ANA Striving to make shows fun

FWIW, the worst deal about convention centers are the ones that are
strongly unionized. You may get a fine deal on floor space rentals only
to find that you are not allowed to unload a single box, Teamsters have
to do that. You cannot plug an electrical outlet, only the Union can.
You may not set up the bleachers, set the EQ on the PA, adjust the
lighting, vend any coffee, sweep the floor, hire an EMT, etc etc etc etc etc.

Cobo Hall in Detroit is particularly awful in this respect. Baltimore
is a piece of cake.

Alan
'services contracts not included'


Yes, Detroit is a strong union town.
Not a popular place for an ANA convention (except maybe for Michigan
collectors). The long commute from
Detroit Metro airport to downtown is a
drawback.

In article ,
(JSTONE9352) wrote:


FWIW, the worst deal about convention centers are the ones that are
strongly unionized. You may get a fine deal on floor space rentals
only
to find that you are not allowed to unload a single box, Teamsters
have
to do that. You cannot plug an electrical outlet, only the Union can.
You may not set up the bleachers, set the EQ on the PA, adjust the
lighting, vend any coffee, sweep the floor, hire an EMT, etc etc etc
etc etc.

Cobo Hall in Detroit is particularly awful in this respect. Baltimore
is a piece of cake.

Alan
'services contracts not included'


Yes, Detroit is a strong union town.
Not a popular place for an ANA convention (except maybe for Michigan
collectors). The long commute from
Detroit Metro airport to downtown is a drawback.

I very much enjoyed the 1984 ANA convention in Deetroit ...
the 1994 version was neither as productive nor memorable for
some reason.

Neither time did I wander more than about two blocks from
the convention center or the hotel ... one of the few major
cities I've been to that I can make that comment about ...

--
Ken Barr Numismatics
P. O. Box 32541 website: http://www.kenbarr.com
San Jose, CA 95152 (souvenir cards, MPC, Hickey Bros tokens)
408-272-3247 Next show: Modesto 7/12 (tent., no table)
ADVANCED NOTICE: ANA World's Fair of Money, San Jose, CA 7/27-31/2005

Bruce Remick wrote:
Eric Bustad wrote:

Bruce Remick wrote:

JSTONE9352 wrote:


Unelss the ANA convention location is severly limited in size, there is
already a lower priced section where the bourse fee is half. I don't
remember the exact number, but I think you can have coins up th $500.

I remember the 1984 ANA convention in
Detroit had a special section of tables
with nothing over $100. (I bought a few
things there). Under $100 is probably not feasible these days because of
various economic factors.


Some beginning collectors might be willing to spend $100 or so on coins
at a major show, but probably not all on a single coin. If I knew I
would not find many coins that were valued less than $100 at an ANA
Convention, I wouldn't consider going and would assume that Conventions
are geared to advanced levels of collectors. I would attend smaller
local shows instead where I would be more apt to find coins within my
budget.

I don't think that he was saying the dealers cannot make money selling
coins that retail for under $100, just that it would be difficult to
make money at a show while selling *only* such coins.

I got the impression that he was saying that it wouldn't be
cost-effective today for dealers to bring many coins valued at $100 or
less to a Convention if they wanted to ensure recouping expenses and
making a profit. I can understand how that might be true, but this
would make for a frustrating time for beginning collectors with modest
budgets looking for coins to fill holes in their albums. My suggestion
was to leave the ANA Convention to the more advanced collectors who
usually have more years of experience, loftier collecting goals, and a
bigger collection budget. Encourage the new collectors to attend the
local shows and visit local coin shops where the less expensive coins
can be found. When they feel ready for the "big time", they'll make an
ANA Convention with a better expectation of what they will find there.

I've never been to a big-time coin show, but I've been to some pretty
big-time stamp shows. Many dealers there have stamps costing only a few
dollars. Of course, stamps is easier to carry to a show than coins!

= Eric