I would like to hear from both customers and vendors about what they feel makes for a successful swap meet. [list] []How do you advertise? []How much do you charge for admission? []How much do you charge vendors for space? []How many vendors do you have at your swap meets? []How often do you hold swap meets? []Do you have door prizes? [*]Have you seen something done at a meet you’ve attended that was inovative? [/list]
Dave,
I have been in organizing ‘swap meets’ since the mid 70’s. Here is my experience:
Advertise - Use RMC/MR and any local NMRA Region/Division publications. Put flyers out in all LHS’s in the area. Have a web site with the info. We have done newspaper ads at times, but I really do not see a lot of payback in them. Develop a mailing list - This is a must!. We also have a ‘survey’ we have all vendors fill out. Also, get your venue dates locked in early - prime vendors may already have commitments else ware on ‘your’ date.
Admission - It will depend on the cost of the venue. Right now, $5.00 for admission is pretty much the norm in our area.
Vendors - Cost is based on ‘table cost’ - if the venue does not have them, you will need to rent them(and a couple chairs for each table).
Number of Vendors - Really as much as you can get(and allow some individual table sales for guys unloading stuff.).
Number of times per year - In the Twin Cities, there is a club that runs 3/year, an individual that runs 3/year, and another club that runs 2/year. So far they have been quite good about not stepping on each others dates.
Door Prizes - These are ‘Swap Meets’, not 'Train Shows, so there are no door prizes.
Additional - There have been date conflicts between these large metro area Swap Meets and smaller regional Train Shows over the past several years. The attraction of the big swap meets means a lot of vendors will not be attending the regional Train Shows(which are a combination Train Show/Swap Meet), and will also draw away the modelers. There are at least 10-12 of these Regional Train Shows and they are w
My comments are from a customer who has only been to train shows.
Advertising - Use the Events section of this site, fliers at LHS’s and other shows, does your local radio station have a calander for non-profits. Be consistant with when your shows are so folks will ask if they don’t see something. Sometimes it can’t always be the same weekend, but try to keep it close.
Admission - Around the Northeast most seem to be $3-5. All the places I have gone have free parking, if there is a parking charge, I’d try to keep admission down, though if your space is expensive you will have to judge on how to recoop the cost between vendor charge and admission.
Frequency - Most of our groups only have one a year, though there are so few in this area we could use a few more.
Door Prizes - Some shows have them, others don’t. I have seen both donated items, first winner gets first choice, etc. and ones that have a gift certificate ($10-15) good at any vendor (my preference). They usually allow 10-15 min for someone to show up before they draw another ticket. Draw regularly, every hour, every half hour so that early birds don’t ave to hang around forever for a chance and late arrivals still have a chance.
Other Conciderations - I like to see simple clinics. Have been to the same scemery clinic (same show, same personnel demonstrating) for several years, still learning things ( I think they do two of the same during the day). If you have large crowds and many experienced modelers, you could have some more advanced clinics. Advertise the times of the clinics in your fliers, helps folks know when to be there, esp the more advances ones you only do once.
Have food available. If you are in a school, see if
I only go to two different train shows every year.
Here are my observations:
-
Parking: It needs to be accessible and easy to find. Some places charge for parking, others don’t.
-
Location: The two I go to, one is in a convention center, the other is in a building at a county fairgrounds.
-
Admission: Here in the midwest, the average price is about $7-8.
-
Vendors: There needs to be a variety of sellers. This may be difficult to control, but there shouldn’t be a hundred vendors selling just one scale.
-
Displays: Again, this should follow the same advice as the vendors, different scales.
-
Concessions: A simple snack bar should be sufficient. You might see if a local non-profit organization would like to run and collect so much of the proceeds. I have seen this and it has worked quite well.
-
Door Prizes: I have seen this two ways: have to be present to win or not. The show that doesn’t require you to be present, will ask you to leave your phone number so they may contact you if you are the winner.
These are just some of my observations.
The distinction between a swap meet and a train show can be a fine line. Trainfest in Milwaukee openly advertises that it is NOT a swap meet – the vendors are actual sellers in the business of selling and there is next to no used stuff for sale. Even with the advertising you sometimes see posts here and elsewhere from people complaining about Trainfest, in ways that makes it evident they wanted a swap meet. If you are running a swap meet call it that; if you are running a train show that is also a swap meet then say so. If you are running a train show that is not a swap meet, say so, but be prepared for reactions from people who don’t read for content.
There are train shows that are so purely a swap meet that the presence of a display layout or two seems more a waste of time of the folks who brought the layout, unless they just enjoy doing so.
I’d make two points about swap meets. First I think it is really useful to have a test track area where people can try out what they are about to buy. You need the major scales and in this day and age I suppose you also need DCC in those scales. This is a good opportunity for a local NMRA division to perhaps be given a free table if they agree to run the test track. They can hand out their membership literature and perform a service while adding value to the show, while not competing with anybody else.
Second, think about discipline and rules in who is permitted to sell. There was a local swap meet here in Milwaukee that started out both huge and great and in a very well known hall that everybody knows how to get to, with free parking, so very quickly it became popular, but the guy either got greedy or desparate to fill the space he rented and more and more toy/die cast car/collectible folks started to muscle in. I think for some of them the tables were cheaper than they were used
No, actually, you don’t. If one is worried about the DCC too much, see if avisiting layout will set up nearby and provide it. know in the past at the Great Train Expo they haven’t had a test track, and a few people came to see if Naptown was willing to test their new engine on the display laout. (Test yes, tinker no) DOing so is good customer service if the host doesn’t have one, and allows the DCC, but by and large, a DCC test track is basically asking for someone to walk off with a free DCC system. A normal test track setup might run you 10-20 bucks. Most members have extra powerpacks out their ears and all you need to y is track for the scales.
Also, if you notice your swap meetdoes not have a large turnout of a certain guage, then don’t waste the time. Naptwon is largely HO&N stuff, there’s a little bit of O and Z, but most of that is cars, not a lot of engines, even from the vendors we have.
SInce I’m only a member of a club that hosts two shows a year, and not all that clear on what the difference between train show and swap meet are, I can’t offer a whole lot else. I do enourage advertisng at the larger shows though, but don’t be a pest about it. it’s GTE’s show, or whomever, but there’s no reason you can’t talk to people there. You can put up flyers on yur booth, if someone who’s a regular to your show wants some flyers, they can have them too. And frequently, there’s a table of flyers for various shows and LHSs in the lobby or the entrance. but don’t grafiti their show in ads for yours. That’s a good way to get yourself thrown out.
Thanks for the replies to my OP.