From the items that I have sold, some much lower than I thought they would go for and some five or six times higher, I can only say again that the cost of the item is subjective, that is, it's worth what someone wants to pay. One thing you are overlooking is that you had a large collection that consisted of thousands of items. There are not many individuals who are looking to buy a ready made collection, for that s contrary to the idea of collecting. Another factor was that your collection consisted of silent film memorabilia. It s a sad fact of life that many of the people who collect silent memorabilia are of an advanced age or have passed on.
Most younger collectors prefer films that they personally can relate to.
But sadly only the Motion Picture Academy and the Museum of Modern Art have ever shown any interest in movie posters, and that s primarily because most of them were donated to them. I have no doubt that eventually most museums will have movie poster collections, but I have no idea if it will happen in my lifetime. When that happens they will all regret they didn t acquire your collection. As to opening bids on eBay, it s all a question of whether you want to sell a lot of your items or just a few. I have so many items to sell that I can live with some going for bargains if it means that I sell much more overall.