Movie Memorabilia consists of anything related to cinema that one considers valuable, whether sentimental, or financial. Items may include original autographs, original theater posters used to advertise the film, film props, photo stills, original costumes, original movie scripts and presskits, and much more. People have been keeping momentos from their cinema experiences since the dawn of the Silent Film. While other areas of collecting are certainly interesting, and often fun, there is nothing like collecting memorabilia from your favorite film.

History of Collecting Movie Memorabilia

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In the early days of Cinema most people that were interested in keeping a momento from a particular film, or actor, did so by acquiring autographs or original photos or posters. Through the years, the passion for cinema has grown and now the Movie Memorabilia Collecting Community is a fairly large, interconnected entity that exists for the love of cinema and related artwork.

When collecting Movie Memorabilia was in it's infancy collectors had to rely on a handful of news magazines that were full of various sellers offering mail order catelouges or asking to purchase bulk lots, or particular items of interest (e.g.MCW). Occasionally, there would be organized events that were structured around a live auction - these events, while fewer in number today, still exist and you can still buy memorabilia in person from trusted sellers on-site (e.g. See Here). The Community was also fairly fragmented, with collectors and dealers spread out across the globe and no real consistant and reliable way to communicate with one another - and then came the internet.

In the early days of the internet the larger Community began to get in touch with one another through UseNet Newsgroups, some of which still exist today and continue to provide invaluable information (e.g. alt.binaries.pictures.movie-posters). As the internet grew, and more people began using computers and the internet, Collectors began communicating in ways never thought possible. In 1995, popular on-line email group "MoPo" was formed, creating a central place for anyone with an email to keep in touch about things and events important to the Community. This group continues to provide invaluable information to new and old collectors alike - See Here. By 1997, the Community had changed forever - eBay was quickly becoming the alternative marketplace after two years of steady growth. All of the sudden people had a way to sell pieces of their collection easily, and with consistantly better results. Professional sellers took notice, causing many of them to close their brick and mortar businesses and focus their attention completely on eBay and the future of the on-line marketplace. With no overhead sellers were happy, and with no sales tax and a wide selection of material collectors were happy - a fact that seemed too good to be true.

In the early days of eBay prices were all over the board. You could find posters normally valued in the hundreds of dollars selling for twenty dollars, or, alternatively, find posters normally valued at twenty dollars going for a hundred, or more. Today, the eBay market place for movie memorabilia has mostly stabilized. While you can still see a rare movie poster go for large amounts, it is far more common to find that items are either priced at/near market value, or are bid up to that point. Furthermore, the eBay market place on movie memorabilia is filled with shady dealers who try to squeeze every penny out of a bidder by using tactics such as shill bidding their auctions, price supporting with other dealers, mis-describing or under-describing their items, gouging on the shipping charges, and/or providing packaging so terrible the item won that just survived 80 years is ruined. These realities, and others, are what motivated the Community to start desiring an alternative to eBay. In 2004, MoviePosterBid was created by Collectors and for Collectors. Overall, the Movie Memorabilia Collecting Community will likely continue to grow as things become more digitized and less artistic - people will long for that classical cinema experience, and will attempt to re-create that experience in any number of ways.

While this narrative has focused mainly on the movie poster, the category of movie memorabilia is far more, as previously stated. Enjoy your passion for a true cinemagic experience.

All-Time Auction 100

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