What's it REALLY worth?

[Disheveledamethyst]

the driving the price up game? Dont get it . Sorry.

That's when you know you're going to lose to somebody who wants it more, so you repeatedly bid higher and higher so the other bidder has to pay a fortune. It's fairly popular: http://www.allposterforum.com/index.php/topic,2944.0.html

On another note, I only consider that I "overpayed" for a poster when I find repeated opportunities to buy the same poster for considerably cheaper. I don't mind paying $200 for a poster I only see once a year, and every time it will be a fierce bidding war. Whereas when I purchased my first movie poster (Toy Story) from a retail website, it cost me $80, which is far more than the $35 pricetag I could find elsewhere almost instantaneously.

[Silhouette]

On another note, I only consider that I "overpayed" for a poster when I find repeated opportunities to buy the same poster for considerably cheaper. I don't mind paying $200 for a poster I only see once a year, and every time it will be a fierce bidding war. Whereas when I purchased my first movie poster (Toy Story) from a retail website, it cost me $80, which is far more than the $35 pricetag I could find elsewhere almost instantaneously.

Hand over heart I doubt anyone can say they have NEVER "overpayed" for a poster.

[brude]

Hand over heart I doubt anyone can say they have NEVER "overpayed" for a poster.

Hand over heart, "I have never overpaid for a poster and, I never will."
 

[oldposterho]

We all overpay, (well, except for Brude  ), on the other hand we all will score at some point, as well.  Sometimes you get the bear, sometimes the bear gets you.

I keep forgetting that not everybody is going after vintage stuff.  Frankly the fluctuations of "modern" (you know, post-1960  ) posters are downright infuriating.  It's much easier to make a how-much-can-I-afford price with things that aren't as readily available. 

--Peter

[Silhouette]

You can only really 'overpay' if your intent was to 'flip' the poster.

If you bought the poster for higher than what it would normally be expected to sell for and you wanted that poster then you got it at the right price. Anyway, chances are that over time it will appreciate more.

The rule in our household is that we do NOT check out the prices of big ticket items after we have purchased it (eg furniture), that way we don't get annoyed by that sinking feeling we've paid too much when we see it on sale somewhere else - it's something my wife always like to do.

[Zorba]

The rule in our household is that we do NOT check out the prices of big ticket items after we have purchased it (eg furniture), that way we don't get annoyed by that sinking feeling we've paid too much when we see it on sale somewhere else - it's something my wife always like to do.

Same here. I dont go back and look at TVs or PCs for a long time after the latest buy.

Hard to do this with posters when you watch emovie, Heritage and even ebay on a regular basis. You see a poster you paid $200 for go for $50. Slice it anyway ya want. Thats an over pay 

I will say though that I agree in that I love all of my crap.   

[raulleaf]

It is both what the buyer would pay and what the seller would sell for....  This is further complicated in an auction setting especially with say Bruce's .99 auctions buy really being what Buyer 1, Buyer 2, Buyer 3 and Buyer 4 would pay for it.  

As an example let us say we had 4 buyers:

Buyer A was maxed out at $50
Buyer B was maxed out at $80
Buyer C was maxed out at $30
Buyer D was maxed out at $40 because a nat shat on the upper left corner; normally he'd be maxed at $60.

So Buyer B wins.  

Now the same poster comes up again.  This time the poster is beyond mint perfect example.  Same four bidders:

Buyer A was maxed out at $50 isn’t concerned with condition.
Buyer B was maxed out at $00.00 - he out already has one.
Buyer C was maxed out at $30 still trying to buy it on the cheap not really an “A” list poster.
Buyer D was maxed out at $60 he’s back in at his amount because there is no defecation

So Buyer D wins right?

Nope! A newbie joined APF saw the poster and with all the new money he has since he hasn’t bought anything, period, trumps them all with a $100 bid.  He has a general idea and wanted to make sure he got it.

So here we are again for a third example:  Now the same poster comes up again.  And so on and so on…

As T suggests, if you are willing to wait long enough and bid each time one becomes available, your chances increase.  You can obviously increase you max to win it sooner, but then the other guy that has been waiting two years for it decides he can spend $10 more on it this time and his max resets.  

If we want posters at reasonable prices, in theory we should set a price we would pay and never waiver because every increase in our price impacts other desiring the poster.  Now, what wasn’t discussed is fall out from buying from other venues etc.  You can get very good deals where there is no competition.  You can get the subject poster for $30!  So the odds are more in favor of just sticking to a price over the long haul (perhaps adjusted for inflation) and/or searching for it off line, eliminating the competition and falling back to what a person is willing to sell for…  You will eventually get it for your price or less, as long as there are not too many newbies entering the market and/or you catch a poster dealer having a bad month.

And since I am on the topic of Newbies, APF actually impacts the prices we pay for posters.  For example, before joining APF I was not much of a Japanese poster fan.  But, as I was exposed to them through the forum, I have purchase many more than if I had not joined.  I would have kept chugging along working on my Eastwood 1sheets…  The forum created competition for its members!!

So the moral of the story is don’t tell anyone about what your bidding on, try to make as many offline (out of public view) deals and make sure to advertise every acquisition as to encourage others to spend their money on the posters you already have!

[Silhouette]

Since David (Silhouette) and I recently disagreed on the value of two very nice daybills

Not quite sure what our offline conversation has to do with this...

