Movie Posters

[Mataleo]

Just wondering where everyone gets their posters from. I am looking for originals but if i cant find any for a decent price will probable do custom. Thank you in advance for any help.

[filmczy]

I worked at a movie theater back in the '80s for 10 years. National Screen Service (NSS) would send the posters to theaters. When NSS closed, studios started issuing their own posters. I've purchased many originals from eBay including Halloween, Clockwork Orange, Dirty Harry, Enter The Dragon, THX 1138, Bullitt, Chinatown, Street of Fire, etc. You can find some good deals from established sellers.

[Mataleo]

i will give ebay a look thank you

[reaperx187]

I know ebay would have them and check around to see if there are any collectors on forums such as this one that might have some for sale or something i have gotten mines over the time from various places online to be honest. I have mostly Horror movie type posters and some others that i didn't even get put up i would love to get them all framed and have it setup to look a lot nicer too.

[jtu128]

I've only purchased from Amazon so far, the reviews generally give a good indication of the quality.

[GreatGreg]

Actually, I will endorse one of the local members here, Kinsella5, who has been in the poster selling business for who-knows-how-long.

I've met him personally and he can talk your ear off with behind-the-scenes stories from Hollywood!

He is actually a trusted expert in the movie poster biz. I've purchased from him before and his prices are very fair and all of his stuff is legit. That is more valuable to me than the bottom-line price.

Actually, I thought this was the official Movie Poster thread. Why did we need another one?

[Kinsella5]

Thanks for the kind words Greg, and if anyone has any questions they can contact me. There are some good honest poster sellers out there too, I am not the know off when it comes to this hobby, far from it, I just feel that poster sellers should be honest and informative to their customers.

eBay is a mix bag in my opinion, there are honest legit sellers on there who feel the same way I do but then there are a lot of knockoffs, unlicensed reprints on there and it makes finding true authentic originals a bit more difficult. There are also are those who dont really know the industry but perhaps know someone who work at a theater so they get posters to sell but may not understand the importance of properly describing a specific poster and more importantly knowing how to package a poster up for transit to the buyer.

I don't carry every title out there, and I won't carry reprints, there are plenty of places people can find those if they want, I just like to cater to the collectors out there who want the real deal. Yes Greg is right in that there is an entire thread dedication to movie posters and screenprints already on this site, my apologies in advance for those who stumble upon it and see some of my epic-sized postings.

The link to that thread is here: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=97777

[jpcertified]

Movieposter.com and allposters.com are two great sites for official movie posters. They also pack very well for shipping

[Underworld54]

As far as Ebay is concerned, avoid buying from any seller that lists something like "10 available"...dollars to donuts those are fake posters.

[Supaclyde]

I've had nothing but success on eBay with a few different sellers.

Movieposterarena
Movieposterbargains
Moviepostercenter

They all package very well. Tightly rolled in cardboard tubes with little bits of carpet padding on the ends for extra protection. I've made several orders with each and have had no problems.

[Underworld54]

Originally Posted by Supaclyde

I've had nothing but success on eBay with a few different sellers.

Movieposterarena
Movieposterbargains
Moviepostercenter

They all package very well. Tightly rolled in cardboard tubes with little bits of carpet padding on the ends for extra protection. I've made several orders with each and have had no problems.

Movieposterarena I wouldn't touch with a 10 ft pole, I don't know the rest.

[Kinsella5]

Originally Posted by Underworld54

As far as Ebay is concerned, avoid buying from any seller that lists something like "10 available"...dollars to donuts those are fake posters.

That's not entirely correct. I have titles that number in the 100's just for one poster. For example Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull "final" style, I have over 100 in stock and all are authentic double-sided and I believe those have the anti-counterfeit watermark logo on back, much like how it was done for the Star Wars Revenge of the Sith "final" style too, something that generally isn't done on theatrical movie posters. There are those in this industry that can get larger quantities than others either in the past or currently. Those who get posters from theaters are generally limited to a small handful, generally less than a dozen, in rare cases more than that, but there are some with strong enough contacts that were able to get a significant amount for long term sales.

I can see where it can possibly create some doubt though as you say but its simply not entirely true. Most, if not all, poster sellers who are legit and deal with authentic originals will share exact inventory numbers, nor should they but if you find someone you are comfortable dealing with and you believe in their products then I always say continue to support them. Someone who wants to help their customers out will be open and honest with them, appreciating their business, and if they don't have a title in stock, would do their best to refer them elsewhere, sadly I think I am the only one who does that but lately I have been rethinking doing it because I can't stand behind what others sell and would hate for one of my customers to go someplace else and risk them not being pleased with their purchase from them but at the same time, I have rarely seen those that I have sent business to do the same for me or even say thank you for the referral.

[Kinsella5]

Originally Posted by jpcertified

Movieposter.com and allposters.com are two great sites for official movie posters. They also pack very well for shipping

MoviePoster.com is a good seller, they have in the past problems with properly titling posters such as what is a domestic style compared to an international style, and in the past I have seen them list double-sided "reprints" which are nothing more than knockoffs but that was many years ago for a few titles and I believe they stopped doing that as I think they bought them from another Canadian poster dealer who is now gone and possibly were duped into buying something from them that wasn't authentic.

AllPosters primarily deal in reprints and novelty posters but they do carry some originals on their site, their sizes they list don't seem to add up unless its an error on their part, which it may be. Newer posters basically everything post early 1990's are 27x40, and for some of their titles from a few year ago they have them listed as 27x41 while others they have up as 27x40 so that may just be a typo on their part.

