I agree with Dave. It is a free market system.
I would imagine all MOPOers would buy an original Black Cat for $10,000 and run. 99 % of the people I know don't collect posters. Of the 99 % a 100%, not knowing what one person has paid in the past, would not give $100, let alone $10,000. It is just a cheap print ment to be used once or twice then tossed. The owner has the right to set a price or give away or keep their goods. The only thing you control or have the right to control is whether you buy or don't. There might be another solution. Contact Obama's pricing Czar and he/she can ask Him to force the seller to lower it to your price. Cheers, Brek ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dave Rosen" <hah...@sympatico.ca> To: MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU Sent: Sunday, June 28, 2009 7:42:10 AM GMT -07:00 US/Canada Mountain Subject: Re: [MOPO] ebay poster prices I'm not going to defend sellers who ask, as you say, "ridiculous" prices. But I will say that comparing them to Bruce or Heritage may be a bit apples-and-oranges. The sellers you refer to (though I don't know specifically who you're talking about) are retailers who purchase inventory, then offer it for sale. Thus their return has to cover the cost of the item plus overhead before they see one penny of profit. Bruce and Heritage are consignment sellers. They have overhead, certainly, but do not have cash invested directly in the items they sell. Thus, when they auction stuff off starting at 99-cents or a dollar (really $15 in Heritage's case) they are, in a sense, gambling with someone else's money, the people who consign their posters to them. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that, that's the nature of the business. That's just the way consignment works. It means they can start their auctions lower and take the risk that the lower starting price will attract more bidders. It works most of the time, but occasionally items do slip under the radar and sell at prices that are much lower than the average market price. Bruce and Heritage can afford to take that chance, particularly because they sell thousands of posters and are popular online "destinations" and have a client base in the thousands. Most other sellers are much smaller and can't affordto take that chance. The other comment I have to make is, if the prices truly are "ridiculous" then the items will not sell and the prices will come down. That's market economics, I don't have to explain that to you. So your choice is to buy somewhere else (if you can find what you want there) and/or wait till the price comes down. It's that simple. Dave ----- Original Message ----- From: Claude Litton To: MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU Sent: Sunday, June 28, 2009 8:55 AM Subject: [MOPO] ebay poster prices I have been searching ebay almost daily since 1997. My areas of search are US originals Pre-1940 through 1960. I collect mainly posters in the upper price brackets. In the last few years the amount of listings by too many sellers with ridiculous prices has proliferated to the point where the only thing certain is that not only don't they sell but more and more are joining the pack. The prices are so high that you can't even make a serious offer because it will be so low that they will either ignore you or send you a snide retort. My reaction has been to totally ignore these sellers but it has become a nuisance due to the number joining them. There are some on mopo who do this but I am not referring to Todd who uses his million dollar posters to get people to look at his other posters for sale. I am talking about those who price all their posters at ridiculous prices. I don't even look at ebay daily any longer but wait for Bruce and Heritage to offer what I want. (This is a good opening for Bruce to comment.) I am still trying to understand their motives. Just look at a one sheet of "Three Sons", a poster sold by Bruce for $56 recently and priced at 10 times that on ebay. Let's face reality - People who are going to spend $500 and up on a piece of paper will know their item, will research it and will be careful about their money. $20 is an impulse purchase. $500 is not. Can anyone explain these ridiculous sellers' motives? CJL Make your summer sizzle with fast and easy recipes for the grill. Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: lists...@listserv.american.edu 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: lists...@listserv.american.edu 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: lists...@listserv.american.edu In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.