In message , Michael Coslo
writes
gwatts wrote:
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.


I really enjoy the hamfest at Dayton, where they start at 0800,
and sell all day. I think how this got started was that the sellers
agitated for earlier starts, and earlier begat earlier, until we ended
up with what we have now. One of our semi local fests starts at 0700
and is over at noon.

Obviously not going to get the church crowd either.. 8^)

So I guess they got everything they wanted - and lost a lot of
the customers in the deal.


- 73 de Mike KB3EIA -

In the UK, amateur 'hamfests' and 'tailgate sales' used to be a fairly
leisurely affair, starting at a round 11am, and go on until 5 or even
6pm, allowing lots of time to wander around, meet your long-lost friends
etc (ie a 'good day out'). These days, opening time is often as early as
9am, with some dealers starting to pack up around noon. Ordinary
tailgate sales sometimes do start at early as 7am. Things ain't what
they used to be.
Ian.
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