Common sense and buying/selling/trading original comic art

Happy Thanksgiving! I'd like to give thanks for the great art that we are all collecting. Hope everyone has a safe and prosperous new year, and everyone gets that grail original comic book art piece they are seeking. ;)

Regards
burton @ 11by17.com

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Many novice collectors over the years have asked me for suggestions to prevent trouble in their dealings. Here's a short list of things I tend to keep in mind (and come to mind as I ramble). If you have other ideas, please add your comments.

1. Know who you are dealing with as best as you can if you are dealing outside of eBay or your "known source". If you are a collector, ask around with your other art contacts or art collecting friends. If buying from another art collector with their own website, has the collector and site been around a while? Do you know anyone that may have owned the piece(s) that the source is now selling?

2. Get as much specifics as you can down in writing if the deal is a trade or involves time payments. What happens if you can no longer complete payment? What happens if you change your mind? From the dealer perspective, we hate flakey people esp when they say one thing and do another (ie. verbally agree to something, then back out). In most cases, a verbal agreement can be binding in a court of law. If you aren't sure, don't agree yet. Other questions... How soon is payment expected? Are there specific dates that payment needs to be sent? Will I get artwork after the last payment is received? etc.

3. Confirm what exactly you are picking up before you start the deal. Is it all original art or are there stats, paste-ons, zipotone, etc which make this less than what you visually expected? Is it a print or truly original hand drawn artwork? Is this the original published piece? With the advent of artists inking over blue-line copied pages or drawings, make sure it is exactly what you are seeking. Also look out for commissioned pieces. Scans don't always tell the whole story so ask about white out, aging of the paper if the art is not current (many times yellow with aging), type of ink or markers (ie. I've seen some 90s artwork that was inked by magic marker, and guess what, black marker ink can fade to brown or reddish brown ink later on), etc.

4. Confirm your shipping terms and method of packing and shipping. Is it gonna be rolled up in a tube when it shouldn't? Will it be shipped flat so the art isn't mashed? Will the artwork be securely bagged before packed, in case your delivery person leaves it out in the rain? What does the shipping cost include?

5. Use common sense. If it's too good to be true, be skeptical too. But at least ask to get details to be sure you are getting what you want. If you don't ask, you'll never know and maybe you'll regret not asking as you miss out on that grail. :)

Most legitimate dealers and collectors can handle the simple and honest questions so fire away. Have fun collecting and enjoy the hobby. The friends you'll meet along the way will be worth it esp when it comes to adding that "last" piece to your collection. ;)


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One more thing. Here's a sad story that I just read and wanted to remind everyone about. Use caution when working out deals, use caution down to the last detail including how you ship your artwork or collectible (valuables). You can't over apply common sense. Read the fine print. I hate hearing about these kind of stories but a lesson can be learned.

Shipping by UPS: In The Wrong Hands
http://cbs5.com/local/UPS.rings.shipping.2.874914.html

Collect original comic book art as a hobby.

Original comic book art as a hobby and investment vehicle is alive and kicking! Maybe that's an understatement. Due to economic instability and other usually stable investments going through a rough time, seems like people are starting to look at alternative places to put their money. And why not.

Comic books are starting to be accepted as more than just for geeks. The revenue generated from comic book movies is staggering. 5-10 years ago, comic book movies were risky and usually very poorly made. Remember seeing Arnold as Mr Freeze? Remember Christopher Reeves in Superman 1, 2 or 3. Were there more? Now, people are lining up to see costumed heroes on the big screen, such as the X-Men movies, Spider-Man movies, Fantastic Four movies (with Jessica Alba!!), the new grittier Batman, the new sophisticated and action-less Superman, etc. People want to buy into the merchandising around the characters. And if you are reading this, then I'll assume you are also into original comic book art and want in, on either getting a small piece of this franchise, trying to buy back your childhood or some fond memories, or maybe speculating on the next big investment. But you aren't alone if you think original comic book art is going to only grow in popularity. There is a lot of money moving around in original comic book art.

Original comic book art has been sold and bought on eBay for many many years now. Before internet dealers were selling and buying art, most low-tech dealers (things never change) advertised at cons, through word of mouth or in comics buyer guides. I bought my first piece off eBay back when it still wasn't too cool to be associated with comics, unless you enjoyed hanging out with other nerds including some of those that you see in costume at your local comic book con. I admit, I never dressed up, but I did geek out at a few of those cons. Back in the day, I've met some of my "hero" artists back. Only within the past 10 years or so, I started to get more into collecting art. I guess I liked comics but found that everyone also collected them, and it just seemed too mainstream. I wanted something more "one-of-a-kind".. I saw a few pieces of colored art, and instantly said I want that. My collection grew quickly.

I think I quickly realized that it was becoming a habit, almost a bad habit, to grow my collection. Then I started to understand that it would be wise to only grow the things I really enjoy and really wanted to keep. Otherwise, what was the point of just buying and hoarding. Buy, enjoy and share.

Anyways, this post is getting long and rant-like, but just wanted to quickly share a story on how my passion for collecting original art came from, some thoughts on the hobby, and confirm that I too think it is still growing.