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Well, it looks like Just Movie Posters.Com has attracted the attention of the media. It just goes to show that you can't keep a good thing secret for very long. Feel free to read the articles and see that others are learning what you already know:
If any of the links aren't working, please e-mail me. Enjoy.
From the Passenger Seat
Connections Weekly Feb. 23 - Mar. 1, 2005
Reprinted with permission of the Connections Weekly
Ilena Di Toro
"I designed the web site myself."
Ilena Di Toro has a car but prefers using mass transit. She doesn't have to worry about traffic and she saves money. She is a writer who knows a thing or two about persistence. Ilena has a BA in Journalism from Temple University, yet she did the Generation X thing of working at positions outside of her field of study.
The positions she worked in ranged from envelope stuffer to administrative assistant. "Some positions were great, such as working as an administrative assistant in a company that distributes impulse items to supermarkets," Ilena said, adding, "The owners let me have my pick of things like key chains and single dose medicines." Other jobs weren't so great. "Working as an envelope stuffer was mind numbing. A one-armed monkey could do that job, so I'm very glad I'm not at that company anymore."
She also learned along the way a thing or two more about persistence and improved her writing skills as a freelance writer. Her first break came while working at Temple University's student newspaper, The Temple News. She managed to get four articles published in The Temple News and three articles published in The Temple-Ambler Press. Ilena went on to write articles for The Bucks County Courier-Times, Metro, Montgomery Newspapers Ticket, Pennsylvania Magazine, South Philadelphia Review-Chronicle and other publications.
In between looking for a more rewarding job and writing, Ilena started an Internet-based business called: Just Movie Posters.Com. She established www.justmovieposters.com where she sells movie posters, of course. The site features posters from recent movies. Persistence plays a role in that as well, since she does everything from getting new posters to updating and promoting the site.
"I didn't employ any computer geeks," said Ilena. "I just figured out what I wanted and through trial and error. I designed the web site myself."
What led to her taking the dot com leap was selling her brother's childhood treasures, at his request, on Internet auction sites. The items sold well and she decided to try selling movie posters.
"After all, people love going to the movies," she said. "Who wouldn't want a poster from their favorite movie?" Ilena has had people from as far away as Australia buy a poster from her site. "Someone emailed me and requested Rock Around The Clock. I didn't have it in stock, but I was able to find a copy of the poster and sell it to him."
Still, when Ilena wants to get around, the choice is mass transit. Whether it's exploring Center City or going on buying trips, the train is her preferred mode of travel. It gets her to where she needs to go, without the stress that driving can cause. It's the one of the few times in her life where she doesn't have to exercise persistence.
Editor's Note: Want to see a great collection of movie posters? Visit Ilena's web site: www.justmovieposters.com. To contact her, just click on the email link at www.justmovieposters.com.
To learn more about the Connections Weekly go to www.connectionsweekly.com
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Nothing says "come and spend seven hard-earned bucks for a ticket, three bucks for a handful of popcorn and another two for a small soda" quite like a movie poster.
With any kind of patience, contemporary film buffs could spend less than half that much to go see the same picture at a second-run theater, or even less by waiting until it comes out on video and cable.
Yet, moviegoers continue to act on a seemingly irresistible urge to pay top dollar at the theater. Maybe it's because of the way their shoes stick to the spilled refreshments on the floor . . . or the way that rowdy group of kids in the front row seems to interrupt every key moment of the film.
Or, maybe, it's those attractive posters on the marquee.
At least, Bustleton resident Ilena Di Toro thinks so. In fact, she's looking to profit on them, too. Di Toro doesn't own a movie theater, but she has her own Web site. And on that site she's selling dozens of movie posters.
Di Toro has yet to make her fortune from www.justmovieposters.com, which is about 14 months old, but the Temple University graduate is earning plenty of experience in several valuable fields. She's leaning how to design Web pages, how to manage a small business, and how to promote a product to consumers.
"It's not like Field of Dreams, where you build it and they will come," Di Toro said, borrowing a line from the popular baseball movie starring Kevin Costner. "Like anything else, you have to work at it."
For her, the work started with a job to which all homeowners can relate, housecleaning. Di Toro's marketing career began when her brother moved out of the family's home, leaving a vast collection of childhood possessions behind.
"In the summer of 1999, my brother finally cleared out his room," Di Toro explained. "He got together all of his childhood doo-dads and he said, 'Ilena, we don't have time for a yard sale. Why don't you sell them on the Internet?'"
The array of items ranged from old Omni magazines to Grateful Dead concert T-shirts. Ilena posted the items on Amazon and E-bay. They sold well. The siblings split the profits. It didn't take long for Ilena to consider the possibilities.
"I thought that movie posters could sell, and I already had some," she said.
Di Toro doesn't describe herself as a movie fanatic, but she's a fan.
"I like going to the movies as much as the next person," she said. "My taste ranges mainly with the (traditional) Hollywood type (of films)."
Since going on-line with her site in January 2000, Di Toro has been visiting the theaters and video stores with much more frequency. Those are her primary sources of inventory. Her collection includes about 75 titles, with multiple copies of many titles.
The vast majority are current or recent films.
"If it's real old, the harder it is to look for," Di Toro said.
The posters sell for $15 apiece, plus shipping and handling. Orders can be placed through an e-mail link on the Web site.
Interest has been strong so far, with more than 7,300 "hits" on the Web site since its inception. Of course, most hits do not result in sales. But, Di Toro recognizes, every hit is a potential sale. So it's important to know her customers, keep the site fresh and respond to any questions.
"When I first started, it was mostly teenagers, teens being very Web-savvy," she said.
Di Toro is looking to reach the college set, too. She even advertises in Penn State's school newspaper.
"You know how in college all of the 'cool' folks had movie posters in their dorms," Di Toro said. "That's because you can't buy them in stores."
One group she has not tapped into is the collectors.
"Mostly, I get fans. Collectors want older movies, the classics," she said.
Lately, Di Toro has branched out with book covers and postcards -- movie-related, of course -- available on the Web site, despite the "just movie posters" name.
The beauty of the operation is that regardless of the commodity, the emergence of the World Wide Web has made selling easy and relatively inexpensive.
"Before, you would have to (buy) an ad. That isn't cheap," Di Toro said. "With the Internet, you can just enter a word or phrase. More times than not, you find what you're looking for."
In other words, it can work with any product, not "just movie posters."
"I was amazed in the things that some people bought," Di Toro said.
To learn more about the Northeast Times go to www.northeasttimes.com
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