Re: [MOPO] hollywood poster auction & DISCUSSION

[Richard Halegua Comic Art]

Steve

I know personally that they have.. I also have the convenience of 
knowing Columbus. They have few options and in general, the biggest 
obstacles are facility and cost.

I'm perfectly satisfied at the Ramada. I just hope they get the a/c 
situation resolved.. This year it was a bit warm, and the many 
dealers who propped open exterior doors to outside to load in and 
load out creating a tremendous outflow of cool air didn't help.

the food situation I deal with personally. I go elsewhere when I can 
(I will say that the new manager in the restaurant needs to be 
replaced. the food was definitely of lower quality than it used to be)

Rich


At 01:07 PM 5/26/2009, Steven Hill wrote:
The scenario you mention assumes that a new hotel would be more 
expensive. I've been helping run a convention for a while, and we've 
changed hotels a number of times. Our most recent change was to a 
MUCH better hotel at about the same price - this for a variety of 
reasons (the hotel is new and is fishing for new annual/repeat 
business, the location is different, our attendance is increasing 
making our business more attractive to the hotel). And one of the 
reasons we changed this last time is because we bothered to listen 
to the complaints of our attendees (though the hotel problems were 
self-evident anyway). I know every situation is different, and I'm 
not presuming to know what theirs is, but maybe the Cinevent runners 
should at least shop around for a different venue - they may be 
pleasantly surprised that they might get a better hotel for a CHEAPER price.
-Steve


From: Richard Halegua Comic Art <sa...@comic-art.com>
To: MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU
Sent: Tuesday, May 26, 2009 2:53:21 PM
Subject: Re: [MOPO] hollywood poster auction & DISCUSSION

Franc

your comment is really very shallow. It is a singular perspective 
that does not take into account the full spectrum of problems any 
convention promoter faces.

For instance, my cost to be at and exhibit at Cinevent is approximately $1600

let's say they move to a hotel that costs 30% more. My expenses 
increase proportionately and now I either have to sell more to get 
to the same financial spot that I had with lower costs. This brings 
in the equation of whether my expanded costs justify being able to 
do the show versus staying home & just doing my weekly auction. then 
my absence & other dealer's absence means less material for sale in 
the room to which buyers cease to come which in turn decreases the 
income to the show promoters and the eventual disappearance of the 
show due to falling revenues.

and so, we lose one of the last bastions of poster conventions and 
the hobby gets that much smaller.

which do you prefer.. a convention in a crappy facility or no 
convention at all.?
In all likelihood, that is the equation you have to deal with.

as a metaphor: I'm a poker player. If I have a choice of a game that 
takes place in the ast stall of the men's room at the Mirage, or no 
game at all.. well, I'll just have to be listening to people crapping all day

Rich


At 12:20 PM 5/26/2009, Franc wrote:
Consider this. There are a lot of really nice Convention-type 
hotels in the area.  Their room rates are really cheap over 
Memorial Day Weekend. Not a lot of people want to spend their 
holidays in Columbus. We checked several looking for an alternative 
to the Ramada dump and they were in the neighborhood of $80 a night 
and several of the luxury hotels like the Renaissance were $100 a 
night and remember you get a discount when you can guarantee the 
quantity of rooms take up by attendees at a Convention.  I did get 
a sense that the convention did not do particularly well this year. 
Most of that may be the economy but perhaps taking a new approach 
to this convention and providing some quality facilities will 
inspire more people to bring their families for the weekend. The 
fact that this convention has been handled this way for 40 years is 
no excuse for complacency.  FRANC
-----Original Message-----
From: Richard Halegua Comic Art [ mailto:sa...@comic-art.com]
Sent: Tuesday, May 26, 2009 3:03 PM
To: Franc; MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU
Subject: Re: [MOPO] hollywood poster auction & DISCUSSION

