VIEWS ON CARD/COIN SHOW ADMISSION CHARGE

BLUEJAYWAY

What are your feelings on this practice? Do you think it is a hinderence to the attendence for a show? I always felt a nominal fee,$2 or so was not that much of a deterent. But the $5 up charge may start to price people out just based on the principal of having to pay, not the fact that an attendee could'nt afford it. I guess if the venue has the material one is looking for, it matters not. Or if there is some form of an exhibit on display the fee can be justified as well. It just seems a bit odd that you have to pay an admission fee so you can spend your money. I don't think you will ever see the retail stores charging admission. I know the White Plains shows will include autos. in their admission and free packs to the kids, a nice touch. In a related view do the autograph stars impede a dealers sales? Does the high auto. fees deplete the available cash supply that might be otherwise spent amongst the dealers? And dealers knowing that that cash may primarily be spent on the auto. thereby discouraging dealers from even wanting to set up at that show.

mrmopar

My thought is that there are still holdouts from the 80s/90s when fees were common with many of the shows and people didn't bat an eye. I feel the same way as you though. I realize there is a cost to put on a show, but hopefully it's priced in such a way as to allow the promotor and dealers to m ale money without asking more of the buyers. If the promoter can't cover the show cost with the table fees, then maybe an admission is warranted. I can't see myself paying to get into a show anymore, not with ebay basically being a huge show that runs 24/7. Sure, the fun of the great find in the form of a hidden gem, or scrounging through dime, quarter or dollar boxes can't be replicated online. I guess if the $2-5 fee is worth it to have that fun, then why not.

esquiresports

No issue with it. Maybe $5 for adults and kids for free. Helps keep the dealer table costs down. I pay $2 to get in to my local swap meet. I've had to pay $20 to go to a fish/coral show. Seriously.

Griffins

We debated a admission charge for our SoCal show, and decided it took money away that would otherwise be spent at the dealer tables, and wasn't worth the hassle of having people at the door selling tickets and stamping hands for reentry. We'd rather have someone drop by just to look around and walk out with the start of a collection. Especially kids.

Sabrgeek

I'm coordinating (promoting) a show for our synagogue's men club (brotherhood) on March 9th. Since the room cost is negligable and I would say about almost all of our proceeds are going to the men's club -- what I did was say $1 suggested donation at thie door along with $1 each for extra door prize tickets and I do have some nice items already donated and am always looking for more.

If someone wants to attend and really puts up a complaint about the $1 cost we won't charge them BUT this is for a good cause. I wanted to guarantee some income for our men's club to go with the dealer tables.

But I will say there are two local shows I set up. One does not charge admission, uses a smaller room and I usually do very well at his show. The other uses a bigger room, charges admission including an "early bird" admission for more $ and I will find out the next show if this has an impact. Because of potential bad weather, the other time I set up is a mulligan as in DFW even the threat of ice is a bad thing.

I wil also say for my show, since the synagogue already has insurance, we're covered on that. But that is a tricky issue for sure. I think the future of shows is to find a nice non-profit venue where you might make less as a promoter but some of the other issues all go away. Cost of room, insurance, etc.


Rich

GoDodgersFan

I am fine with an admission charge. I go to the Chantilly VA show several times a year and 5.00 cover charge is fair. Big show with lots of tables and a great autograph line up.

magikbilly

$2? I remember paying $20 twenty years ago...and boy was it worth it

Eric

1954

If a person has a problem paying $5 for entrance into a show then perhaps they need to stay home and buy over the internet. Shows cost a pretty penny to put on due to insurance, advertising and rent. Many like attending shows to meet up with other collectors and to actually inspect cards before buying them. In my opinion the $5 is well worth the money to have more shows. I can't imagine not having card shows for our industry.

mknez

The local monthly hotel show here was recently cancelled because the hotel started to require the promoter to hold liability insurance. He did charge $1 to enter, but told me that with the insurance, it would be much more, or the table costs would go up. Instead of passing it on to the dealers, he just quit. Oh well, instead of one show a month, now there is only one every 3-4 months. I guess there is always ebay.

HeadsUp38

I don't typically have a problem with paying admission. I understand the costs involved. The National is getting pricey for the kind of cards I'm looking to buy though. Because it costs $25 to get in and dealer tables run $1K or more, dealers do not bring any cards from the junk era that I need to complete sets. At a show like White Plains, the tables and admission are much lower so I have seen dealers bring those cards.

The business of coordinating shows is obviously more tricky then it was 15-20 years ago. I know a lot of places requiring liability insurance have contributed to the decline and that's too bad. I enjoy shows and will continue to support them when I can as a collector and occasional dealer. There are not many card shops around(in SoCal). And even fewer that stock singles. Shows still have the potential of having things I would not be able to acquire in a place where I wouldn't have to wait and pay for shipping.

Craig H.

Griffins

<< <i>The local monthly hotel show here was recently cancelled because the hotel started to require the promoter to hold liability insurance. He did charge $1 to enter, but told me that with the insurance, it would be much more, or the table costs would go up. Instead of passing it on to the dealers, he just quit. Oh well, instead of one show a month, now there is only one every 3-4 months. I guess there is always ebay. >>



Liability insurance isn't that much, we're right around $750/year with pretty high limits in a litigious state.

NickM

For a fairly small show (75 tables or less), anything over $2 admission is a turnoff to me unless there's a free autograph guest with admission. It doesn't need to be a big-name guest. Anybody who's on mainstream cards is big enough.

Nick

royalbrett

A show should never charge admission to kids (12 and under). Ever.