News — News

We are pleased to report that the hugely popular Bill Graham Rock and Roll Revolution Museum Exhibit has just opened at The National Museum of American Jewish History. The exhibit runs through January 16, 2017.

This is the first appearance of the exhibit on the east coast after wildly enthusiastic crowds on the west coast. As readers of this blog are well aware, we highly encourage everyone east of the Mississippi river to find a way to attend this exhibit. It is a truly thrilling experience to see all of the incredible concert posters, handbills and photographs, and ALSO to see throngs of regular folks enjoying the exhibit as well! In this regard, don't be shy about bringing your non-collector family and friends along for the experience, they are guaranteed to leave happy that they came along, and will have a new found respect for your interests and hobby.

For more details, see our earlier reports about our visits to the Bill Graham Exhibit in both Los Angeles and San Francisco that were published in this blog.

Also, to supercharge your visit and transform it into a truly epic and memorable day, call us for a private visit to our Gallery which is located just 90 minutes south in Baltimore, Md. If you make arrangements in advance, we will roll out the red carpet and make sure you get to see material that cant be seen anywhere else—not even in a museum! And of course, if you have material to sell, our international clientele allows us to offer you the highest cash prices available in the marketplace.

For more details on the Bill Graham Rock and Roll Revolution museum exhibit in Philadelphia, click here:

In previous blogs we have discussed there are two different ways that CGC is affecting today’s market for Vintage Rock Concert posters. 

One group of effects can be called “First Order Effects”, which are obvious to all onlookers. Specifically, these “First Order” effects include 1) increased media attention, 2) this increased media attention results in a huge increase in NEW collectors that can now collect with confidence. 3) Since this rise in demand is chasing the same small supply, values go up. 4) And since dealers can easily quote buy prices for CGC graded posters sight unseen, liquidity is increased. 5) Also, since third party grading is inherently about distinguishing differences in quality, there is a huge focus on quality.

Not so obvious, are many second order effects of third party CGC grading that will also effect today’s rapidly growing marketplace for these rare artworks. Today, we will examine one second order effect which is INCREASED LIQUIDITY.

Every single day, we receive numerous calls and inquiries from people all over the world that have posters that they wish to sell to us or consign in our auction. The question is always the same, what can you pay for XXXXXX poster. Unless the poster is a famous one of a kind rarity, our answer is always the same, “It depends vastly on the condition and making sure the poster is authentic. If you send us the poster we guarantee to have a cash offer to you in 24 hours. If you accept the offer, (which over 9 out of 10 do) we will send immediate payment. If you don’t wish to accept the offer, we will Fedex your poster back to you immediately.

While most people are agreeable to this format, there are some people that want a concrete on offer on the phone regardless of condition. In this case, the seller hangs up disappointed. The poster winds up back in the attic where it has resided for the last 20+ years. And we don’t get the opportunity to acquire a fresh piece of art that would be savored by our clientele.

If the poster was independently graded and authenticated by CGC, this would never happen. The seller would be able to tell us exactly what they had, and in what condition. And we would be able to make a strong cash offer, sight unseen. We would both “win” and a transaction would be quickly consummated that otherwise wouldn’t take place.

Let’s take another example. Say a collector is looking for a rare piece for many years that is quite expensive. He locates one for sale, but has never done business with the person that has it, and there are no solid guarantees provided in writing. The buyer has a wide range of prices he is willing to pay, based on condition. Because he has never done business with this seller before, he is reluctant to buy the poster because he is not confident about the accuracy of the seller’s grading.

If the poster had been third party authenticated and graded by CGC, this problem would obviously be eliminated. The buyer would know exactly what he is getting and he would not be relying on the seller’s opinion at all.

In conclusion, the introduction of independent third party grading into any collectibles market drastically increases the liquidity of what’s being collected because the number of transactions explodes upward due to the increased ease in both buying and selling. In short, everyone wins!

For those of you that were unable to attend this week’s Long Beach Coin and Collectibles Show, we thought it would be best to report on the goings ons by using the words of other people that visited us at Table 411. “I’m glad you guys are doing this!”

That was the quote from one of the world’s top collectibles experts and dealers with 40 plus years of experience that includes a stint as co-owner of a major rock and roll collectibles business. Why did he say this? Because he understood that Vintage Concert Posters have widespread appeal, are historically important and are far rarer and much cheaper than most other collectibles. He was impressed by the CGC third party authentication and grading and thought the packaging also made it far easier to handle and store the posters in perfect condition. “You guys are really ambitious being here!

