They didn't realize what they had...

[castlestreet]

Posted: 8/8/10 at 8:47pm

I thought it would be fun to hear some stories about rare or hard to find theatre pieces you have found for dirt cheap- obviously the person selling wasn't aware that they could have gotten much more for it.

My favorite is two years ago I was browsing ebay one afternoon and saw a Mint Condition window card for Evita- the original with the silver foil background in the title and the crown- this goes for a lot on a regular basis, but I was the only bid with 1 minute left and ended up getting it for $18.50, and that included shipping.

A DJ from Buffalo had a huge window card/poster collection and when he died the estate just starting listing things on ebay without realizing their worth.

I have to laugh everytime I see it posted somewhere for $75, $125, or even $250!

[wdwfreak]

Posted: 8/8/10 at 9:00pm

I buy a bunch of playbills in huge lots on ebay and when I get them, I look throughout the entire playbill as it could be signed or an opening night playbill. In one lot, I had a signed A View from the Bridge playbill by Arthur Miller, 2 cast signed Beauty and the Beast playbills, 2 opening night Lion King with ticket stub playbills, a playbill signed by the original Desiree Armfeldt (name is slipping my mind), 2 anniversary playbills for beauty and the beast (5th and 10th anniversarys), Hugh Jackman signed Boy of Oz playbill, and over 60 other playbills in 10 binders. It cost me with shipping, $80. I thought it was a great deal.

[JOak]

Posted: 8/8/10 at 9:13pm

A hand painted silk tie gifted on opening night to the cast and crew of Hairspray for 19.99$.

[CapnHook]

Posted: 8/8/10 at 9:20pm

In their shoes, I understand how difficult it must be. Either for various projects relating to my job or for personal reasons, I have had to sell lots of various items in the past, and there very well could have been some jackpots in there.

- Lot of over 200 LP albums of EVERY kind of music. Some were sealed and never opened. Some were complete collections of a various composer/singer/band.

- Lot of hundreds of basketball trading cards. Some complete sets, others rookie cards. I know for certain there were rookie cards of Kobe Bryant, Shaq, and Larry Bird.

- Lot of collectible Disney trading pins, including Limited Editions pins. One pin, specifically, I had a receipt for which was a Tinker Bell 100th Anniversary of PETER PAN limited edition jumbo pin (LE of 100). It was purchased for $250.00, and if memory serves me correctly, this lot was sold for $400.00.

With the internet, it's become SO much easier to find the worth of an item. But who has the time!

[Dre2387]

Posted: 8/8/10 at 9:31pm

-On ebay (gotta love that site), I found a Crazy For You window card singed by the entire cast for about $20.

-I also found on ebay one of the miner's metal dishes from Crazy For You signed by the cast for $10.

[wdwfreak]

Posted: 8/8/10 at 9:35pm

How could I forget what I bought like last month?! I got a signed and framed window card, opening night playbill, and ticket from the Producers signed by Matthew Broderick, Nathan Lane, and Mel Brooks for $80 with shipping. I have seen a non-signed openin night playbill on there for $40 alone.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 8/9/10 at 12:03am

I bought a Les Miz program on eBay that was labeled as "foreign European production." I didn't inquire further when I saw the Barbican theatre logo on it. The person who had it had no idea it was the pre-West End program!

I think I paid about $6 for it. Crazy.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 8/9/10 at 12:10am

In the past few months I've gotten the following windowcards (all originals, all in perfect condition)

CARRIE - $15
WILDCAT - $50
FADE OUT/FADE IN - $40
Anyone who knows windowcards know just how lucky I got on those last two.

Before that, I know I got my original CHORUS LINE for something like $10, a FOLLIES for $100, LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC (original) for $50. I collect windowcards so I'm always looking for the people who have a ton and want to just sell them off. I seem to get lucky that way.

[Eastwickian]

Posted: 8/9/10 at 8:05am

About 7 years ago I found the Judi Dench 'A Little Night Music' recording in a normal high street shop for £12.99 (about $15) which then came up on the till at only £3. I had no idea how hard it was to get at the time or that it was regularly going for up to $100 on eBay.

I've also bought an original London cast Phantom poster, a Les Mis Barbican (pre-West End) poster and pre-opening posters for Miss Saigon both in London and on Broadway for about $10 each on eBay.

With all of these it wasn't so much that people didn't know the worth of their collection, I'm just amazed I didn't get into a bidding war with any of you lot!

Updated On: 8/9/10 at 08:05 AM

[wdwfreak]

Posted: 8/26/10 at 11:15pm

The other day, I met somebody from craigslist and got a framed Phantom of the Opera poster (the original one), a framed Miss Saigon poster, and a entire cast signed and framed Les Miserables poster (upon looking, Lea Michele signed it), all for $35.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 8/27/10 at 12:01am

"a Mint Condition window card for Evita- the original with the silver foil background in the title and the crown"

That's not a crown, it's a halo.

[wdwfreak]

Posted: 10/18/10 at 7:58pm

Today I won on ebay a playbill from the original A Little Night Music, Opening Night signed by Stephen Sondheim and Len Cariou for $50.

[Orangesaretuesdays]

Posted: 10/18/10 at 9:20pm

The FIddler on The Roof Record Breaking Longest Running Show Playbill for 12.25 total.

[Marianne2]

Posted: 10/18/10 at 10:38pm

Nothing really major, but I paid $1 for a playbill that was signed by Molly Ringwald, Jason Biggs, Craig Bierko, and Jenn Harris when they were in the off-broadway show, Modern Orthodox. I found it in a box with other random playbills at the flea market. My guess is whoever it belonged to originally just wanted to get rid of stuff and didn't care that it was signed.