Why do collectors buy alot of crap?

[2007Whoopi]

I've never understood why collectors will spend thousands of dollars a year on cheap posters in poor condition, when they could save the exact same money and spend it on a few choice items. In this way, a serious collector over the decades will still amass a large quantity but the posters will be quality instead of colourful toilet paper. I made a lot of mistakes as a newbie collector and bought just about everything that mildly appealed to me. Everybody refines their taste and collection over time which is why it surprises me that veteran collectors still buy bad/cheap/unimportant posters when they don't have to.

And that leads me to my next question: why buy a bunch of posters you shove in a flat file and only pull out once or twice a year and then never see again as more posters pile on top of it? I don't understand that mentality at all. It's like watch collectors who put their Railway Prince Rolex in a safe and never wear it. What good is that? Are they simply content to luxuriate in the notion that they own it? To me that is the height of narcissism. Back to posters: I only buy posters I think are good enough to frame - and then I frame them. No tacky snap-frames or light boxes, I spend serious money on archival conservation materials and really nice frames. And UV resistant plexi really isn't that expensive. On another forum somebody complained about one sheet of plexi costing $12!!!   Really? You're upset you have to protect your $5000 lobby card with materials that cost $12? I always factor framing costs into my purchase of a poster. If you can't afford to frame a poster you buy, then you should save up and not spend that money on more posters you will never see. Only buy another poster when the current one has been conserved correctly. This reminds me of a couple who moved into my parent's neighbourhood four years ago and live three houses down. These people couldn't afford the home (an old Victorian which was in need of a lot of work) so they decided to do the renovations themselves. Four years later the place still looks like a bomb site. My parent's suburb is filled with period homes, mostly sympathetically restored - well these new neighbours are up to their eyeballs in debt, living pay-check to pay-check and only buying building supplies when they have some spare cash. They have completely mangled the façade and because of their shoddy workmanship, the foundations are cracking, which has broken hundred year old stained glass, plaster cornices are rotting due to holes in the roof (which they caused by breaking the slate tiles) and pressed metal ceilings have smashed to the floor. All the beautiful, rustic oak floorboards have been scratched and damaged because they can't afford the correct equipment for transporting machinery. In short, the home and the suburb is too good for them and they can't afford to conserve their asset in an appropriate fashion. That is the problem with some movie poster collectors too: they will buy a rotting Victorian mansion of a poster and let its roof leak.  

True, I have a large home and lots of wall space so I don't actually need to store any of my posters away. To me, what makes a home is plants in the corner, framed photos of loved ones and pictures hung on the wall. Personally, I feel displaying my posters in a permanent and tasteful way has enriched my collecting experience and allows me to easily enjoy them every day, with no risk of man-handling them the way people who pull them constantly out of map files must do.

Tell me, why do you have hundreds or thousands of posters stored away that you will never see? Is it for investment? The knowledge you have something others don't? How does storing a bunch of paper you can't display, enhance your movie poster collecting experience?

[erik1925]

It's like any hobby and the collector who gets involved in it: To each his own, and what best suits his/her needs and makes them happy while involved in it.

What one collector considers "crap" could be another collector's treasure.

 

[guest4531]

You may have a point, what's the use having hundreds or thousands of posters ?

Nonetheless, I know some collectors who think the contrary than you, they shall never frame nor linenback stuff... they like the idea of having it somewhere and being able to open it and touch/feel the paper.  I have seen collectors also who have 5,000-10,000 euros poster hanged with paper clip for the same reason, to be able to touch it.

[jedgerley]

Mod please move to "Let It All Out/Rhetorical Rants/Why do collectors buy a_lot of crap?"

[2007Whoopi]

I can understand why collectors don't linen-back posters - I assume that detracts from the originality in their eyes. And I definitely get why they don't buy linen-backed posters (there is a small-time dealer in Australia who is notorious for linen-backing poor condition posters and selling them as very fine to mint) but to hang them unbacked with paper clips? Apart from the obvious, wouldn't the weight of the unbacked paper pull at the cross-folds over time, particularly a 3-sheet? I hate touching my posters. I always wash my hands first and then get paranoid that some dried soap residue on my fingers might affect the paper. Touching isn't a sense I associate with posters - is it a sexual thing? I know a couple who get a sensual charge from touching money - instead of a porno they will watch that Demi Moore-Woody Harrelson scene in "Indecent Proposal" to get stimulated.

[jedgerley]

                                                                                                                                   .

[Tob]

I have a flat file with quite a few posters in it. They're in sleeves which makes handling them quite easy. I look at them often and get a lot of enjoyment from them.

