Good ideas, but...
I live in the Philadelphia area, so I definitely would like for this show to succeed!
I also agree that getting emails is not only a good idea, but a necessity - I check my email everyday, I dont read the paper every day. I also agree that the CSA website is horrendous - its hard to maneuver around the website and difficult to find information - user friendly is not a phrase that comes to mind.
Those are great ideas that will help get customers in the doors, but until some dealers start asking reasonable prices nothing will change in reference to sales.
Buyers are more educated than ever and many have smart phones. If you see a card you like (but are unfamiliar with) and want to know if the price being quoted by dealer is fair - you can search the card and completed listings on ebay and get a point of reference in about 3 minutes.
There is a reason that Barnes and Noble is going bankrupt and Amazon is thriving - its the same product for half the price and no travel (gas = $$$). In these economic times, price is more important than ever.
And I understand the overhead dealers have to cover, so they cannot match ebay prices (I also assume rarely are they purchasing cards at retail prices - so there is still a profit margin to be made by selling a card at retail prices); however, until the prices are more aligned with online prices (10-15% premium seems reasonable), I dont care how many people you get in the door - few people are going to be making purchases.
Just my opinion. Andy
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