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Jack, how long are you going to keep
repeating your tired old song of “I can’t sell my posters for as
much as I used to”? Tom Martin had it correct – it seems
that you are running into a more educated buyer nowadays and they aren’t
going to be fooled by artificial markets. Just because an item is from
the 40s or 50s doesn’t mean it has any inherent value. The fact is
the internet has help educate collectors about what is truly rare and put more
information at the collector’s fingertips then ever before. So yes,
you can’t jack up the prices of many items that have little to no demand
just because you have found someone who might actually collect Durango Kid. The
fact is the supply of Durango Kid posters is much greater than the demand will
ever be, but because of imperfect information in the marketplace you were able
to charge higher prices in the past. That playing field has leveled out
and now the poster brings a price much more inline with what demand really is. Have you ever thought that maybe if what
you are offering isn’t moving, you should try offering something else? No one wants to pay top dollar for your
trimmed Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow poster, trying offering an untrimmed one. Don’t have any takers on Nobody Up
There Likes Me? – I’m certain there are different Paul Newman
flicks that people are purchasing. You also point out that “It kinda
sucks that we're now writing to each other about our auctions etc. comments?”
Well have you asked that question of yourself? How many of your posts are
non-look-at-my-auction related? Yes, you come on the forums every six
months or so and ask why are prices dropping and say you’d like comments –
but I have yet to ever see you respond to any of the comments. Other than
lamenting the drop in price of posters, what other non-auction posts do you
make? Why are prices dropping? What
prices? If you are talking about nominal movies and nominal stars, then I
couldn’t agree more – they’ve been overpriced for years and
the prices will continue to drop. If you are talking about classic cinema
and classic stars, I have to disagree. Just tonight I saw a Some Like It
Hot title card sell for over $600 – doesn’t really seem like
falling prices to me, nor does it seem like a case of the younger buying public
only interested in new items. I don’t think it was a Star Wars fan
who was buying the Wings 1-sheet at the last Heritage auction, or some of the
beautiful Hepburn and Bogart pieces. I did the LA Courts show three times this
past year (and I live in Atlanta), yet each time I’ve found it very much
worth my while in both sales and in items to buy. I’ve enjoyed seeing old friends on
my trips out there and meeting lots of new ones. The poster
hobby/business is a vibrant and thriving one – long may it live. Sean Linkenback
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