Alamo Drafthouse / Rolling Road Show Poster Update

[guest8]

As much as I like Stout and Kill Bill, I did not even try to get one because its not worth the time or effort with Mondo anymore.

Cj

That just makes it all the more satisfying when you get one of these prints

Still way better odds than a Stout lottery !

[guest8]

Looks like theres 32 active auctions online now .. with another ~30 or so ended that had actual bids on them .. thats pushing 10% .. i wonder what the total will be in another week .. and thats not even getting into private sales on forums like here and EB ..

[supraman079]

Just wait until they dry up a few years from now. Once they get into hardcore collectors hands it will be more difficult to source one.

[Louie D.]

Just wait until they dry up a few years from now. Once they get into hardcore collectors hands it will be more difficult to source one.

I disagree.  I think they are a fad just like all those mass produced  silk screened concert posters they printed up in the 90's/00's.  You don't see many of those bringing huge money these days.

[eatbrie]

There is way more following for a cult movie like Kill Bill seen by millions around the globe than for a single Grateful Dead concert from the early 90s.  Plus, the concert is long gone from the collective memory of a few 1000s, while the movie's appeal endures. 

T

[Louie D.]

There is way more following for a cult movie like Kill Bill seen by millions around the globe than for a single Grateful Dead concert from the early 90s.  Plus, the concert is long gone from the collective memory of a few 1000s, while the movie's appeal endures. 

T

Sure, but how many of those people watching Kill Bill now are going to want these silk screens in the next 10-15 years over an actual studio released one sheet?  Just as you are buying these posters speculating for the future, my statement was my opinion and my own speculation for the future of these posters.

[eatbrie]

Sure, but how many of those people watching Kill Bill now are going to want these silk screens in the next 10-15 years over an actual studio released one sheet?

That's why I have it all, collect it all.

T

[JessicaLee]

Hey, I've been meaning to post a formal introduction in the New Member Intro section, but for now... My name is Jessica Olsen and I'm a fairly new addition at Mondo. I've been helping out in pretty much every area of the company, so I thought I might be able to address concerns brought up here.

For starters, I wanted to make it clear that Mondo does not sell posters on ebay. There are 5 Mondo employees: myself, Justin Ishmael, Rob Jones, Mitch Putnam, Lisa Harr. We also have three hourly employees who look after the physical store. If anyone ever discovers a current Mondo employee flipping posters on ebay or using a second party to do so - please let me know and they will be dealt with. I promise.

Right now the only time we sell posters at a price higher than their original cost is if we have a poster that was returned to us with slight damage. (Slight meaning - a bent corner or some other small defect that could be framed out.) When this happens, if the poster has gone up in price significantly since our online sale, we will increase the price to match a price similar to the aftermarket value and make it available in our Austin retail store. But honestly - it's pretty rare that this happens.

I'm more than happy to answer any questions you have about policies and procedures at Mondo. But I also don't want to butt in too much! Just let me know if I can help. Thanks.

[eatbrie]

Welcome Jessica.  VERY, VERY HAPPY to have you on board.  I'm sure there will be a lot of questions thrown at you since a lot of board members have been longtime collectors of everything Mondo (some since day one) and have seen the company evolve, for the better or the worse, depending on where you sit.  I've talked to Mitch a few times, others have to, and I know he's been on the defensive and not always appreciative of the plurality of this forum and its opinions.  Please don't be offended if some of us criticize Mondo, we're a good bunch but we also have strong opinions on the matter (even more so than other boards like EB).  Anyhow, blah, blah, blah, glad you could join.

Thierry

[guest8]

Hey, I've been meaning to post a formal introduction in the New Member Intro section, but for now... My name is Jessica Olsen and I'm a fairly new addition at Mondo. I've been helping out in pretty much every area of the company, so I thought I might be able to address concerns brought up here.

For starters, I wanted to make it clear that Mondo does not sell posters on ebay. There are 5 Mondo employees: myself, Justin Ishmael, Rob Jones, Mitch Putnam, Lisa Harr. We also have three hourly employees who look after the physical store. If anyone ever discovers a current Mondo employee flipping posters on ebay or using a second party to do so - please let me know and they will be dealt with. I promise.

Right now the only time we sell posters at a price higher than their original cost is if we have a poster that was returned to us with slight damage. (Slight meaning - a bent corner or some other small defect that could be framed out.) When this happens, if the poster has gone up in price significantly since our online sale, we will increase the price to match a price similar to the aftermarket value and make it available in our Austin retail store. But honestly - it's pretty rare that this happens.

I'm more than happy to answer any questions you have about policies and procedures at Mondo. But I also don't want to butt in too much! Just let me know if I can help. Thanks.

This is a nice treat !! Thanks for joining our group! Im sure you can probably tell from my Alamo/Mondo Poster tribute website [that I am a fan of what the mondo crew does].. I know in the past Justin hasnt been very receptive to comments at all and since the explosion of success that has surrounded Mondo over the past couple years Mitch has even been less and less approachable .. It will be nice to have someone we feel we can talk. Even if it's just to chat about what's going on in the Mondo world!

[JessicaLee]

Thanks for the nice welcome! I have to admit I was a little bit nervous about joining in. But don't worry - I'll do my best not to take anything said here too personally. It's a great opportunity to be able to hear people speak their minds candidly and I just appreciate being able to follow along.

[JessicaLee]

This is a nice treat !! Thanks for joining our group! Im sure you can probably tell from my Alamo/Mondo Poster tribute website..

Yes! I'm familiar with your site. It's great.

[Bruce]

So how do the "flippers" gain possession so quickly that they can immediately re-offer them? Do they live within driving distance? Is there any way to acquire these without going through the site?

Bruce

[guest8]

Yes! I'm familiar with your site. It's great.

