8mm Forum: Outrageous prices for Super 8?

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Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on March 21, 2007, 10:35 AM:

I, as well as many others, have seen a big rise in super 8 prices as of recently. Good heavens, I saw a super 8 400ft. print of "The Mummy's Something" (can't remember the rest of the title), for a starting bid of 100.00 dollars? I wouldn't pay that for it brand new, let alone used.

Personally, I think that this will all backfire on super 8 in general. People who might be curious about Super 8 may be turned off by excessive prices from greedy sellers, and that would affect super 8 in general in a major bad way, which would also end up lowering prices in general for all sellers.

So, lets hear some opinions ...

Posted by Winbert Hutahaean (Member # 58) on March 21, 2007, 10:47 AM:

Osi...that price 100, in US$, isn't it.

Click here there is more outrageous price and that is in our own backyard. [Big Grin]

cheers,

Posted by Peter Richards (Member # 738) on March 21, 2007, 11:01 AM:

I agree with you Osi as a collector of Super 8 classic horror i've seen a total turnaround latley with high prices being asked and even worse they are being sold for horrendous amounts and it's totally put me off to be honest.

Just glad i have a nice little collection otherwise i don't think i'd of even started collecting in the first place with what i'm seeing at the moment.

I've turned away from ebay and have bought films from Larry Urbanski and Paul Foster at very fair prices.

I've searched high and low for the Universal 8 400' edition of Lugosi in Dracula and watched in horror as one on the bay went for £70.00 [Eek!]

I just hope it's phase that won't last long,you can't really blame the sellers,it's the people actually buying these films.

Posted by Mark Todd (Member # 96) on March 21, 2007, 01:19 PM:

Nah its just a blip, there are plenty of these titles around.
I`m often impressed that people like Paul F still do films at prices fair to their customers they may have seen people screw others for.
The Futtocks end blip seems to have passed on by thankfully, I was never quite sure what that was all about.
Best Mark.

Posted by Gary Crawford (Member # 67) on March 21, 2007, 01:20 PM:

Yes...I saw that opening bid price for Mummy's Tomb and thought to myself, "he will never get an opening bid". Yes., that one seems a bit rarer than some of the others, but not THAT rare. I've been looking for the 15o foot version for a while, and a recent print on Ebay went far beyond what I bid.
On the other hand, when super 8 films move at higher prices, it does indicate more interest in them..... I saw lots of people buying lots of Super 8 films at the recent Cinefest in Syracuse, NY last weekend..more than in many many years. That's a good thing....especially if it translates into purchases of new products from folks like Reel Image (Derann and Classic, etc). I have certainly had a renewed interest in Super 8 after seeing such top quality prints like Thunderball and The Fog and Lonesome Ghosts.

Posted by Matthew Davey (Member # 775) on March 21, 2007, 01:31 PM:

is there any evidence that this is a period of speculation in the super8 market? If so, then yes, that cold be a cause for concern. Speculative markets are especially bad for those who are new to the community. When the speculators move on and super 8 "experts" and those with market clout have taken advantage of the high prices, the bottom falls out of the market, and new entrants find out that they have overpaid for their products. these new entrants, feeling burned, stand a very good chance of leaving the super8 community, never to return. This is exactly what happened in the comic-book industry inthe mid 90s, and comics has yet to fully recover from it.

I wonder if there are steps that the "loyal" super8 community can take to protect itself from speculation, or even natural market changes. Something to think about...

Posted by Mark Todd (Member # 96) on March 21, 2007, 02:15 PM:

Very well put Mathew and a good point, also nothing worse than newbies being mined by the unscrupulous, started there myself and thankfully found my way to Derann etc.
High prices ironically are no good for the hobby at all, unless your about to bow out of it.
Saying that much stuff now is still cheap and cheeful, but also a lot of crap is still being foisted on people. Excellant condition( the box) for instance etc.
best Mark.

Posted by Brad Kimball (Member # 5) on March 23, 2007, 03:22 PM:

I also have been blown away by the extreme pricing and bidding wars that have taken place recently. I saw "Raven" and "Mummy" from U-8 go for $125 not including shipping. I paid about $80 for "Frank. Meets Wolfman", but it's a title that seems very much in demand. Oddly enough, 6 months later, the seller asked if he could buy it back. Yes, I have been the victim of gauging, but I guess I always have the option of not getting on the bus at all and waiting for another copy to come around. I definitely feel it's cyclical in nature. The S-8 market has its peaks & valleys like any other. Funny how around Xmas time you don't see too much gauging. Possibly because how does a friend or relative bid on it and win it without the recipient's knowledge.

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on March 23, 2007, 05:27 PM:

I suppose that there is an upside to this too. Old collectors that have held onto thier collections until now, may see films selling for high bids and may flood the ebay market with a lot of new titles that we may think have been lost over time, and, upon not getting it for the high price they expect, they might lower the prices to a nice level, hmmm?

Posted by Dan Pinto (Member # 630) on March 23, 2007, 08:17 PM:

Take the full length version of Ghidrah, The Three Headed Monster for instance...I was really bummed when I saw a print go for more than $500 on ebay some time ago, I had long wanted to pick up a copy for my collection, but I hung in there and picked up one from a fellow 8mm forum member for $300 postpaid and then found another 6 months later on ebay for $175. Speculation...or supply and demand? You be the judge...

Posted by Trevor Adams (Member # 42) on March 24, 2007, 12:45 AM:

Listed locally,my "Mummy's Tomb" fetched $NZ15........in it's box(well,ALL Mummys come in one don't they?)

