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Author
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Topic: Outrageous prices for Super 8?
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Osi Osgood
Film God
Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted 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 ...
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"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "
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Gary Crawford
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 979
From: Manassas, VA. USA
Registered: Jun 2003
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posted 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.
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Matthew Davey
Junior
Posts: 11
From: New York, NY USA
Registered: Feb 2007
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posted 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...
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Osi Osgood
Film God
Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted 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.
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"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "
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Gary Crawford
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 979
From: Manassas, VA. USA
Registered: Jun 2003
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posted 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 .
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