Very sad but true declaration there Timothy!

What is weird though now Timothy, is I never see Americans buying any imported prints these days, only selling their collections????

Perhaps Alan could enlighten us all here?

I buy what appeals to me and since my tastes run on the eccentric side, that will include everything from obscure animated shorts to educational films. The latter sell very cheaply as no one really wants them anymore. As Tim pointed out finding films locally is near impossible and most projectors I run across are old and very tired Standard 8 machines.

Andrew,
Are you saying that you see few Americans buying from sellers overseas? Just wondering if you could clarify

That is sad David, "The Raven" being my favourite Corman/Poe film, I mean, Karloff, Price, Lorre, Nicholson and Hazel Court, what's
not to like? A sad day for those prints though.

I've only bought prints from the UK twice. They were each 400' reels and shipping to the US each time was roughly 20 American dollars. It's risky because if the film turns out to be a disappointment, it's hard to justify paying another $20 to send it back to the seller when the reel itself was purchased inexpensively.

Thank you Doug, for your input. He and I live 4 to 5 hours apart and I'm sure that we have each covered a lot of ground between us looking for film related stuff. I'm sure much of what pops up on eBay for us was found at an estate or someone's attic/basement. The US is, for the most part, a throwaway society. So much of the stuff we are collecting was probably buried in a landfill YEARS ago along with 8-track tapes, cassettes and VHS. Phonograph records seems to be the only medium that has escaped much of that from what I've seen.

Hugh yes sad it is . THE RAVEN had lovely colour and was in Scope.
Oh well never mind I suppose in future I will now have to view it on " the unmentionables" via my
Panasonic Video projector from now on in order to see it on a big screen....SIGH !!!!

Tim, I only hope purchases from this side of the pond are good ones, you can ask the seller or distributor to check it for you, remember
when paid through credit card or PayPay, you are covered.
David, I would be crying into the pillow still, I still have the Robert Kingston catalogue that distributed these films on 16mm, one of my "Bibles" when I couldn't even have paid a hire fee on a weeks wage, happy days my arse.

They're a nice unit to view it on though David, if that is the only option!

What panny model is it David?
I too, am a very big fan of these from having my first from the brand, beginning with the AE 900.

Sorry Douglas, I've only just read your question here from a few posts back.

What I was saying was, there was a time a few years back now and especially when Derann issued their used lists, that often here in the UK, you were beaten somehow to the most desirable prints on the list. I heard repeatedly, that the prints were generally all being purchased by overseas collectors. Not necessarily Americans per se, but people outside these shores, for certain.
Over the years, it has become evident to my eyes that many, did indeed get sent to the U.S.
While there appear to be an increasing amount of films being sold by U.S. collectors these days, I would be interested in knowing how many collectors from the U.S. still regularly buy prints being sold here in the UK or Europe in general, be it from dealers or even e bay and the forums.

Looking at the activities over on the other forum, most prints that are being sold by someone in Europe, tend now, to be purchased by Europeans, so I was just wondering if this hobby has lost some of its appeal to collectors from the US in recent years?

Hi Andrew, I can't speak for my friends over the Atlantic, but I sold many prints to them myself when a member of the 8mm forum,
it became a feeding frenzy on certain prints.

Yes that really doesn't surprise me Hugh. I spoke to Ian some time ago now and he was saying then, when he was selling a particularly tasty lot of top features at the time, they were all going abroad. It was the same story with the projectors he had at the time.

The prices he was being offered at the time, were simply too far out of reach for me to get anywhere near them at the time.

Andrew... it is the early Panny 700E I am still using. I am more that pleased with it.
I have never had a problem with it or changed the lamp which goes to show
how much use it gets. Around 10 years old now I think. hahahahaha !!!

Hugh I too have my KINGSTON HIRE CATALOGUES . As you say they are indeed "Bibles".
I too could not afford the hire fees at the time I got them. However it was good to dream
and read the film synopsis of each title while imagining how they would look on your home
screen. Ahhhhhh !!! the Nostalgia of it all.

Hi Dave, the "panny" is for our Andrew, but on the subject of catalogues, I used to browse the 16mm and drool, I was on the verge
of junking 8mm at one point, I wanted "One Million Years B.C." , I was sick of being asked "Where has poor mickey gone" or the antics
of the" Man on the Eiffel Tower", I was on the verge of buying one of the old GB machines, then about £55.00. I thankfully held rank,
which had me well chuffed "One Million Years B.C." was being put out as a 200' b/w silent, which was in fact a col/ snd 200'. My faith and I think countless letters, to these distributors like Starline, Mountain, Peak Films etc, paid off, postage was cheaper then, but one got tired of the "no plans for the future" brigade, well done Walton!!!

I will only buy films I really like or think I would like to see on the Big Screen! :)
I do purchase overseas often. I have gotten a great print from Hugh (Thanks! Still watch it!), a few from Kevin F., and of course all the Derann films came from the UK. Oh and I purchased a bunch of Disneys from the UK, Mary Poppins...in fact most of my prints came from overseas now that I think about it.
I only sell a print when I need to get another print and than I go into the film library (closet!) and then see what I haven't watched in forever. For me that was "Wizard of Oz", "Lady and the Tramp", "Independence Day", etc. But I picked it up "Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind" feature and few others.
I won't purchase a film if I don't like it even though i have heard its a stellar print. Like "Supergirl". I have heard its really good quality but the film is terrible. Same with the "End of Days". I just can't do it. Also if a print is faded I will just never watch it. Or soft focus i.e.; "The Little Mermaid". I only have a few faded prints that I have kept. "Superman" feature in Optical is one of them.
One film that I watch every 3 years or more is "Gone with the Wind". It just looks SO good that I can't part with it. And the one print that I have watched a lot? "Star Wars" feature and also the 600ft 'Muppet Movie " cutdown.

Hugh I wrote to some of the 8mm Distributors too with a list of suggestions I
wanted to see released. Unfortunately it fell on deaf ears with not even the
courtesy of a reply.