Franc
my first Cinevent was in 1986.. I went steadily until I moved to 
Vegas & missed 1994-2000, then I have returned ever since.
Tom Martin has the right idea "it's the man, not his clothes"
I've been doing conventions for 41 years and I ran them for 7 as 
well when I lived in Cincinnati (I also co-directed a huge 
convention in 1981 at the Pennsylvania in NYC).. It is what it is..
Steve Haynes and the rest of the Cinevent people have used this 
hotel for decades and while I will readily admit it is run down, 
they have been renovating the place and had the economy & the 
current bank situation not stopped them, they would have continued 
to do so. Right now they have 5 tractor trailers full of supplies 
sitting out back for when they can restart the renovation.
One major reason for using the facility they use is cost. Another 
is facility. It's the only hotel in a certain price range with the 
ability to have a dealers room AND a movie room within that price 
range. If they try to move to another facility that pleases you, 
the cost will skyrocket and instead of paying $125 or so for 
tables, we'll be paying $500 and that will cut very deeply into 
dealers. Or they won't have a movie room and that will cut deeply 
into attendance (this show has many attendees that do not go to the 
dealers and only watch the movies)
Concerning wake up calls.. I had no problem this year. My calls 
came right on time, and seeing as for printing I simply went to Wal 
Mart and bought a cheap $30 Canon printer (I needed color and to 
print a lot of stuff)
Look.. the convention isn't held in LA, Chicago, NYC or Atlanta 
where there is a plethora of great hotels and from my own 
experience finding hotels in Cincinnati when I was living there for 
the comic conventions I ran, I know the problems they face trying 
to find another location that is affordable and has the utility they need.
Besides, I'm only there for a few days and for one reason - to have 
fun buying & selling posters. I had a rented car so food was not a 
problem (I usually go elsewhere) and my room was really nice. So I 
had no gripes. If I eat on site, I know the food sucks.
On another level.. do you remember the Roosevelt Hotel on 44th 
street in Manhattan?? Without question it was the worst dump  of a 
hotel that ever existed. During teh 1970s-80s when I was still 
living in NYC (where I'm from) we had comic book conventions and 
rock n roll conventions. I remember the first time I checked in to 
a room there.. there was a can of roach spray behind the door when 
I entered the room. Compared to that place, the Ramada was a castle.
That's just the way it is.. But as fasr as I'm concerned.. if 
Cinevent is there for another 20 years.. I'll hope to make every show.
To Michael.. Yes, they had some issues with the website for bidding 
in the auction. John Ours (Morrie's step son) happens to also be my 
programmer now for MoviePosterBid (he did not design my site. I 
bought it that way from JR) and now that eBay Live is gone, you can 
expect that John will redesign a site for teh October auction that 
utilizes MoviePosterBid, expanding the ability to bid. We look 
forward to hosting Morrie's auction. We still have some final 
discussions, but Morrie says as long as John can interface it, we 
should be working together (not in those words.. he just says to 
talk to John and let him make the decisions. So I know we'll be doing it)

The glass is half full or it is half empty.. but even a half full 
glass is better than no Cinevent, no auction.. and a disintegrating hobby.
best
Rich


At 11:31 AM 5/26/2009, Franc wrote:
Hey, if the dealers are happy with the sales they brought in this 
year and if Diane and Morrie are happy with the auction results 
and Sean is happy with the elevators who am I to complain? For the 
record I had a good time at the convention and if fact recommended 
it to some clients. I just detest this hotel and will rectify that 
next year by staying elsewhere, something with a spa as you suggested.

FRANC
-----Original Message-----
From: MoPo List [ 
<mailto:mopo-l@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU>mailto:mop...@listserv.american.edu] 
On Behalf Of lobby card invasion
Sent: Tuesday, May 26, 2009 1:06 PM
To: MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU
Subject: Re: [MOPO] hollywood poster auction & DISCUSSION

"I stand by my statement"

AND SO DO I.  Stand by MY statement, that is

I can tell you that in my room the A/C worked just fine.  The room 
did not smell.  Front Desk was very cordial and helpful in 
numerous and various requests.  The shape of the elevators is of 
absolutely of no consequence to most people.  We came to a movie 
memorabelia concention, not a spa.
Look, this back and forth can go on forever, with arguments and 
couner-arguments in both direction.  You had a lousy time, I had a 
good time.  Are there better hotels? Of course.  Will rooms, 
dealer tables, food  ets cost much more in a fancier place?  Of 
course.   So let the Cinevent organizers do their job.  They've 
been successful at it for 40 years.

