Is this the best time ever to find and buy vintage movie posters?

[Bruce]

It is my personal opinion that this is the best time ever to find and buy vintage movie posters. There are many thousands of real no reserve auctions every week (some 99 cents, some $1, $10, or $15). and there are LOTS of "major events" of "better posters", plus there are at least 100 dealers with bulging inventories, many of who have all or most of their posters well illustrated on their sites.

There just aren't that many posters (other than the super-scarce ones that have ALWAYS been very hard to find) that one couldn't reasonably expect a good opportunity of acquiring over a few months or a year's time, and there are lots and lots of bargains all over the Internet, both at auctions and from dealers' sites.

And unlike the pre-Internet days, where you often had to buy off of a tiny black and white image (sometimes no image at all) you now can almost always see a giant image of the item you want to buy.

So I ask you, is this the best time ever to find and buy vintage movie posters?

[brude]

With the global economy apparently headed for disaster, I believe it will get even better very soon.

[Steven11788]

yep on both accounts

[eatbrie]

It is the best time for some, and the worst for others.  Yesterday was the 3rd auction of yours Bruce that I completely forgot about because I was at the beach.  So many posters I wanted.  August is a bad month for buying posters, at least for me.

[paul waines]

No......., I think around the mid/late 70's was the best time. If I had the money I have now in relation to what it was worth then, I could have had some awesome posters that I'm still after. Also Quite a few I have now, I would never have had...! It was such a great time to buy, less people at it too....   

[CSM]

It really depends what you collect.  For example, there are no more Aussie posters available than there were when I started collecting.

Although through networking with other collectors there are more "eyes" out there...

[MoviePosterBid.com]

no it definitely is not the best time ever to find and buy vintage posters.. Those days are long gone

they were the days of $200 Forbidden Planet posters & $100 Frankenstein lobby cards

however, compared to just 15 years ago, this probably is a better time.. compared to 20-30-40 years ago?? absolutely not

[Silhouette]

Because no one can afford a time machine the best time to buy vintage posters is when you have the cash for them

40 years ago $200 is worth about $1,070.00 today
30 years ago $200 is worth about $466.00 today

[brude]

Of course they were cheaper years ago.
I bought FORBIDDEN PLANET for $7.50; SPIDER-WOMAN STRIKES BACK (1948) for $5; and on and on.  I rarely spent more than $1.50 for 50s sci-fi.
Those days will never return.
But, I think that the sky-high prices we see now -- for quality vintage titles -- will drop considerably if/when the banks crash again.

[110x75]

I bought FORBIDDEN PLANET for $7.50; SPIDER-WOMAN STRIKES BACK (1948) for $5; and on and on.  I rarely spent more than $1.50 for 50s sci-fi.

You lucky old bastard!

[holiday]

I could not afford to buy what I've acquired over the past 10 years.  When I see what people are paying now, I realize that I did pretty well in what I purchased during that time, especially in the area of Japanese posters. 

[Filmlobbycards]

"Everyone is a prisoner of his own experiences..." Edward R. Murrow

I've been waiting to apply this quote to poster collecting..

If you read between the lines than both Bruce and Rich are correct but in different ways..

Sean (Crowzilla) astutely pointed out in February of this year
..."There are now more original one sheets (Dracula et all) AVAILABLE (key word) than at any other time in the 60's, 70's or 80's...The style F, (Dracula) which was not even known to exist 15 years ago is now the most common style..."

We also have now "courtesy of Berwick" the 1931 The Public Enemy style A & B..and Cimarron...and Little Caesar..And now Bruce is about to offer THE iconic Cleopatra silent one sheet...

Bruce : "There just aren't that many posters (other than the super scarce ones that have ALWAYS been very hard to find) that one couldn't reasonably expect a good opportunity of acquiring over...a year's time.." ...

I agree with this specifically..(however the super scarce ones are popping up too)

In terms of being condition conscious and having the tools to be so...this is the time to collect
Emovieposter, movie poster exchange, ebay, heritage, movieposterbid...etc all speak to the greater accessibility of vintage film ephemera..

I really can't imagine how great the 60's or 70's were for collecting but it must have been pioneering for the hobby to say the least ...and exciting!!

Rich...Were these $100 Frankenstein cards common enough to acquire 1 every year FOR SEVERAL COLLECTORS ..or where they more a fluke of a find related to lack of exposure/knowledge of a savvy collecting base/dealer network?..were there 10 or 20 of these during the 60's or were there less than a handful ...

Hindsight is 20/20 and I bet some people purchased these Forbidden Planets and Frankenstein pieces for a song...but they probably sold a fair number of them too.... at a price well below what they would fetch today..and wished they had kept them

Alas...I can only apply my most recent experiences with collecting since we only have this "moment" compared to decades past...i can't think of a better time to buy silent film pieces...I personally acquired 3 complete Chaplin lobby card sets in the last year alone ..1918 A Dog's life, 1918 Shoulder arms & 1922 Pay Day...

I'm pretty sure I'm fucking stoked about collecting in this day and age!!!

[ozcinemagic]

AVAILABLE (key word)

I think this is Bruce's main point - availability.
Currently, collectors are absolutely spoilt for choice, especially with all the foreign material that's available. Awareness of movie posters as potentially valuable items has never been higher, and what was previously thrown out or used as insulation, is now being offered for sale.
And don't get me started on pessimists! 

[Bruce]

I have heard forever about the days of cheap great items, and yes, there WAS  a day when you COULD possibly buy great posters and lobby cards for what are now very inexpensive prices. But I KNOW full well that not very many collectors ever took advantage of these opportunities, because when old time collectors consign their collections to me, they have very few or none of these types of items.

