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Interesting results of Tom Gregory collection at RR Auctions 15 November 2016

Steve kindly sent out an email regarding this auction. I rarely look at the RR site so I was very grateful for the tip-off. It would be crazy to say that I wasn't impressed with what was on offer.

The results surprised me a bit. With some notable exceptions (Monroe, William Desmond Taylor etc.) most of the lots seemed to come in below estimate and quite a number don't appear to have sold.

What I am wondering is were the estimates too high or the interest too low? If the latter, why was this?

I think it may have been a bit of both. I remember a Titanic auction at RR that also had a lot of lots not selling or selling for below estimate. Perhaps RR are a little aggressive in that respect. I noticed that the estimates at last week's IAA auction (History Makers sale) were more or less bang on and very few lots didn't sell - quite a contrast.

As for the bidding, I wouldn't be surprised if it is getting more difficult to sell "classic Hollywood" material. Most potential buyers nowadays were probably not born when most of the classic stars were working - or even living! They are much more likely to buy Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Steve McQueen etc.

I collect a lot of the classic stars but I am ashamed to admit that I have never seen a movie with Garbo, Lombard, Harlow, Lake, Todd and many, many others even though they all feature in my various collections. I suspect though that I am not your typical collector.

Maybe another reason for the results was the sheer quantity of material. I confess that my eyes glazed over a bit after page 5 of 11. Perhaps the material was also a bit too "samey" - classic portraits, many matte finish 11x14s.

To finish off, the lowish results that surpised me most were Karloff, Lugosi, Dean, Tate and maybe even Garbo (though $15k is not exactly nothing) and the GWTW Leigh. If I'd known the results were not going to go through the stratosphere I might have bid myself - the estimates certainly didn't encourage me to bid.

Am I being too negative here? When you look at the massive price rises in the rock & pop field over the last 20 years or so I don't think so.

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Permalink Reply by Mike T on December 17, 2016 at 11:19am

I think it was both, the interest in classic entertainment has really dropped and I think their estimates on a lot of things were very high. It's cool to own an autograph from the original Wizard of Oz, but the market of those collectors willing to pay $10k for that autograph is extremely small.

Also RR has some issues on just a pure business standpoint. Not accepting credit cards and the huge buyer premiums are a big turn off for me and for others I'm sure.

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Permalink Reply by a pug called eva on December 17, 2016 at 11:36am

I'd forgotten about RR not taking credit cards. In this day and age that is plain crazy.

I daresay their postage & packing charges are sky high too. I am often put off bidding on "small" items at Heritage because of P&P. They have a crazy rule that anything paid for by credit card has to be couriered at a horrendous cost. I once had them refund my CC payment so I could pay by bank tansfer and save a couple of hundred dollars (yes $200+) postage on a poster.

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Permalink Reply by Mike T on December 17, 2016 at 12:07pm

They charged you $200 to ship a poster? On top of the buyers premium? That's ridiculous.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on December 17, 2016 at 2:04pm

I'm sure there are many other factors, but I just glanced at the unsold items. Though stunning, the unsold largely seem to have less than optimal placement and contrast etc. compared to the rest of the items in the collection - look to see what patterns you notice. I hate to agree that vintage stuff garners less interest these days. 11x14 matte finish is..was(?)...no, IS the way to go. Original double weight stills...it's what I go for when I can. I am not terribly surprised by these results.

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Permalink Reply by Paul on December 17, 2016 at 2:33pm

Does anyone have the link to the results?

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Permalink Reply by Joe W. on December 17, 2016 at 2:40pm

http://www.rrauction.com/past_auction_summary.cfm?auction=490

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Permalink Reply by Joe W. on December 17, 2016 at 2:33pm

Gosh, I love vintage Hollywood autographs and know them fairly well. With that said, there is definitely a decline in interest in this genre. Nowadays, there are only about a half dozen pre-1950 stars that I would consider purchasing. Most potential collectors under 40 wouldn't even know most of the names or care. This particular collection, as excellent as it was, would have generated much bigger dollars ten years ago. Timing is everything.

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Permalink Reply by Paul on December 17, 2016 at 2:47pm

Thanks Joe.
Still some big numbers on the Sharon tate and a few others.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Zarelli on December 17, 2016 at 2:51pm

I was in a recent meeting at work with about twenty 20-somethings sitting around the table. I am in my 40s and was by far the senior person in the room. Long story short, I quoted a line from Casablanca and got blank stares. I asked how many people knew Humphrey Bogart and one person raised their hand... out of about twenty.

I am Gen X. My friends and I always sought out great films from before we were around. Many college weekends were spent hunting down tough-to-find videos from 40s and 50s film noir, horror, etc.

I'm afraid the millenials are different. They have everything at their fingertips, yet seem to be a generation that has little to no curiosity or interest in what came before them.