Is that an official Mondo statement? The reception of my site from the others has been less ... friendly

Also, what is your official title at Mondo?

[holiday]

That's why I have it all, collect it all.

T

You're a ho.

[holiday]

Welcome Jessica.  VERY, VERY HAPPY to have you on board.  I'm sure there will be a lot of questions thrown at you since a lot of board members have been longtime collectors of everything Mondo (some since day one) and have seen the company evolve, for the better or the worse, depending on where you sit.  I've talked to Mitch a few times, others have to, and I know he's been on the defensive and not always appreciative of the plurality of this forum and its opinions.  Please don't be offended if some of us criticize Mondo, we're a good bunch but we also have strong opinions on the matter (even more so than other boards like EB).  Anyhow, blah, blah, blah, glad you could join.

Thierry

Yes, indeed, welcome.  I'm happy to have someone from Mondo participate here.

[eatbrie]

You're a ho.

Will you please watch your language?  We have a lady amongst us now.

T

[Louie D.]

So how do the "flippers" gain possession so quickly that they can immediately re-offer them? Do they live within driving distance? Is there any way to acquire these without going through the site?

Bruce

Pretty valid questions, Bruce.  It seems that the Mondo lovers here don't really care about them being answered, just happy that some rep signed up.

And if a poster comes back damaged, why would you sell it at a higher cost?

[wonka]

Let me do my best here before Jessica has a chance to chime in...just based off collecting Mondo stuff since roughly 2007.

So how do the "flippers" gain possession so quickly that they can immediately re-offer them?

The flippers get these the same way everyone else does. They hit the F5 key until the print(s) go live and quickly throw it on ebay...some probably have the ebay sale page mostly composed in anticipating their initial luck with the drop.  Either way, it isn't too hard.  Be the first to buy, and among the first to sell.

Do they live within driving distance?

This is mostly irrelevant to flipping.

Is there any way to acquire these without going through the site?

Bruce

In the initial and earlier Rolling Roadshow days, they were mostly sold at the actual screenings, and the leftovers were eventually dumped online. However, most prints/posters are now sold online instead of at actual screenings, even ones with advertised screening dates/info on the posters themselves (which is somewhat ironic), and most of the time sold later if not much later than the screenings themselves.  There are exceptions where posters for screenings are actually sold at screenings and then online (last year's roadshow Moss posters, Kill Bill, etc...), and even fewer examples where prints are ONLY available at the actual screening (the upcoming Mystery Movie event).  Regardless, the vast majority of print drops, for screenings or otherwise, are usually held online.

[holiday]

Will you please watch your language?  We have a lady amongst us now.

T

That's it.  Shield yourself behind the lady.  That's French chivalry for you!

[eatbrie]

Pretty valid questions, Bruce.  It seems that the Mondo lovers here don't really care about them being answered, just happy that some rep signed up.

I run this forum.  My job is to welcome people, your job is to be an ass.  To each his own.

T

[eatbrie]

That's it.  Shield yourself behind the lady.  That's French chivalry for you!

Not French chivalry, just 8 years of marriage  You should know better!

PS: BTW, who drew your avatar?  Your daughter?  It's making you look waaaaaaaay too good.  I look waaaaaaaay better than you on mine.

[brude]

Thanks for the nice welcome! I have to admit I was a little bit nervous about joining in. But don't worry - I'll do my best not to take anything said here too personally. It's a great opportunity to be able to hear people speak their minds candidly and I just appreciate being able to follow along.

  Jessica Lee.
Don't be nervous and don't take anything personally.
We movie poster collectors are an opinionated lot, and 'candid' is certainly an understatement.
I look forward to reading your posts.

[JessicaLee]

Good morning!

So how do the "flippers" gain possession so quickly that they can immediately re-offer them? Do they live within driving distance? Is there any way to acquire these without going through the site?

Bruce

As far as I know, flippers who offer a poster immediately after an online drop do so without the poster in hand.  And most of those sellers include a caveat about not actually possessing the poster at the time of their auction.  I've been told this sort of thing is common with other types of flippers, (vinyl toys, etc.) - and not just Mondo releases. 

Can posters be bought outside of the site?  Yes, occasionally at screenings -  which can be a week or longer before an online sale (sometimes months in the case of Olly's Rolling Roadshow posters). And occasionally at the store - we had the SXSW posters (Source Code, Moon, Paul, Hesher, Hobo) available in the store everyday during SXSW, and released the remaining copies the following week.

And if a poster comes back damaged, why would you sell it at a higher cost?

Well, honestly, I guess because we can. And we don't always. But if it originally sold for $30, and a month later it's selling for $200 by collectors, I'm not sure if I see the harm in raising the price on the last two or three copies that we have available to sell..I know what the next question will be, and no - we don't hold back posters so we can sell them in this manner. We DO have an archive of posters, but posters that are sold in the way I'm describing here are returns/slightly damaged copies. And we only offer these in our store so that a customer can see any minor damage first hand and evaluate if they think our price is fair or not.

Again though, this is a really rare occurrence.  Shipping returns aren't terribly frequent, but when they happen it's either something that is unsellable (a completely mangled poster) or something with barely noticeable damage (a bent corner or minor scuff).

Does that help?

[Harry Caul]

Is there any way you could institute some sort of superficial change in the checkout system (swap two form boxes, swap placement of submit/cancel buttons, etc...) prior to drops to disrupt the flippers using scripts/automation to acquire multiples?  Or heck, just add a CAPTCHA challenge prior to checkout. 



I imagine the only people who would complain about the inconvenience are the flippers.  I think most buyers/collectors would be happy to know that a unique human is buying each poster.  It won't eliminate flippers by any means, but it would be a good start in restoring confidence...