BCEFA FLEA MARKET COLLECTORS UNITE!!- Page 8

[ren598]

Posted: 9/25/17 at 1:21pm

Cape Twirl of Doom said: "I was working the event so I only had a short amount of time to browse but I got the one thing I actually was looking for: a full cast signed poster of the current Barrow St production of Sweeney Todd -for $5!"

How did you manage to get it for $5?  When I walked by, they wanted $60 for the signed posters and $40 for the signed playbills.

[ren598]

Posted: 9/25/17 at 1:32pm

mattyp4 said: "TexanAddams18 said: "Got there at 9:45 and got a pretty productive haul Including:

BOM window card signed by original cast"

Jealous! I've been looking for a Book of Mormon window card signed by the original cast. How much did yours cost, if you don't mind me asking?

I've been to the flea market the past few years but I decided to sit this one out. In the last couple years the crowds have gotten quite... unpleasant. And with the heat this year? Forget it. I was happy to stay home.

I would have been tempted to buy the $500 Hello, Dolly! Playbill though so maybe it's a good thing I wasn't there! (I know the money goes to a good cause but it could have broke my bank!)

I was gonna go and try to find CDs for the Roundabout productions of She Loves Me and The Robber Bridegroom for cheap. I usually buy physical albums for the musicals I see but I didn't love those shows, so I was hoping to grab them for a few dollars. It just didn't seem worth the effort to me. But wondering if they were available for cheap yesterday..."

At the end of the day, Roundabout just left all the unsold posters and cds.  They definitely had posters for She Loves Me and The Robbergroom.  Not sure if they had any cds for those shows at the end, but even earlier in the day those brand new cds were going for $5 each or 2 for $8.  

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 9/25/17 at 1:51pm

mattyp4 said: "Jordan Catalano said: "I got a full OBC Book of Mormon windowcard for $5."

WHUT? Signed??"

 

Yes.

[mattyp4]

Posted: 9/25/17 at 1:57pm

ren598 said: "At the end of the day, Roundabout just left all the unsold posters and cds. They definitely had posters for She Loves Me and The Robbergroom. Not sure if they had any cds for those shows at the end, but even earlier in the day those brand new cds were going for $5 each or 2 for $8."

Damnit. I would have gladly spent $8 for the two CDs. Oh well. No big deal. I'll pick them up another time.

 

[mattyp4]

Posted: 9/25/17 at 1:59pm

Jordan Catalano said: "mattyp4 said: "Jordan Catalano said: "I got a full OBC Book of Mormon windowcard for $5."

WHUT? Signed??"

Yes."

 

Double damnit! What table was that at? I would have paid A LOT more, if you feel like flipping it.

 

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 9/25/17 at 2:02pm

mattyp4 said: I was gonna go and try to find CDs for the Roundabout productions of She Loves Me and The Robber Bridegroom for cheap. I usually buy physical albums for the musicals I see but I didn't love those shows, so I was hoping to grab them for a few dollars. It just didn't seem worth the effort to me. But wondering if they were available for cheap yesterday..."

They had Robber Bridegroom for $5 or I think 2 for $8. Also Violet and Death Takes a Holiday. I can't remember if they had She Loves Me. They're all on streaming now and I bought myself Violet a while ago when it wasn't on streaming so I wasn't tempted to get anything. It's really hard to justify CD's now unless you want a keepsake or you're paranoid they're going to go off streaming. 

[mattyp4]

Posted: 9/25/17 at 2:07pm

VintageSnarker said: "It's really hard to justify CD's now unless you want a keepsake or you're paranoid they're going to go off streaming."

Yeah, I primarily stream these days but for some reason I still like buying physical Broadway albums. I guess b/c I like the linear notes. And I'm fortunate enough to have a lot that are signed. (But yes, I also keep physical copies of my favorite albums or more obscure stuff in the event they're ever pulled from streaming services. Streaming is convenient but I don't want to rely on it for everything.)

 

[Cape Twirl of Doom]

Posted: 9/25/17 at 2:41pm

ren598 said: "Cape Twirl of Doom said: "I was working the event so I only had a short amount of time to browse but I got the one thing I actually was looking for: a full cast signed poster of the current Barrow St production of Sweeney Todd -for $5!"

How did you manage to get it for $5? When I walked by, they wanted $60 for the signed posters and $40 for the signed playbills."

I just managed to hit it at the exact right time. When I arrived before 10am I took a look at that table and saw the posters were $60 and thought I'd try again later. About 3:20ish after the Autograph/Photo booth was done I headed back over and they were carrying what was left to the table next to then so they could pack up and leave. I asked the new seller how much for the posters and she said $5! Amazing!

