This article continues coverage of Superman costumes and costume components offered for sale publicly in the marketplace attributed to use in the Superman films of the 70s-80s starring Christopher Reeve and characterized as “original” and “authentic”. [Read more…]
eBay announced earlier this year that they would be dropping their eBay Live Auctions business on December 31, 2008 (see eBay Live Auction Format Being Retired at End of 2008). The “Live Auction” format differs from eBay’s traditional business model of scheduled, “online-only” auctions, and typically (as it relates to original props, wardrobe, and memorabilia auctions from movies and television) provides collectors the ability to bid on items auctioned “live” over the Internet, in real time, in lieu of being present at the actual auction event with people bidding in person, with the auctioneer recognizing “floor” bids, telephone bids, absentee bids, and online bids. It appears that LiveAuctioneers.com is positioning itself to absorb this business and compete in the live online auction space. [Read more…]
This is the first in a series of articles intended to discuss and build upon the tools of authentication: concepts, terminology, definitions, analysis, and more. While Certificates of Authenticity, or “COAs”, have been the topic of a number of previous articles, the scope of this feature is to define and categorize COAs by 1) their source and 2) their function. [Read more…]
I spent some time today talking with Alec Peters, CEO of newly created Propworx, about the upcoming events promoting the final Battlestar Galactica episodes and the auction of original prop and costume assets from the show, in conjunction with NBC Universal Television (see Press Release). In order to share a great deal of information about these topics, I conducted a taped interview which can be heard using the MP3 player below (Adobe Flash required): [Read more…]
As noted previously (see kellysheroesmilitaria Original Props: Update 4, eBay Third Party Reporting Case Study), I had used the eBay third party reporting systems (see eBay & Third Party Reporting (Fraud, Violations of Policy) to alert eBay to problematic listings while testing the effectiveness of sharing material information directly with eBay through their public systems in an effort to help them to enforce their own policies. This article serves as an update and conclusion, marked by the occasion of kellysheroesmilitaria relisting one of the primary auctions reported to eBay. [Read more…]
UPDATE: A “Version 2.1” edition of this article has been published on 12/05/08, which includes the original article below with additional information. The new, updated version of this article is recommended:
eBay seller “stonark” (“Corner Collectibles”) was referenced in the “Classic” Film & Television Prop and Wardrobe eBay Sellers feature published in June. As noted, “stonark” is one of several companies on eBay that sell notable quantities of Hollywood-related memorabilia marketed as authentic. The “stonark” offerings are generally characterized as the personal property of Hollywood stars and notable famous figures from history. The purpose of this follow-up article is to research and examine some of the provenance attached to these pieces by “stonark” and to pose questions related to these documents and sources. [Read more…]
Mario Saricca, originally selling on eBay as “puttieface” (see eBay’s puttieface & Entertainment Movie Props), who later changed his eBay account name to “votehillary” (see …”votehillary” Update), only to have been removed from eBay less than two weeks ago (see eBay’s “puttieface”, “votehillary” No Longer a Registered User), appears to be trading under an alternate eBay account, “spadorcia”, which today was changed to “hoist73”. Also of note, the EntertainmentMovieProps.com web store has been down since March (as reported in the story Reader Comment: “The Bride’s Hero Sword from Kill Bill”, Entertainment Movie Props). [Read more…]
The latest edition of AntiqueWeek includes a front page feature by Eric C. Rodenberg on the Global Antiques props sold on eBay by Auction Depot LA, Auction Shop USA, and Historic Souvenirs. Per their website, AntiqueWeek has “the largest paid circulation of any antiques and collectibles newspaper in the United States”. The full story can be read online at antiqueweek.com – “Sales of bogus movie props lead to suspensions on eBay” – also archived below: [Read more…]