I think Voltaire figured out a long time ago that nothing's perfect in this best of all possible worlds. I think it's almost more important to give an actual written description of the condition of the poster or lobby card including any flaws. Simply showing a photo without pointing out things that could easily be missed such as a light censor stamp or some light spotting is being somewhat less than forthright. I can totally forgive the photo shop color corrections because in many cases to not photo shop the photo will result in a poster looking totally washed out or (worse yet) totally browned, when in real life it is not. Provided there's a return policy for dissatisfied buyers, I have no problem with correcting color in a photo shop application. FRANC
-----Original Message----- From: MoPo List [mailto:mopo-l@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU] On Behalf Of Richard C Evans Sent: Saturday, March 03, 2012 1:22 PM To: MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU Subject: Re: [MOPO] Are "boosted" images clever marketing or outright deception? While I'd far rather sellers made a concerted effort to accurately represent lots, I can perhaps forgive a little tweak for improved presentation. Though when something looks too vivid I think most collectors can easily spot it, so it seems a pointless exercise. Besides, aren't collectors interested in paper that is actually old? I'd just raised one particularly bad example on NSFGE. I sold a Maltese Falcon Window card at Heritage a few years back. That one was, to my eye, accurately represented. They're selling a superior example in the upcoming sale, and unless it's a particularly bizarre printing anomaly, they've seriously overdone it. Terribly garish, reds look dayglo, lighter colours bleaching out. They're really not doing the piece justice, it looks repulsive. That said, and even leaving aside the Berwick lots, I think it's a particularly good and interesting sale. On 3 Mar 2012, at 12:59, Bruce Hershenson wrote: I received this e-mail from a customer yesterday: "The lobby card which I bought in the Tuesday February 14 auction arrived today in perfect condition, thanks to your superlative packing. I am delighted with the card, which is my favorite of all lobby cards. In fact, it actually looks even better in reality than in your scans, as the super-sized image brings up even the tiniest imperfection very clearly. I know nobody else who provides this enlargement service so you can see exactly what you are buying." I replied as follows: "Thank you very much for your kind words! I have been buying through the mail for over 40 years, and I have always been amazed how many sellers would try to deceive you with poor quality photos that hide defects. Now, with modern day scanners, you can make scans that "burn away" defects (including even foldlines and pinholes), and people also use them to "boost" the colors of the item! Some people seem to feel this is just wise salesmanship, but to me it is both deceptive and thinking for the short term, because you may get the person to pay more THIS time, but you are likely to lose a customer when they see how they were deceived. The way I do things with honest images that show 'even the tiniest imperfection very clearly', as you put it, I know that I gain the customer's trust, and that they are likely to order again and again, so I think those auctions that have the other philosophy are being 'penny wise and pound foolish'." What is YOUR view on this? -- Bruce Hershenson and the other 24 members of the eMoviePoster.com team P.O. Box 874 West Plains, MO 65775 Phone: 417-256-9616 (hours: Mon-Fri 9 to 5 except from 12 to 1 when we take lunch) our site <http://www.emovieposter.com/> our <http://www.emovieposter.com/agallery/all.html> auctions <http://www.emovieposter.com/unused/signature/20111028Frankensteinemployeegr oupphotosignature.jpg> <http://www.emovieposter.com/unused/signature/20111028Frankensteinemployeegr oupphotosignature.jpg> 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.