[Sorry-Grateful]

Posted: 9/25/17 at 4:35pm

The most frustrating thing about Flea this year was the amount of people who were obviously, even blatantly, buying up Playbills to re-sell. I watched a grown ass man in his late 40's/early 50's with all the hallmarks of  a re-seller (huge pile of Playbills for purchase, picking multiples of everything, distinct lack of joy or humanity) find three identical copies of Newsies early in the morning. A teen girl also looking through the Playbill boxes screamed, said "I've been looking for Newsies forever," and sort of waited for the man to take one and put the rest down. The man heard her scream and then took all three copies and hurriedly placed them under his arm. The girl said again, this time with her voice cracking, near tears, "There's three copies of Newsies there. Could I have one please? It's my favorite show of all time." The guy didn't even look her in the eye, and just mumbled "Sorry, I need all of these."

"I need all of these." Give me a break. This was just one example of the re-seller infestation that cast a shadow over this years' Playbill hunt. It sucks.

Updated On: 9/25/17 at 04:35 PM

[OKBroadwayFan]

Posted: 9/25/17 at 5:07pm

https://broadwaycares.org/broadway-flea-market-grand-auction-breaks-one-million-dollar-mark/

 

The tables at this year’s market raised a record $497,962. The top 10 tables were: Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 with $50,612; Dear Evan Hansen with $42,326; Hamilton with $32,751; ATPAM with $24,594; Wicked with $21,261; Hello, Dolly! with $18,398; Creative Goods Merchandise with $18,263; TDF’s “Pik-a-Tkt” with $17,559; Anastasia with $16,716; and Waitress with $13,475.

The day concluded in Shubert Alley with the live auction, which also shattered previous records, raising $381,450. Last year’s live auction raised $301,400.

The most popular lot of the day was a coveted spot as a judge for Broadway Cares’ Gypsy of the Year and Easter Bonnet Competition, which went for a staggering $14,000.

The second-most popular auction lot was seats at a taping of the much-anticipated return of TV’s Will & Grace, including photos with the iconic cast, at $13,500. A stunning chandelier from the set of Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 went for $13,200, and VIP house seats to Ben Platt’s final performance in Dear Evan Hansen sold for an impressive $11,000.

Two tickets to the opening night of Frozen on Broadway with invitations to its exclusive after-party raised $9,500. In all, 19 opening night packages, which included passes to the VIP celebrations after each, raised $66,000.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 9/25/17 at 5:27pm

Lol @ grown ass men buying Playbills to resell. Because there's such a huge market for that. And every table was overflowing (as always) with tween girls grabbing everything they could and also sobbing when they found the most common Playbill imaginible. 

[Sorry-Grateful]

Posted: 9/25/17 at 5:39pm

I honestly don't mind the sobbing teen girls (although you are right, they always seem to treat the most common Playbills like the Holy Grail), but I could do without the burly, Cassio watch-wearing, adult men buying up like 12 copies of Tarzan the Musical to re-sell on Amazon and eBay.

[Marianne2]

Posted: 9/25/17 at 8:10pm

Cape Twirl of Doom said: "ren598 said: "Cape Twirl of Doom said: "I was working the event so I only had a short amount of time to browse but I got the one thing I actually was looking for: a full cast signed poster of the current Barrow St production of Sweeney Todd -for $5!"

How did you manage to get it for $5? When I walked by, they wanted $60 for the signed posters and $40 for the signed playbills."

I just managed to hit it at the exact right time. When I arrived before 10am I took a look at that table and saw the posters were $60 and thought I'd try again later. About 3:20ish after the Autograph/Photo booth was done I headed back over and they were carrying what was left to the table next to then so they could pack up and leave. I asked the new seller how much for the posters and she said $5! Amazing!"

I wish I knew that. I wanted one, but not for $60. I didn't think to look at a different table when I saw they were gone when I went back around 4:15. 

The early selling is frustrating. I was worried about going 5 minutes before 10 and being rude. I mean, there should be some restrictions since it says the event starts at 10. Unfortunately,  I don't have an answer to solving this issue since they can't close off people from walking into the area. 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 9/25/17 at 8:33pm

I think you underestimate those burly men's reasoning for buying Playbills. Burly men are some of the biggest theater queens alive and Playbills don't sell for anything at all hardly.

[HighFlyingAdored97]

Posted: 9/25/17 at 9:42pm

I'm happy with my mini haul because I got a lot of Hedwig merchandise I missed out on when the show was still open. I got 2 Hedwig t-shirts, 2 Hedwig magnets, and a Hewig mug. I bought a Bridges of Madison County poster, On The Twentieth Century poster, and Annie 2012 poster signed by the whole cast for $5 a piece. I also bought some movie magazines/booklets from the early 1960s and 1970s for $2 because I'm a fan of Elizabeth Taylor and Lauren Bacall. My friend gifted me a Matilda hat.

[Wick3]

Posted: 9/25/17 at 11:12pm

I went to Bway Flea market for the first time yesterday and loved it! Even watching the live auction at the end was quite exciting! No I did not bid but maybe for a milestone bday I'll actulaly budget to at least participate.

Anyway, I'm curious whether there is a similar event like this at Bway Con at Javits Center? 

