There is a Model train show/expo in my area this weekend. I think Golden rail is the sponsor. Are these shows worth attending? Do the vendors have pricing that is close to Internet? Is it in poor taste to “hagle” at these events? I would love to hear opinions, I have never attended one.
I’m not familiar with “Golden Rail” so not sure specifically what it will be like. Many train shows like the “Great American Train Show” and others have operaing train displays, and displays from model rail manufacturers. Sellers there are often hobby shops and are generally selling at list price or close to it. Other train shows are more like flea markets, and there you’ll generally find better prices but few if any operating displays and such.
Both are worth attending, but I generally go to “shows” to look at new products, and maybe to try to track down that “hard to find” item. I save the money to spend at a flea market.
In either case, it’s fine to offer a lower price, as long as it’s reasonable…however it will be more likely to succeed at a flea market than with a retail hobby shop booth at a train show.
You will get varying opinions on this but in my estimation they are fun to attend. pricing will be roughly list plus or minus a little depending on the vendor. haggling is done a lot at these shows but, lately I have found most dealers wont budge unless you are buying a large dollar amount. The shows are a lot different now than when I first started going. Back then it was a bunch of guys selling off unneeded equipment and vendors (hobbyshop owners) moving excess inventory.
I have scored some great deals at these shows. You have to know the going rate for what you are looking for. I have an advantage lately as I attend these shows in my area as a vendor so I can get around before the doors open. and pick up any deals I might be looking for. I have also found that on occasion there is someone there liquidating a collection for a deceased family member. towards the end of the show these people usually are willing to deal just so they don’t have to haul it all home.
Dan
I’m not at all familiar with the show you’re asking about, but a Great Train Expo or some such in Tucson, Arizona has been cancelled at the last minute for a couple of years in a row because they could not get enough vendors.
On top of that, there’s a $5 parking fee and $7 admission fee into the fairgrounds where it was held; and then another $5 or $6 admission fee into the building housing the show. Parking and admission into the grounds used to be free until the county supervisors starting looking for a way to raise taxes. Taking those charges into consideration drove many potential customers and events away.
Regarding haggling prices, I’ll ask the seller if there is “any flexibility on the price” and go from there. Usually, they offer to knock off 10-20%. I’ve found great deals at train shows and thoroughly enjoy the show in general.
The shows I’ve been to in New England have all had free parking, and the only admission was to the show itself. As I recall, there was a show a few years ago (might have been a computer show vs. a train show, but the economics are the same) in downtown Boston. The general feeling in the online community, anyway, was that the combination of parking charges and entrance fees put it over the top. I noticed that venue was never used again.
The only exception is the Springfield show, which does charge for parking. But, it’s the biggest show of the year, and the biggest in this part of the country, anyway, so it’s well worth the extra investment.
I’ve gone to shows and come home with nothing, but I was still happy because I got to see stuff, and look at a lot of operating layouts. I look on the price of admission as a charge for the entertainment. It’s a better deal than going to a crummy movie in a theater with sticky floors.
Go for it. If you have kids, take them.
If you want to haggle, by the way, bring cash. If you see a $20 item, ask “Will you take $15 cash?” That saves the vendor credit-card fees, so he’s always going to be happier with bills over plastic. (And, if he’s operating in the economic gray zone, it’s easier to hide cash profits from the tax man.)
The answer will always be “no” if you don’t ask. And being prepared to walk away helps.
I came home with way too much stuff from the last show I attended but prior to that I got skunked. But…a day at the train show is better than a day behind the lawn mower!!!
How you see the worth of train shows depends a great deal on whether this is your 1st, your 10th, or your 50th show.
The first few times are almost always ranked great but it’s often down hill from there. There was a time when train shows were all about very good prices, bargaining and many great OOP finds. In most instances, that’s all in the past now. Most of the larger shows are commercial enterprises, some with a group of sellers that travel around with them as a part of the show. Prices tend to be fixed.
Once the Internet and sites like eBay really got going, most real train show bargains faded away. Also, much of what you typically find available at today’s shows is an assortment of the most recent products, priced at hobby shop retail.
Another factor to be considered is whether or not you regularly have access to several local hobby shops. If your in a rather remote location, then a train show might seem like a God sent. If you regularly see a wide array of items in local shops, shows are likely to be a lot less impressive.
CNJ831
One change of pace train show I used to like was the annual Northtown Mall show in Coon Rapids MN, north of Minneapolis. It was nice because it was near BN’s Northtown yard, so I would stop both coming and going to take pics, but also because it was a train show only - no selling was allowed !!
Given the “…inSC” portion of your screenname, you may be referring to the show on the north side of Charlotte this weekend. I have attended that show several times in past years and it is not bad. Most of the items were current hobby-shop stuff, but one time there was a good book dealer there. It is not far off the Interstate; I don’t recall paying for parking. I suggest that you go and then give us a report.
