Truly pioneers in this art market for the past 15 years, the men behind online retailer and auction house ScreenUsed have been viewed by myself and many others as “collectors first”, as their passion for the artifacts that they’ve found, archived, and brought to market has always been quite evident if you’ve ever had the opportunity to talk with either of them in person or on the phone. These have always been two guys that love film and television, and have always been excited by the magic of holding something special from a favorite movie or TV show. Today, visitors to their famous website at www.ScreenUsed.com learned that they’ve decided to close up shop.
The announcement:
In addition to their online sales via their website, ScreenUsed launched their live auction business in 2012 and just earlier this year opened their SU Outlet store in Canoga Park.
In any event, I don’t know the reason behind their decisions, but I truly wish Desi and Jeff the best, and I hope that they will still be involved as collectors.
I came into the hobby around the same time that they launched ScreenUsed back in 2003, and I remember the excitement I had looking through the site at all of the amazing pieces that they had in their collections and up for sale.
I actually began my own original prop and costume collecting with the film Mystery Men. It wasn’t a successful film, so things could be had relatively cheap. Many of my first purchases were actually with ScreenUsed, and they were so helpful to this guy who was completely clueless about collecting at the time. They also sold me some of my coolest pieces early on as I moved on to more popular films.
I remember the first time I visited Desi’s house and seeing his personal collection. It was more impressive than anything I’d seen at public museums. It was remarkable. But not just the pieces, but the stories and histories of each that Desi would share as we went along. He had such a wealth of information about each and every piece. Research wasn’t a chore for him; quite the opposite.
So I am sad to see that this company will be no more. ScreenUsed is one of the very few companies that I would refer people to (to buy and consign) knowing that it would be a positive experience. Like I said, I hope the two gentlemen will still be around, but regardless, I will always hold them and their work and contributions to this art market in high regard.
Jason DeBord