Private Signings7496
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 Captain Corrector
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CaptainCanuck private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Would be interested to hear other people’s thoughts about private signings. I’m not a huge signature collector, but I do see the allure of keeping a unique memoriam of an encounter with someone who’s work you admire. That being said, doesn’t the idea of private signings negate the traditionally “personal” experience inherently connected to signature acquisition and transform it primarily into monetary gain? I mean the artists signature is usually printed along with the artwork on the cover of the book. Why pay usually considerable amounts of money just to have him/her sign it “in person” - without you there? (Other than to increase the books value) |
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 Collector
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DJC_II private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Ah... a signature question. I love these. I am a signature collector. I always prefer to get my signatures myself, and will pay every time I can to get VIP tickets to private signings where I can chat, 1 on 1 with the artist/writer/creator, without really feeling hassled or in a rush. On the subject specifically to private signings, there are a few things to note. 1. It's a good way to get even more books signed by the artist/writer/creator without having to either pay for the VIP experiences or stand in line for the cheap sigs, which I also do. Many times what happens is there are book limits, a rush, a scramble, a disaster, to get your book signed. You're fumbling around, trying not to get bumped, all the while getting your stock in order. This becomes especially difficult with anal people such as myself, that actually have preferred colors for signed books. 2. Many times, it's very cost effective to get the private signings done and submit for grading. For instance, this past con, I managed to buy 2 copies of the Detective 880 Black Foil variant, and the CGC booth was holding a private signing for both Snyder and Jock. They took my 2 books, and charged me a total of $80 for both to get signed, submitted, and graded. AND they obviously qualify for their Signature Series editions. If I were to do that on my own, I would either have to get their signatures myself through my VIP experiences, which my book count was already accounted for, or wrangle the CGC guys to verify while standing in line, to which they charge extra for sigs anyway. That would be avoided with CBCS, but the fees wouldn't be. Artists etc, charge more for a sig when being submitted. Honestly, I'm in this for the love. I meet these guys any chance I get. I know to many it's just a business and they exploit these opportunities like the assholes they are. But for me, I have a limit and budget, and it's a great tool to use for time management. I approve of them. |
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 Collector
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X51 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Signatures are nothing more than a novelty to me in most cases. I'll get thing signed as a reminder that I met someone. | ||
| Post 3 • IP flag post | ||
 Collector
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Domogotcomics private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Time is definitely a factor when turning books in for a private signing. Especially for multiple signings at a con. Losing that experience the experience | ||
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 Collector
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GenuineCOA private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Speaking as a facilitator that conducts private signings, remember that some creators, particularly some of the older creators, no longer conduct public signings or travel. For many fans, being able to finally add that John Romita or Sal Buscema signature to a prized book is a point of pride that might otherwise never happen without the private signing. | ||
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 Suck it up, buttercup!!
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KatKomics private msg quote post Address this user | |
| My problem is I like sketches..and preferably in my sketch book. Not many offer this service, I've seen a sketch service offered for Miller but frankly though he may have been great once, from the results posted on line I would take a hard pass. As I get older there are fewer and fewer new writers or artists I would care to get a sketch or signature from. |
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 Leftover Sundae Gnus
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CatmanAmerica private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by X51 Most of the signed collectibles I own are from before grading services existed. Those signatures were usually freely given by guests (actors, artists, etc.) at shows without stacks of books or photos provided for a fee. IOW, it wasn't an organized process with a manufactured result. Keep in mind, from a historical perspective, signed documents of any kind have little relevance until the autograph signer has passed away. From an investment standpoint, that's where the actual value originates. My point is this: if the idea is merely that of acquiring desired signatures to have in one's collection, why would it necessitate a witnessed event? I can fully understand the objective, from a collecting perspective, of owning a signed keepsake from a revered creator. However, the demand for signed, witnessed & slabbed collectibles has skyrocketed in recent years to a point where there's a separate speculator's market entirely dependent upon third party grading services. It's this manufactured aspect of the market that concerns me, and should concern every collector & creator/artist who's been drawn into it. Witness verifications are a post-millennial, secondary collecting field with no historical precedent. In the past, it was the esteem of the autograph combined with the signature's rarity which fueled desirability and long-term value. Time will tell whether the witnessed signing event hobby has market sustainability or any lasting impact on the collecting hobby in general, but for now it's unchartered territory. . |
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Collector
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DJC_II private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @CatmanAmerica It's odd to me how the values of signed and witnessed slabbed books, like you've said, have literally skyrocketed prices. I can only believe, like you said as well, that the speculative market has taken over. I fully expect the bubble to burst again in the next 5 years, 10 at the most. The only thing I can understand truthfully, is that the speculator market will realize with all its dead inventory, that it is merely trading within itself, and will eventually seize. Marvel seems to be pandering most to this bubble, arguably causing part of it too, If you are buying any comic book, and not reading it, you are participating in the speculator market. If you are buying any comic book due to the re-release of old comic art due to its nostalgia, you are participating in the speculator market.. I believe at least 1/3 of all comic sales are simply speculative market. I wonder too if my estimate is low... |
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Captain Corrector
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CaptainCanuck private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @CatmanAmerica also touches upon a point I have made in the past. The values of Signature Series books today are inherently dependent upon their slab. In most instances, separating book from slab immediately devalues the book. | ||
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 Collector
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Darkseid_of_town private msg quote post Address this user | |
| On the flip side of the coin, we could also point out that we are at a rare moment in hobby history that creates a lot of the demand for signatures from some of the more established vintage creators and artists. Just in the past twenty five years the number of key and pioneer people within the comic creating universe that have passed is stunning...Kirby, Ditko, Nodell, Schwartz, Bradbury...and many more entering the twilight years of their lives.....Steranko, Adams, Romita, Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and many others. I stick mostly to those sort of peoples signatures and avoid the new hot flashy and trendy ones because those were the ones I grew up reading and enjoying mainly . You might buy a signed slab done by any of those guys for your own satisfaction, but it is also hard not to argue that most of those older established artists are excellent speculative grabs as well. |
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