply wants more for their art, then that can be what happens.

[Will_K]

Not specific to Cadence... but there's a good amount of FOMO happening.  Better get it now at the current higher prices before they go even higher. 

[Bronty]

3 hours ago, aqn83 said:

I like Rafael Albuquerque's work, and once in a while i'll pop onto Cadence to see if they lowered his prices on the DOZENS of covers he did for Batman related books.

A lot of these covers have been on his site for 2-3 years, unsold. 

They recently updated these covers and RAISED the prices.

What's the logic behind this?

I'll go against the grain a bit.

I think there is absolutely nothing wrong with that strategy.

If you have a piece, X, you feel is worth the same as other pieces, Y, that are rising, what's wrong with pricing it at Y?

Besides that, psychologically, if something sits there at the same price forever, it gets stale and no one will buy.   Increasing the price is one way to freshen it up.

To vodou's point it works better when there aren't similar pieces priced at odds with what you're asking, but while its a counter intuitive move, I think it actually makes all the sense in the world *in certain situations.*

It might pisz off your buyers, but its better that they're are mad than apathetic.

Edited February 4, 2021 by Bronty

[New School Fool]

1 hour ago, vodou said:

I'll let you guys do your own legwork but there are examples of things priced on CAF (still) at lower prices than the "new" Cadence prices. People can do what they want but it might work out better if they swept their backtrail too  

'Swept their own backtrail? I'm unfamiliar with this term, what does it mean exactly?

[Bronty]

Just now, Shin-Kaiser said:

'Swept their own backtrail? I'm unfamiliar with this term, what does it mean exactly?

cover your tracks

[vodou]

36 minutes ago, Bronty said:

To vodou's point it works better when there aren't similar pieces priced at odds with what you're asking, but

In case it wasn't clear (to everyone, not you specifically), I was referring to the same exact piece. In Cadence's CAF  

[cstojano]

I am on the buying side of a big deal (for me at least) where pieces have been priced insanely for years (10+) that all of a sudden seem reasonable given what all manners of collectibles are selling for now. I am trying to close a deal before the owner checks eBay for closed MTG art sales where the pieces are still drying (it's no MTG art, but similarly themed). So, yes, I am afraid the insane prices keep pace with their historical insanity given their current status as "not that bad considering..."

[aqn83]

6 hours ago, Will_K said:

Not specific to Cadence... but there's a good amount of FOMO happening.  Better get it now at the current higher prices before they go even higher. 

It always seemed strange to me that he had so many covers available, and no one seemed to really want them at those prices. 

Myself included. And now that they have been raised even higher, I won't even consider them anymore since he was never a must have for my collection.

[aqn83]

6 hours ago, Bronty said:

I'll go against the grain a bit.

I think there is absolutely nothing wrong with that strategy.

If you have a piece, X, you feel is worth the same as other pieces, Y, that are rising, what's wrong with pricing it at Y?

Besides that, psychologically, if something sits there at the same price forever, it gets stale and no one will buy.   Increasing the price is one way to freshen it up.

To vodou's point it works better when there aren't similar pieces priced at odds with what you're asking, but while its a counter intuitive move, I think it actually makes all the sense in the world *in certain situations.*

It might pisz off your buyers, but its better that they're are mad than apathetic.

What you're saying does make sense albeit it defying what I find logical. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ time to move on I suppose.

[Rick2you2]

10 hours ago, aqn83 said:

What you're saying does make sense albeit it defying what I find logical. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ time to move on I suppose.

Have you priced anything from the Donnelly Bros.’s?

[Bronty]

11 hours ago, aqn83 said:

What you're saying does make sense albeit it defying what I find logical. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ time to move on I suppose.

The thing about selling art is you get one shot at it.    Its not like a comic book where you can wait to see what your 8.0 sells for before raising your price on your 9.0.   You don't wait.    You price in relation to the overall market.    Whether your particular piece has sold or not is pretty well irrelevant because as soon as its gone, you don't get another shot at it.

Therefore, if as a seller your perception of a fair (or unfair for that matter) asking price is rising, you raise the price.   Sale or no sale.   Unless you're trying to sell things under market, which most people aren't trying to do.

About four years ago, I bought a piece for 2k, couldn't sell it for 8k 2 years later, and then sold it for 30 recently.    That's a real example.    Was I supposed to still sell it for 8 despite the market moving?   

I think as a buyer its easy for it to seem counter intuitive, 100%.   But if you also sell from time to time, it can be easier to see how it makes sense sometimes.