Bill
Yes Bill it’s the show at the metrolina expo in Charlotte. Admission is $6 but I didn’t see anything about parking on the site. I model in N scale and the LHS doesn’t carry much. Its a 15 mile drive to the expo or the LHS so I will give it a shot.
Personally, I like to go to train shows (yeah, that big one in Springfield is a good time). A decent show will have several operating layouts and clinics / demos. so if nothing else, you should take home some good inspiration. The cream of the crop shows have manufacturers booths where they show off their new products, often pre-production models to get customer feedback (Osgood Bradley lightweight passenger coaches in NH livery from Rapido Trains at the National Train Show! I can’t wait!).
Admissions fees are usually reasonable – no worse than going to a movie, at least for us. If they’re asking you to pay for parking, grounds admission, building admission, etc., then the show’s organizers are running a con job. I wouldn’t go. They’re already making money on the vendor fees / booth rental, admissions, maybe commissions on sales, and concessions. More than that and they’re just greedy.
As far as prices, I always take a wish list with MSRP on it, and if I can get something for 25% under that, I usually grab it. Otherwise, I’ll see if I can find it on the Internet. And I often see new products that I was unaware of, which I will sometimes buy if the price looks reasonable (good quality rolling stock kits under $20, for example). I’ve never had anyone give me a break on their price except in exchange for paying with cash / check rather than a credit card, but since I’m probably already buying discounted stuff I kind of expect that.
I still enjoy train shows, and I have been to a lot of them. Even if you don’t buy anything you have fun and get ideas. Bring a camera. I like to buy older out of production or used stuff that can be spiffed up and run or serve as the basis for kit bash projects. There will be a lot of new or nearly new stuff offered at the going price. And you can see it, touch it, and even test run it before you buy. I usually don’t buy things at shows that I can buy from my friendly local hobby shop for about the same money. Shows often have things that are hard to find, detail parts, decals, special tools, books and magazines. If you need parts to fix something you can often find an old beat up one that can be cannibalized for the needed part. The old “make one good one out of two bad ones” trick.
CNJ831’s response pretty well reflects my attitude.
I would say this: go one time and pay the freight and then decide whether its worth going again or not. Phoenix is not a hotbed of model railroad activity so these shows seldom come to this area anymore. It has been a few–perhaps quite a few would be more accurate–years since I last attended one and so I might just go if one were to show up in this area.
Some years ago a friend of mine and I decided on a whim to drive across the desert to Lah-Lah Land and go to an advertised show. We left here at about 4 in the AM–all times are local–drove across the desert at a non-ticketable speed, ate breakfast and got into the show when they opened at 10AM. We browsed for four hours, gassed my Toyota Tercel, stopped for supper in the Indio area, and got home at about nine in the evening. Gas, food, parking, and admission cost the two of us about seventy-five smackers. I bought two Con-Cor N-Scale REA boxcars which I had been looking for for years, my buddy spent about $23.00. Unfortunately there really was not a very impressive tool vendor at this particular show which would have enticed me to spend more money. There was a rather impressive NTrak layout on the floor of the show but financially it really wasn’t worth the trip and I would not do it again unless I could stay overnight and could join it with other Southern California railfan activities.
One factor for me is who is doing the show. I’ll go to some only when they are close (i.e. 5 miles), but I’ll drive an hour and a half to the Great Scale Train Show (GSTS) in Timonium, MD.
I don’t really have a local train hobby shop. The one close by is a very small general hobby shop with an emphasis on military and Lionel. A smattering of HO and N. Further away ones are mostly 3 rail O and G with some HO and N.
The GSTS is 4 times a year and I make most of them. The summer show is about half the size of the others, so I skip that one sometimes.
Enjoy
Paul
I usually attend 10 to 15 shows a year either by myself, with some of my club members or as a club displaying our modular layout. My club also hosts 1 show a year. I enjoy the shows because of the people I meet and also to see all the new stuff that is coming out. I find that some vendors you can deal with while others won’t budge from their asking price. Personally I think the bigger shows are well worth going to while the smaller shows you tend to see the same thing year after year.
There aren’t many shows near me, all 45 min to an hour and a half away, but I go to all I can. It’s a nice change of pace. Even the small shows, with the same layouts I saw last time have something to offer. I chat with the folks running the layouts, ask questions and have fun. I have gotten into conversations with other customers while we were both looking at things, have learned from them and I hope they have learned from me. As others have said, you may or may not find deals. Some shows have demonstrations or clinics, I find these useful, even when I have seen the same folks doing the same presentation before. They may have learned something new, I may have forgotten something, I may have a new question to ask. Don’t judge all shows by one show, after visiting several shows, several times, you may decide that there are some that do not appeal to you, but give them a chance or two. One thing to watch out for if you are in an area with a lot of shows is that some are scale specific, though you can learn modeling and scenery ideas, you probably won’t find items other than the one the show is for. I usually go with a friend, he drives, I pay for admission and lunch, with the price of gas, I think we are about even.
Go, have fun, learn.