Bay State vs PAX East

ScarsdaleCoin

I wont go into a long song and dance but I have to say that Ed the promoter of Bay State puts on a really well run coin show and if you missed it...well your loss and maybe you should stop bye next year if you live in the New England area...



but I digress... I did want to point out while I was set up along with perhaps another 75 dealers at Bay State and a fair crown of several hundred collectors who attended... I wanted to compare that my son was enjoying his weekend in Boston at PAX East...



Now for those of you who dont know what PAX stands for...

WHAT IS PAX

thats ok, I didnt either

its the Penny Arcade Expo.... think it as the same as a coin show but for video game players... the only difference is that the PAX show charges $50 per day to get in (runs 3 days) and had over 75,000 attendance!



whats the point of the post.... We all need to rethink our support for local coin shows and how they are presented to the public.... Folks all around us people are still going to shows but the content has to be more appealing and we need to do what we can to make the shows more INSERT your own words here.... FUN, Interesting, educational, etc....



Thats it...rant over

Tyrock

You definitely have a point. It would be nice if the larger shows had something to offer besides a bourse.

TopographicOceans

No wonder they can get away with charging $50.

It gives teenagers a chance to get out of the house and do something different

Bochiman

Jon,



It isn't just about "fun, interesting, educational, etc...", though I DO agree that those are important.



It's also about the end result of what one gets out of those shows. They DO get entertained, and DO have fun. They get around like-minded others. And, that is the purpose....to have fun and to be around other "nerds".



At coin shows, the purpose is largely to buy/sell. It is also, for some but not all, to be educational and be around other like-minded folks.



The buy/sell part is what hits...along with the fact that each coin can be different. Same denomination/MM/year but one has to handle prices around grades and eye appeal. There is a lot more "work" to it than just empty-headed game watching/playing.



So, go to PAX and see/play cool games.



Go to a coin show and buy something from a dealer only to be told later, when you try to sell it, you can't even get 50% of what you paid.....or when you try to sell something, be told how terrible it is, how many problems are with it, and how it isn't even worth 10-20% of what you paid. Broadstrokes, yes. But, true at times as well.



I think I would enjoy a PAX show, but I don't like large crowds like that, nor getting to those types of places and worrying about transportation.



I know I enjoy most of the coin shows I go to, especially when I meet up with dealers/collectors I know/from the boards. I don't care for the "educational" portions of most though....when I go to these shows, I want to look at coins, hopefully BUY some coins I want, and talk to people. Others DO like the educational bits. It's all good.