I have been going to CAPS since 2002, and always had a blast there. I didn't attend CAPS this year. My friend had too many obligations. Yes, the economy is bad for sellers because people are unsure about their finances. I did poorly at the Salem show, and the recent show in Seattle. I did buy some great things there. As I see it, I'm not in this hobby for the money. I just enjoy working on phonographs and listening to records. I sell at fair prices, and I am not going to give them away. I'll wait until the economy gets better and try again. Like so many others mentioned before, I go to these shows for the fellowship, gaining knowledge, and passing knowledge. If I sell something, fine. If not, oh well. At least I had a good time being among old friends and making new ones.
Harvey Kravitz ________________________________ From: Daniel Melvin <d...@old-phonographs.com> To: Antique Phonograph List <phono-l@oldcrank.org> Sent: Wed, August 18, 2010 9:15:57 AM Subject: Re: [Phono-L] CAPS I did not attend CAPS (even thought I did originaly plan to), but after reading the comments it appears to me that the expierience very much follows what was seen at the Union show in June. Tons of great stuff, some of it for terrific prices, but very little actually sold. It was a very slow show as far as selling went for many dealers. I really believe we are seeing the effects of the economy and fear of spending. I don't think it really had much at all to do with CAPS itself. I think it's just the way things are going right now and that it will turn around. So, it's been a slow year. That's all it is. It isn't an issue of the hobby or the shows that is keeping folks from buying. It's just fear of the unknown. My 2 cents... Dan On Wed, Aug 18, 2010 at 7:52 AM, DeeDee Blais <deedeebl...@yahoo.com> wrote: > I'm glad to have an open discussion about the sale and I think it's healthy. > The club did a great job. There were plenty of sellers providing a variety of > items at very good prices. It was simply a buyers market and buyers did not > open their billfolds very often. I thought attendance was OK and I'm glad to > read that it was a bit higher than last year. I noticed new faces late into the > sale. I did close a couple of sales but it was difficult and probably not >worth > the effort. The sale of my Edison Standard B (2 min only) was a good example. > I > paid $175 for the machine, refinished the case (decal & materials about $20 >plus > several hours effort), repaired the belt tensioner (another hour), disassembled > the top works to clean & oil (another hour), and provided a reproduction 14" > horn ($20). My out of pocket cost was $215 with at least five hours of labor. > I > sold it for $280 very late in the sale. I attempted to sell a Vic I for a >friend > and it was priced at $725. It had a nice original finish, the parts were all > original right down to the slotted crank and little brass bell horn. The nickel > finish on the old elbow and tone arm were not great but at $725, the machine > should have flown out of the sale. The price was prominently displayed but > buyers did not even make an offer. You can't close a sale if there's no sale. > Is there anyone on this list with a nice Vic 1 that they'd sell for that > amount? The buyers were just not buying. I'll be back next year and hope things > are better. Thanks to CAPS for a great effort and thanks to the vendors for a > good selection. Thanks to the buyers... well,thanks for nearly nothing! > > > > _______________________________________________ > Phono-L mailing list > http://phono-l.oldcrank.org > _______________________________________________ Phono-L mailing list http://phono-l.oldcrank.org _______________________________________________ Phono-L mailing list http://phono-l.oldcrank.org
