** Speaking ONLY for myself, a contemplative confessional from Bruce about the
shifts in his selling ideologies over the span of 20 years would only matter to
dealers who compete against Bruce -- and would be of little interest to us
collectors. It appears like an attempt to catch him in a contradiction when in
fact we all undergo transformations and re-tooling to ensure self-preservation.
I've written thousands of words about Bruce and his consignment model -- and
each transformation or attempt at self-re-invention has been a success. The
quantity vs. quality question seems a back-handed way of saying Bruce no longer
sells quality and only sells mid-range-to-cruddy stuff at high volumes. This
is not true from where I sit as a consumer. No, he might not have a
Frankenstein one-sheet come his way very soon -- nor would he care to go back
to the "showroom" model with high overheads -- but he has sold things like the
"camel" poster from "Lawrence of Arabia" for more than $11K during the nadir of
the recession,
still a record for that title. There is no venue or business model he has not
tried before settling into his current model, hence to me he speaks with
experience and some authority. Of course he's not the FINAL authority, but
he's credible. Bruce's churning methods and fast pace have conditioned
thousands of collectors AND dealers throughout this small hobby -- many who
continue to both BUY and CONSIGN to him -- to reflexively check his listings
anyway, as regularly as one would brush their teeth. Any collector or dealer
who chooses to ignore his listings makes a conscious choice to pass up a
potential bargain.
** The most important issue to most of us is still full disclosure and quality
service -- and not questions about why competing dealer "x" thought one way in
1990 and became "y" in 2000 and is now "z" in 2010, e.g., which to me, as it
pertains to Bruce -- is an efficiently run factory operation moving a wide
swath of material that's honestly graded for thousands of customers. If I ever
want something akin to the Hope Diamond, I can always consult the Greys, the
Seans, the Todds, the Freemans and the Walters and Kirbys and Sams, -- and even
the Bruces, etc., etc., of the world. (Sorry if I left anyone out, I've bought
from most everyone so it's hard to remember.) If I was a dealer, I wouldn't be
surprised if all of the aforementioned names -- have shifted their ideologies
about poster selling in conjunction with the universal acceptance of the
Internet, and have subsequently found their niches or comfort zones -- and
adjusted accordingly. Some of us still know where to go for certain things.
-d.
=====================
From: Sean Linkenback
To: MOPO-L@listserv.american.edu
Re: [MOPO] Any bets on METROPOLIS?
Sat, 20 Mar 2010 14:22:52 -0700
Bruce,
Could you share the story with us that led to your decision to change
directions as it were in your poster selling philosophy?
Certainly in the early days of your business you concentrated on catering to
"investors" and/or "advanced collectors". Yes, you published your sales list,
but your convention appearances and focus of course was on quality over
quantity and in getting those high-dollar pieces for the early Christie's
auctions and working to attract high-end collectors. I even remember reading a
profile on poster investing with you in a Delta Skymiles Magazine, and you
related a story where you met with Jose and wanted to buy all 3 copies of the
one-sheet he had on "This Gun For Hire".
What happened that made you do a change and decide to focus on quantity instead?
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