Sorry to see that Dario feels bad about being possibly "run up" or "shilled" at
auctions. Frankly, i've been bidding in auctions for so many years that I have
a different perspective on it.
The only way anyone can be shilled or run up is IF they allow it to happen to
themselves. Let's face it, if you want to bid on something, you have a price
you're willing to pay. If you get it for that price- Great! If you get it for
less- even better! But if you end up paying MORE for it than you were
originally intending to go, well that's you're own fault. No one holds a gun
to your head and says, "Pay more or I'll pull the trigger." If you bid more,
then you're willing to pay more. No "Shill" at any time knows what amount
you're willing to go to, so if you get "run up" then you only allowed yourself
to get run up. Getting something for less than what you wanted to pay or were
willing to pay is not an entitlement or right. The only true way you can be
shilled- is if you tell someone what you're willing to go to on an item and
then that person or their agent decides to take advantage of it. If you told
them that price, then you only have yourself to blame. End of s!
tory.
On another subject - but related to bidding in sales, I know Bruce likes to
hype the fact that his sales (by their virtue of being on ebay) don't charge
buyer's premiums. This is a MINOR difference between his method of conducting
auctions and Heritage's (where they charge a BP of 15%). I think this has more
to do with the fact that his sales are on ebay where the hammer IS the price
and BP's are NOT allowed. When Bruce conducted his sales through Christie's
and Howard Lowery's auctions, there were buyer's premiums on those auctions as
well.
If you guys can go out to dinner- where waiters are involved in serving the
meals- I think you can calculate the tip (15%). Waiters provide a service-
just like the auction houses do. So, for example, if you bid on something at
Bruce's auction and are willing to pay $100, then bid on the same thing at
Heritage and bid $85.00. It's the same thing! And it's not difficult to
figure out. You're still paying the (approximately) $100. So don't fall for
that - "Gee, paying a buyer's premium is a bad thing" routine.
And speaking of Heritage... the first day has come to a close and there were
quite a number of interesting results. Many of the premier items brought
premiere prices. For example; the Out of the Past one sheet brought $11,500.00.
Suspicion one sheet $6,325.00, Crime School three sheet $5,750.00, Destry
Rides Again three sheet $10,925.00, Rainbow's End one sheet $3,450.00, (yes,
westerns are doing well again), Rebel Without a Cause 40x60 $5,750.00, High
Sierra three sheet $16,100.00 etc. These were some outstanding results. That
being said, there were also some real bargains to be had. There was an Across
the Pacific half sheet for $184., Wagons Roll at Night one sheet for $230., an
Adventures of Robin Hood portrait lobby card for $299., and many more deals in
Bogart, Hitchcock, etc. - Proving that there were some real bargains in the
sale. If you're not registered to bid in this sale, then you're selling
yourself short! There's still time- call Heritage in the morning !
and get on their phone bid lines. There's still one more day to the sale and
some great material is getting ready to be sold. Okay, I'm going to commit a
heresy here and suggest we all stop watching college football on Saturday and
check out the sale. (Go Longhorns!)
I see Bruce launched his preview for his upcoming sale in December. Lot's of
great material for sale once again! Admittedly it is a lot of the same material
we've seen over the years with a few new items we've never seen before- but
let's face it, those same old favorite classics we've come to know and love are
what we all want to collect anyway. So, I expect his December sale will do as
well as his Halloween sale did!
Thanks to Grey at Heritage and Bruce for continuing to supple all of us
collectors (and dealers) with great material and keeping the hobby alive and
well. And indeed, it is doing well.
Ron Moore
Cinema Icons
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Well there you have it folks, Bruce gets the last laugh ( so he
thinks ) Now how does it feel for all you decant ordinary hard working
folks, collectors and dealers? all that for this!!
I am so glad I am not ever bidding with bruce again. I've gone really
sour after He was suspended from eBay for wrong doings and admitted to
it. Knowing I have spent a lot of money over the years and have been
potentially shilled is just making me ill.
Don't flatter your self!!
Dario.
Bruce Hershenson wrote:
Hey guys. I am flattered by all the attention you gave to
my little
"business for sale" auction, but don't count me (or the hobby) out
just yet. eBay had a 10 cent listing day, so for 10 cents (and five
minutes of my time) I was able to let the world know that I am open
to selling my business, solely if the new buyer would continue to
operate it as I have for 17 years (I can think of nothing sadder for
me personally than seeing "eMoviePoster.com" run like the way many
major auctions are run, with outrageous buyers premiums, fuzzy
condition descriptions, high shipping costs, and hidden fees for
consignors).
As to whether the business is worth the price, how would any of you
know, since I did not state what was included in the sale? To me, I
just posted a "for sale" sign on the biggest bulletin board in the
world, and I have received several phone calls from serious buyers
who want to know more. And instead of paying a broker a percentage
of the sale to find buyers, I paid 10 cents! Pretty stupid of me, huh?
I don't know there is any chance that anyone will agree to my terms
on how they will have to run the business, and if not, I will just
continue chugging along as I have for the past 17 years, a "little
engine that could", trying my best to compete with billion dollar
corporations, who sometime seem to put profits above all else.
It is funny. When I first started selling posters full-time in 1989,
a lot of people accused me of being a "hit-and-run" artist, who would
"milk" the hobby for a year or two and then "move on" to another
hobby. Here it is 17 years later and just about all those critics
(and a whole lot of other "major" auctions and dealers) have
themselves "moved on", but somehow I am still doing pretty much the
same thing I did 17 years ago (except computerized and
super-charged). So PLEASE don't count me out just yet!
Bruce
eMoviePoster.com
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