I agree that to a 'serious collector', my collection is pretty crappy, but I collect for myself primarily and there are enough like minded collectors to enjoy sharing my crappy stuff with to make it fun. If it fulfils my desires, I get just as much pleasure from acquiring a £5 poster as I do from getting a £150 poster. What is significant to me is insignificant to others, this is life.  

I have two framed posters up on the walls, the rest of my walls have non-film related art. I seem to spend a lot of time on-line learning about/hunting/admiring film posters, so I feel that's enough of my life devoted to the hobby...as much as I love film posters, I don't want to see them all the time.

[2007Whoopi]

That's an interesting comment. I never considered that a collector wouldn't want to see movie posters all the time. Maybe that's just me. I think your attitude is more grown-up - an eclectic mix of art on the walls. Maybe it's a bit gimmicky to have only movie posters framed on the walls - like people who hang plates and nothing else. However my main home is art deco in period (I have an investment property/weekender where I have all my movie poster packages sent - it's a good tip if buying regularly from local dealers who know your inventory that the posters are not kept at the address where they are posted, although emovies and Heritage are quite safe!) with nice high ceilings and it's perfect for displaying my collection.

I don't consider myself a "serious collector" - I haven't been in the game long enough but I think I've become familiar with the basic ins and outs and hope to learn more in the future. Because I'm quite young, I can't wait until those superannuated dealers who ripped me off as a newbie pass on and their collection is auctioned. One dealer in particular (who judging by the 1980s picture he uses to promote his business must be about 100 by now) is unlikely to make it through another ten years, and I'll relish the day when I buy his entire collection lock, stock and barrel for a bargain basement price!!! Yippeeeee!!!!  

[Starling]

I agree with some of what your saying.  I will never understand people who have thousands of posters.  It doesn't seem like enjoyment, it comes across more like desperation to acquire.  I have around 45 posters, and I hang around 5 or 6 at a time to enjoy.  I usually keep them up for a few months, and then switch them out for another poster.  This seems to work for me.  I don't like having tons of posters on the wall, it's too much for my eyes to take in.  I could be alone here, haha.

[Charlie]

I have thousands of posters.  I have 25 drawers of flat files in use at the moment.  I have some choice posters too.  I buy posters that I forgot I had. I buy duplicates just for the hell of it. For me, it's not so much about seeing them, as the hunt.  Once I have them, the excitement is over.  Until I see them again and realize I have it.  I flip through them but I know what they all look like - that is one of the reasons I bought them.  Don't need to see them on a daily basis.  I have 20 or so framed but have only switched out my US OS frame about 4 times in the past year.  For example, my biggest purchase of the year is still in the box it came from EMP.  I do hope it is in there. I do plan on getting it framed - but no hurry.

I think you can separate movie poster collectors to better fit into one of two categories: 

Those that buy to decorate (and show off)...

and

Collectors of cinema history...

I enjoy the thought that the poster I am buying most likely was seen by hundreds of movie goers just as much as the image.  In a way a paper time capsule.  Posters of different ages and formats all have a story.  The availability of accessories changed over time. Actors/Actresses featured on the poster all have a story.  I collect a lot by actor/actress...  Each film has a story.  I collect by film.  I do select some of the posters based on art, but more for which one is the best for that film or features an actress the best. 

Price/value only comes into play 1. If I want it.  2. Whether I can afford it.   

I buy cheap shit because not everything for an actor, actress, or film is expensive.  I just picked up, last night, the Mrs. side or "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" because I think Angelina Jolie was smokin' hot in that film.  Was it cheap?  Yep, and thank god I didn't have to shell out a bunch for it.

As far as I am concerned if you aren't collecting what I like, then "you" are collecting crap. 

Japanese monsters - Crap.  Universal Horror - Crap.  30s stuff - Crap.  40s Serial Westerns - Crap.  Marilyn Monroe - Crap.  All Hitchcock w/o Grace - Crap.

Plus I think that tastes shift.  I never thought I would ever eye Spielberg posters, but I have softened the more I have learned about him as a director. 

I think the question that should be asked vs. this narrow minded attempt to justify a specific way of collecting, is simply - "Why do you collect?"

Which is not a new question:  http://www.allposterforum.com/index.php/topic,3125.msg47323.html#msg47323

[Starling]

You really think that posters from the 1930's are crap!?!?!?!

[Charlie]

You really think that posters from the 1930's are crap!?!?!?!

Well Hotel for Women is ok in my book...  

I also love Paulette Goddard...

Most likely it's because I just haven't watched a lot of those films. 

