Offering Props

By Naperville Magazine
October 2024 View more Shop

By Jeff Banowetz

Naperville company VIP Fan Auctions offers chances to take home pieces of Hollywood history

It turns out you didn’t have to work at Dunder Mifflin to take home a Dundie Award. You just had to be the highest bidder.

The statuette from NBC’s The Office—fans will remember the trophy features a businessman standing with a briefcase—is just one example of the Hollywood memorabilia that has passed through the virtual doors at VIP Fan Auctions (vipfanauctions.com), a Naperville business that has grown into one of the country’s biggest distributors of clothing and props used in the making of movies and television shows.

VIP hosts auctions online, usually over a period of about two weeks, in which participants can bid on items from a specific film or series. Winners of past auctions have bought the robe that Michael B. Jordan wore in the boxing ring for the movie Creed III ($10,937), a sica sword from the first season of Starz’s Spartacus ($8,100), and the Segway that Will Arnett’s character GOB zipped around on in the sitcom Arrested Development ($7,700). While those high-priced items may grab your attention, they are a bit out of the ordinary.

“We start most of our auctions at $49.95,” says David Kaminky, senior vice president of global operations. “Sometimes the bidding can get out of control, but we try very hard to make it so that fans of all levels can participate.”

The company was founded in 1995 by David’s father, Mark, before most people had even heard of the internet. At the time, he was working in publishing before he founded Cinescape, which produced licensed magazines for shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The X-Files, and Dawson’s Creek. “The fans of these shows were passionate about them,” Mark Kaminky says. “So in addition to these publications, our company started to get into e-commerce and offered officially licensed merchandise for them, which got a very strong fan response.”

After successfully selling things like mouse pads and coffee mugs, Kaminky thought there might be a market for “something worn by one of their favorite actors or used in a favorite scene.”

He already had built relationships with the studios, so by 2007 he decided to begin exclusively selling props, costumes, and other memorabilia from these popular shows.

“Everyone always asks, ‘How do I know this is real?’ It’s a very important question,” Mark says. “Because of our relationships with the studios, we’re able to document every step of the process to be sure what we’re selling is authentic.”

It really is the real deal.

“We’re working directly with the costume department, with the props department, and getting the things packaged from them,” David says. “We take screen grabs to match [the item] to the correct scene. It’s hard work, but it’s necessary to make sure we always get it right.”

The increased interest in memorabilia has prompted more studios to get involved in the process. “I think for them, it’s largely about finding a way to reward the fans of their shows or movies,” David says. “It keeps people involved and engaged. There’s a revenue portion for them, of course, but that’s not a big part of their bottom line. It’s more about serving this community that really supports them and brings attention to the show.”

While Naperville isn’t the first place you’d expect to find a Hollywood connection, the Midwest location hasn’t slowed them down at all. “When we initially started doing licensed merchandise, our location wasn’t a factor,” Mark says. “I was born and raised here and love Naperville, so I never considered moving. The wonderful thing that happened is that films began being produced worldwide. So while L.A. may be the hub, it’s just one of 50 locations where people are shooting. So our location isn’t that important.”

The company has forged strong industry ties. “We’ve worked with some of these studios for decades,” Mark says. “Those trusting relationships are what’s important. Being centrally located in the U.S. has actually become a benefit.”

While the science fiction and horror genres tend to draw the most avid collectors—and a quick glance at the most expensive items sold backs this up—VIP has worked with studios on everything from rom-coms to police procedurals.

“You never know what’s going to hit,” David says. “It only takes two people who want something to drive up the bidding.”

Photos: VIP Fan Auctions