This blog is a continuation of our 2010 Predictions Part 1…

3) There will be a continued focus on condition! In every collectibles market, there is a focus on condition, or state of preservation. Condition, combined with rare and in pristine Mint Condition. In every collectibles market there will always be people who want to buy the best. Mint Condition posters always enjoy top demand and are available in the smallest supply. In contrast, run of the mill damaged posters are always readily available. If you wanted to locate early damaged posters, you don’t have to work very hard. If you want to accumulate a select group of early pieces in Mint Condition, you are embarking on a project that will take you years. As in everything in life, the effort put in will determine the results you get out. The choice is up to you!

4) There will be a new appreciation of scarcity! Some collectors, particularly new ones, do not fully understand how difficult it is to locate Classic 1960’s Concert Posters in Mint Condition. There are some firms on the Internet that list every piece ever issued for sale, and many ARE available in Mint Condition. Just not the right ones! The posters that are available in Mint Condition are the later issues, BG and FD series after #30 and other venues after 1969. You won’t find this out until AFTER you order. The desirable issues, the ones that we recommend in our free report, “Insider Secrets of The Psychedelic Art Market” have long been snapped up by savvy collectors years ago. If you have not downloaded this free report, do it now. We reveal what posters are most in demand and are offered in non existent supply. These are the pieces that are being acquired the moment they hit the market, the pieces you want for your collection.

To be Continued…….

As we embark on a New Year, I thought I’d put down on paper my predictions for 2010.

1) Tangible Assets Continue to Be Hot! With interest rates below 2%, and inflation running higher than what can be earned risk-free, there is very little incentive to leave your money in a bank CD. Every day, money left in the bank will shrink instead of grow. The interesting paradox is that more traditional forms of investment such as stocks and real estate are still in the midst of correcting in price. There is a general consensus that what can be bought in these two arenas today will cost you even less in a year’s time! This is why the value of tangible assets (gold, commodities, diamonds, collectibles) continue to increase. People with excess funds want to have something real and secure instead of a “lottery ticket” that dances around in price on a moment to moment basis and whose value can completely evaporate without warning. Count on this trend continuing in 2010!

2) The Interest in Classic 1960’s Concert Posters Will Continue To Grow! The “perfect storm” that characterizes the Classic Psychedelic Concert Poster Market is no longer a secret. Collectors around the world understand that these incredible works of art have a long list of positive attributes…incredible low original issue numbers, a worldwide demand, unsurpassed historical importance, amazing beauty, ridiculously low values compared to other collectibles and a tremendous scarcity of pieces in Mint Condition all combine to offer what many believe is the most lucrative collectibles opportunity of the past 30 years! Look for this exciting market to continue to grow over the next 12 months as more new buyers enter the field, and existing collectors aggressively plan to upgrade their holdings to maximize the opportunity they have already identified!

To be continued……

We get frequent calls and emails about how to best go about grading concert posters. PAE has a secret weapon, what we call “The Table of Death!”

Every poster that we authenticate is first carefully screened in its entirety by black light to detect if any restoration has occurred, is measured for proper paper thickness with a micrometer and then measured for dimensions using a special ruler that is calibrated to 1/64 of an inch.

Once these initial steps are performed, the poster is immediately transferred to The Table of Death. The Table of Death got its name, because it has killed off countless number of posters that at first (and second, and third) glance appear to be in Mint condition.

The Table of Death is in front of a 20 foot high by 20 foot wide picture window with a southern exposure to the Wasatch Mountains in Park City, Utah. The natural sunlight is incredibly intense and when posters are held up to the window, every conceivable imperfection and flaw immediately reveals itself! It is these minuscule imperfections that are then measured to come up with a final grade for the poster.

While this process is extremely time consuming and labor intensive, it is in fact a point of pride and a labor of love. We have received dozens of posters from other dealers that were represented to us as “Mint” that turned out to have repaired tears, tape pulls, filled in pin holes, regular pinholes, small tears and many other problems too numerous to mention.

When clients call us raving about the consistency and conservative nature of our grading, this is our reward. We work with collectors who care and they appreciate that we care. Together we all enjoy participating in the most exciting collectibles opportunity in the marketplace today.

Hopefully this headline has caught your attention as regular readers of this blog know that Psychedelic Art Exchange abhors this strategy. BUT…if you are looking for cool artwork, and artwork alone…this is by far your best collecting strategy! Why? Because second and third printings are literally available by the MILLIONS! They are not rare at all, they have no historical significance, enjoy virtually zero demand, can be located with no effort and are extremely CHEAP in price… and in every other respect!

Why would I want to waste my time with posters like that? You are probably (hopefully) asking yourself. Because YOU, as a SERIOUS COLLECTOR, want THE REAL THING! YOU want posters that MEAN SOMETHING, posters that are ORIGINAL, posters that are SOUGHT AFTER AND RARE, posters that are increasingly MORE DESIRABLE with each passing year, posters and a collection that YOU ARE PROUD OF!

If this describes you, if this is how you already feel, then you need to extend this feeling to the subject of condition. The same collectors that value authenticity and originality also value pristine condition for all the same reasons and instincts. People want the ORIGINAL because original is authentic and real and rare and desirable and sought after. And the few remaining MINT condition pieces from the 1960’s era are more of all the traits listed above. Run of the mill copies (or restored) are far easier to locate and in far less demand with far less eye appeal.