[Crazy Vick]

I have about 200 posters,  probably half coming from EMP.  I dont live in the states so i dont get a tubeful of posters for a flat $9 rate.  So, if I do buy a poster, why not get a couple more over a 6 week period, since it will cost me fairly the same for the shipment.  Call it a marketing ploy or a super convenient practice for the international buyer, whatever. 

I still have a mental block preventing me from spending more than a couple hundred bucks on a piece of paper, because its so fragile, and i'm not rich.  So most of the APFers might balk at the collection of an obvious "novice," Of course, I don't give a shit, I love my collection and in many ways, its very unqiue.  My prize pieces are my war/propaganda posters a number of which date back to WW1 and even a couple before that.  What I love about posters is the medium itself, the art, the message and the time period.  Its about identifying with the tiem period, the event, or the history more than the movie or the actor (most of which i would have never seen, and in many case could not sit through without putting a fork in my eye).  Dont get me wrong though, its for the exact same reasons that i completely understand why folks are giddy over the Grace Kellys, the Bardots, etc.

My dad has been collecting a lot of stuff over the years, which I always chalked up as "dad is hoarding more old shit"  At 36 years old, its amazing how much I am like my dad today, and while my current focus is on posters, i'm also fascinated by a lot of other "old shit."  I guess when you immerse yourself in situations where you are exposed to a lot of interesting stuff (estate sales, etc), your collection can't help but grow.  Like Thierry said a few months ago - it doesnt make sense, but it makes me happy, and really, that's all that matters. 

At first I thought this thread should have been called "why do some people post a lot of crap" but I am happy to hear about the views and experiences of other people.  Even if I dont identify with them, they force me to stop and think about my own experience...and my dad.
 
This cheesy post has been brought to you by crazy vick 

[Charlie]

At first I thought this thread should have been called "why do some people post a lot of crap" but I am happy to hear about the views and experiences of other people.  Even if I dont identify with them, they force me to stop and think about my own experience...and my dad.

Another great reason to collect.  I pretty much have every format of Stargate ever printed because it reminds me of the last time my cousins and I were still kids.  My oldest cousin was about to get married and we were all growing up...   

I bought a Unfaithful OS because my wife and I got into our very first spat (when we were dating) after I let her borrow my DVD - which then disappeared.  It was never found and since I was such an anal prick back in those days, it took a while for me not to remind her.   Now I have a 27" x 40" reminder!  Ha, it is a wonder she even married me...  I had such a smile on my face when I asked her to hold the one end, as I unrolled it.  It was my way of asking her to forgive me.  We laughed and all was well.

[Crazy Vick]

haha.  Good story Charlie! 

[2007Whoopi]

You really think that posters from the 1930's are crap!?!?!?!

I know, can you believe it? Charlie said:

I think you can separate movie poster collectors to better fit into one of two categories: 

Those that buy to decorate (and show off)...

and

Collectors of cinema history...

You know Charlie, it is possible to be both. I certainly like showing off and displaying my posters but I am also a collector of cinema history. It sounds like you are neither if you think 30's posters are crap. Although I do agree Japanese monsters, Universal Horror and 40's Westerns are beneath crap.

[2007Whoopi]

haha.  Good story Charlie! 

Yes - it was scintillating...

[holiday]

I collect what I collect because I like to collect it and that's that.

I don't do it for anyone else other than me.

I don't do it for investment.

I think the trap for anyone is trying to collect what others understand or approve or otherwise think is worthy of collecting.  That path will lead to discontent, to be sure.

[2007Whoopi]

I have about 200 posters,  probably half coming from EMP.  I dont live in the states so i dont get a tubeful of posters for a flat $9 rate.  So, if I do buy a poster, why not get a couple more over a 6 week period, since it will cost me fairly the same for the shipment.  Call it a marketing ploy or a super convenient practice for the international buyer, whatever. 

I still have a mental block preventing me from spending more than a couple hundred bucks on a piece of paper, because its so fragile, and i'm not rich.  So most of the APFers might balk at the collection of an obvious "novice," Of course, I don't give a shit, I love my collection and in many ways, its very unqiue.  My prize pieces are my war/propaganda posters a number of which date back to WW1 and even a couple before that.  What I love about posters is the medium itself, the art, the message and the time period.  Its about identifying with the tiem period, the event, or the history more than the movie or the actor (most of which i would have never seen, and in many case could not sit through without putting a fork in my eye).   Dont get me wrong though, its for the exact same reasons that i completely understand why folks are giddy over the Grace Kellys, the Bardots, etc.