Zeev


----- Original Message -----From: <mailto:fdav...@verizon.net>Franc
To: <mailto:lobb...@rogers.com>'lobby card invasion' ; 
<mailto:MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU>MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU
Sent: Tuesday, May 26, 2009 12:19 PM
Subject: RE: [MOPO] hollywood poster auction & DISCUSSION

I stand by my statement and I know for a fact that many dealers 
feel the same, especially since you can find luxury hotels in 
Columbus at that time of the year for the price that is charged at 
this Ramada dump.  FRANC
-----Original Message-----
From: lobby card invasion [ 
<mailto:lobb...@rogers.com>mailto:lobb...@rogers.com]
Sent: Tuesday, May 26, 2009 12:04 PM
To: FRANC MARTARELLA; 
<mailto:MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU>MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU
Subject: Re: [MOPO] hollywood poster auction & DISCUSSION

Frank, I think you're exaggerating just a little bit.

I attended this year's Cinevent, and have been going to this show, 
at the same hotel, for almost 20 years.  While this hotel may have 
its flaws(e.g. poor A/C in some common areas), calling it 
"disgusting" is grossly unfair and  totally inaccurate.

I have no shares in this hotel, and no personal interest in it, I 
just don't want people who never attended the show, and who might 
be contemplating on doing so in the future, be wrongly influenced 
by your highly subjective bad experience.

No printing capacity in the "business center" (exactly 2 computer 
monitors) may not be as important to most guests as it is for you.  Sorry.

Zeev





----- Original Message -----
From: <mailto:fdav...@verizon.net>FRANC MARTARELLA
To: <mailto:MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU>MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU
Sent: Sunday, May 24, 2009 1:22 PM
Subject: Re: [MOPO] hollywood poster auction & DISCUSSION
I think Collectible Shows and on-site auctions can still have the 
edge. I just got back from Cinevent and it's great to connect with 
dealers and buyers I haven't seen all year and nothing, not even a 
super-image zoom, can replace holding a poster or lobby cards in 
your hands to see the artwork, color, texture  etc. Besides which 
it's tedious to go through all the Heritage or Bruce Hershenson 
listings to check condition and I lose interest one quarter of the 
way through.

That said, I found this year's Cinevent to be a someone subdued 
affair. Unfortunately the economy has taken its toll on the art of 
collecting movie ephemera. Most of the dealers were complaining 
that sales were slow and I don't think Morrie going to count this 
one as his most financially successful auction either.

Part of the problem for me is that disgusting hotel the Cinevent 
insist on using. Their business center had no capacity to print 
anything, given that their printers were all down and had been 
apparently for some time. The rooms either smell of disinfectant 
or stale cigarettes. The air- conditioner in my room was dead and 
had to be changed. The restaurant doesn't even look clean and 
wake-up calls were ignored by the front desk.  The auction room 
was decided hot, so much so I couldn't sit in that room for more 
than an hour at a time and Morrie seemed to be experiencing 
technical problems throughout. I've made a decision to stay 
elsewhere ...anywhere else... next year. I only wish the Cinevent 
management would wise up and follow suit.   FRANC



From: Bruce Hershenson <brucehershen...@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [MOPO] hollywood poster auction & DISCUSSION
To: MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU
Date: Sunday, May 24, 2009, 10:41 AM
I love Morrie, and he is absolutely one of the pioneers of this 
hobby! Without people like Morrie and Richard Allen, who started 
the hobby and spent massive effort on making the world aware of 
it, there likely wouldn't be a hobby today!

With that being said, I do think that "live auctions" are a dying 
breed, and large collectible shows have a similar problem. Why 
should people spend lots and lots of money on travel and hotels 
when they could spend that same money on buying posters? In the 
"old days", the advantage was that you could see the items "up 
close and personal", and that was not possible through the mail, 
without spending $50,000 or so on a deluxe color catalog as I did, 
and even then you didn't get a really good idea of what the 
condition was, just what the image looked like.

But now, with the Internet, you CAN provide super-sized images 
that show every flaw in excrutiating detail (of course some 
auctions choose not to do so, with fuzzy scans, but that is their 
choice), so I really think that one giant advantage live auctions had is gone.

