Michael Coslo wrote:
....

Most Hamfests these days start too early and end too early. That has
been a trend for several years now.

It's short sighted though. If I want to go to say the Butler or Timonium
Hamfests, both around 2.5 hours from Happy Valley, I have to get up at
around 3 a.m. so I can be there when they open.

Now it's getting to the point that unless you're a local, going to a
Hamfest can be a great way to wreck your weekend. Sheer timing is the
big problem IMO. Not Ebay or the actuarial tables.

I have to agree. I'm 4-6 hours from just about any hamfest I'd want to
attend so I have to leave around midnight or get a hotel room. Not
being in my 20's anymore it's a hotel room and that adds quite a bit of
overhead to what would be low hamfest prices, and faced with that I
usually put a search on ebay and wait for the email.

If they started at noon or even 10:00 it would be a whole different
story, I'd much prefer to buy at fests simply for the eyeball contacts.

- Galen, W8LNA