Well, tomorrow is the Julien's Star Trek Auction so I thought I would give you all a preview of what to expect. There isn't a lot of great stuff for the prop & costume collector, and only the inclusion of 17 lots from the JJ movie and a spattering of items from teh Shatner and Roddenberry collections make this auction anything more than an estate sale. Please note, this is a VERY EXPENSIVE auction. Here is why:VERY HIGH BUYER'S PREMIUM!
The 25% buyer's premium is the highest in the industry. Not only that, they charge you 3% for bidding online FOR NO REASON. Why do I say for no reason? Because the software they use is one you purchase, and they are not being charged extra for running the software. Now in the Battlestar auctions, Propworx actually had to pay Auction network 3% of anything won online for using their software and crew (A full television production BTW). But Propworx absorbed that cost anyway. Here there is no such cost so Julien's is basically screwing the bidders out of another 3%! Pay attention, this, plus any applicable taxes, makes this auction VERY EXPENSIVE.
VERY HIGH SHIPPING COSTS
Please note that I just found out that Julien's has switched shipping companies, so I don't have any news on what the shipping costs will be. However, the new company, like their old provider, is a separate business that will certainly be charging more than an auction house itself. More info when I get it.
THE ITEMS
OK, so enough on the high cost of this auction. Let's talk about the items themselves now. 256 items in this auction. A small auction. But even smaller because only 39 are props and costumes!
19 prop & costume pieces in the William Shatner sale
5 Lwaxana Troi costumes in the Roddenberry sale
17 props and costumes from the JJ movie.
WILLIAM SHATNER COLLECTION
The William Shatner collection items are mostly unremarkable costumes. There is a DS9 Bashir costume, and a TMP Class D jumpsuit and Class B shirt.The Bashir might bring $ 3,000, which is what it is worth. More than that, with the buyer's premium and shipping and this is way overpriced.
The Class D jumpsuit is a $ 1,000 item MAX. No rank or Enterprise badge and no boots.
The Class C would have gone in the $ 600-800 range at IAW. It is nice, but just a shirt and not complete. No pants!
Other than that, there is nothing much. It will be interesting to see if the second tier stuff does anything. The Jem Hadar is woefully incomplete as is the Tarlac.
As far as props go, there is the Enterprise E Turbo Lift schematic translite which is pretty cool.
THE RODDENBERRY ESTATE SALE
Overall, this is an estate sale pure and simple. I find a few lots interesting, but these are not props and costumes, but memorabilia. And I doubt most of this will hold its value. Gene Roddenberry is certainly the man when it comes to Star Trek. We all owe him a lot, and sure I would get a kick out of a business card of such. But the replica phasers and fan art? Not very interesting. But the furniture and fixtures and for a different audience.There are 5 really nice 5 Lwaxana Troi costumes from TNG and DS9 here. If you like the character, these are nice, but how high can they go? They are probably $ 2,000 costumes. They are certainly very nice and I am sure well made! I mean they were for Mrs. Roddenberry! I doubt Robert Blackman skimped on these. They will display well on mannequins as in the photos.
THE JJ MOVIE ITEMS
I have reviewed all of this before. You can read all of my reviews here.
Now you have to be careful here. While the Spock parka is nice and will probably be the high item in the auction, most of the rest of the items are not unique. The only rarity now is that these items have not been released yet. Once JJ is done with his next two movies, and the assets are released for sale (and that will happen) the rarity of items like cadet uniforms will vanish.
I don't expect any good buys in this portion of the auction. Emotion will overrule common sense and we could see some crazy prices. I warn you all to be smart here and don't go overboard. I will be at the auction and try and post live while the auction is going on.
Alec