Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion Has anyone else noticed this?

I have been on this chat for a number of years now. I have noticed that there is little or no excitement before shows. This site was always ablaze with people asking general questions. Wanting prevue looks at stuff that was going to the shows? Talking strategies on locations. Just an overall synopsis of each show in the cycle? Even this past Iowa Gas was limited? Robbie's new show showed a bit of life but nothing like in the past? Wondering if we have all been jaded in some way? Shows were always a great learning experience for me, until the time when life got in the way, and I had to stop going. I do miss them and seeing all of my showtime friends. Does anyone have any thoughts or insights as to why this is happening? Paul www.severngaspumps.com

I think when $100 pumps started costing $6000, the excitement left town. Now it’s a business.

I think facebook is to blame

I think the fact that there's 6 to 8 auctions pretty much every month kinda takes the interest off the shows.

When you can sit home and spend your gas money on something you want instead of driving to a show, paying for food, gas and lodging . . .

Well, you get my point.

Jim

ditto .. ...

Seems like no one chimes in when someone asks a question on something. If I know it I will, I just dont like giving prices with all the facebook auctions driving prices up seems like I really dont know.

A friend was bidding from home on a very expensive item as an online bidder during the Mecum Monterey Auction last month.
He placed his Max bid & was notified he was now the winning bid at just under 10K with an email confirmation.
He went to bed,woke up the next morning with intent to pay,but couldn't...Mecum informed him that he in fact lost the bid to another bidder on the floor,AND for much less then his maximum bid was too.
Turned out a 3rd party bidding company which was what he was bidding through,(and unbeknownst to him),didn't process his higher bid in time,so time ran out and he lost the item as it hammered without acknowledging his higher bid.
So why then did he get an email confirmation from Mecum???
To say he's ***** a month later would be an understatement.

I think T-Way nailed it on the head.... with the numerous auctions gong on every month with endless availability to see what's out there is appealing to some. Your gas and hotel money are swapped out now your shipping and premium fees from an auction. At a swap meet, you never know what you are going to find there & online will show you exactly what's available... I like looking around and finding items I'm interested in, others sometimes may not have the time to attend.
All these past events I noticed within the last year that have been taking place & advertised in upcoming events on OLDGAS, I haven't seen many people showing what they may be bringing to sell or trade.. maybe a person from time to time selling one or 2 items that notifies others he's willing to bring it to a show for delivery, but that's about it. When nobody is positing prior to the meets, you can see how that doesn't do well to pump up the event.

Like the above said. The Internet has changed the hobby for sure. When I want to truly feel in hobby, I come here!! To Oldgas.com!!!

I still hit CTO Columbus (and some smaller shows) every summer.
I still love going but here's what's killing the buzz for me.
* if you're not super early most of the good deals are already gone. At open, most vendor spaces are manned by someone who doesn't know the price or particulars because the real vendor is out trying to find deals.
* the prices. Don't really need to say more.
* can't tell you how many items I'll ask about but they're simply being held for someone who's picking it up.

With all of the auctions, it has changed the dynamic of shows. The most difficult part of collecting signs, getting them. I wasn't collecting in the pre auction boom era, but I imagine when you got to a show, there were not a lot of pre bought deliveries happening. Instead, you'd spend your time walking the event and manning your stuff. At Dixie the other week, I delivered over 250 sign to end buyers or people taking it to its final destination. I stayed at my trailer the entire time given the volume to deliveries I had. 4 hours after the show opened, everyone came to grab their stuff. It ate my entire day and I had to be home the next day. Prevented me from seeing the show, minus carrying something to someone's booth. I did see a lot of on site vendor sales from those around me, they seem to be doing well.

I think the shows are what you make of it. Things are always changing, but the delivery aspect at shows won't change as long as there are a bunch of online auctions. I do love going to the shows and meeting people who have been doing this WAY longer than I have. I love the stories, love the history and just making new friends. I'm a collector first (all mopar stuff), so I really enjoy the hunt. I also enjoy learning about new subject matters.

I hope some of the changes don't keep people away, some of us are there to still learn and love collecting, even if we're part of the auction world .

Mike

There are alot of really good points here.

Well you asked..
Last year i made an effort to go to the iowa gas show. I got there the 2nd day and most people had already left who had pumps for sale. Im not in the "club" that gets early treatment so not worth my effort. And my opinion is that the auctions drive prices way too high. Just my thoughts...you asked

Mike McCandless so true!
When i started collecting in 1999/2000 shows were where you bought things for your collection and meet other collectors. I would assume prior to eBay these shows was your "main" source for finding stuff besides beating the bushes or classified ads! In 2000 many guys were still out beating the bushes and took duplicates or upgrades to shows to sell only to buy something else for there collection. This also made it great for auctions prior to the shows or right after the shows as online bidding wasn't really big. It seemed once the American Picker show hit is when you started seeing more guys coming to just buy/sell and not really collecting or putting stuff in there collection. I know eBay made a big effect on hobby and Facebook has really changed the way items are now sold and traded. It seems lots of items are sold between pickers/dealers and sometimes i wonder if it ever ends up in a collection. LOL I hope the shows stick around!!!! The fun for me at shows was to always hang out with guys that collect and have same interest as me.... talk about items found, going to dinner, having some beers and talking about anything. I always said its a hobby for me and fun... once fun stops i would step away.
I have seen guys that were collectors end up doing it for income and not really collecting and the "spark": or "fun" doesn't seem to be there anymore. I know i don't want to go down that road....

Auctions just bring buyers and sellers together. The market size has grown. More customers, equals more demand since the supply is fixed, prices go up.