One thing to be mindful if you are into collecting double-sided originals, something I have stated in the main poster thread, is know that studios started printing the double-sided ones slightly different than they always had been. Not all the studios made this switch at the same time either but everything within the last five to eight years all have a slightly lighter backside to them. It used to be double-sided originals had the same color consistency on the front and on the back, however, that changed and studios started printing the backside slightly lighter/slightly faded than the front. More than likely this was done so the image on the poster stood out more when placed in the theatrical light box frames as light will shine through a lighter source than a darker one, so I have always maintained that the studios more than likely did that so the posters would stand out more on display and get the attention of the moviegoers at theaters. I could be wrong but not sure why then they would even bother if that wasn't wasn't the case. For example, this process didn't start until around February/March 2008 when Warner Brothers debuted the two final styles for The Dark Knight, those have a lighter backside than the two advance teaser styles. The only example I know of where the backside is the same color as the front is the IMAX style for The Dark Knight Rises, the reason I was told was because the IMAX Corporation had that style made for their IMAX theaters, generally its the studio that arranges printing.

[meremortal]

I bought about 25-30 original sheets on ebay a while back on ebay and had to store them at my family's place when I was at uni. Then somewhere along the way they were accidentally thrown out when the basement was cleaned. I still haven't bought any since and the prices have really shot up with fewer in circulation and more people having home theater rooms today. I guess it was just a dead scene for them at the time and possibly also because it was when most video stores were starting to go out of business and thus flooding the market with all their old inventory. It's surprising how many of the mom and pop rental places hung onto old posters, props, and standees for years and years past the promotional window of the movie. It reminds me of when I popped in an old mom and pop cd shop in a small rural town in the early 00s that still had sealed longbox cds and sealed records from the 80s and early 90s. Total ghost town. That's just crazy and I wish I'd have bought some of them at the time.

[Kinsella5]

Originally Posted by meremortal

I bought about 25-30 original sheets on ebay a while back on ebay and had to store them at my family's place when I was at uni. Then somewhere along the way they were accidentally thrown out when the basement was cleaned. I still haven't bought any since and the prices have really shot up with fewer in circulation and more people having home theater rooms today. I guess it was just a dead scene for them at the time and possibly also because it was when most video stores were starting to go out of business and thus flooding the market with all their old inventory. It's surprising how many of the mom and pop rental places hung onto old posters, props, and standees for years and years past the promotional window of the movie. It reminds me of when I popped in an old mom and pop cd shop in a small rural town in the early 00s that still had sealed longbox cds and sealed records from the 80s and early 90s. Total ghost town. That's just crazy and I wish I'd have bought some of them at the time.

Sorry to hear that happen, a bit confused though did you buy video store posters or original movie posters? They are quite different. Video stores didn't carry theatrical originals they carried posters specially made for the home video release and did not really hold any value to them unlike the studio-issued theatrical ones.

[meremortal]

I think it was a combination of both but mostly the theatrical posters. I remember buying originals for the Child's Play movies,a few NMOES, all 3 BTTF, etc for just a few dollars each. There just wasn't a big market for them when I was buying back then. But more recent searches are asking for way more $ now. It was like that ten years ago with vinyl... I remember people were giving them away for free locally and now everyone thinks they're sitting on goldmines.

[Kinsella5]

Originally Posted by meremortal

I think it was a combination of both but mostly the theatrical posters. I remember buying originals for the Child's Play movies,a few NMOES, all 3 BTTF, etc for just a few dollars each. There just wasn't a big market for them when I was buying back then. But more recent searches are asking for way more $ now. It was like that ten years ago with vinyl... I remember people were giving them away for free locally and now everyone thinks they're sitting on goldmines.

Yeah but it wasn't as if you threw them out, sounds like they got tossed out as an accident. The prices on originals can really change though, when you do some research with legit poster dealers you can find price differences that can be significant. For example a poster I carry I charge $50 for usually, sometimes $40, but another poster dealer charges $300 for the same poster.

[UFAlien]

If you're looking for posters of new movies, try asking at your local theatre. Some theatres have a day once a week or month or so where they give away the posters of movies they're no longer showing. A week ago I got a free full-size theatrical poster for The Bye Bye Man this way. Not exactly a cinematic treasure but the movie was unintentionally funny enough that I figured I might as well grab it.

[Kinsella5]

Originally Posted by UFAlien

If you're looking for posters of new movies, try asking at your local theatre. Some theatres have a day once a week or month or so where they give away the posters of movies they're no longer showing. A week ago I got a free full-size theatrical poster for The Bye Bye Man this way. Not exactly a cinematic treasure but the movie was unintentionally funny enough that I figured I might as well grab it.

That is a good point. There are some but not all that will give a person a poster if they ask and if an employee doesn't already have it reserved. I think people have reported the best luck they have had is with smaller independently owned theaters rather than the larger chains. Also some theaters that put on Oscar-themed events will sometimes put on charity auctions and auction off their extra posters too.

[GreatGreg]

The BTTF posters have always been collectible. If you had all three, I would be surprised if you got theatrical versions cheaply because after the first movie made it big, the subsequent teasers and final one sheets were very popular and not cheap.

I have most/all of them myself including an original one sheet of the first film. They were not easy to get and I remember talking to Universal about it and BTTF was more or less their flagship film at the time.