Where have all the collectors gone?

FatMan

Over the past five years I have seen the attendance at the local and regional shows slow to a drip. The majors still draw collectors but the others look more like dealer only shows. In just the past month I have attended the Georgia State Show, the Alabama State Show, and today stopped by the Blue Ridge Show. You could swing a dead cat in the aisles of all three and never hit a sole. Yet the dealers tell me business is good.

What's it like in your region. And what should we read into this?

JRocco

Hey Fats,
We have a local show in the Albany, NY area the first Sunday of every month. My guess would be that we have about 50-60 tables set up and for the first 2-3 hours there are times when you have to stand 2-3 deep to even look at some of the display cases.
I would say the local show here is going strong---too strong

I only make it to 4-5 shows a year, but they do not look like they are slowing down to me.

dizzyfoxx

I went to the Fremont, CA show today and although the show itself was quite small, there sure were a lot of collectors there. I guess some 'hit' and some don't.
I'm sure the internet has a lot to do with the reduction of attendance at coin shows. This seems to be the consensus within many different hobbies.

MrEureka

What is this thing you refer to as "collector"?

RYK

I think summer shows are problematic for some people, with children out of school and having to be accounted for, people on non-coin related vacations, and the ANA looming for the big collectors. Also, today was Saturday, and we all know how much the dealers say they like to be at shows on Saturday. Perhaps, collectors have gotten the message and are also staying away.

Enough excuses. The internet has indeed influenced how we collect coins, and the success of auction venues from ebay to Heritage to ANR have made it coin show time whenever you want it to be. If you live in central Tennessee, 10 years ago the Dalton coin show might have been your only access to a varied selection quality rare coins. Now, you have a smorgasbord of coins at your fingertips 24/7. Why bother driving three hours each way and killing the weekend day?

DaveG

Even the crowd at the usually very crowded First-Sunday-of-the-month Parsippany, NJ show thins out in the Summer.

I don't usually go to the July show, but I'll be at the August show next week and I'll be able to report whether the crowd is as thin as it was last August.

Fletcher

<< <i>I went to the Fremont, CA show today and although the show itself was quite small, there sure were a lot of collectors there. I guess some 'hit' and some don't.
I'm sure the internet has a lot to do with the reduction of attendance at coin shows. This seems to be the consensus within many different hobbies. >>



I was there too ... sure were a bunch o' people. Would have liked to have met you! Picked up some nice type for the Dansco

MrEureka

You could swing a dead cat in the aisles of all three and never hit a sole.

Of course a live cat would find the sole in a heartbeat.

FatMan

<< <i>Of course a live cat would find the sole in a heartbeat. >>

I didn't see any fish either. But sharks were everywhere.

ElmerFusterpuck

I normally go to the small shows here in San Antonio and they are packed most of the time. Sometimes you find something really good, more often you see guys trying to sell polished Walkers as MS-63. Take the bad with the good I guess.

Anyone going to the San Antonio show tomorrow???

Leiana

I thought the GNA show was pretty good, it was only my second show, though. I liked the exhibits.

-Amanda

FatMan

<< <i>I thought the GNA show was pretty good, it was only my second show, though. I liked the exhibits. >>

The GNA is a great show. The organizers do a super job and the facility is excellent. The Alabama and BRNA shows are well done too. I recommend them to all collectors within a 4 hour drive.

rsdoug81

I just moved to MS from LA, and I'm hoping that Mississippi actually has decent shows. I knew of two shows in southeastern LA...and one was in New Orleans. The other was an annual coin club show. Neither was very impressive.

clw54

The monthly Anaheim shows are crowded. So was the San Diego show last weekend.

FatMan

Good to hear that in other regions the collector is alive and well at shows. There is an excitement to the buzz of a well attended show and I miss it. Around these parts dealers are getting much more chair time than collector interaction. Can't wait to get to Denver to hear the buzz again.