Starting and investing into purchasing a screen-used piece for beginers?

[CMANavy]

As a newbie to this stuff my self I have mostly sat back and watched. Getting to the BSG auctions were a major eye opener for me. I learned alot from people there.

Networking has also paid off huge for me. My main collections are BSG, Starship Troopers and a little Trek. My two biggest must have items came from networking, my Raptor Suit and Hero Mortia.

 

[Propmasters]

Hmm...well I feel like passing on some advice...so I guess since you asked so nicely Ill give you some tips.

Number 1: Collect what you like....don't collect for others or because you think it will make you rich.

Number 2: Buy cheap...sell high. If you can't sell high then at least 10% more than what you paid for it. It'll make you feel better about letting the item go in the long run, plus when you do lose money it won't hurt as much.

Number 3: Don't run into a fad. Years ago it was Xena....then it was sequest....recently andromeda....stargate....These auctions are littered with stuff that sold high and now your married too it. Now of course if you love it and don't intend to sell...fine. But one should always buy with a view to someday selling...you might have to.

Number 4: Do not fall into the trap that an item has to have a COA from some expensive dealer or its not worth anything. Bottom line...learn your stuff...make friends and learn from them...and trust your instinct. Even the best dealers have made mistakes....and the way they have got incredible collections? They started at the bottom and worked their way up.
They just didn't sell something cool to buy something else....remember that one.

Number 5: Try not to get into the ruling of selling all your good stuff to buy that must have piece...see above.

Number 6: Talk to people...make friends.....don't be Mr Secret....share your views.....call people on movies....find actors at shows and ask them if they have anything in a nice way.....be creative.....just don't assume that things will come to you.....go out there....(watch American Pickers on History channel to see creative finding stuff)

Number 7: Before you move onto a big money piece ask a few valued friends is it a good piece....should I do it....is it right.

Thats a good run down. I recommend Propstore....Screenused....Propmasters highly. You can also find some lower totem pole dealers who don't have websites but have access to cool stuff. I don't like Stargate or Battlestar but Propworx has done some cool stuff.
Unless you know what your doing avoid Premiere props....or the big auctions....until you know what your doing.

Good luck.

Thank you for the recommendation

 

[LDR]

look out for other auctions aswell such as the film studio ones on ebay...e.g. Revolution studios etc, can get some good stuff for a good price.

 

[DaddyfromNaboo]

Propdealers do not sell items "cheap". They sell them for as much as they think they can get for them.

Don't buy props as an investment. Buy props that you like and spend as much on them as they are worth to you.

Tim

Listen to Tim, you must

 

[ave4uevoli]

Eveeryone above gave great advice. When it comes down to it however, realize that if you buy pieces that you love, chances are you're never going to sell them. Don't think that these are investments. Yes, many pieces do retain their value and you can take some joy out of that. In the end, these props aren't cash, and when the economy takes a turn for the worse, and you need money, chances are no one else has money to buy them off you anyways.

Buy them to enjoy them and consider it money well spent.

 

[KingJawa]

Sound advise for newbies, this is a great thread.

 

[JadBean]

All good points made above. I would also throw out the following - look into traveling to filming locations and finding your own props/set dressings. I'm not advocating stealing public property, but there are some places where you can still find discarded production materials. The Sarlacc Pit site near Yuma, AZ comes to mind; I've been there twice and have found pieces of the Pit itself. I have purchased props for my collection and have recovered them Indiana-Jones-style, and by far the most meaningful pieces are the ones I found myself, even if they're not as showy as some of the things you can buy.

 

[rkpetersen]

This is really good advice, Mark; every word. For me, the most difficult one to follow is definitely Number 6. Not really a people person here. :unsure

Hmm...well I feel like passing on some advice...so I guess since you asked so nicely Ill give you some tips.

Number 1: Collect what you like....don't collect for others or because you think it will make you rich.

Number 2: Buy cheap...sell high. If you can't sell high then at least 10% more than what you paid for it. It'll make you feel better about letting the item go in the long run, plus when you do lose money it won't hurt as much.

Number 3: Don't run into a fad. Years ago it was Xena....then it was sequest....recently andromeda....stargate....These auctions are littered with stuff that sold high and now your married too it. Now of course if you love it and don't intend to sell...fine. But one should always buy with a view to someday selling...you might have to.

