Bill, I have a couple of questions for you. The guy that saves up $100 for his hobby probably can't afford to go to a convention anyway, but there are some that just can't afford the time commitment. You don't have to be AF to fall under either of these catagorys. These folks are also locals, because they wouldn't spend the time or money to travel accross country. Don't you think the conventions could be set up a little better as far as time management goes? I mean everything closes down so everyone can do the same thing at the same time. It's pretty wasteful for folks who don't want to do everything. Too much dead time. I couldn't agree more about a fee for attendees of the vendor hall for the reasons you mentioned. I also think it's short sighted not to allow the general public to see what's available. Do you think not having an open day to shop helps convention attendance, or does it just keep folks away completely who would have at least gotten their feet wet? There are as many ways to enjoy this hobby as there are hobbyists. As you said Bill, not better ways or worse, just different. The dealer hall is where they all come together, not conventions. I think one day for nothing but dealers would be a move in the right direction. Do everything else on the other days. I'd even do the clinics all on one day. One more question. What's the relavence of "By the time the doors open to the public I am probably busted and not buying anyway"? I assume convention attendees would not be charged admission to the dealer hall in any event. Ed Kozlowsky Sanford, Maine
--- On Mon, 12/29/08, Bill Lane <[email protected]> wrote: From: Bill Lane <[email protected]> Subject: {S-Scale List} let em in for free? To: "S Scale List" <[email protected]> Date: Monday, December 29, 2008, 6:59 AM Hi All, I agree that it is somewhat rare for the NASG convention to have a sale open to the public day. Those that do are the true marketeers that want to boost the bottom line. But once the "should we or should we not" decision has been made, does anyone here really believe that a $2-6.00 door fee will keep a possible newbie from attending? I most definitely do not... >From my limited experience selling for Downs Model Railroad in the pre Pennsy S Models days, I can tell you that the $5.00 at the door guy is NOT and probably never will be a convention attendee. He is a train BUYER. There is a very big difference here. He is most likely an American Flyer connoisseur. He shows up at the door with his hard earned saved $100.00. He pays his $5.00 at the door and walks out less then an hour later with his new $95.00 bounty of new (to him) trains without socially talking to others in the selling room. I have seen this happen MANY times. This even applies to train show guys as I have seen at the old Greenberg train shows. They come, they see, they buy, they leave. They are a different animal then most of us here. Not better or worse, just different. The convention planners that have this open sale day are smart because us regular convention attendees have hopefully already covered all the expenses related to the convention. The $5.00 a head is just stuffing the cash register.... . It really does not matter to me. I am there for the full ride. By the time the doors open to the public I am probably busted and not buying anyway. I mostly think the small door fee is a good thing. I am not saying it would stop someone if they have thievery on their mind, but it would stop someone with NO interest from wandering in. I consider it to be an "interest filter". Thank You, Bill Lane Modeling the Mighty Pennsy & PRSL in 1957 in S Scale since 1988 See my finished models at: http://www.lanestra ins.com Winner of the 2007 Josh Seltzer NASG Website Award Look at what has been made in PRR in S Scale! Custom Train Parts Design http://www.lanestra ins.com/SolidWor ks_Modeling. htm PRR Builders Photos Bought, Sold & Traded (Trading is MUCH preferred) http://www.lanestra ins.com/PRRphoto s.xls ***Join the PRR T&HS*** The other members are not ALL like me! http://www.prrths. com http://www.lanestra ins.com/PRRTHS_ Application. pdf Join the Pennsylvania Reading Seashore Lines Historical Society It's FREE to join! http://www.prslhs. com Preserving The Memory Of The PRSL [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[email protected] mailto:[email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