[springwillcome]

Posted: 9/25/17 at 11:23pm

Agree that the early start was frustrating. I saw an item thats pretty rare and that I really wanted around 9:30, they only had 2 of them, so I asked if they knew how much it’d be and when they’d open. Was rudely told they wouldn’t be priced or sold until 10, but I figured that’s fair, so I went to take cash out and came back to wait around quarter of. got there to see them selling the last one to someone else, despite their insistence of 10 oclock. I was crushed, but it wasn’t the girl who bought it’s fault, so I wasn’t rude at all. There was another rare/special item that went with what they bought, and they were planning on getting it too, and decided not to so that I could. With how often people grab and shove, and how incredible the item is (or at least it’s special to me), I was shocked and very honored. They first offered not to buy the original item but I could never do that to them. Anyway. It was nice to see such polite buyers, but still frustrating that the start time was early as well as inconsistent. If you start early, fine, but don’t tell me to leave and then sell to the next person! 

[Marianne2]

Posted: 9/26/17 at 12:07am

Wick3 said: "I went to Bway Flea market for the first time yesterday and loved it! Even watching the live auction at the end was quite exciting! No I did not bid but maybe for a milestone bday I'll actulaly budget to at least participate.

Anyway, I'm curious whether there is a similar event like this at Bway Con at Javits Center?"

It's different. A lot of businesses such as 54 Below, Show-score, TDF etc... were there. I don't remember too many selling flea market like merchandise. The vendors are there to promote their businesses and not just to get rid of stuff. 

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 9/26/17 at 2:20am

mattyp4 said: "VintageSnarker said: "It's really hard to justify CD's now unless you want a keepsake or you're paranoid they're going to go off streaming."

Yeah, I primarily stream these days but for some reason I still like buying physical Broadway albums. I guess b/c I like the linear notes. And I'm fortunate enough to have a lot that are signed. (But yes, I also keep physical copies of my favorite albums or more obscure stuff in the event they're ever pulled from streaming services. Streaming is convenient but I don't want to rely on it for everything.)

I just can't deal with the bulk. The CD's that I have that are unsigned are ones I'm planning to get signed or ones that I couldn't find on streaming. Though that's changing. I might not keep Amazon Prime forever but Spotify has recently gotten off the top of my head... Lady Day, Violet, Far From Heaven, Porgy and Bess, Andrea Burns' album. Most times I just want to listen to an album once and then have it in my shuffle rotation. If there's something I really love, I might get it if it goes off streaming but I'm rarely worried that it's so rare that it won't be accessible should I feel like purchasing it.

On a somewhat related note, does anyone ever get the vinyls? There's usually one table selling them for $1 or $2 and this year there were some really interesting old shows that aren't on CD that I'm curious about... but I have no way of playing them so I skipped over them. 

The story about the Newsies playbill was sad. I saw a couple of kids searching for Newsies playbills during the day. I'm guessing the renewed interest was due to the movie/tour. 

[secretschuylersister]

Posted: 9/26/17 at 6:20am

Forgive me if this is totally unrelated but I got a letter from Nicholas Belton today and he sent me one of his bear drawings that was being sold at the flea! :)))

Updated On: 9/26/17 at 06:20 AM

[Poconopanther]

Posted: 9/26/17 at 9:25am

Just WOW! Every year I take my nieces to a Broadway show. This year we saw Miss Saigon (really great production BTW). While I knew the Flea Market existed, I didn't realize it was Sunday until I accidentally bumped into it. I ended up spending a few hours! What a great weekend! 

[mattyp4]

Posted: 9/26/17 at 10:52am

Jordan Catalano said: "Lol @ grown ass men buying Playbills to resell. Because there's such a huge market for that. And every table was overflowing (as always) with tween girls grabbing everything they could and also sobbing when they found the most common Playbill imaginible."

I saw one of these ogres ganking a bunch of Deconstructing Patti Playbills on Sunday night. It was before the show even started. I was hoping to snatch an extra copy for a friend on my way out but there were none to be found-- all the extras were probably in that idiot's bag.

But yeah, hearing that is another reason why I'm probably done with the flea market. Between the sobbing tweens & the greedy eBay hoarders it's not really worth the effort.

[haterobics]

Posted: 9/26/17 at 10:58am

mattyp4 said: "I saw one of these ogres ganking a bunch of Deconstructing Patti Playbills on Sunday night. It was before the show even started. I was hoping to snatch an extra copy for a friend on my way out but there were none to be found."

So you're against people taking extra since it means you can't take extra?! Sounds about right.

[@z5]

Posted: 9/26/17 at 11:09am

haterobics said: "mattyp4 said: "I saw one of these ogres ganking a bunch of Deconstructing Patti Playbills on Sunday night. It was before the show even started. I was hoping to snatch an extra copy for a friend on my way out but there were none to be found."

So you're against people taking extra since it means you can't take extra?! Sounds about right."

But there IS a difference between taking an extra one or two and taking an extra 20.

[haterobics]

Posted: 9/26/17 at 11:21am

@z5 said: "But there IS a difference between taking an extra one or two and taking an extra 20."

Easier justification?

In any event, good news, you can get one for your friend after all: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Deconstructing-Patti-Lupone-Playbill-Broadway-Seth-Rudetsky-/263228632126