Denver Train Show Report
I have been to MANY train shows in many different locations across the country. Many of them are a waste of time and energy due to a lack of quality layouts to look at. The train show I attended this morning in Denver was one of the better ones I have seen in some time. Kudos to the local clubs that brought their sectional layouts to the show. It is a lot of work.
The picture is on the left is rather poor due to not using a real camera but instead using my BB.
On a different note - Has Ebay killed the train show dealer? The quality of dealers not only at this show but many of the ones I have been to in the last couple years has been suffering. There is NO variety and much of the inventory seems to be same crap they have been dragging around since the mid 90’s. Guess what? We didn’t want your overpriced toy quality crap at the last show and we won’t want it at the next ten shows.
How about some quality stuff? On30 has exploded in the last couple of years but there was almost no items for sale. How about some O scale detail items and figures? How about scratch building material or scenery products? I am okay with the Thomas the Train booths as there are so many kids it only makes sense but if you are catering to the serious modeler, get rid of the crap!
You didn’t tell them what you bought!
I’m with you on the train shows. Too many times you see something you’d like, and they are way above the ebay “water level.” That and they are usually unwilling to negotiate. The two biggest defenses the dealers have against ebay is the instant get (i.e. you buy it and it’s yours, in your hand with no shipping) and the visual/tactile sense of the item that you can’t get from a picture. Until they get that, people will only pay so much of a premium for those two things, and meanwhile like you said, they truck around their tired old inventory for ages.
And yeah, Erin needs to give up more of the basement for trains