Incredibly enough, I just found out about all this yesterday because my MOPO mail has been going to an email address that we no longer use. Finally, I routed it to the new address only to find something I certainly did not expect.
It's physically painful to think of someone in this hobby dreaming up and following through with such an insidious scheme. Collectors are so vulnerable, really, and the people involved in this obviously knew this. I am so grateful for such insightful information and really appreciate the time Todd took in writing this post. Nathalie On Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 4:33 AM, Todd Feiertag <[email protected]> wrote: > That's right folks. I conservatively estimate there are at least two > million dollars of fake Horror Lobby Cards, Window Cards, Inserts, Half > Sheets, One Sheets and at least one Three Sheet in circulation. Fake Horror > material was sold privately, traded privately, sold on Ebay and sold > at at least two different auction houses over the last couple of years. > > > > Just do the numbers...one major Universal Horror collector alone claims > that he has bought and accepted in trade approximately $800,000.00 worth of > fake material. > > > > Ron Magid allegedly claims he is out $150,000.00 for fake material he > accepted in trade. > > > > Another collector apparently spent $90,000.00 on fake lobby cards on Ebay. > > > > > Another collector is out $70,000.00 for fake material he accepted in trade. > > > > Another collector spent $50,000.00 on a fake DRACULA Title Card. > > > > Another collector is out $40,000.00. > > > > Another collector is out $30,000.00. > > > > Already, this totals almost $1.25 Million and this is just off the top of > my head from a few of the collectors I know. This doesn't include the tons > of fake material sold on Ebay for the past two years. I believe there is > easily at least two million dollars of this fake material out there. > Unfortunately, most collectors are not MoPo members or members of any other > poster forums and it is very likely they will never know they possess fakes > and because of this, this material will be in circulation for decades to > come. > > > > When this is all said and done, it would be great if the FBI would secure > EBay’s records and contact every buyer to inform them that there is a very > good chance they have bogus material. Unfortunately, this is most likely > not going to happen. > > > > The Damage: > > > > If the above estimate is correct, which I believe it is and I also believe > it's probably a conservative estimate....this is two million dollars sucked > out of the Legitimate Horror poster market and money which could have been > spent on Real Horror Material with legitimate dealers that specialize in > Vintage Horror Material such as Sean Linkenback and myself. Unfortunately, > that money for the most part is now most likely down the drain and lost > forever. Unfortunately, I believe that most of the collectors who have > taken a hit will never see their money or their material again. > > > > Another obvious impact, at least for the short term, will make any > Vintage Horror material suspect, unless purchased from the very few real > Horror experts out there. As everyone here knows, I'm not one to blow my > horn from sunrise to sunset like some others do on this forum and in other > venues, but yes, from experts like myself who have dealt with and personally > collected ONLY Vintage Horror Material for almost 50 years now. I happen to > know most of the alleged parties personally and I believe this is the only > reason I wasn't offered any of this fake Horror material. Over the past 47 > years I have handled more Vintage Horror Material than anyone else out there > and as good as some of this stuff looks, it wouldn't have gotten past me. I > find it interesting that many of the 'so called' expert dealers out there > that have been around for less than 10 years or for as long as almost 30 > years were fooled into buying this material. Not fooled buying the material > on Ebay where anyone could be fooled but buying the material in person after > examining the material close-up themselves. Even one of the expert > restorers who is now currently determining whether material is real or not > has been fooled into thinking something was real when it wasn't. My point > is...that you just can't learn about this overnight or over several years. > It can take decades to have a discerning eye and I'm not talking about a > magnifier or a strong loupe, your sense of touch and the feel of a lobby > card or poster...you need all of your senses and intuition which is > something you can't be taught. > > > > Ok, back to the damage this has caused. This scandal is big enough to turn > established collectors off from buying anything for a very long time and > possibly out of the hobby altogether and it's enough to make potential