Edited February 5, 2021 by Bronty

[aqn83]

4 hours ago, Bronty said:

The thing about selling art is you get one shot at it.    Its not like a comic book where you can wait to see what your 8.0 sells for before raising your price on your 9.0.   You don't wait.    You price in relation to the overall market.    Whether your particular piece has sold or not is pretty well irrelevant because as soon as its gone, you don't get another shot at it.

Therefore, if as a seller your perception of a fair (or unfair for that matter) asking price is rising, you raise the price.   Sale or no sale.   Unless you're trying to sell things under market, which most people aren't trying to do.

About four years ago, I bought a piece for 2k, couldn't sell it for 8k 2 years later, and then sold it for 30 recently.    That's a real example.    Was I supposed to still sell it for 8 despite the market moving?   

I think as a buyer its easy for it to seem counter intuitive, 100%.   But if you also sell from time to time, it can be easier to see how it makes sense sometimes.

Great perspective! Definitely made me rethink the logic primary sellers use, assuming they follow your business thinking. Thanks for your insight.

Also, hell of a profit on that 30 piece. Mind sharing what it was that you sold?

[New School Fool]

I'm a newbie collector. I've been buying art for less than 4 years and in that time I've seen prices move up, especially for particular artists. The 1st piece of art I wanted to buy was a double page spread from a newly released comic. At the drop, I got sticker shock at the price. 3k, way more than I intended to spend. In the very short time that I convinced myself that I would still buy it (mere minutes), the artwork was already gone. Since then, prices for that artist have sky rocketed, and I fear that I'm now priced out. I really wish I bought that DPS at 3k without thinking twice. Currently, it seems, the market is moving quickly.

[Twanj]

52 minutes ago, Shin-Kaiser said:

I'm a newbie collector. I've been buying art for less than 4 years and in that time I've seen prices move up, especially for particular artists. The 1st piece of art I wanted to buy was a double page spread from a newly released comic. At the drop, I got sticker shock at the price. 3k, way more than I intended to spend. In the very short time that I convinced myself that I would still buy it (mere minutes), the artwork was already gone. Since then, prices for that artist have sky rocketed, and I fear that I'm now priced out. I really wish I bought that DPS at 3k without thinking twice. Currently, it seems, the market is moving quickly.

My hindsight is better than my foresight too. Unfortunately with some of these drops your trigger finger has to be so quick that minutes! wow, it's really seconds.

On 2/4/2021 at 12:04 PM, aqn83 said:

I like Rafael Albuquerque's work, and once in a while i'll pop onto Cadence to see if they lowered his prices on the DOZENS of covers he did for Batman related books.

A lot of these covers have been on his site for 2-3 years, unsold. 

They recently updated these covers and RAISED the prices.

What's the logic behind this?

I think the logic is that any cover has to be 2-3k & if they're not, they're leaving money on the table. These wouldn't sell at auction or on the secondary market for that, but they want you to pay up if you want it. Why not try to make an offer tho?

[aqn83]

1 hour ago, Shin-Kaiser said:

I'm a newbie collector. I've been buying art for less than 4 years and in that time I've seen prices move up, especially for particular artists. The 1st piece of art I wanted to buy was a double page spread from a newly released comic. At the drop, I got sticker shock at the price. 3k, way more than I intended to spend. In the very short time that I convinced myself that I would still buy it (mere minutes), the artwork was already gone. Since then, prices for that artist have sky rocketed, and I fear that I'm now priced out. I really wish I bought that DPS at 3k without thinking twice. Currently, it seems, the market is moving quickly.

I've only been collecting since 2017 myself, and yes, prices have continued to rise. Keep an eye out on the secondary market, that's where you'll find amazing deals.

 

3 minutes ago, Twanj said:

These wouldn't sell at auction or on the secondary market for that, but they want you to pay up if you want it. Why not try to make an offer tho?

Well, if I have been able to resist this long, that tells me that I just don't want it enough to even consider making an offer. I was just more curious about the logic behind the price increase, but @Bronty had a pretty great explanation.

[pemart1966]

On 2/4/2021 at 3:12 PM, Bronty said:

I'll go against the grain a bit.

I think there is absolutely nothing wrong with that strategy.

If you have a piece, X, you feel is worth the same as other pieces, Y, that are rising, what's wrong with pricing it at Y?

Besides that, psychologically, if something sits there at the same price forever, it gets stale and no one will buy.   Increasing the price is one way to freshen it up.

To vodou's point it works better when there aren't similar pieces priced at odds with what you're asking, but while its a counter intuitive move, I think it actually makes all the sense in the world *in certain situations.*

It might pisz off your buyers, but its better that they're are mad than apathetic.

If they're mad or if they're apathetic, either way, they're not likely to buy...