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Paying Admission To Attend a Coin Show.
DollarAfterDollar
Posts: 3,214 ✭✭✭✭✭
I was reading the Central States Numismatic Society web page and it indicates there is a $5 (or $10 for the entire show) admission fee. You'd think that since Dealers tables cost a fortune that the show operators wouldn't want to do anything to deter the public from attending.
Is paying to attend a show "a thing now-a-days"?
If you do what you always did, you get what you always got.
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I used to pay admission to a few shows when I lived in Texas. Where I am now they are all free. Considering how soft the market is and the fact many dealers pack up and leave before the shows end I think charging admission is a dumb idea. Hell they should be paying you to attend.
The whole worlds off its rocker, buy Gold™.
I have been going to Central States since about 1975 and have never had to pay. The only show I have been to that charges is the ANA.
Never felt one should have to spend money to gain adm. to (hopefully for the dealers) spend money. May keep out some of the riff-raff though. Maybe the idea could be floated that the adm. fee paid is issued as a credit to spend at a dealers table or even at the snack bar.
I've been to the NSCC which is the National Sports Collectors Convention National show which is held at the Donald E. Stephenson building where the Numismatic National is held and they charge $20 per day, per person.
Insane!
Later, Paul.
At some venues its the parking, not the admission. Long Beach is $15 to park, Denver Coin Expo is $5 to park + $5 admission. Coin people can be downright cheapo about things like that!
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I have always been against shows charging admission. That has slowly been eroding as a dealer. Time after time the shows are being priced or bumped out of preferable venues. Couple that with the obvious decline in attendance which no doubt has to do with folks staying home and doing their business online!
I have been doing the sensible thing. I go by the 3 strikes and you are out formula. I am doing half as many shows as I used to do. Why....because there are more dealers than there are buying public! I would wager the majority of people that spend money at shows these days are there only looking to buy coins they can sell on ebay!
Central States did not charge last year when I was there. I have never paid to go to a coin show and I don't plan on starting this year, even if I do miss out.
What do they do for $5, only allow you to only visit half the tables?
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I have only paid at the ANA, and I resent it, considering how much they make at the show
BHNC #203
It is $5 per day (Thursday, Friday, Saturday) so if you plan on going all three days you can save $5.
Considering how stale most coin show "inventory" is getting, the admission could be the closest thing to "money changing hands" at the show.
Admission charges, parking charges, dealer table charges.....this all contributes to declining coin shows and show sales....Cheers, RickO
I have attended the ANA show in Dallas (last year) and will be attending Irving (this year) and by being a member of the ANA, my admission is free (Saturday will have free admission)...parking is another story $$$.
The annual coin show in Oklahoma City (normally in May), there are no fees; at the door or for parking...and there are door prizes throughout the show!
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Coin collectors are a very cheap bunch. Charging admission will cut attendance at all but the very best shows. Is Central States still considered to be one of "the very best shows" or has it declined to second rate status in recent years?
Collectors, in addition to being cheap, want to see merchandise they haven't viewed dozens of times before at other shows in their region. If the show becomes just another big show populated by Sunday Bourse type dealers with stale product it will die quickly if admission is charged.
From what I've seen of the sports collector shows, they offer something more than just a room full of dealers selling their goods. They also celebrity athletes on hand as well as special activities. Coin shows don’t have much to offer in that regard. Our stars are not as famous and frankly can’t offer that kind of draw.
I think that anything beyond a nominal admission fee at coin show is economic suicide. There is already lots of talk about how coin shows are irrelevant because of the Internet. If you start putting up big financial barriers like convention level parking fees and something like a $10 admission fee, the show promoters, should start planning on their next business ventures because their one is soon going to go the way of the $100 Bennie Baby.
We don't have enough to complain about?
I don't mind paying the admission charge at all. Even if I don't buy anything, which doesn't usually happen, it's still good entertainment, well worth the price of admission to enjoy a good coin show.
Last year there was a Gun show in the building next to our coin show in Charlotte. It cost $12 to get in. When I got to the show a little after 8 the line to get in the gun show was at least a quarter mile long. I believe it was noon before the line to get in subsided!
I have a no pay to spend money rule. Same goes for antique shows.
We are talking 5 bucks here right?
The real problem with this show is PCGS deciding not to do onsite grading.
In our case we have expenses like renting the hall and security. We had to scramble this year to get security for overnight. I believe it was $65 an hour from Saturday open to Sunday close. It cost us a lot more than it did last year. Our income is from table fees and raffling off silver eagles at 1 per hour. We had 4 or 5 dealers not show because of weather related travel issues. Not sure if we refund table fees or not.
Admission is free except for the early bird charge.
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Other than major shows I have only been paying $1at the monthly Albany Ny show.
Nearly 1 1/2 hrs from home but the show starts at a surprising 11:00 AM and wife loves the show.
She drops me off just before 11::00 to stand in a mile long line, goes to the nearby malls and picks me up when I'm ready. We stop for lunch and it's an easy 1 1/2 hr ride back home.
I usually spend $1 at the show and she spends ?
I do enjoy the show in regards to the number of true collectors in attendance with their sheets of needed coins.
Only thing is at 69 I feel like a junior at the show.
People really WANT their beef jerky.
I have yet to attend a show that didn't charge admission. The show's around here in the PACNW usually charge around $2.00 to get in the door, unless you want to pay the early bird fee of $20.00. I made that mistake one time, now I know it's simply not worth it. But I have no problem paying $2.00 to get in the door.
Some kind of fee is pretty much the norm in SoCal. Even the local monthly show charges $1.
