I got the new schedule for Iowa Gas 2016 and IMO Ron and John did a great job!!!

Wednesday August 3rd:
Registration 8am to 8pm
Exhibit hall move in 9am to noon (no set up or sales till 7pm)
Auction noon to 6 pm
7pm all set up and vending begins (outdoor - indoor - room)

Thursday August 4th:
Registration 8am - 4pm
All day vending (exhibit hall opens 8am)
Buffet 6pm followed by room vending

Friday August 5th:
All day vending (exhibit hall opens 8am)

I think it locks down the show and will make it better for planning and also lock down the vendors so that the newbies don't miss out on the swap meet!

What's everyone's thoughts?

Love it

As a first year newbie to Iowa gas this year I flew in Thursday morning early and started driving back home early saturday morning. Worked just fine for me. Any first timer to that show needs to know to bring all the $ you can.
The best show by far to attend. I was a kid in the candy store,and loved every minute of it up to the time I ran out of money.

Can't wait till next year regardless of schedule.

Gene

Since Gene admitted being a IG newbie, despite DB driving by his house every time he went, I will also talk about my one and only exposure 2 years ago. I showed up on Monday and people were selling on Sunday. I left on Thursday AM and missed the auction as the rest was shutting down. The new schedule will be better.
Fred

I think this is great. I applaud the promoters for listening to everyone. I do not think that they would make this change unless the majority ruled.
Think about it this way: If you were going to any type of event, rock concert, sporting, kids play...and when you arrived at the advertised starting time you found the event was already half over because they said "some people got here early so we decided to start"...I don't think you would be a happy camper.

Tom.

Great analogy Tom.

x2

As a result of the new schedule, I'm looking forward to being able to make my first multi-day trip to Iowa Gas!

Well said,and why I stopped going,but I'll start going now because of this.
I've been basically saying that for awhile now,only to be told..."tough,early bird gets the worm".
What?

I am glad to hear of the changes. I hope they enforce the new times though, I did not see anything in the letter showing consequences for vending early.

Ditto your thoughts, Ryan. It's likely that some seller(s) will try to push the new rules from the get-go. So, it will be interesting to see what the IG organizers have in mind for "enforcement" consequences.

One of the IG vendors told me recently that he thought the new timetable was good, and that he didn't mind following it....AS LONG AS all other sellers did the same (outdoor, exhibit hall, and in-room). In other words, he wouldn't be feeling good about losing sales to vendors who weren't following the rules. John

That was going to be my question. What is stopping vendors from arriving early and selling early, then going home early?

Don't give them a spot the next year would be my vote as good spots have been hard to come by the last few years.

IMO let Ron and John handle it if you see it. Turn them into the principles LOL.

There will still be lots pre-sold before the show but if they can control sellers from early vending and no rooms open with stuff all laid out things should be under control.

It's going to be a crazy mad dash Wednesday at 7:00 pm for everyone to get set up and to see everything before it gets dark. Set up should be more like 5:00 pm. I'll believe it when I see it.

Yes it is!! We probably won't set everything out until the next morning being that late in the day.

I think this is a great thing. This is how CTO show is ran and a few try and set up early but are shut down by the hotel or promoters. I can go to Iowa or CTO same distance for me but I only went to Iowa once as I can't justify a weeks vacation to my wife. CTO show up Thursday afternoon leave Saturday works well. Now with Iowa following same kind of format decisions decisions decisions

I sure hope they finally police dead vendor spots as well.
I don't care who they are,how long they've attended,what alement they suffer from this year & that they've pre-paid it.If they don't set up and sell items in that pre-assigned spot by set up time,they forfeit that spot,their money for it & it goes to another vendor who is more then willing to set up and sell there.

The enforcement will be the key to making this work for everyone. Many years ago they tried something like this but some people fought it and the promoters didn't like playing policeman. Those of us who support the new schedule should make sure to follow it and let the promoters know we support it and them.

I guess Ron Hoyt finally listen to me after he took the auction away from me. I tried to get him to do this for seven years but he said "NO" it will may people mad.

Rick is spot on with this! this show has the potential to even be greater if everyone registered for vending would actually vend!

This is why I stopped going years ago and I like what they are trying to do but I have my doubts. Will see how this works and maybe will change my mind for next year.

Ron, Hope you are reading this. Tom, Bob, Bryce, Done4, Rick and many other are trying to help. Make this show great again. Stand firm and enforce your new schedule. It will pay off. IG will be even greater. Let have a great turn out this year. Hope to see all the old guys that would not come because of the old schedule.

What's everyone's thoughts?
Well i can see if your a buyer this is the perfect situation. Take a little time off, possibly get a great item or two, if in right spot at right time. Pack up your goodies in a day and head home.
Now for the vendors, whom this really applies to, you may have less vending time, which relates to less buyers and sales possibly. Buyers, who dont care if you drove for 2 days to get there, set up, (whoa you cant sell yet) sell, take down and 2 days home,saying ok, not going there again with all the rules.
I guess time will tell if this change is any better than the last time it Failed and still hasn't got all the original vendors back.
I have seen swap meets go by the wayside before and it wasn't cause the buyers never showed up. The sellers were too few.

