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Hello fellow movie poster collectors! 

On a daily basis we get emails and phone calls from all over the world asking:

Anyone is welcome to send us photos of their posters at anytime, and sometimes we can give a quick value estimate or give some information on them. Usually though, we can't answer without seeing them in person. The photos we receive through email are frequently not detailed enough for us to judge the true condition of a poster, and VALUE GREATLY DEPENDS ON CONDITION. There are also many REPRODUCTION posters that have little if any value, and these are sometimes very hard to distinguish from originals with just a photo. Unless you are willing to ship them to us for evaluation and/or CONSIGNMENT, it is impossible to answer with an exact figure or to tell you if they are authentic/original or not. Before being evaluated, POSTERS MUST BE REMOVED FROM ANY FRAMES. When we give appraisals we usually have to see the posters in person. We give a low "wholesale" value, and a high "retail" value.

WE MUST FIRST SEE THE POSTERS IN PERSON.

Please email us if you would like to send or personally bring in your posters for a free evaluation.

So.......where can you get a "ball park" estimate on the value of your posters?

If you are a collector of movie posters you may have come across one or more of the few price guides that are out there. Jon Warren's, Poster Price, etc.. All of these sources for prices are good, but they are just GUIDES to value, not exact prices. Many times they are quite accurate in helping you determine the value of a poster.......many times they are not! Some have data that is quite old and hasn't been updated in many years. None of these guides are 100% complete and none should be used as a single source in determining the value of a poster.

There are also many dealer websites (some better than others) that will show retail prices. In addition, you can always look at ebay store listings from various sellers.

Unlike other collectibles like coins, comics, stamps, baseball cards, etc. where you can get almost an exact value for your items using price guides, the world of movie posters is VERY different.

There are thousands of posters that I can use as an example, but lets take the Jaws 1975 US one sheet in Excellent unrestored C8 condition. I have bought one of these recently on ebay in Excellent C8 condition for $25.00. I have also sold more than a few on ebay in the same condition for over $400.00. I have sold a few privately for over $500.00. I monitor ebay and these usually sell for $150.00 to $250.00 from other sellers. If someone came to me with one to sell I would probably offer them $200.00. Back in 1999 one of the price guides shows Sotheby's sold one for $1092.00 (on linen).

Lets also look at the Revenge of the Jedi (with date) 1983 US one sheet in Excellent C8 condition. I have sold this poster privately for over $1000.00 more than a few times. I have sold it on ebay many times with prices ranging from $450.00 to over $900.00. I have bought it on ebay for as little as as $80.00 and as much as $300.00.

So, what is the current value of these posters? If you don't have one and want one it is worth whatever you are willing to pay for it. If you have one and wish to sell it, it is worth whatever you are willing to take for it. Many people do not like this answer, and I don't blame them. This is just the way it is in the world of collectible vintage movie posters!

The above examples show that a movie poster can bring vastly different prices when marketed and sold by different people. A poorly marketed poster with an incomplete description, poor photos, and sold by someone with little or no track record will bring MUCH less than someone who is an expert at selling movie posters.

VALUE GREATLY DEPENDS ON CONDITION

Ebay has completely changed the world of collectible movie posters (it has changed the world of all collectibles!). We constantly buy/win posters on ebay DIRT CHEAP, and then turn around and auction them ourselves for much more (usually 300% to 1000% more than we paid!.......seriously!).

To get the most possible for your posters and to realize their true maximum value, you may want to consider AUCTION CONSIGNMENT . Our expertise in marketing movie posters and our vast knowledge of them gives us a tremendous advantage over other ebayers.

This guide created by David A. Lieberman, CineMasterpieces.

Please see our other guides about movie posters.