I hope Morrie can continue to put on his auctions (to whatever 
extent he can), and that the hobby will support him, for as you 
rightly point out, Cinevent might not survive either, and it is 
wonderful that once a year there is a place in the middle of the 
country where many of the members of the hobby gather (I have 
attended many times, and would have been there this time, except 
for fate conspiring against me; Memorial Day falls super-early 
this year, and it started on the last day of my kid's school, and 
my 14 year old had perfect attendence all four years of middle 
school and he wasn't about to miss the very last day, and besides, 
he got straight As all year and got an award that last day, so I 
had to choose being at that over being at the auction, and it was 
no choice at all).

Bruce
On Sun, May 24, 2009 at 9:26 AM, Douglas Ball 
<<http://us.mc841.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=deb...@columbus.rr.com> 
deb...@columbus.rr.com> wrote:
Michael,

Speaking from what I have seen... Morrie was extremely short of 
help this year. I believe this is also the first year as long as I 
have attended that Marty Davis wasn't involved.

Anyway, Morrie tried some new things this year, some worked well, 
but many did not...I believe for next year there will changes...for the best!

As for the catalogues, this was the first time I received a 
catalog for the Columbus auction, I've only receive flyers. If you 
were at the auction you could get a catalog free of charge.
They are not the quality of Heritages auctions. Heritage has the 
resources and personal to put together their beautiful catalogs, 
pictures, and descriptions...plus from what I understand, they 
print their own. Morrie did this on his own, with a lot of help 
from his family...whom I respect.

If you viewed the online catalog, you would have received a better 
description and picture than the catalog, plus if you really 
wanted to bid, many options to do so...including coming to 
Cinevent to be a part of the poster community as those who did.

There was a time that Morrie's auction was one of the biggest and 
best. A lot of high end poster were there, if you were after them. 
Heritage and of course Bruce went to Morrie auctions,  learned 
from them, and did their own. We need Morrie auctions, Cinevent 
(to survive) needs it, and we collectors and dealers need it. To 
bash it without giving Morrie some constructive 
opinions/criticisms will only help hurt our future of this 
business including the live auctions that are doing well at this time.

Doug Ball
----- Original Message -----
From: 
<http://us.mc841.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=dialmbb...@aol.com>Michael B
To: 
<http://us.mc841.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=mop...@listserv.american.edu>MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU 

Sent: Sunday, May 24, 2009 9:11 AM
Subject: Re: [MOPO] hollywood poster auction & DISCUSSION

1.  i gave up looking at the site because it took forever to load 
into my computer.  AND I HAVE A FAST COMPUTER.

2.  more importantly, i wrote 2 emails to Hollywood Poster asking 
why i could not see poster descriptions.  Neither were 
answered.  How can you bid without a description???  Did their 
on-line sire contain descriptions?  Were you able to really enhance an image?

>>>>>so, although a quick search of the site found 2 posters i 
might have bid on.......i never went back.



SO WHY DO AUCTION HOUSES LIKE HERITAGE SEND OUT 
FREE  CATALOGUES?   ANSWER:  they are smart! !!!

For example, in the last Signature Auction of Heritage, i made a 
quick search on their internet site.  Although, i saw beautiful 
posters, i believe only one interested me at the time.  Yet, after 
i received their catalogue, and had time to study it, i tracked 
about 12+ posters-----------------------and bought 6 INCLUDING the 
one sheet and insert of THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY.

clearly, i was super-pleased with the items i won, and Signature 
made more money because of my bidding.  SO------THE AUCTION HOUSES 
THAT ARE SMART SEND OUT CATALOGUES TO SERIOUS BIDDERS BECAUSE THEY 
KNOW YOU GOTTA SPEND MONEY TO MAKE MONEY.

>>>>>if the receiver of a catalogue increases a lot sold by $100, 
then the auction house made money to cover the catalogue and 
shipping cost.  surely, a recipient should be removed from the 
free auction catalogue courtesy if they never bid.

and, whenever i write to Heritage, i always get a fast 
answer.  for example, i asked a question about the one sheet of 
Dorian Gray, and received a response from bruce c. within 2 hours 
of my question.  as i said, i won that item!

michael
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