I will not bore you all with a report detail by detail, but some interesting
events happened at Cinevent.
Firstly Steve Sally Sr. took a funny turn, which worried us all, however from
all that I could gather it was a matter of dehydration. The Sally's left after
Sr. had a stay overnight in the hospital. It was a sore loss that they didn't
attend not just because of their material but their great company. We were all
thinking about you Steve and glad to hear that you are on the up and up...carry
on cursing those a**holes!!!
Firstly part two, us core dealers - attendees arrived Wednesday afternoon only
to find that the bar had lost it's liquor licence! Tears were falling...the
BAR! I mean come on!!! The main meeting place of the hotel the socialising
centre of the conference and of course the centre of the BBW universe in
Columbus...was NO MORE! It transpires that the hotel is going through
receivership and new owners so the owner of the licence didn't want any legal
difficulties. So those that wanted went to the local 7/11 and collected a few
six packs. The hotel lost money but the social gathering was as ever wonderful.
Those that know me will know what I am talking about.
Also the Wi Fi now is completely unacceptable, no signal in the main dealers
room, poor signal in most areas of the hotel, bad signal in the auction
room...not conducive to easy bidding on line.
Hotel troubles....Yes there are many niggles. The vending machines were not
topped up regularly if at all! Probably this comes down to their credit line
being a little thin on the ground. So many of us wanted a cool drink. One of
our group required a Diet Coke...it seems there was nothing available not even
in the restaurant...but it seems communication was not paramount...a can of
Diet Coke was found by another member of staff.
These are maybe niggles but it seems the event overall as much as it is loved
by all is perhaps now in the wrong location for the price being paid. Memorial
weekend is also a questionable time to hold the event. It is a peak time of the
year if the event were to be held out of peak time then prices in general on
hotels would be less. 750 people turned up for the weekend, not 750 people in
the hotel. If the event could guarantee 750 attendance and hotel space...most
hotel chains would offer discount to fill the rooms out of peak times.
Many of us had an issue, I was on the 5th floor and had a few ants wandering
about my room and in the bed! Others had a few insects, or plumbing issues and
those elevators? They must be the slowest elevators in history. These are
niggles I know, but it all makes the event a disappointment.
Several dealers turned up with some spectacular collections just acquired and
on sale. There were some truly beautiful pieces not least an Adventures of
Robin Hood window card. It was beautiful...the colours were excellent but it
had a little restoration. Also in the room one chap from NY turned up with a
superb collection including a War of the Worlds half Sheet and creature of the
Black Lagoon Insert...truly wonderful to see, in fact as has been said earlier
on this forum...possibly the best showing of material in maybe six years.
Cinevent is the event to be visited for dealers and vintage paper...but it is
still the fact that the paper is tough to find.
I missed meeting up with Ron Borst...it's been a long time. There were much
missed people from the past, people who are great company and raconteur's as
well as dealers. Believe me we talked about you.
The rest of you guys made for a great weekend and some bargains were found,
some expensive items were drooled over. As ever the company was great.
The gatherings for Todd's chat about grading were attended, some of us are
still cynical some are looking forward to the opportunity for an industry
standard. I am somewhat cynical myself...if nothing else it can only help the
hobby. But in it's present form it is not hugely welcomed.
Movie Poster Exchange is another matter, this will be something of a revolution
and revelation for the hobby. Watch this Space! Sean and Peter are in the
driving seats with something that all of us will be grateful for, this will
eliminate the use of Ebay for all who feel disgruntled with the great cyber
auction house. And it will be run by people who love the hobby as well. A true
bonus.
I cannot comment on the auction except to say that Morrie cut the lots down by
half from 1400 to 700 and took about 50% more turnover from this auction.
Excellent news. Also there were a few highlights as well as some complaints.
The Wi Fi did not help. I am sure Morrie will receive the input from those
concerned.
The Sunday, Morrie gathered some of us dealers with the idea of discussing
where this hobby/business can go. Watch this space again. It was a very
informative meeting and most of us are batting from the same plate.
Adrian
This never happened to the other fella.
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