This was said by one of the world’s top coin dealers who was impressed with the non stop line of people in front of our table who wanted to view our inventory, learn about CGC authentication and grading and sign up for our email list and auctions. Thousands of collectors attended the show over 3 days and we added scores to our mailing list! “I totally get it, I’m in!”

This was said by a multi millionaire who is also a world class coin collector. He is in his late 60’s, grew up in the era, saw the concerts and now wants to jump into this market now that third party CGC grading is a reality. He’s been in the collectibles trenches forever, has made fortunes “playing” with his hobby and sees this new emerging market as ripe with opportunity. “It’s great to finally meet you in person!”

This was not said by one person, but by all the customers that came out to see us to both buy and sell. It’s always great to put a face with a name, review our inventory in person, buy posters that have been put away by our clients for decades, and share the many nuances and bits of information that we have to share with our clientele.

In conclusion, we exhibited at this show with the goal of exposing these incredible artworks and third party grading to the thousands of people that are already buying, selling and trading certified collectibles on a daily basis. To be honest, we didn’t know quite what to expect at the start of the event. We were blown away by the outpouring of interest and support and it was wonderful to meet the people in person that we so often communicate with over the phone and through email. It was a tremendous success and something we will continue to do in the future!

We are excited to announce that we will be hitting the road over the coming days and weeks so that we can meet and do business with our clients face to face.

Our first stop will be The Long Beach Coin and Collectibles Show September 8, 9, and 10th, where we will have a table to buy and sell 1960’s posters. Our purpose for attending this show is several fold. First, we hope to meet with our friends and clients in Southern California. If you are in the area, please plan on stopping by. If you have posters to sell, we will be able to offer you immediate payment on the spot. If you are looking to buy, we will have a wide variety of the finest quality inventory available anywhere in the world. If you have a large collection you wish to sell, please let us know NOW, and we will make arrangements to come to you! In any event, if you are anywhere near the Lon Angeles area, we hope to connect with you next week!

Our second reason for attending the show is that we have had an outpouring of inquiries about Vintage Rock posters from our longstanding friends and relationships within the professional collectibles community, ie dealers. These dealers understand the major significance of the introduction of independent, third party CGC Grading within our hobby and want in, in BIG WAY.

These dealers have witnessed first hand the dramatic effects of increased demand, liquidity and prices that third party grading has brought to coins, paper money, baseball cards and comics and they want to participate in this new and exciting emerging market. Many have told us they believe that posters have MORE POTENTIAL than any of these other collectibles due to their beauty and ability to display, the massive popularity of the legendary bands, their historical significance, the minuscule production numbers, their extreme rarity Museum Quality condition, and ridiculously cheap prices. Many have already asked us for “first shot” at whatever we are bringing, so if there is something in particular YOU are looking for, please let us know in advance so we can hold it back if we have the item available.

The second stop we will be making is to the annual Festival of Rock Posters on October 22 in San Francisco. This event is the premier Rock Poster show of the year and is put on by The Rock Poster Society. (TRPS). If you are anywhere near the San Francisco area, of frankly, anywhere west of the Mississippi, we highly encourage you to attend this event. Again, we will be in San Francisco to both buy and sell, and if you have a large collection you wish to offer us, please let us know NOW, so we can make separate plans to come to YOU. Also, as we have said many times before, we highly recommend that all collectors become members of TRPS.

With all of the excitement that is currently brewing in our marketplace now, we look forward to meeting with you in person in the coming days so that we can discuss a personal plan to achieve your collecting goals!

For details on The Long Beach Coin and Collectibles show, click here!

For details on the Festival of Rock Posters, click here!

Anyone that has been paying the least bit of attention has witnessed the proliferation of interest being directed at our beloved 1960’s Concert posters.

We have seen exhibits in major international air ports, the most hallowed and respected art museums, and talks of a Bill Graham major motion picture, to name but a few recent developments. Now comes news from Nike, one of the world’s largest and most influential brands, that they are releasing a Psychedelic sports shoe that is covered in the rainbow colors and classic typography that is the trademark of these rare and sought after artworks!

When a company like Nike, that spends hundreds of million of dollars on market data, decides that a shoe of this design would have market appeal , it’s a real testimony to the influence and desirability of original 1960’s concert posters.

It’s incredible to think that there will be thousands of people walking around in what Nike themselves are calling “concert poster shoes!”. Looking at the big picture, this is just more anecdotal information that all of us collectors are participating in the most exciting collectibles category in the world today!

To read more about the Nike Psychedelic Concert poster Shoes, click here!