[MOPO] Ritchies Auction - A Special RESPONSE from MIKE ORLANDO of Toronto's Hollywood Canteen REPRESENTING Ritchies.com Movie Poster Auction Saturday November 4, 2006
MOPO: I have been asked by Mike Orlando of The Hollywood Canteen to forward below his RESPONSE to several complaints posted yesterday (Sunday). Dennis Michaels -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, October 29, 2006 7:54 PM To: Video Den Collection Subject: Re: FW: [MOPO] Ritchies Auction I will start by thanking Dennis, my good friend and associate of some years, for bringing this mopo thing to my attention..I used to be a mopo member but politely declined after it turned into a dumping ground for people to complain and whine about the hobby....dumping on well established people without any real reason...it is a great idea but somehow it has gotten off the beaten track for me...Dennis has issued me a number of emails which I will try to address here briefly (or not so briefly) 1. I am MIKE ORLANDO, owner of The Hollywood Canteen www.hcanteen.com in Toronto...I have been collecting for 40 years and in business for 30..some of my better known associates are Deke Richards, Bruce Hershinson, John Hazleton, Walter Reuben(we go back almost 40 years), Mike Hawks, and most of the people who have been around 25 plus years..my reputation to date has not been disputed though there have been many who have tried ...contact any of these people if you need a reference about me...some already have at Ritchies Auction House. Toronto's premier auction house...this is my sixth auction here at Ritchies...they are amazing to work with...things they have done that no other auction ever has done...if consigning...the 20 percent includes photo, insurance, commission...not bad ..if your consignemnt does not sell..NO CHARGE..how is that for user friendly...I have had many a whopping bill from Christies etc. for photo charges and insurance on things that did not sell..not here...and one more thing...they have paid consignors even on items that the buyer changed his mind...how is that for service...now the comment on shipping is valid...but everyone knows these auction houses do not use there own shipping...they use outside people and they charge ridiculous prices...they all do I am afraid...I have offered and they have agreed that if the buyer has worked out an agreement with me...I will ship the packages out...we know how to pack and protect and we will charge strictly what it costs us to ship...I really do offer this service (ask Walter Reuben, Bill Hughes, and any one else that have bought lots from Ritche's)...so if you contact me before the auction..I am happy to assist...otherwise you must pay the awful costs Bob has mentioned but this is auction house standard fair (I know it stinks that is why I try to help)...Craig's point that Ritchie's does not have much expertise in movie posters is also accurate...but they turn this event completely over to me and I will match my knowlevdge with anyone in this business AS to the auction itself...here is the story...some of the comments are indeed valid about imaging but they are not valid about condition..here is what I mean... A very good friend of mine passed away unexpectedly last spring..he was a quiet person that had collected for 30 years (mainly with me)..I attended his funeral and I was mentioned in the will to discharge his collection...I went to his home and listed the 100 pieces for my fall auction at Ritchie's..I detailed the condition of the posters at this time as the items were right in front of me...so the descriptions are ACCURATE...I could not take any posters as there were Will issues and legalities which I know some of you have experienced...two months became three months became four..etc...I needed to put the catalogue together for September publishing...I supplemented these 100 pieces with 300 other pieces from all my good friends in this business...all reputable collectors and dealers...but I needed images of the 100 from my deceased friend...I called David Gravene of Acme Poster repro...emailed him the list of 100 and he sent me 60 or so images he had in his file...the picture of the Invasion of the Body Snatchers set is from David...as are a number of others...I was excited about getting them and did not closely look at the detail as the thumbnail looked fine...so the items pictured in these cases are not the same items as I have now in my possession...(if you can believe it the Estate Court did not clear this stuff until september 27th)...The INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS LOBBY CARD SET IS NEAR MINT CONDITION AND an "A- Rating" is almost conservative, as every card is on the perfect register (some are not on this title...my conditions are very accurate..my brother-in-law is one of the premier restorers in North America (does all the work for Tony Nourmand's Reel Poster Gallery in London, England...I mean ALL)..and he assisted me in the rating and he is extremely fussy about his work and anyone else's...I know this sounds wild but this is how it came to be that images did not match the acctual item...ask David Gravene for verification if need be...his product is everywhere at every show and store...great guy DO NOT HESTITATE TO EMAIL ME AT [EMAIL PROTECTED] ..or the auciton house...I will get exact details to you immediately...many have already done this...I would expect any serious collector that was truly serious about buying to contact the auction house...why go on mopo and bitch about things ...I think it is great that some people have given the heads up but we are not in the business of ripping anyone off...in fact proceeds for this auction (my deceased friend's 60 pieces) are going to The Heart and Stroke Foundation (no survivors)...so I have purposely valued them at the low end and set excellent reserves...when was the last time you saw a near mint once sheet on Tarantula valued at $800-$1200....... with an even lower reserve...I lost one at Profiles in History auction for 2200..and these prices are Canadian dollars to boot (a small saving to our American friends). So to all...thank you for your concerns...I am happy to serve and help with