Posted by Michael De Angelis (Member # 91) on March 24, 2007, 05:11 PM:

I recall years ago when 400 foot
Ken and MGM releases orginally
retailed for $60.00 each.
example: Star Wars & An American in Paris

As for us hobbyists it's fun to
check out for bargain sales, through
sale lists and online auctions today.

Posted by Lee Mannering (Member # 728) on March 25, 2007, 08:10 AM:

Hello folks.
I agree. Prices have shot up, certainly here in the UK. But is this not a good thing? What I believe is that it demonstrates a healthy interest in the hobby and people do want film to show in the home. It may well go against the grain if you are the buyer, but if the hobby is to be sustained my own view is that pound shop prices are to be avoided, certainly if you are expecting to see new releases become available.

Ill also take it a stage further. The LCD TV boom has also boosted interest in home CINEma. I had a guy here in my work place and he had a large screen TV at home. It’s my policy to have a cine projector on show in my office and it never fails to generate interest in Cine. He left here armed with Derann Films telephone number and I expect to see him at the Open Day on the 1st. Crumbs, he may even join the forum.

Pound shop prices should be avoided I believe. Look around your high street to see how many shops have closed as a result. Our local chamber of trade is starting to point the finger at pound shops, so let’s not let Cine go the same way as local businesses who can’t match £1 for a pack of 4 blank DVD’s. Cine is worth a reasonable price in any shape or would we rather have our pleasure for near nothing. Would we enjoy and value it as much?

Just a thought.

Posted by Graham Ritchie (Member # 559) on March 26, 2007, 12:04 AM:

If film prices increase that could mean that there is more interest in Super8 and that cant be a bad thing, company's like Derann might see it as an encouraging sign, and invest in more Super8 releases in the future that could benefit us all.

Graham.

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on March 26, 2007, 01:48 PM:

Lets not forget Classic Home Cinema, who is right in thier with his (in the near future) release of Revenge of the Sith. From what I have just heard from Phil, it will probably be in late April when the film actually reaches him and he can ship out prints. That's film labs for you.

I think it will really take releases like this from CHC, Derann ect, to keep potential collectors interested as well as buying. If your an american, and your going to shell out up to 800.00 american dollars for a brand new feature film on Super 8, (hey, even in this day and age, that's a lot of money!), it had better be a "dream film" that you never thought you'd never get on Super 8, but is now available.

This has been my problem with a num ber of the Derann releases. While I am fond of Disney films, i would never pay a full feature price new. There are very few Disney films that i would venture that kind of cash for. I just bought a short time ago a beautiful Derann print of "Snow White" (with the trailer as well) for 150 american dollars, and that's even getting up there for me.

To attract the modern collector for features, have the modern features available. To Derann's credit, they have tried to keep up with extracts from Gladiator, Matrrx ect. Most young people, (as well as collectors) attention spans are even shorter, and while Matrix was fun at the time, it isn't big any more, for the most part.

So a lot of these features from the past, however glorious, do not have the passionette foillowing one would hope for.

But then again, I could be completely wrong.

Posted by James N. Savage 3 (Member # 83) on March 27, 2007, 01:06 PM:

About those recent high-price sales on E-bay,

In defense of the person who was selling all of those much-sought-after U-8 black and white 400 footers- I noticed that the starting bids on those titles was between 20 and 50 pounds, which was actually very reasonable for those titles. When there is a high demand for certain rare items, like antiques, there's just no telling how high the bidding will go. I was impressed with the whole auction on those titles and congradulate the seller with his success (asuming his descriptions were honest and the films were in excellent shape). I think these kinds of successes are healthy for super-8, as long as people arent selling 'junk' prints at high prices (THAT sort of thing WILL hurt the hobby for new collectors).

And Osi- I second what you said about CHC. We should be grateful for people like Phil Sheard, who has made sacrifices to bring new product out on super 8. I wish him much success and will continue to purchase alot of his new releases (although, no features right now - putting son thru college [Wink]

).

James.

Posted by Del Phillipson (Member # 513) on March 27, 2007, 01:21 PM:

I think a lot of it is down to supply and demand, the decent stuff on super 8 will fetch really good prices on lets say ebay, but nobody wants the usual suspect dross even at any price. The plus side is the interest in super 8, that can't be a bad thing overall, the more collectors the merrier (as long as they don't bid on the stuff I want [Big Grin]

)

Posted by Gary Crawford (Member # 67) on March 27, 2007, 01:43 PM:

Del....I agree with you completely ..... I have , in the last few months undergone a total rejuvenation of my interest in Super 8, vs. 16...with the discovery of recent derann and Classic prints that are a far cry from prints many old time collectors in the states have been accustomed to. These prints..the Fog, Thunderball...Die Hard...etc...just bowled me over... I realize that collecting is much bigger in the UK and Europe than it is here...and that many U.S. collectors have not been lucky enough to encounter these wonderful prints....some old time collectors I have known for years and years have never even heard of them. These prints are astounding and worth saving for. True theater quality. You can show these things on big screens without any apologies for focus, sharpness, color, etc. I'm glad people are either rediscovering, or discovering for the first time, the magic and fun of film....in whatever gauge. It may cause a temporary jump in prices for old films, but perhaps new interest and more interest in new prints will mean larger print runs...and more sales..which, in turn , will mean lower prices for these wonderful new prints .

Posted by Del Phillipson (Member # 513) on March 27, 2007, 04:22 PM:

I just can't possibly add any more to that Gary [Smile]

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