new > collectors stay away altogether from collecting ANY movie material and > especially Vintage Horror Movie Material. > > > > Even though some of this material has been sold by several auction houses, > it will be very difficult from now on for anything else to get past the > poster specialists, but still, for now at least, I believe collectors will > still be a little gun shy when it comes to Vintage Horror Material, again, > even though they shouldn't have any reason to be since everything will now > be highly scrutinized before placed in a sale. > > > > But for the collectors or dealers selling privately, on their websites or > at shows, many people will be highly cautious and suspect of any Vintage > Horror Material unless it's from a very long established expert who > specializes in Vintage Horror Material. > > > > A few last thoughts... > > > > From what I have observed, almost everything which was sold, the buyer > thought they were getting a very good deal. Great Lobby Cards with Karloff > and Lugosi from THE RAVEN for $2995. is a great price for a real card. Not > such a great price for a fake card. A DRACULA R47 One Sheet for $25,000.00 > is a great price since the poster has sold for over $50,000.00. Not such > a great price if the poster is fake. Everyone loves getting a great deal, > who doesn't, and I feel very bad for all my friends and the others who lost > their hard earned money and material in this terrible scam, but if something > seems too good, it probably is and something is not right. It's not to say > that you still can't get a great deal on a great Horror piece, but in this > day and age when even a novice can check on current prices, those great > deals don't happen as often as they use to. > > > > Over the past two years, there has been a ton of Vintage Horror Material to > hit the market. Multiple DRACULA Title Cards, Multiple FRANKENSTEIN Title > Cards, Multiple BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN Title Cards, Multiple FRANKENSTEIN > Scene Cards, Multiple Scene Cards from THE BLACK CAT, Multiple Scene Cards > from THE RAVEN, Multiple MARK OF THE VAMPIRE Scene Cards (ALL the same Best > Scene with Lugosi/Carol Borland), Multiple Scene Cards from THE OLD DARK > HOUSE, Multiple Window Cards from MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE, Multiple Window > Cards from DRACULA(not the good one), a Half Sheet from THE RAVEN, an Insert > from THE OLD DARK HOUSE, Multiple FRANKENSTEIN and DRACULA R47 One Sheets, a > One Sheet from THE BLACK CAT, a Three Sheet from GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN and > the list goes on and on... > > > > In almost 50 years of personally collecting strictly Vintage Horror > Material, I have never seen this much Horror material hit the market. It > just doesn't happen like this. It never did and it never will. Sure, a > major Horror collector passes away and there is a very short period of some > extra material to hit the market as this material is either auctioned off in > a couple of auctions or disseminated among collectors and dealers. But that > was not the case here. THIS STUFF IS TRUELY RARE!! What were the > buyers thinking?? I know, I was thinking something is not right and > especially after I heard another One Sheet from THE BLACK CAT surfaced about > six or so months ago. In 50 years there have only been 3 examples of that > one style One Sheet known and that was it, till Grey at Heritage > discovered another one a few years ago. Ok, that is very understandable, > that after 50 years, another One Sheet from THE BLACK CAT surfaces. But > then ANOTHER ONE within a year or so after that?? It's possible, but very > unlikely. Highly unlikely. Again, it just doesn't happen like that and I > was highly suspicious. I knew something was up and with all of this other > great Horror material surfacing in SUCH A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME, something > did not smell right. Again, what were the buyers thinking? That this is > the way it is and this stuff isn't as that rare? Personally, I don't > think most of the collectors who bought these fakes really knew how rare > this material really is. > > > > After this is all said and done, in the long run people will realize that > the great Vintage Horror material is truly scarce and that the REAL > Lobby Cards and Posters will now be worth even much more than they are today > and would have been in the future, because they are not nearly as PLENTIFUL > as people thought when the fake 'Gold Rush' was happening. > > > > Good Night and Good Morning. > > > > Todd Feiertag/Poster City > > > ------------------------------ > Get back to school stuff for them and cashback for you. Try Bing > now.<http://www.bing.com/cashback?form=MSHYCB&publ=WLHMTAG&crea=TEXT_MSHYCB_BackToSchool_Cashback_BTSCashback_1x1> > 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.