Number 4: Do not fall into the trap that an item has to have a COA from some expensive dealer or its not worth anything. Bottom line...learn your stuff...make friends and learn from them...and trust your instinct. Even the best dealers have made mistakes....and the way they have got incredible collections? They started at the bottom and worked their way up.
They just didn't sell something cool to buy something else....remember that one.

Number 5: Try not to get into the ruling of selling all your good stuff to buy that must have piece...see above.

Number 6: Talk to people...make friends.....don't be Mr Secret....share your views.....call people on movies....find actors at shows and ask them if they have anything in a nice way.....be creative.....just don't assume that things will come to you.....go out there....(watch American Pickers on History channel to see creative finding stuff)

Number 7: Before you move onto a big money piece ask a few valued friends is it a good piece....should I do it....is it right.

Thats a good run down. I recommend Propstore....Screenused....Propmasters highly. You can also find some lower totem pole dealers who don't have websites but have access to cool stuff. I don't like Stargate or Battlestar but Propworx has done some cool stuff.
Unless you know what your doing avoid Premiere props....or the big auctions....until you know what your doing.

Good luck.

 

[rkpetersen]

All in all, I buy stuff I think is cool and that I can afford at the time. So far, I have sold virtually nothing. I'm not a hoarder but I am a packrat (big difference). When I eventually do sell them, I won't be too concerned with the overall long-term profit or loss. I'll have enjoyed having them with me, and anything I might get back later is just gravy. 'Investing' in collectibles is a bad idea, imo. The volatility and level of risk is so far beyond any standard investments that you'd have to be extremely reckless to plan your retirement around selling off your prop collection (for example). Sure, many pieces may escalate in value, but others will never again sell for as much as when first offered. And a major economic downturn or other upheaval would erase the value of even the most elite prop collections. Better to just view it as a great hobby.

 

[Wes]

Sure, many pieces may escalate in value, but others will never again sell for as much as when first offered.

Too bad some of the people who own these props don't seem to realize it. I come across too many people wanting what they paid or more for what they picked up at Propstore or SU. It's great to make your money back and break even, but sometimes you have to face the facts and accept a loss if you have decided to sell.

 

[Xenophon1]

Too bad some of the people who own these props don't seem to realize it. I come across too many people wanting what they paid or more for what they picked up at Propstore or SU. It's great to make your money back and break even, but sometimes you have to face the facts and accept a loss if you have decided to sell.

Well, there are people who have the thought "If I can't sell it for what I bought it for, I'd rather keep it" and I think that's a perfectly reasonable stance--what's annoying are people who get a bad attitude as if the world is trying to rip them off if they can't resell at or above their cost. The market will bear what the market will bear; sell or keep, but don't act either haughty or victimized. Especially in the economy of the past two or so years, I've seen some very rare and desirable pieces not sell, even at reasonable below-original-cost prices. I try to avoid it, but I myself have taken a few hits when I've resold items. When you need money, sometimes you have to suck it up. Which brings to mind one of my favorite David Mamet lines: "Everybody needs money. That's why they call it money."

The bright side of this tight economy is, for every item I've sold at a loss I've probably bought two at someone else's loss. A couple months ago I picked up a nice early Michelle Pfeiffer costume for half what the original buyer paid over 10 years ago--it even included the original receipt from ReelClothes showing the old price.

At any rate, collecting is a market like any other. Supply and demand, market-driven pricing. I rather like the advice Roger Ebert says Gene Siskel gave him about investing in the stock market, and think it makes excellent advice about prop & wardrobe collecting; to quote Ebert's blog:

Gene Siskel, who was a wise man, gave me the best investment advice I've ever received. “You can never outsmart the market, if that's what you're trying to do,” he said. “Find something you love, for reasons you understand, that not everyone agrees with you about, and put your money in it.” The stocks I thought of were Apple, Google and Steak 'n Shake. I bought some shares. That was a long time ago. Reader, if I had invested every penny I had on Gene's advice, today I would be a Master of the Universe.

 

[rkpetersen]

"Everybody needs money. That's why they call it money."

One of my favorite lines as well; I can hear DeVito saying it now. Sometimes I quote it to others, though, and they give me a blank look as if they don't understand why it's funny.