Excellent reply JR. It amazes me that dozens of MoPo'ers will find time to bicker over the oddest topics, but no one but you and me has any interest or time to post about the current state of poster prices!
Bruce On Sun, Aug 23, 2009 at 3:33 AM, James Richard <jrl...@mediabearonline.com>wrote: > My casual tracking seems to indicate there is a slight overall reduction > in the $100 and up area of poster collecting -- but that's to be expected > under the current economic conditions. The overall reduction doesn't seem > terribly steep, however, and certainly there have been plenty of examples > where high, and maybe even some record prices, are still being set. Vintage > movie posters seems to be holding up better than many other collectibles, > where 50% and even 75% price drops have been common. > > As for the lower-priced posters, it would only be natural they would suffer > a drop in demand in tough economic times. If collectors overall have a bit > less money to play around with then they did a few years ago, chances are > most would opt to bid on fewer items but focus on higher quality items... > getting the most bang for the buck as it were. > > I have seen a few specific posters previously in the $400 to $800 range dip > rather dramatically in the last year, but it's hard to tell if that is due > to the economy or just the usual ebb and flow for a particular title or > style (i.e., most of those who really want that specific poster have > acquired one over the last few years and so now a lull in demand has > developed -- something that may correct or may not, you never can tell on > most titles). And there were some titles 3 or 4 years ago which had become > badly over-hyped/over-popular, but now buyers are realizing that there seem > to be a lot more these "hot" posters around than they were led to believe > (some of the excess in those "hot" titles may, of course, may be fakes). > > But, yeah, I would say that this is a "buying opportunity" of sorts... not > the opportunity of a lifetime or anything, but if you have a particular > title or two in mind, you may be able to get somewhat better price right > now than you would have 2 or 3 years ago. > > -- JR > > > Bruce Hershenson wrote: > > I was talking to one of my consignors on the phone a couple of days ago, > and he mentioned that he thought many prices were down in recent months. > > Of course, much of this can be attributed to the overall economy. Clearly > some people are short on money, and others are just being cautious with > their money. Also eBay has made such a mess of their listings that they are > likely bringing far fewer new collectors into the hobby than they did in > years past. > > I have been buying and selling collectibles for 44 years now, and *EVERY*time > overall prices have been depressed (due to external reasons, like a > poor economy, or a massive collection coming on the market), it has proven > to be an excellent buying opportunity. > > I have been looking at WHO is buying the better quality items in my > auctions, and who are the underbidders, and it seems like a lot of the most > savvy and longest time collectors are doing a lot of buying (or trying to do > a lot, but are getting outbid), and that would seem to say that they agree > with me and are trying to find bargains while prices are somewhat depressed. > > I also notice that the prices of much lesser items (those that auction for > $1 to $20) are mostly extremely depressed. I attribute this to people being > far more selective in what they buy, choosing to pass up items that are in > lesser condition or of low desireability, even if they are dirt cheap (and > they may be getting to spend the money they would have spent on better items > instead). > > Anyway, I am betting that one more time this will prove to be a time when > people look back and think "Why didn't I buy more when many decent items > sold for reasonable prices". > > What do *YOU* think? > > Bruce > > 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.