Movie Poster Auctions

I often get asked by people if it is a good idea to sell their movie posters or lobby cards through a movie poster auction. There are several auction houses that occasionally have poster auctions and consigning your movie posters to them can be an option. Unless you find a serious collector like myself, people can have a difficult time selling their posters for a good price. One of the main reasons I started my website is so collectors of posters, or anyone who has memorabilia can find me and deal directly with a collector; myself. What I do not think most people realize is the fees and commissions associated with selling movie posters through an auction house.

Here is an example:

A very rare horror movie poster sells for $100,000 final price (including buyers premium, which is usually 20%), which means the hammer price was around $80,000 or 20% less the the total selling price. Now the seller has to pay his fee to the auction house (yes the buyer AND the seller pay fees to the auctioneer, which is common practice) which is at least another 20% and sometimes even more, plus photography fees, cataloging fees, etc (depending on which auction house the seller chooses). That means the seller of the poster would get a check for approximately $64,000 pre-tax (see your account to find out your exact tax liability). Also be aware that from the time you submit the poster to the auction house, until the day their check arrives in your mailbox, can be as long as 6 months. Not to mention the risk of chancing your poster at auction where it may sell very low, or not at all.

When you deal with a private poster collector such as myself, you can be paid in cash on the spot, with no waiting and no commissions. Even if I already have, or do not want what you have, I have lots of fellow movie poster collecting friends I am happy to refer you too. Any further question please feel free to call or write me anytime.

Ralph DeLuca