raisinone wrote:
>--- In [email protected], "Mellon, Jay" <jay.mel...@...> wrote:
>
>
>>All,
>>
>>Here is my report of my experiences at the recent NASG convention in
>>Duluth. The usual caveats apply (not all inclusive).
>>
>><skip>
>>There were also two vendors who had a good selection of AF inventory,
>>but there seemed to be a low level of AF activity at this convention.
>>In general, there was a reduced presence of S vendors at this S
>>convention. Michigan Models, PortLines Hobbies, American Models, BTS,
>>and DesPlaines Hobbies were all absent.
>>
B.T.S. has not been to ANY conventions since 2007 so we are not snubbing
the S crowd. During those 2.5 years, we ( as in just Bill and Diane -
the entire B.T.S. staff ) built a new 1500 sqft office, remodeled a
house with new bath, kitchen, and flooring, built a six-rail wood fence
around an acre of land for the six-dog security team, moved the rest of
our stuff from Fl, moved an O scale loco company from KY, moved the
household and business from Elkins to the new place in Belington,
released 105 new kits ( at least 21 were in S ), shipped out over 5,000
kits, and have started an addition to the office to hold the new loco
mfgring area. Yea, we are a bit tired.
Since we actually make the bulk of what we sell, for us to attend a
convention in MN takes about two weeks away from production - five
driving days, four convention days, three packup days, and two unpack
days. Add four more days for driving if going to CA... so we will not
be there in 2011 either. Sorry if anyone is offended by our decisions,
but we have to do what is best for the business and making & shipping
product is the high priority.
> And the vendors there were less
>than happy about the lack of visitors present during rail tours.
>
(snip)
Yea, this has been an ongoing complaint of mine for years. When the
dealer room is advertised as open and we are advertised as being there,
we, the vendors, have an unspoken obligation to be in the room so we
miss a lot of the tours. The general attitude in the S world is just
'cover your table and go on the tour.' But the attendees that do not
go the tours, or have just one day to attend the convention, are greatly
disappointed when they show up when the room is advertised as 'open'
only to find that many vendors are not in the room and ugly old sheets
cover many tables. Other conventions and shows are more direct about it
- if you are not at your display during the posted open hours, you will
not be allowed back.
There are solutions to the problem. The National Narrow Gauge
Convention has vendor hours before noon and after 7PM. The dealer room
is closed during the afternoon so everyone can go on the tours, get
lunch, nap, etc. The National Train Show starts the day the NMRA ends
so no tours are going on during the big days at the NTS. The O Scale
Convention has the dealer room open during the day and tours at night.
I gave up trying to get this changed. For years, Diane and I would meet
with the folks for the next year's convention, explain to them the
issues, show them the narrow gauge schedule, get promises they would
consider it, and then have to put up with the same crappy hours the next
year. The one constant we heard was that the big AF dealers would not
come unless the dealer room was always open - but many times I saw these
same AF guys cover the tables and hit the tours... go figure! I think
the worst day we had was in Cleveland some years ago... the dealer room
opened at 0900, the tours left at 0830, they got back around 7PM, they
then went to dinner, and the bulk of them finally hit the room after
8PM. We closed the room at 10:30PM - one very long, boring day for
those of us behind the table. Some S conventions are better than
others with their efforts to minimize the empty dealer room, but
generally there is still a long way to go.
As it has been mentioned before, folks come to a convention with X
amount of dollars in their pockets. They will spend just about the same
amount if they have 40 hours or 10 hours of shopping time.
Take care
Bill
--
== Scale Model Railroad Products ==
== Manufacturer - Retailer - Importer ==
Bill & Diane Wade
B.T.S.
RR 1 Box 141A
Belington, WV 26250
Phone: 304-823-3729
FAX: 304-823-2901
http://www.btsrr.com
We wish you Fair Winds and Following Seas.
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