So as we enter 2010 take a hard look at your collection. Resolve to upgrade your collection if an opportunity presents itself to do so. Trim your holdings that don’t make you proud. Let your heart and your collector instincts be your guide.

Glen and I would like to thank all of the bidders who participated in our just completed Classic San Francisco Concert Poster Auction. We received bids from all over the world and your enthusiasm for fresh, Mint condition material was truly more than we expected.

2010 is sure to be the most exciting year ever for collectors of Mint Condition 1960’s Psychedelic Concert Posters. The concept of Certified Authentication and Grading is being embraced in the marketplace, the True Rarity of Mint Condition material is becoming increasingly understood and appreciated by collectors, sophisticated money is moving into the market and Mainstream America continues to show a growing fascination with the unsurpassed beauty and historical significance of these artworks. And the era they came from.

Whether you are buying or selling, please contact us so that we can help you achieve your collecting goals.

If you are looking to acquire extremely early Fillmore Auditorium and Avalon Ballroom posters in Mint condition, you still have 24 hours to participate in our Classic San Francisco Sale.

The auction will end Friday, December 18th at 2:00pm est. and features a wonderful selection of very FRESH material. These posters are all but impossible to locate in the condition offered and are not readily available …once they are sold, we cannot easily replace them. Each poster is PAE Certified and Graded and is backed by the strongest guarantees available anywhere.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call Mr. Glen Trosch at 410-464-6180. Good luck in the sale!!

Just a quick reminder that you only have 4 more days to bid in The Classic San Francisco Sale. This auction features a select group of ultra fresh, Mint posters from the very early days in 1966 of The Fillmore Auditorium and The Avalon Ballroom. Each poster is PAE authenticated and Graded and is backed by the strongest guarantees available anywhere. If you have any questions about any of the lots, please do not hesitate to call Mr. Glen Trosch at 410-464-6180 for more details. Good luck in the sale!

There are several common traits that are shared among the world’s most successful collectors. One of them is the practice of continually and relentlessly upgrading the material in your collection. Upgrading gives you maximum results for minimal investment. Let me explain.

There is no question that owning the highest quality material is the way to go for the long haul. When you buy the best, you own something that becomes increasingly more desirable with each passing year. When you own the ordinary and run-of-the-mill, you will always own something that elicits a big yawn when it is offered for public sale.

With this knowledge, it is critical that you scrutinize the posters in you collection and selectively weed out the least desirable material and replace it with top of the line pieces. The proceeds you receive form the sub-par items can now be re-deployed into items that will bring you a lot more satisfaction in the years ahead.

Carefully review the pieces you own and replace the ones that don’t immediately touch a special place in your heart. We all take a lot of pride of ownership in our collections, it is immensely satisfying to own pieces that are beautiful, rare, historically important and in pristine Mint Condition.

By making sure every piece you own meets this strict criteria, you are guaranteeing that you will always be enthusiastic about collecting and you can be assured that this wonderful hobby will bring you even greater satisfaction with each passing

You may now bid on lots in The Classic San Francisco Sale—what we believe is one of the most important selections of MINT posters to be offered at public auction in quite some time.

This auction features a beautiful collection of early posters from the two most famous and sought after ballrooms, Bill Graham’s Fillmore Auditorium and The Family Dog’s Avalon Ballroom.

Each poster offered is an Original First Printing in MINT condition and is a “targeted acquisition” as outlined in our special report “Insider Secrets of the Psychedelic Art Market”.

And unlike other sales, each and every piece offered has been PAE Certified , Authenticated and Graded and is backed by the strongest guarantees available anywhere.

Psychedelic Art Exchange is pleased to offer you the ultimate in security and protection so you can confidently participate in the hottest collectibles market in the world today!

You may browse the lots without registering, but you must register to bid.

Be sure to click on the thumbnail of each lot to gain a greater appreciation for how beautiful and eye appealing each piece is.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call Glen Trosch at 410-464-6180.

The auction ends on Friday, December 18th, 2009 at noon est.

Good luck in the sale!

Being a dealer in Classic 1960’s Psychedelic Concert Posters is a rewarding and fun endeavor on many levels. We get to meet lots of interesting people that were around “back in the day”, we get to discuss and work with material that is directly connected to musical artists we’re intensely passionate about and the posters practically sell themselves once someone fully understands how beautiful, rare and historically important this artwork is.

Our biggest frustration is that there is no way to fully show a “newbie” how awesome these pieces are without getting the actual artwork in their hands! Small images posted on a website do not even come close to the experience of holding this history in your hands.

In person, this artwork literally comes to life and takes your breath away. The posters are look, feel and smell old. Ask any collector, and they will tell you this is so! That’s why once someone finally decide to “test the water” and acquire their first piece, they end up catching “the bug” and building a collection.

So here’s two pieces of advice we give to every visitor of PAE.

1) If you think you are interested in these posters and are curious about them, remember that you take ZERO RISK when dealing with PAE. Every item we sell is backed by the strongest guarantees in the business and we’re not happy unless you are completely thrilled. Get this amazing artwork in your hands and decide for yourself. We don’t think you’ll be disappointed!

2) When viewing items in our store and auctions, be sure to click on each picture for a more accurate, enlarged, detailed view. While not perfect, and not close to the grandeur of the originals, these very large, full screen shots will give you a FAR better idea of the eye appeal and impact this artwork provides.