Abacus Costumes & Props, which took over the business and inventory of the company formerly known as Backlot Props, is holding a public auction to liquidate its assets. Today I am in receipt of an e-mail proclaiming “Closing its Doors!” and “Everything Must Be Sold!”.
Leading up to and following the closure of Backlot Props, I had been contacted by several parties outside of the field asking questions about the dealer and its business, as it seemed a variety of individuals were exploring the opportunity to buy it some time ago.
I had a few pleasant conversations with one of the principals of Abacus Costumes & Props last year, and they did appear very enthusiastic about the company and its future, so it is unfortunate to see that they are winding down the business.
Below is the marketing piece sent to me via e-mail describing the liquidation auction event:
A similar flyer can be downloaded directly from the Tiger Remarketing Services website: LINK
Currently, there are 476 lots comprising what is characterized as a “partial lot catalog”, with a note than “over 1,000″ additional lots” are being added over the next 24 hours. It appears that items have minimum bids of $1.
Full sale event details and the online catalog can be found at the Tiger website at www.tigergroupllc.com:
The site states that bidding closes Tuesday, April 12. The location is in Chatsworth, California, with two preview days – April 9th and April 11th from 10am to 4pm. The details also state, “By Order of Secured Creditor”.
While the auction catalog details would indicate this sale will include approximately 1,500 lots, the marketing for Abacus states “OVER 500,000 Quality Costumes, Props & Weaponry”, so it will be interested to monitor to see if there is an ongoing liquidation, as we saw with 20th Century Props.
Abacus (and Backlot Props before it) were known as one of the dealers that obtained material from direct/studio sources. In this case, much of the material is from Warner Bros. films, and the promotional site for the auction lists the following:
Angels & Demons, The Matrix Trilogy, Alexander, Camelot, Hidalgo, The Patriot, Poseidon, The Last Samurai, The Other Boleyn Girl, Adventureland, Last Starfighte, Babylon V, Gangs of New York, Crusade, Domolition Man, Star Trek Enterprise, Star Trek 1st Generation, Star Trek Next Generation, Krull, Alien 3, Year One, Scooby Doo, Ella Enchanted, The Santa Clause, Mr. 3000, The Rookie, Game Plan, Remember the Titans, Greatest Game Ever Played, Miracle, Invincible, Hannah Montana Movie, Oceans 13, The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Sky High, V for Vendetta, Beerfest and Many Others…
Of note, the auctioneer is outsourcing shipping of items won in the sale for out of the area bidding participants, and they provide a list of third party shipping companies on their site (LINK). There is also a 15% buyer’s premium plus sales tax, according to the auction terms.
It will be interesting to see how the current global economic climate continues to impact the hobby at large, as it would seem that there is less and less of a demand for and interest in material that is not “hero”, “iconic”, from the most popular films and television programs, and/or associated directly with use by principals and stars. Of course, over the past several years, more and more material has been offered into the marketplace from a wide variety of sources. A coupling of the depressed economy and a marked increase in availability of original memorabilia assets to purchase, along with the constant trend of many hobbyists generally gravitating toward more prominent (i.e. more rare and expensive) pieces will likely continue to reveal a pattern of the lesser material becoming more and more prevalent, and of lesser value.
Jason DeBord