IMEX Show Report

I live 15 minutes away so I did not have to pay for travel, hotel, etc. it’s nice to have a show in Nashville.

I went today, Friday, at about noon. Parking in downtown Nashville on a weekend is, to put it mildly, a pain. It’s always super expensive to park but there is a lot of paid parking in the convention center garage and pay lots directly in front and behind. I paid $25

I made my way through the maze of halls to get to 3rd floor where the show was. There was no one in line. I paid my $10 and went in. About 1/3 of the area was utilized for tables. I’d say there were probably 50 dealers. About a dozen tables were empty.

I know a lot of the dealers within the area and some of the collectors so I enjoyed getting to see them and shoot the breeze for a while. I bought one coin from a good friend, George Coker at Kentucky Coin Cabinet.

I was able to look at every table 3 times in the span of about 90 mins and was ready to go. No one was complaining about anything (a change from last IMEX) and there was decent foot traffic for how many tables there were. It had about the same traffic as the other local shows, unfortunately. I saw folks going to PCGS. Great collections, greysheet, stacks and heritage were there. They looked very bored.

My honest opinion is that the show needs to be moved to a smaller venue. The convention center is way too big for a show this size and is difficult for some folks to navigate. The cost of parking, hotels, travel, etc. would be too high for me to consider attending if I was a dealer. A smaller venue would likely give the organizers the ability to cut the entry fee and lower table costs, etc.

All in all I enjoyed it but I had the ability to leave my house after lunch and be home before dinner time