As long as it isn't excessive, I view it as acceptable, and "paying my fair share". Though, there have been a couple of instances over the years where I paid my $3 or $4, did one lap of an extremely pitiful bourse, and felt like I deserved a refund!
The nice thing about being a CU "member" is that they offer free admission in a variety of ways for Long Beach! I haven't had to pay for it at all....just pre-register and print a free pass.
paying a fee to go to a coin show where prices will be marked retail? no thanks
For the large shows you also need to figure in the cost of parking (often high) and concessions (which have become outright stupid high at many venues). I hate paying for parking and simply will not buy anything from overpriced concessions. No chili dog stains on me!
In the grand scheme of things, and thinking about how much people spend on coffee and lunch each day, I don't mind paying a small fee for the ONE show that I can attend each year
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I try to attend a couple of local coin shows per month. Two of the regular ones I attend are free and 1 charges $1 and they have drawings/prizes. I don't mind spending a couple of dollars for the local shows and $10 would be okay with me if we are talking a larger regional show with 100 or more tables.
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I have never had a problem with paying $5 for admission.
If you aren't carrying much of value (or can easily hide it), depending on where you are in the greater Los Angeles area, you can take the metrorail to Long Beach and not pay for parking. The metrorail stop is maybe1000 yards from the entrance to the hotel, and you'll spend less time walking the 1000 yards than you will dealing with parking.
When I go, this is what I do. I generally don't have to pay for admission to the show, either.
"Seu cabra da peste,
"Sou Mangueira......."
I generally have to burn at least 5 gallons of gas to go to a show. Sometimes 10 for the round trip.
So I think it is a bit chintzy to hit me up for a few more bucks to get in. But hey, I can afford it.
“In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Thomas Jefferson
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I guess they're not handing out free silver ASE's at the door along with free admission like at the 2004 FUN show.
theres only one that gets an early bird admission otherwise its free ( which i dont mind either ) (along with all the others) just saying
Central States will have over 400 dealers. Think of it as a penny a dealer. It’s a great show well worth $5 in imo.
OP here, The $5 charge is something I think everyone can afford, so that's not a big deal. The fact that Dealers pay a small fortune for tables already is. I'd think most wouldn't even know about the charge until they arrive. That may have an effect on future shows, but probably not this one.
I'd feel better about it if the $5 fee was called a donation. I'm interested to see what it does to attendance.
I'd be interested in understanding how much the show organizers make on a show. I'm not talking about a huge show like the ANA, more like smaller shows with 125 tables or 50 tables.
“In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Thomas Jefferson
My digital cameo album 1950-64 Cameos - take a look!
Life is not fair. I went to a Kool-Aid stand to quench my thirst once. There was no sugar. The kid said it was bad for me, but for another quarter I could have a spoonful.
I prefer free admission, but I can't imagine NOT attending a good show just because of a $5 admission fee. Even if I buy nothing, I easily get way more than $5 worth of entertainment just walking around gawking at amazing coins.
Dave
We're nonprofit so what we net supports our club functions. We offer two $500 scholarships [in honor of former member and dealer Scott Nichols] to offset expenses to attend summer seminar in Colorado Springs among other things.
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Was in Scott’s shop many times when I lived close to Ames. Scott was s true gentleman. Is Chester still around?
I have paid an admission fee at shows in the past.
getting worked up about a $5 charge in this day and age is to be taking a stand on principal, cutting off your nose to spite your face. put more simply --- if I can't go to a coin show like Central States and make myself $5 I should probably quit the Hobby. most of us will spend $5 like it's water, why take a principal stand just because it's a coin show admission fee???
This is one reason why I love to support club shows. But there are lots of other shows out there that are not affiliated with clubs. They seem to be "owned" by the organizer and they tend to use the same venue and time slot every year.
“In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Thomas Jefferson
My digital cameo album 1950-64 Cameos - take a look!
I was just there an hour or so ago. The pooch gave me an earful, but likely not the same Chester.
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"As long as it isn't excessive, I view it as acceptable, and "paying my fair share". Though, there have been a couple of instances over the years where I paid my $3 or $4, did one lap of an extremely pitiful bourse, and felt like I deserved a refund!"
I know it is my own fault, but a few years ago I paid admission for a show on Sunday (the last day) and walked in to a virtually empty show. The fee wasn't much, no more than $5, but I still felt ripped off.
I will gladly pay $5 to have access to a large coin show and just skip a big mac and soda to make up for the admission fee
$5 or even $10 is no big deal for a larger show. It keeps out a bit of riffraff maybe. Charge more than a token amount and I think you’ll do the show no favors.
What bothers me more is to spend more than a few minutes getting my entry badge. Time is money and wasting 30 minutes in a line really boils my blood. Most of the big shows manage this pretty well.
Bingo. I saw a number of dicey-looking people milling around outside the Long Beach convention center that probably would never pay the tiny entrance fee.
The riff raff doesn't bother me nearly as much as the rich old guys who snake the coins I want before I get a chance to buy them. Ten bucks is a small price to pay to discourage some of my curmudgeonly principled competition from attending.
Ever been to a show where YOU WERE the morning rush?
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How about dealer discounted entrance fees? Or free dealer paid ?
if your dealer of choice is going to be there, he can give you a free or discounted ticket if he values your business.
But usually dealers are to cheap to even consider that. They just want to buy at 50% off wholesale and then sell retail.....and then complain that the show was not good for them.
In Europe they have shows where one day is for "business" clients by invitation (by dealers or manufacturers) only and others pay a hefty price to also get in unless they buy a "showtime"pass. works well there... why not here?
But then ??? in Europe ias where they invented a lot of stuff that works well....