I visited the Greenberg Show in Edison this morning and my take on the O-Gauge aspects of the show is somewhat different from what I’ve read on the other boards. So hopefully, I’m not going to bore you with the mention of the over abundance of HO, N & Z gauge stuff. Train pillows, hats, mugs, posters and all sorts of train paraphernalia.
First of all, there was a Computer show in the hall next door so parking spots were at a premium. I arrived at 10:20 and had to park far away from the hall.
The packed parking lots didn’t deter families with lots of kids to visit. And that’s a good thing! The floor plan was terrible with very narrow aisles and a hap-hazzard floor plan which caused much shopper confusion as the hall was so packed early in the day that shopper traffic was one way winding up and down the aisles. Anyone going against the traffic would be squashed.
Many vendors piled their merchandise way up high on their tables which imparted a certain air of claustrophobia to some aisles. Some shows do not alloy any merchandise to be over four feet tall on any table, this is done for insurance concerns just incase a table collapses or the merchandise falls over and causes a panic. The lighting left much to be desired as some areas in the hall looked very dark. Dark lighting is not very shopper friendly.
There was lots of postwar stuff, maybe too much, all at very high prices. Current O gauge was in abundance, with about the same mix of MTH and Lionel. But it appeared as that many vendors used this show to blow out their dogs or slow movers. Lionel buildings were dumped by the carton loads at anywhere from $14 to $20/per building. Greenberg hype’s this show as a Train and Hobby Show, if this is true, why were some vendors selling women’s jewelry and finger nail stuff!
I didn’t notice any real bargains in new Locos or Engines. Most were being sold at or near list price. This was the first show where I did see some refurbished MTH Loco