I seen several ANS paintings sell for well under $1000 a few years ago. Then they hit ebay again this year for buy it now listings of around $1300 and they both sold. You can get a deal on ebay if the higher bidders aren't paying attention that week.
Similarly, you can take a loss if the higher bidders aren't paying attention the week that you decide to sell artwork that you thought was a bargain. ;-)
I think my larger point here is that, sometimes with regards to collectibles, people start to put arbitrary values on things - like price guides do. Baseball cards have become a commodity, but in my opinion, so much of that hobby is just a large pyramid scheme. Because that hobby has forgotten the core buyer - a person who is willing to spend a certain amount to own a collectible item, just because they like it - rather than the many people willing to spend because they believe something is "worth" something. Without a core buyer at the bottom (top?) of the pyramid, it's a pretty hollow valuation, built upon core buyers that may not even exitst. [Edit: Though, upon some further thought, is the value of gold much more than a similar, widely accepted pyramid?]
My gut and my appreciation level tells me that the Old School original paintings are selling well below what they're "worth", and the color sketches are selling for way higher than what they're worth. But in the real world, for the moment anyway, I have to acknowledge that they are worth pretty much what they're selling for, by simple marketplace definition.
I could put conditions on the assessment: Well, in a good economy, or if the high bidders actually saw the listings, or when Old School has culturally matured, but those are speculations - not value assessments, and we could as easily speculate that things could go the other way.
I often feel like I'm getting great deals on things I buy on eBay, and that's partially because I was willing to pay far more than I did, and partially because I believe these items are worth more than what I paid - even though marketplace logic would tell me they are not worth more, at least not when I bought them.
I just acquired a Gaines Burgers dog food box from 1971 - something I've been looking for for a few years. I paid $15 on a BIN auction for it, though I would have paid far more than that. If I tried to sell it, I'm not sure I could get even that $15, today or years from now. Yet I still feel I got a deal, (and I may have, as it was a BIN, and those are a totally different conversation.) It may not make any logical sense, but collecting and appreciating these things is tied up far more in emotion than logic.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonliebigstuff/4581824475/