Very good point Kim (minuteman)...Iowa is a 1700 mile drive from the west coast. With new format and shortened selling time it will be hard for me to justify bringing a large amount of items to sell. Most vendors including myself will want to do some shopping first on Wednesday night, which really only leaves Thursday to sell. Friday has the potential to be a ghost town since auction is on Wednesday. No matter what, the promoters are not going to please everyone. But I think the new schedule will definitely make long distance sellers stop and think about how much they bring or if they come at all....

A lot of different points of view. In the end, you can have a show with only dealers there. You can not have a show with only buyers..

As a seller, I don't like sitting there for 3 or 4 days when buyers are only really there the first - that's a waste of time. I hate to say it, but if buyers are serious about buying, they will do all they can to be there when it opens.

I really like the change, and think it will bring more buyers, and if space allows, more sellers (neither of whom want to spend a week there). I understand you guys coming a long ways don't want it to be a waste - no one does. However, if the show schedule is focused and controlled, everyone is there at the same time and a LOT of business (and fun) can be done in short order . I certainly don't believe that because you spend a few more days TRYING to sell, you will necessarily do more business than one day when EVERYONE is there.

I heard of many buyers who showed up Thursday or Friday in the past and were very upset to find they had missed the show by a few days. I know it takes both buyers and sellers to make this work - but lately vending spaces have been selling out. So the sellers are committed, I think now they are doing more to try to get the buyers there for us.....

As mentioned, they will never please everyone... Can't wait to see you all there.

I did not make the first Iowa Gas, but I did show up for the second one. This was back when the show was held in West Des Moines, Iowa. I even remember the Friday night the police showed up and told us all we had to be off the property by 5 PM. We all learned something from each of the meets that were held.

Looking back at all the IG meets and how it has grown, my feelings is that it has grown beyond being held at a motel. It needs to be held in a larger arena where the promoters can control when the vendors come in and when the public comes in.

I am not stupid enough to know that any vendor will show up at somewhere near the meet and tell others that he will be there selling Fry pumps for $100 each.

I compare what needs to be done to the "It's A Gas" swap meet that will held this next weekend. The format of their swap meet just needs to be extended beyond a 1 1/2 day meet to a four day meet. No room to room, buy a space, sell what you have, have an auction on some night, but the promoters can easily regulate when the meets starts, how many hours per day it is open, when the auction is, and most importantly that every person who steps into the building pays an entrance fee.

Gentleman, while I do not think that Ron and John think that they will be able to retire from the results of each of the meets, I do believe that they should be well compensated for their efforts. Neither John or Ron can be out on the parking lot telling anyone you cannot sell that until tomorrow. I will admit that some of the best buys that I ever made were made off the back of a truck before the vendor even found his space. Since this was true years ago, it is still true now. It is a large open lot, and I have never seen a vendor not selling something if the price is right. And why are guys selling out of their rooms, especially on the lower part of the motel as soon as they go into their rooms?

If there is a problem, it is not with the promoters, it is with the vendors that try to circumvent the rules.

Pay the vendors fee, show up, don't sell before the time set by the promoters. Leave when you want to, I don't believe anyone should tell me how long I should stay, leading to "I am sorry you waited until the last afternoon of the meet and no one was there to sell anything." Iowa Gas and CTO are meets that are set up for people who can take almost a week of their lives to go to, sorry, but that is the way it is.

I know I have rambled on here a bit, but I think it is time someone spoke frankly about what is going on in our hobby.

Jack Sim

I am excited about the new schedule. In the past I would leave on Wednesday or Thursday, as it was a ghost town for selling anyways. Why sit in a chair for the possibility to sell a 10 dollar item when I can be at home playing with my bulldogs, LOL

I am unsure how the 7pm start time is going to work, my guess is that people are going to get there early and sell things, just not deliver the items until after the start time. I am unsure when we are going to arrive at the show this year. The first day is absolutely the day to sell, hands down.. Question is, when is the first day going to be? Hopefully at 7pm on Wednesday.

The IG materials don't list how long the vending in the large exhibition room will go on...only that all vending (inside, outdoors, and personal motel rooms) begins at 7:00 P.M. on Wednesday. I don't know, at what time John and Ron are planning to lock the exhibition room doors on Wednesday night. I'll email and ask.

Given the timing of the summer sunset, I'm thinking that most buyers will hit the outside spaces first (at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday) and work that area as the sun sets. Then, I would think most buyers will come inside to the exhibition hall, because of the heavy concentration of vendors there. Of course, some of the old pros will hit the exhibition hall first, since they won't be battling the outside crowd for the best buys.

I'm sure there will be some buyer traffic for room-to-room vending on Wednesday night, but I bet the big night for room-to-room will be Thursday evening.

One thing is for sure: we all should be able to have a lot of fun, regardless of the schedule. John

I love the new schedule and yes the show should open at 5:00 rather then 7:00 but lets wait and see. The problem has been that too many sellers and buyers are showing up the weekend before and that includes ALL of the west coast guys including me. The new format is great, lets give it a try

I love the new schedule and yes the show should open at 5:00 rather then 7:00 but lets wait and see. The problem has been that too many sellers and buyers are showing up the weekend before and that includes ALL of the west coast guys including me. The new format is great, lets give it a try