What makes a great show?

[90feetaway]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

How about a quiet area for spouses and friends who aren't interested to hang out in comfort for a few hours and read a book?

+1
Also, as an attendee, autograph guests are sometimes a draw. I'd like to meet an unusual guest such as announcer or ESPN personality once in a while.

[Butch7999]

As collectors only, and bottom-feeding cheapskates at that...
A show should be:

Well advertised, well in advance. We realize print advertising can be expensive, but it costs nothing to notify collector websites and forums.

Accessible by a reasonably short drive, with decent parking.

A pleasant temperature in the venue. Most shows we've been to have been 130 degrees inside with 50% carbon dioxide.

Free or nominal admission. Anything else is a pig in a poke.

Vendors with a wide variety of stuff -- including non-card sports memorabilia -- presumably make a show attractive to a wider variety
and thereby larger number of customers.
Outside your control, really, but three things regarding vendors:
1) a decent attitude -- don't ignore customers, don't act condescending, don't give a hard-sell.
2) if a vendor doesn't have prices marked, we usually won't even stop at his table to look or ask.
3) if a vendor has only ludicrously, unrealistically high prices marked, we won't even stop at his table to look or haggle.

Free autograph signings can draw us in, but we realize that the expense of getting former stars to appear makes free autos unrealistic
for small shows. If you offer free signings, make it clear in your advertising that they're free. Just stating that this guy or these guys
are signing leaves everyone to assume it'll be 50 or 100 bucks a sig. Also outside your control: a decent attitude on the part of anybody signing.

[buymycards]

As a dealer, I come to the shows to sell. I sometimes price my cards a little high because I have found out that if I price a card at $30, someone will offer $15. If I price that same card at $15, someone will offer $7. So, I mark it up a little so I can work with customers and accept their offers. I don't get offended by offers, because when someone makes an offer, it shows they are interested in the card and we now have a starting point for negotiations.

Also, in regard to dealers bringing junk to the shows - we have one local show that is a great junk show. When I buy collections, I bring all of the junk and blow it out at this show. People know that I will show up with tons of 1990's inserts, tons of 5 cent and 10 cent 1980's star cards, and loads of junk commons. I blow them out and accept low offers just so I don't have to haul the junk back home and I do very well with them because of the large quantities. There are other shows in the area where people don't seem to be interested in buying the junk, so I bring better cards to those shows.

I also would like to see the show promoters do their best to promote the show. Put the show in the Beckett show calendar, in SCD, Craigslist, local internet sites, and a small ad in the sports section of the local newspaper. Develop an email list of customers and dealers by have them sign up when they enter the show.

[brian1961]

Originally Posted by Butch7999

As collectors only, and bottom-feeding cheapskates at that...
A show should be:

Well advertised, well in advance. We realize print advertising can be expensive, but it costs nothing to notify collector websites and forums.

Accessible by a reasonably short drive, with decent parking.

A pleasant temperature in the venue. Most shows we've been to have been 130 degrees inside with 50% carbon dioxide.

Free or nominal admission. Anything else is a pig in a poke.

Vendors with a wide variety of stuff -- including non-card sports memorabilia -- presumably make a show attractive to a wider variety
and thereby larger number of customers.
Outside your control, really, but three things regarding vendors:
1) a decent attitude -- don't ignore customers, don't act condescending, don't give a hard-sell.
2) if a vendor doesn't have prices marked, we usually won't even stop at his table to look or ask.
3) if a vendor has only ludicrously, unrealistically high prices marked, we won't even stop at his table to look or haggle.

Free autograph signings can draw us in, but we realize that the expense of getting former stars to appear makes free autos unrealistic
for small shows. If you offer free signings, make it clear in your advertising that they're free. Just stating that this guy or these guys
are signing leaves everyone to assume it'll be 50 or 100 bucks a sig. Also outside your control: a decent attitude on the part of anybody signing.

+3 ---Brian Powell