What the hobby is becoming

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by conor912

I attended my first show last weekend since 2019 and had some interesting observations. The lion's share of the inventories for the lion's share of the dealers was all within the last 5 years. While that's typically not what I collect, I have found some pockets of interest and spoke to many of these dealers. They were just about all in their 20's and 30's, and extremely nice, helpful, and enthusiastic. I had a nice interaction/conversation with each and every one. The energy in the room was great, someone had music playing, and I had more fun than I have in a long time at a show, even though I only left having only spent 20 bucks.

....then there were a few old guy dealers selling vintage, just sitting there with no one at their tables, arms crossed, looking curmudgeonly and completely unapproachable. In that environment, it was easy to pass them right over. It got me asking myself how on earth they could expect modern collectors to appreciate vintage with outward attitudes like that.

I'm tempted to say the old guy vintage dealers are just bored with it all, but there have been similar complaints practically since shows started 50 years ago. Question: What would you guess the % is between flippers and actual collectors among the younger crowd at recent shows?