Re: [MOPO] Vintage Hollywood Auction madness

[Doug Taylor]

I too have been watching…wow.  How depressing (I say selfishly).  It’s great for the hobby and certainly another triumph for Bruce, but golly I can’t believe I missed out on every item I wanted.  I’m not used to that.  I did lowball a few, hoping for a steal, but there were 2 items in particular that I wanted and bid double what I thought they were worth just to make sure I got them.  I didn’t!  Ouch, I’m dying here.   Great job, Bruce.  You are amazing.   DBT   From: MoPo List [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of J R Sent: Sunday, December 19, 2004 2:30 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [MOPO] Vintage Hollywood Auction madness   I have been watching tonight's action over at the Bruce Hershenson Annex to the U.S. Mint and I don't know if some of these prices are "records", but they are climbing way up there, that's for sure. And not just for the few "premier" items either. The spending mania seems to have spread to all the lots. Once again, Bruce is to be congratulated on mounting a super auction -- and it will be going on for another 3 days!   But also, as usual, it was almost impossible to bid a reasonable amount in this auction and actually win anything.   I can understand this high bidding mania when it comes to things like the Universal Horror and other classic, high-end desirable pieces. We've all come to accept that this will happen. But, c'mon folks, take a look at some of these final bids on some of the more average "everyday" stuff:   3859206939       #388 SHOOTIST 1sh'76 classic Amsel John Wayne portrait! sold for $ 192.50 ... A nice poster, but it comes up fairly often. There was one up for auction on MoviePosterBid two weeks ago, very similar in condition, from a long-time, reliable, well-known seller with a starting price of $119.00 and there were no bidders. http://www.movieposterbid.com/itemdetl.asp?id=4470 3859207258       #392 SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER 1sh'77 John Travolta classic! sold for $92.82 ...Originals of this one in excellent condition show up almost every week on eBay from reliable sellers. You've all seen them, and they go for $20.00 to $40.00 3859207905       #400 GREASE one-sheet '78 John Travolta, Newton-John! sold for $103.50 ...Another one that pops up on eBay all the time. Again, $20 to 40 bucks, almost any week. 3859197180       #293 WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE LC#1 '51 full spaceship image! sold for $380.00   ...While not exactly common, I was tracking this card on eBay last week. It sold for $36.50. Again, from a long-time, reliable seller. Yes, there is a condition variance between the two cards, but this much? http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=60331&item=3858584246&rd=1   Now there is no question that Bruce's operation does a great job -- in presentation, promotion, execuction and shipping after the sale. But so do a lot of other long-time, reliable sellers on eBay, MoviePosterBid and elsewhere, including those who send their FA lists to MOPO and Style B every week. Surely this "reliability factor" alone can't account for these steep variances in prices from the "norm"?   Maybe I'm just out of the loop, but I can't understand why people will go out of their way to bid each other up on this more common material and pay two, three, four times what it normally sells for. Sometimes even more. It don't make no sense to me, and I can only put it down to the kind of bidding madness that sets in. What, do people get so upset that they were outbid on the $1,500 or $3,000 item that they say, "Damn it, I'm gonna buy *something* from Bruce's auctions tonight, no matter what it is or how much I have to pay for it!"   Is this really what happens?   Suffering from Shock and Awe,   -- JR           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.