People sometimes act like there was once a time when you could easily purchase Frankenstein and Dracula lobby cards, but that was NEVER the case. Here's an example of how it was. Someone advertised a single Frankenstein lobby card for say $75 in Film Collectors World (forerunner of Movie Collectors World). Everyone who got the publication saw the ad, but only one person got to buy that one card, and yet for years after people talk about "the days of buying $75 Frankenstein lobby cards".

But in today's hobby, you CAN buy just about ANY item (except for the absolutely most scarce items) and the prices are set by supply and demand, and quite often supply exceeds demand, and there are lots of cases where you can buy nice items for far less than you would have paid 10 or 20 years ago (when inflation is taken into account) and in some cases even far less than those items sold for in absolute terms.

And, as I stated in my original post, the selection and ease of purchase is unparallelled compared to 20, 30 or 40 years ago. Yes you won't have that one in 1,000 chance of buying that $75 Frankenstein card, but in every other way, the hobby has vastly improved in terms of price AND selection.

[Filmlobbycards]

Bruce.."...the selection and ease of purchase is unparalleled .."

This is a MAJOR truth..you not only have resources now like auction archives, search engines, dealer networks..etc..you have thousands of auctions ending weekly..dealer websites..and weird opportunities on eBay (think trimmed window cards in the backs of frames or foreign posters) that coalesce into a grand opportunity for discriminating collectors...

The digital medium is perfect for examining and grading condition flaws...there are payment plans...shipping is now an art form (thanks to Bruce)

And restoration has reached new heights...

Sheeesh..I'm just gonna go buy some posters...

[ozcinemagic]

Keep talkin' it up. I love it!

[Filmlobbycards]

Ok you asked for it!!


The best time to sell is essentially ambiguous...
There are so many factors that include timing, trends, and ultimately... strategy..

I have time and again seen one sheet posters selling in one auction..let's say emovieposter or heritage..that went crazy high and then similar condition items sell soon after for a fraction of that price..especially on eBay
Victims of both timing and strategy..

I personally thought that 2008 & 2009 were incredible years to buy...and very unpredictable for people selling in pure auction format (no reserve & low starting bids)...

These trends also hinge on WHAT you collect...

Rich mentions CFTBL ..well that one sheet is in every major auction...hence over saturation

I would venture to guess that people who bought expensive 30's and 40's western material throughout the 80's/90's boom are not going to be happy about the future of their market..

The market on early Marx brothers is super strong where early laurel and hardy is declining (heritage drowned everyone in it in November 2011 and the results were blahhhh)

Early musicals are still doing well..silent our gang lobby cards are stable (even though they are everywhere..)

Early 30's screwball comedies are killing it lately...(Godfrey, bringing up baby..) but W.C. Fields material Is down compared to the 90's..

The list goes on and on and on...

One thing is for certain...top tier material that is in high grade unrestored condition will continue to do very well...you will see some record prices in the future..

[Simes]

Interesting question, which I don't think has a solitary and defined answer.

Yes, it is better now in terms of global access to multiple inventories, but No in terms of the greater competition that that access affords.

Yes, it is better now in terms lesser value items potentially going for more realistic prices, but then the more scarce going for correspondingly higher prices.  The polarities are increased.

Yes, there is more knowledge now in terms of posters' history, but then this world in general is now acutely aware of ephemera having Value, whereas before such items could and were thrown away.

For every Pro, I find a Con.  I do remember having only a couple of London shops and a Westminster Central Hall quarterly movie fair from which to search through.  Nowadays, surely the internet has decimated that and on balance, the values have certainly soared.

On balance, I guess I prefer it now since I am that much more lazy and I do work for a living which thereby affords (some of) the new prices.

[ozcinemagic]

Ok you asked for it!!

The market on early Marx brothers is super strong
One thing is for certain...top tier material that is in high grade unrestored condition will continue to do very well...you will see some record prices in the future..

Another optimist - hooray!! 

I just sold some Marx Bros cards (Go West) this year and they went quick. Got some good prices on early crime / gangster stuff too. The market fluctuates, and it's a matter of following the trends. I don't know what drives it most of the time. Those who watch particular genres closely will pick up the high and low points.
I still think the best advice is to collect for the enjoyment. It's a lottery trying to predict the market.
Once that pesky Aussie dollar goes down I'll crank these babies up >>>

[Silhouette]

I am reminded of why it is a good time to buy/find posters at the moment, I just paid for some posters, I paid USD$364...

Ten years ago I would have had to pay AUD$669 for that USD$364
Five years I would have had to pay AUD$440 for that USD$364
Two years ago I would have had to pay AUD$433 for that USD$364

Today I paid AUD$347 to get USD$364 cost of posters...I win!

As a cross check (NOT a scientific study) I found that 10 years ago a BAT on Bruce's would go for about USD$4K (about AUD$7K); today a BAT goes for about the same money (+/-), either way that's a whole lot less that 10 years ago. So, the answer is...live in Australia!

[Bruce]

Money exchange DOES play a big role in poster auctioning! 20 years ago I auctioned an expensive poster for $26,000. Around 10 years later I auctioned another example in similar condition for around $35,000. The high bidder called me up and told me he had been the underbidder at that earlier auction (he had bid $25,000 and had stopped).

Yet due to the massive change in currency exchange over those ten years, it actually cost him LESS in his currency to pay $35,000 than the $25,000 he bid 10 years earlier! So even though in U.S. dollars it seemed the price had gone UP by some 33%, for HIM the price had gone down.

We auction an awful lot of what we sell to people all over the world, and the value of their currencies makes a big difference towards the final prices.

[110x75]

We auction an awful lot of what we sell to people all over the world, and the value of their currencies makes a big difference towards the final prices.

Tell me about it...