Topic: NO CENSUS NO FEELING POSTER CLOSES UNDER $3,500

[3Stooges]

For anyone who didn't catch the Ebay auction of the "No Census, No Feeling" poster, it's just closed at under $3500. Personally, I am very surprised that it went for such a low price. I was expecting it to go for much more. Even though the image is kind of dark and not the greatest, it's still a 1940 Curly poster!  Just one year away from those stellar 30's posters. It's also a fantastic short. Could it be that the "glory days" of the astronomical prices for Stooge posters are on their way out??? ... or was this auction just a fluke?

Does anyone have an opinion on this?

Here's the link....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7516662919&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT

[wallawalla]

I have no idea what these have sold for historically, but $3500 sounds like a lot of money to me. You mentioned these have sold for astronomical prices - how high have they gone?

How does the selling price compare to one sheets from other movies of that era?

[garystooge]

That poster is probably worth $5,000-10,000. The reason it didn't get that high is because Ebay is populated primarily by nickel-and-dimers and bargain seekers. If you want top dollar for a poster like this you need to sell it thru a major auction house like Sothebys or Christies. Their clientele regularly spends millions on major pieces of art and jewelry. Those people are not afraid to overpay by thousands of dollars for the things they want. Even a collectible auction house like Heritage or Mastronet will fetch much higher prices than Ebay for an item of this nature.

As far as high prices for a Stooges poster, the record is just over $100,000 for a "Men in Black" 1-sheet (that included the auction house's 15% buyers commission).
Gary

[wallawalla]

Ooh, $100,000. Now that's a lot of money. I'd think for that kind of dough you could get some really cool memorabilia that had a provenance directly from one of the Stooges. To me that would be more meaningful than a 1-sheet. But I understand collectors - they want what they want.

[kinderscenen]

You know, I thought it would catch a higher price because of the "mistake" (Moe and Larry's names are switched.) Then again, I think that may have happened quite a few times--I can think of at least one other one-sheet with a mistake "A Merry Mix Up."

Sunday

[brett11253]

Ya... That was wayyyyyyy underpriced you should of gotten alot more money for that..

[3Stooges]

It appears that the buyer who won this poster only bought it so he could resell it a TRIPLE the amount. Most of his Stooge stuff was bought at Ebay at the market price and then he tries to resell them at astronomical prices. His Stooge stuff has been sitting for years and will continue to collect dust...

He's had those Shemp posters for as long as I can remember.

He wants $9500 for "Three Pest in a Mess" poster? Keep in mind that this is the Stroke Era Curly. He originally listed the No Census poster at 12,000, but just brought it down a little.

http://www.autographsmovieposters.com/Stooges_collection.htm

[j.strubachinkoscow]

Just a few of my thoughts.  I think its kinda sad that prices are so driven up on these things.  I started collecting Abbott and Costello title cards when I was about 15 and I have 26 out of the 36 movies they did (the remaining 10 I'm not so interested in so I'm pretty happy with what I have).  My point being is that if I started now, I couldn't afford half of them.

I've looked at this guys collection before. The one thing that always cracks me up is every item is hyped up with words like "rare" "incredible" "stunning" "spectacular" etc.  Whenever you see one of those words, you know you're gonna pay a few extra bucks for whatever you're looking at.  He must be a fan of Tony Roberts performance in Serpico.

I just think its kinda sad that these things are so priced out of control.  I know some (many) have different opinions on this topic but I bought what I bought 'cause I enjoy it, not particularly for any investment. I know what I have is worth alot but it doesn't matter as I never intend on selling it (I leave that to a money grubbing relative after I pass away)

These people were my 'heroes' and I wanted to own a piece of their legacy.  Its kinda fun to think of a poster hanging on my wall and wonder where in the world it was displayed and who looked at it. In the case of Abbott and Costellos "Lost in Alaska" who walked out, looked at the title card and wondered how they were going to get 76 minutes of their life back. Its just a shame (to me at least) that if someone is starting out in the market today with the same perspective that I did, they most likely will never know the sheer joy of collecting and finding these things 'cause the prices are so out of control.  People buy these things, jack the prices up to where most normal Joes (not Besser) can't afford 'em and wave their collections in peoples faces.

This doesn't just apply to Stooges one sheets, its everything...I couldn't even afford to buy some of the pieces I bought just a few years ago if I went to buy them now.

Thanks for allowing me the time to vent a little....back to the scullery.