Buyer A was maxed out at $50 isn’t concerned with condition.
Buyer B was maxed out at $00.00 - he out already has one.
Buyer C was maxed out at $30 still trying to buy it on the cheap not really an “A” list poster.
Buyer D was maxed out at $60 he’s back in at his amount because there is no defecation

"no defecation"

No shit? huh?

So the odds are more in favor of just sticking to a price over the long haul (perhaps adjusted for inflation) and/or searching for it off line, eliminating the competition and falling back to what a person is willing to sell for…  You will eventually get it for your price or less, as long as there are not too many newbies entering the market and/or you catch a poster dealer having a bad month.

That's a fairly generous assumption plus you are hoping for a whole lot of things to go your way too. You are assuming that in the time that one is waiting for the poster to 'fall back in price' no one else (a newbie) will enter the market looking for that poster and be willing to pay even more or even an 'old-hand collector' will decide they like that style and start collecting.

I personally don't believe one should wait for some 'special' pricing to happen, if you want it buy it, if you can afford buy it, if it's too dear don't buy it. IMHO it's when you have bought it you now own it and it is from that point in time you get to enjoy it as your possession - owning it is a major part of the enjoyment. Wanting it is the REASON to buy it.

That said I wholeheartedly agree if one has a budget one should then (try) to stick to it (whether using online research or star alignment and Taro cards to set that budget), but one also has to be conscious that should you not buy it the price may rise (as do most collectibles) - in which case one will have to adjust one's budget or accept the fact one will not own that poster.

Yes there is an argument that prices can and do fall but surely that cannot be the rule by which one becomes a buyer? On that basis the sharemarket and our beloved capitalism would never exist.

And since I am on the topic of Newbies, APF actually impacts the prices we pay for posters.  For example, before joining APF I was not much of a Japanese poster fan.  But, as I was exposed to them through the forum, I have purchase many more than if I had not joined.  I would have kept chugging along working on my Eastwood 1sheets…  The forum created competition for its members!!

I would agree that this forum does (help) create demand for movie posters but it does so by providing a place where people can get a better understanding of the hobby and as such make informed decisions about the purchase of same. I believe this and other forums and websites (allow me some latitude as I include mine in the mix) should be encouraged and nurtured to grow because growth creates exposure and after all, this is just hobby and should not be closeted away to be enjoyed by a select few.

[Zorba]

And since I am on the topic of Newbies, APF actually impacts the prices we pay for posters.  For example, before joining APF I was not much of a Japanese poster fan.  But, as I was exposed to them through the forum, I have purchase many more than if I had not joined.  I would have kept chugging along working on my Eastwood 1sheets…  The forum created competition for its members!!

Very true this.

If I remember it correctly( I am probably a little off) I went pretty close to a year without buying a Japanese poster and then I saw T's and H's collections along with Armin's stuff. A year plus later Im at about 30 Japanese posters.

I believe this and other forums and websites (allow me some latitude as I include mine in the mix) should be encouraged and nurtured to grow because growth creates exposure and after all, this is just hobby and should not be closeted away to be enjoyed by a select few.

The more the merrier. I love the poster and film talk that goes on here. I have bought posters and seen movies I may never have and that is a damn good thing.

[Silhouette]

Are you just playing defense, because I thought your prices were too high? 

Frankly, I do not dwell on such things. This was not and is not a discussion about our offline conversation, the fact you chose to bring it into a public forum was the point, not whether you thought my price was too high.

or they may be on the way from Sydney right now...

To coin a phrase we use Down Under: "Don't let your face turn blue" ( you would have been holding your breath too long) 

You might have missed "a nat shat on" in previous example. I think Disheveledamethyst is very condition conscience....

Ah, understand. 

But as I have personally experienced, the fairly common yet highly priced posters, can be purchased at a much lower price; if you are willing to wait. 

I guess this is where we differ, if I want it and provided I can afford it then I buy it (notwithstanding reasonable price research). I cannot see the point in waiting perhaps years just to wait for a price drop to prove a point or theory - it seems to defeat the point of owning a poster you desire - life is short enjoy it now.

Think about all those poor basterds who bought Breakfast at Tiffany's for 6K...  If they were patient they could get it now for 2K.

There will never be any logic to a hindsight argument - if we use your thinking, then let's flip the coin, imagine how one would feel if that same poster was now worth $20K and one could have paid $6k a few years earlier. As I buy for enjoyment rather than profit would I care if I paid $6K many years ago for a Tiffany's?

No I would not.

How do you put a price on the enjoyment of owning and proudly displaying the poster in your home over the last few years? The value of the smile that owning such a poster would bring each day I walked past it would have repaid the difference in price.

To me the hunt is more exciting, not simply owning them...

Again it's where we differ - I collect simply for aesthetics. The hunt is a means to an end.

[Silhouette]

but I kept getting in the weeds about your pretentiousness.  So I pulled back..

Doesn't look like it.

Sorry for ruffling your feathers.

I thought you meant it...but then I get...

Are you sure your not a transplant? Aussies are usually more happy go lucky.

[jayn_j]

If I wanted to pay attention to bitchy little girls, I'd simply walk away from the computer and listen to my 14 yo daughter.  I'm in here to escape her. Don't make me go out and spank her.