posted on May 31, 2001 10:42:39 AM new
Hi,
Found 12 old movie posters...from the 1950's..they are in pretty good condition, but they have been folded up into 4ths...
Really are nice...would these sell on ebay or did I waste $20?
posted on May 31, 2001 12:51:43 PM new
Depends greatly on the subject matter. Don't worry about them having been folded - this was typical of the time, whereas today movie posters are rolled. There's almost no way that you wasted $20 on this purchase - and if you have the poster from a very popular movie, a sci-fi/horror flick, or with almost any recognizable star, you may have a windfall on ebay. Just take very good pictures, including closeups of any damage. Good luck!
posted on May 31, 2001 01:04:03 PM new
Also on the reverse of the poster will be an ink stamped number. Take a good pic of that as well. Sounds like a great haul in the making. keep us posted on the titles!
posted on May 31, 2001 01:33:27 PM new
OK...Apparently most of these are the ones from the movie marquee's.
The 1st one is:
YESTERDAY'S ENEMY-filmed in Megascope with Stanley Baker*Guy Rolfe*Leo McKern*Gordon Jackson-1959 #59-541 (crossed out but still readable)
Next:
RINGS AROUND THE WORLD-#66/127 with Don Ameche.(about circus performers)
Next:
TORA TORA TORA! #70/302...funny it doesn't say anything about the actors etc.
Next:
THE NAKED AND THE DEAD #58/299 with Aldo Ray*Cliff Ropbertson*Raymond Massey.
Next:
SIDE BY SIDE with Tom Jones *Irma LaDouce #66/13
Next:
MIDNIGHT COWBOY #69/192 with Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight.
There are more but they are mostly from the 60's I see.
posted on May 31, 2001 04:08:46 PM new
Tora poster is good and I'd post that asap because it deals with the Pearl Harbor attack and you can ride on the new movie "Pearl's" coat tails. The others mentioned will sell high if the right person is bidding. The big guns in posters are exploitation films, horror/sci.fi and current blockbusters. Silent films and way high end posters should be placed in major auction house venues and not on eBay at all. Good luck and I hope you do well.
posted on May 31, 2001 05:51:41 PM new
Thanks Godfathertoys...but I'm like a true novice. I don't even have any idea WHERE to post them(category)...how to describe them...
what is a silent film?(I mean...I don't think any of the ones I have are..the oldest is 1959?)....
This is a HUGE picture....how do you take a picture of it?
What is a high bid? Are we looking at $10?$50?
Is there somewhere I could do some research so I'm better informed before I list them?
Should I list them on ebay? How do you find people interested in them?
posted on June 1, 2001 07:59:46 AM new
IMLDS2 - a silent picture is a movie that didn't have sound - they were pretty much dead by the 1920s when them new-fangled "talkies" came out (now I'm feeling old for just knowing what a silent movie is!). Don't worry, none of your posters are so old and unusual that you should go through a high end auction house - ebay is a perfectly acceptable venue that should get you fair market value.
The place to list them on ebay is Movies\Memorabilie\Movie\Posters 1951-1975. You'll probably want to do a dual listing with some of the movies, such as the circus movie under a circus category, and "Tora Tora Tora" under a WWII category (I agree with the other poster - get the TTT poster up ASAP to cash in on the "Pearl Harbor" hype - I'd even put "Pearl Harbor" in the item's title). Try to cram in the names of any stars into the subject line as well.
You might want to research the movies themselves before you list the posters - best place to do this is on the Internet Movie Database (IMDB.com). You might find some interesting selling points from the information you find on the IMDB.
As for taking pictures, I spread out my posters on the floor, then step on a footstool to get high enough to get the whole picture. Turn the camera so that you fill your entire frame with the poster (you can rotate it later with your image software). Then take some closeup shots of any damaged areas or any visually interesting portions of the poster.
As far as what to expect for prices, best thing to do is check closed ebay auctions to see what the poster brought. You may want to check retail movie poster sites like http://www.nostalgia.com/ - but keep in mind these are retailers, and auctions can bring wildly different prices than what an established retail seller asks - sometimes higher, but frequently lower.
You're not in over your head! Just sell them like anything else you would sell on ebay. Frankly, given the minimal investment, I'd just start them out at $9.99 with no reserve and let the market set the price. Good luck!
