many people are asking teh Mopo group what thier items are worth, who
is interested in them and where can they sell them,,,, many dealers will
say they Bu things or will sell on consignment or want to trade,,, so a
primer I would suggest is to look at some history...
when I started we had very little No price guides, no real numbers just
a few catalogs from auction results and a few collector newspapers and a
few collector books.. My oldeest reference would be LarrY edmunds
bookcatalog from the 60s...the MGM auction was in 1970 and the Weiss
catalog had a entie movie studio,,, stuff was cheap and Debbie Reynolds
Bought much,, there was also a 20th centry fox autionm, paramout, many
studios... then peopel started to track sales,,,John Kischs poster price
almanac andthe other in Tenn his name slips my mind started to watch
auctions,,, and chart results much lke Jerry Overstreets guide.. well
then ebay happed and it changed everything because Now anyone could be a
poster.comic.baseball card dealer so many prices softened due to
abundance of titles... many of the old school poster servive exchanges
like theater poster exchange shut down or moved , poster dealers died
and specculators bought up huge amouns of Posters as commodditys not
because they gave a damn about movies or preservation.. they where like
Factory frams of postres...My personal outlook was that everything was
mportant from a history perspective,, so I bought everything and stored
it IN warehouse, rented semi trailers, my building under tarps inhe back
of building..(I once bought 15,000 35mm movie reels How big is that?? i
was a 40 ft trailer and wasgaylord boxes of 300 each and we stacked then
in my back of building under tarps..) my idea was to make coffe table
out of them.. I sold them to dealers and you name it...then peopel
discovered tehy where cool.. Kodak sold them to me cheap...
anyways back to posters if you read on Bottom these where never meant to
be sold as the rights would have to be split with artists and studios
etc... so they where to be advertising only.... as we know peopel used
them as insulatin in homes and more,,,I once found a attic completely
covered in sat evening Post magazines and tehy wheer all like new.... so
many posters where saved by theater owners and fans and many sources...
BUT what are they worth?? it boils down to who cares... many of the
prices become inflaed artificially by false rumors of rarenesss...many
because peopel create scaricity or try to corner the market,,, while we
have seen outright forgey on recent titles o reproductions.. many peopel
want originals but then have then linen backed or restored for
concervation as new condition,,, as many feel like archivist.... Fory
ackerman and the colector I recently bough a collection from had their
lobbie cards laminated in rigid plastic so that they would not loose
color or decay.. It worked howevere many collectors and archivists feel
it detracts as its nonreverse able...
so lets TALK ROOF shingles....:) I just am haveing a Roof redone... the
shigles can be warranteed 25, -50 years on material wear,, its kinda
funny as I thought how do I know Ill even be here in 10 years :) im 68
so add 25 -50 years its kind funny,, thats why the collectors crak me up
as I think exactly hows this tiem frame work in your life??? as Ive
learned TIME is very short, LIfe is short... so saving much is a
complete crazy plan.... unless its for a cause or to share with others..
thats why I advocate donation to museums if you can afford to give
away... oterwize whats IT WORTH..... that changes everyday due to the
interests of peopel... just look at Movies period... what does anyone
like??really serious Film students may like eclectic titles or foriegn
films that only played a hand full of theaters ..but may not even wwant
a copy as the art was orrible or lack of popularity... commercial sucess
with titles Lke Jaws and str wars anad Gone with the wind prevail as may
peopelhave memories of those films in thie lives... the horror posters
and sci fi appealed to a group of cult movie fans that also had verey
eclectic interest..soit became its own catagory as did sports movie,
musicals , etc.. whats is shocking and a equalizer is that many peopel
have lost interest in certain Genres... so you could have a 1920s poster
only sell for 10.00 today because NO ONE Cares....the actors, the film,
te art ...so its really a good time to buy if you just love the art and
to obtain a vintage poster...so I enjoy the period for peopel that like
movies.. as far as hording... thats a bad idea i hink... but storing
them for future generations is OK and the best part to me is sharing
them as a communal experience... selling them is really all concept....
as many peopel want ORIGinal release as some kind of status when Good
news is you can get reproducions that are the same art and will last
your lifetime and not starve you....as investment... who knows?? it
would seem te hirtoric benchmark titles keep growing as investment
comodditys buy there are only so many liek metroplis far out of the
reach of most peopel or collectors... so that leave what there is...lots
of posters of all kinds... what ive told my customers is this in last 40
years " BUY not for investment as they can lse value. BUy a film because
you like the art, enjoyed he film and if your stuck with ityou enjoy it
anyway, if it rises in value be happy if it falls be thankful anyways"
otherwise we can be disapponted and have a ton of items we dont even
want...it can be fun as a hobby,,, and also you can make a nice amount
of money as a business...and share the interest of film with many
peopel..recently after ive been out of he current loop Ive found that
amany peopel try to keep values and the posters history as a secret as a
sort of competive way to not share because many peopel want to find
deals... I understand we all would like deals but whe I stared asking
values.. I found that Bruce and learn about posters and a few dealers
would be up front with me and give guestimates... many willask prics
then sayd " its too HIGH"" ILL pass or other games.. when I think what
reference are the usng??? too high comapared to what?? what are they
siting as a sales point a recorded sale on Heritage, emovei pste, ebay
or what? as what I dod is give a overview of all... just becaus a poster
brings say 400 at one sale does not mak it the benchmark,,, its a
cumulative reference of many comps that give a truer picture just like
Homes or cars... because in the end its what someone is willing to Pay
that sets the record... thats why almost all major dealers are now
offering at auction because if anyone could assign a set price they
would.. I typically say OK if the are selling for say 1000.00 then
anyone should pay 500 as that 1/2 and wholsale o where they could retail
and make a good margin profit..But many dealerswant to buy at 10% of
retail or 100 on a 1000 poster,,, which if you can buy a huge lot you
can do sometimes but you also get the dredge with the good..so sometimes
its better to cherry pick aand pay more and it take les time and work...
I like lots as I do for fun what I like to do to provide a way to eat
andpay bilss... to me ists a dventure learning experienec and when I can
also make a person happy thats my thrill...and I get to in a small way
help preserve many movei artifacts,,,its really been a honor and hope i
can do this and help othesr also...and Ill be happy to share what little
ive learned with anyone else I can or ehelp peopel who decide they want
to get rid of collections as I have also learned we need to let go...as
we are not going totake it with us..:) whats your feelings peopel?? what
have you learned from years of collecting or saving? I am curios thanks
Folks have a great Sunday God bless
----
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