I just wanted to let you know that the first of Palladium's Art and Collectibles auction is up, and the clock ticking.
There are a number of things I think people will enjoy, including Robotech and TMNT miniatures, Robotech video tapes, back issues of the Rifter, proofreader copies of books, some original Kevin Long, Wayne Breaux and Kevin Siembieda artwork, posters, prints, a RiftsworkZ portofio, some toys, and a bunch of other cool stuff. 38 items in all.
http://stores.ebay.com/kevinstoys-artan ... idZ2QQtZkm
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I've already amassed a bunch of art and items for the next two auctions as well. Each will have mostly different articles offered for sale. All fun.
So take a look at it, tell your friends and buy what looks appealing to you.
Doing the auction and getting the Robotech license back has made me a bit nostalgic.
I had momentarily forgotten that Palladium Books was the very first company to make Robotech II: The Sentinels, Southern Cross and New Generation available uncut on VHS videotape. The very first! In fact, we helped give birth to the blossoming anime market. We got the rights via a sublicense through LIVE Entertainment. LIVE called us out of the blue and said something like, "You guys are doing such a great job with the role-playing games, would you like to do the videotapes too?" I was flabbergasted. LIVE felt the market was too niche for them and that they didn't really understand the fan market like Palladium did. Both true. So LIVE continued to sell Macross and Palladium did all the rest.
The memories all came flooding back as I looked through my old Robotech collection and put a set of the videotapes up in the auction. I love our packaging, the Kevin Long art, and all the rest. Those were the days.
The Robotech 1990 VHS tapes . . .
I remember Maryann being so nervous about the license because it cost a heap of money (even though LIVE gave us a great deal on it). Then it cost a bundle to produce the tapes (we went high quality, not sweat shop). I remember her saying, "It's your call Kev. Sink or swim, it's all on you." Which was odd, because she was totally behind getting Robotech for RPGs.
Indeed, the idea of anime was so new that distributors were afraid to try selling the VHS tapes. They kept asking, "How do you know Robotech fans want the show on VHS? They can see it for free on TV. Besides, we aren't set up to handle the sale of videotapes. We're game distributors" But I knew the market was out there.
Our initial sales to distributors were 26 copies! Seeming to give credence to Maryann's deep rooted concerns. So I called up the three distributors (out of our 72, back in the day) and told them we decided to sell the tapes via mail order only. They said okay, Maryann was sure I had invested in a dog, and I just changed our approach, putting ads out in Dragon Magazine and going entirely mail order.
As you might have guessed, orders poured in. Within four weeks we had the same distributors who "weren't set up for videotapes" calling us up and begging for them! (Robotech II: The Sentinels was our initial release.) It was hilarious, because they kept saying, "Kev, I can't believe you cut us out of the sale of the videotapes." And I'd say, "Um, but you didn't want them. You said you didn't think there was a market for them and you weren't set up to sell tapes." And the distributors said, "That was before we realized there was such a huge demand for them. We have stores screaming for the darn things. You should have told us." And I'd say, "But I did tell you that." And the distributors said, "You should have made us believe it." Long story short, we quickly made the tapes available through distribution channels, reduced the cost, and sold lots and lots of them, made lots and lots of Robotech fans happy and Palladium made piles of money. Ah, the good ol' 1990s -- boy oh boy did Palladium do well in the 1990s, actually 1987 till about 1998 were boom years.
Anyway, enough tripping down memory lane. This was supposed to have been a short Murmur. I have work to do. Oh, and please, take a look at the Palladium Auction.
Sincerely,
Kevin Siembieda
Publisher, Writer, Artist, and Robotech-Maniac
Copyright September 29, 2007 Palladium Books Inc. All rights reserved.
Robotech is a Registered Trademark of Harmony Gold USA, Inc.