I don't have a dog in the fight being stuck here in the Midwest but have been to the Philly show a couple times years ago when it was Ft. Washington and have been to a bunch of Hunt Auctions here in Louisville and in Philly area. $600-$700 for a 10x10 booth is STRONG dinero.....that's getting close to National type money.....okay, maybe less than that but much more than your run of the mill show. Plus the $8/day is pretty strong too. Guess it's Philly and I'm sure the venue is pricey. Unfortunately, ALL shows suffer as a result of economy, ebay, etc. There are NO decent shows in this area when there used to be TONS of shows. I used to to 6-8 shows a year and quit in 1995. Coincidentally, that was about the same time ebay popped up. As they've grown the shows have declined a similar amount. I'm not sure at $700 for a 10x10 booth at $8/day I could see someone losing money on a show if they had a decent amount of dealers and attendees but those autograph guests can suck the profits right out of a show too depending on ticket sales. Anyway, part of all of it is the ever-changing market and how we buy/sell collectibles. The exclusionary thing is just a little noggin-scratching though. As a promoter, I could see they'd want to protect their turf, even though they bought their turf a couple years ago after someone had run it successfully for many many years. At least you all have shows up there to have to gripe about! Hopefully it all works out one way or the other......
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