My dad has been collecting a lot of stuff over the years, which I always chalked up as "dad is hoarding more old shit"  At 36 years old, its amazing how much I am like my dad today, and while my current focus is on posters, i'm also fascinated by a lot of other "old shit."  I guess when you immerse yourself in situations where you are exposed to a lot of interesting stuff (estate sales, etc), your collection can't help but grow.  Like Thierry said a few months ago - it doesnt make sense, but it makes me happy, and really, that's all that matters. 

At first I thought this thread should have been called "why do some people post a lot of crap" but I am happy to hear about the views and experiences of other people.  Even if I dont identify with them, they force me to stop and think about my own experience...and my dad.
 
This cheesy post has been brought to you by crazy vick 

This is what I hate about "collectors" my age and the only thing I like about the 50+ brigade - at least the old men have taste in posters. I have never understood why my generation don't appreciate old films and I certainly don't get why people my age haven't the maturity to see that no great movie has been made for at least 17 years. While I wouldn't call 90's movies classics - compared to films from the 30s-50s, they were shit - but compare 90s movies to what's being made today and they look like masterpieces. Also, I primarily collect posters for the movie and the actor - which actually is about "the medium itself, the art, the message and the time period." I'm also not giddy over Grace Kelly and especially not Bardot (like Sophia Loren, did Bardot ever do a good movie?).

[holiday]

I don't hate anything about any collectors.  If someone is pursuing their passion for a collecting interest, who the hell am I, or who the hell is anyone else, appointed to announce what is right and wrong?  Why do people feel the need to blather on and on about what they hate and what they like?

There are folks out there who collect Belgian movie posters.  I don't get it, and I don't like them, but I would not go out there and say they are all idiots for doing so.  I could say the same about so many other areas and things that I don't collect or like, but that does not mean they are not collectable or likeable by someone else.

I feel the same way about those who claim in broad strokes that all the movies from ________ period or ______ years (fill in the blanks) suck, or that only those movies from ______ period are any good.  I love The Fountain.  Most cannot stand that movie, but I love it. It moved me and it had a message for me.  What anyone else thinks about that is irrelevant, and the fact that so many think the movie sucked ass does not change how I view it.

But then again, I am way ahead of the curve in terms of knowing the difference between looking for happiness inside of me as opposed to outside.  That's probably why I'm selling most of my collection and keeping only a few (hundred) that I really appreciate.  But then again, I'm still outward looking enough to be proud to own a few unicorns.

Everyone is right. Everyone is wrong.  Who is who depends only on your perspective at the moment.

[2007Whoopi]

And I don't understand why people generalise that collectors must be superficial and materialistic and not know the difference between looking for happiness inside of them as opposed to outside. It is possible to live well, and like being surrounded by beautiful things, and still appreciate what is most important in life: family and your health.

Sheesh, everyone on here seems to think you have to be either black or white - what about Obama?

[Ari]

Yep. Sometimes I give a certain film or film maker or genre shit. I trust everyone knows I am kidding. Theres actually no film I hate. There's many I don't want to see again. But that's as strong as my feelings go on the subject. I save hate for more serious things.
I don't care that most won't understand why I collect Aussie hammer. It's 100% personal. The first films that got me into horror were hammer  films and I saw them in Australia. That's all. The art on those can be poor (some are good) but I don't care. I won't frame these things.
Other stuff I collect must have good art and must be a film I love.

[holiday]

And I don't understand why people generalise that collectors must be superficial and materialistic and not know the difference between looking for happiness inside of them as opposed to outside. It is possible to live well, and like being surrounded by beautiful things, and still appreciate what is most important in life: family and your health.

Sheesh, everyone on here seems to think you have to be either black or white - what about Obama?

I did not say any such thing.  It seems to me that you're bent on throwing your dick down and letting people know you've arrived.  My friend, we've been here for awhile now.  We got along just fine without the benefit of your insights, and we will continue to do so.  I agree with some of what you've said, but not all.  It seems, though, that when you face disagreement, you are taking it as a challenge and that you feel the need to respond in kind. 

May I make a suggestion?  How about getting into what you like to the exclusion of all that you don't like.  Suffice to say that it will be a much more pleasant conversation.

[holiday]

You are the Man, Ari.  One day, I am going to Australia and I will finally get to meet you.

Yep. Sometimes I give a certain film or film maker or genre shit. I trust everyone knows I am kidding. Theres actually no film I hate. There's many I don't want to see again. But that's as strong as my feelings go on the subject. I save hate for more serious things.
I don't care that most won't understand why I collect Aussie hammer. It's 100% personal. The first films that got me into horror were hammer  films and I saw them in Australia. That's all. The art on those can be poor (some are good) but I don't care. I won't frame these things.
Other stuff I collect must have good art and must be a film I love.

[MoviePosterBid.com]

hey. Holiday......