any of you with your bids or questions...do not hesitate to email or call 416-230-1475...and a special thank you to all my friends, like Dennis, who took the time to email me rather than jump to unfair conclusions..though in this case perhaps...I think all the comments were justified to a degree...the pictures in some cases do not match up BUT...THE CONDITION RATING IS ACCURATE...THANKS FOR YOUR TIME...MIKE > > -----Original Message----- > From: MoPo List [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Bob > Brooks > Sent: Sunday, October 29, 2006 4:26 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [MOPO] Ritchies Auction > > You gotta love when auction houses do something so unbelievably stupid > - such as force ALL out-of-town bidders to arrange for a 3rd party to > pick up their items, take them to a shipper and ship them for them. A > stupid rule like that guarantees that virtually no movie poster > collector will actually bid on any of the auctions. Which should make for some decent bargains. > > And, you really have to wonder about the people running this auction > (as well as some of the other movie poster auctions). If I was > running an auction of $xxx,xxx worth of movie posters, I don't know > about you, but the first thing I'd do - is find out where all the > movie poster collectors/dealers go (ie. MOPO, NSFGE, etc...) and LET > THEM KNOW ABOUT THE AUCTION!!! I don't know how many auctions have > passed without a word from the organizers here... That's just sheer > incompetence... It's like they don't want any collectors to bid. If > I was a consignor of one of those auctions, I'd be pretty pissed... > > Cheers, > > Bob > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Dennis Michaels" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Sunday, October 29, 2006 12:47 PM > Subject: Re: [MOPO] Ritchies Auction > > > > Craig: > > > > I do not know of the Ritchies Auction House that YOU are talking > > about, BUT the Ritchies Auction of Movie Posters is in TORONTO this > > next Saturday and is a VERY WELL ESTABLISHED and WELL KNOWN Movie > > Poster Auction formerly associated with The Toronto Film Festival. > > Mike Orlando of The Hollywood Canteen in Toronto runs it and is a > > very well known and reputable dealer, known to many of the more > > established people in this business. Please go to www.Ritchies.com > > for more REAL INFORMATION about this auction before spreading rumors > > of no authority. > > > > Dennis Michaels > > > > www.RareHollywood.com; www.RarePoster.com ;www.RareDVD.com ; > > www.RareVideo.com > > > > > > > >> This is a multi-part message in MIME format. > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> Ritchie's Auction is a large industrial auction house in Vancouver, > >> which > > >> has > > over the years expanded world-wide and is publically-traded, but I > > doubt it has enough expertise in paper collectibles to give comfort > > to an experienced collector. Craig > >> ----- Original Message ----- > >> From: David Kuspa > >> To: [email protected] > >> Sent: Sunday, October 29, 2006 5:36 AM > >> Subject: Re: [MOPO] Ritchies Auction > >> > >> > >> Wow, I didn't see that one. It's in very poor shape. "Condition: > >> A???!!" RED > >> FLAG. > >> I'll pass on this auction. > >> -_David > >> > >> on 10/28/06 6:43 PM, Sean Linkenback at [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >> wrote:>> > >> > >> From: David Kuspa <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >> >> Does anyone have experience with Ritchies Auctions in Canada? > >> > > >> > I would be extremely careful with this auction unless I was > >> attending > > >> in > >> > person. It is quite obvious that a majority of images are NOT > >> of the > > posters > >> > they are selling, and then the grading on the items they do > >> have real > > images > >> > of appears to be horrible. Look at the Invasion of the Body > >> Snatchers > > lobby > >> > set for example that is graded A-. It has cards with pieces > >> missing and > > tape > >> > stains. How in the world do you get an A- out of this? With > >> the > >> super- > > steep > >> > buyers premium, plus having to arrange your own 3rd party > >> shipping, this > > is > >> > one I would definitely avoid. > >> > > >> > Sean > >> > > >> > >> Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com > >> ___________________________________________________________________ > >> How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List > >> > >> Send a message addressed to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >> In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L > >> > >> The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. > >> > >> > >> -- > >> Internal Virus Database is out-of-date. > >> Checked by AVG Free Edition. > >> Version: 7.1.385 / Virus Database: 268.5.1/327 - Release Date: > >> 28/04/06 > >> > >> > >> Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com > >> ___________________________________________________________________ > >> How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List > >> > >> Send a message addressed to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >> In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L > >> > >> The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. > >> > >> > >> > > > > > ______________________________________ > > This E-Mail was sent with MailMax/WEB. > > http://www.smartmax.com > > > > Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com > > ___________________________________________________________________ > > How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List > > > > Send a message addressed to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L > > > > The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. > > Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com > ___________________________________________________________________ > How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List > > Send a message addressed to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L > > The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. > > > > Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.
