Subject: Hams Gripe At Hamfests
From: "Ryan, KC8PMX"
Date: 7/13/2004 8:42 AM Central Standard Time
Message-id:

Hot babes??? Which hamfests are you going to?? LOL Mostly guys at the
ones I have been to.


Ryan KC8PMX

Besides... If we wanted to pay retail, we'd just go mail order.
Hamfests are where one goes to look for a bargain.

Not me!...I go to check out the hot babes!

(gurglegurglechokechoke ! ! ! !)

Hence the reason I added the "gurglegurglechokechoke"...! ! ! !

73

Steve, K4YZ

From: (Steve Robeson K4CAP)
Hamfests are where one goes to look for a bargain.

Not me!...I go to check out the hot babes!

Actually, thats not a bad idea. There have been a few good looking women there,
at a couple of hamfests. However, only occasionally, not at every hamfest.

Who knows where they came from. Some were helping set up the booths. Some were
relatives of ham, perhaps?

Also, you will be among hams. Most of them will be too occupied with ham stuff
and not be interested in the women there. So there will be much less
competition.

KU2S wrote:

Besides... If we wanted to pay retail, we'd just go mail order.
Hamfests are where one goes to look for a bargain.


And that simple fact is lost on so many people.

And sellers... don't forget supply and demand. If you don't sell
anything, you won't make anything, and maybe that's another reason why
some people drop out.




- Mike KB3EIA -

I think a bigger problem is that some hams have absolutely no concept of
depreciation!!!!

I saw lately a ham trying to sell some PC's that were in the 100-200Mhz
range for over 400 bucks! Saw some others trying to sell some transcievers
for about 30 bucks less than they sold for new, BUT the rigs were AT LEAST
15 years old. I can understand that if there are not alot of those rigs out
there, but when there is a ton of a certain model, then the supply/demand
theory goes out the window and doesn't demand such a high price.......

Ryan KC8PMX


"Mike Coslo" wrote in message
...
KU2S wrote:

Besides... If we wanted to pay retail, we'd just go mail order.
Hamfests are where one goes to look for a bargain.


And that simple fact is lost on so many people.

And sellers... don't forget supply and demand. If you don't sell
anything, you won't make anything, and maybe that's another reason why
some people drop out.




- Mike KB3EIA -

"Ryan, KC8PMX" wrote in message
...
I think a bigger problem is that some hams have absolutely no concept of
depreciation!!!!

I saw lately a ham trying to sell some PC's that were in the 100-200Mhz
range for over 400 bucks! Saw some others trying to sell some
transcievers
for about 30 bucks less than they sold for new, BUT the rigs were AT LEAST
15 years old. I can understand that if there are not alot of those rigs
out
there, but when there is a ton of a certain model, then the supply/demand
theory goes out the window and doesn't demand such a high price.......

Ryan KC8PMX


I note that you said "trying to sell." I bet they were still sitting on the
table at the end of the day. Hamfests are poor places to get that high a
price out of the equipment as the prospective buyer merely needs to go
"across the aisle" so to speak to get a new one at very little more.

Price dropping when there is a glut is certainly part of the supply & demand
principle.

Low supply + low demand = medium price
Low supply + high demand = high price
High supply + low demand = low price
High supply + high demand = medium price

However anyone trying to sell a typical 14 year old radio who is trying to
get nearly new price will wait a long time. The most I will ever pay for
used gear, except under very special circumstances, is 1/2 to 2/3 the new
price. If they won't sell for that, I'll buy new and get a warranty.

Dee D. Flint,

In article , "Ryan, KC8PMX"
writes:

I saw lately a ham trying to sell some PC's that were in the 100-200Mhz
range for over 400 bucks!

Well, they're just outa their gourds, that's all.

Table next to mine on Sunday had a Compaq 7360 slightly used in the original
box with all the paperwork and goodies. 500 MHz K6/Athlon processor, 128 meg
ram, burner, speakers, modem, etc.. No monitor. Clean, working, ready to go.
$100 OBO. I was really tempted.

73 de Jim, N2EY

In article , "Kim"
writes:

It will be a truly deregulated market when a REP provides "block pricing"
for entire neighborhoods. The more neighbors/streets/blocks that want to be
involved, the better the price. No reason residential markets shouldn't be
able to negotiate price--it just hasn't been done yet (well, at least that I
know of).

That'd be a hoot, Kim! Imagine trying to get a bunch of neighbors to agree on
something like that. Maybe in those McMansion-CC&Rs-out-the-wazoo communities,
tho...

The big joke about all this is that we really don't choose who actually
generates "our" electricity. It's more of a shares type of thing.

And after the mess out on the Left Coast a few summers ago, and now the
revelations of Enron double-dealing, the idea of highly regulated monopoly
utilities looks better and better, in some ways.....

Which reminds me - how come we can't buy group auto insurance?

73 de Jim, N2EY

Why not create some type of organization legally recognized as some type of
a corporation or whatever might be close to that and get FLEET insurance??


Ryan KC8PMX



Which reminds me - how come we can't buy group auto insurance?

73 de Jim, N2EY

"LA Runabout" wrote in message
...
Often heard comments from hams attending a hamfest:

Where are all the dealers?

1) Most are Out of Business from lack of sales and/or were fed up with
putting up with
exceedingly cheap, dirty minded, odiferous old men. Also the complete
looneys
with the ball-mount antennas on their hard hats, which they used to see
at
each and every hamfest, year after year after year, who last parted
with a
$5 Bill when Jimmy Carter was President.

2) Their now on e-Bay where you can make big $$$ selling
40+ year old tube radios to complete suckers. (errr..radio
collectors)

3) Gave up long ago when they saw the writing-on-the-wall
with 65+ yo hams who still chain smoked and drank
like fish at the VFW or AL Hall and were 2 steps
from the graveyard.

4) Kids have abandoned ham radio a VERY long ago.
Oh sure, some ham's kid will be brow-beaten to get his
to get his license just so the old man can look
good at the club meeting, but sure as glub made
green apples, when the kid (uaually male and white)
turns 13 or 14 and the hormones kick-in, ham radio
goes away and in comes girls and Internet Chat rooms
and music swapping. (Hint: Put a teenager of 2004 in
front of a table with an FT-1000MP on one side and
and Apple Ipod with all accessories on the other and
tell him he can take his choice what he wants. Guess
what electronic goodie will win out in 98.9% of the time
with today's teenagers..?)

How come there are way less dealers this year?

See the above. (Plus it makes VERY GOOD FINANCIAL
SENSE to keep a listing of the hams in your area. When they
finally croak, and this is a sure bet per reason #3 above.)

In most cases their XYL's can't stand their ham radio, their male
ham friends and those goddammed antennas in the back yard !
Keep a list. When the Ham's name is in the Obit Listing in the
newspaper, be ready to pay a visit on successive trash nights
when she may put her dead hubby's radios out on the curb
or sells the radios for peanuts at the springtime yard sale.
Also place a call and offer to clean out all that radio crap a
few weeks after he's planted in Terra Firma! You may strike
a bargain like I did once and pick up pair of TS-850's for
$100.00 - (later re-sold on E-Sucker at considerable profit)

Why don't dealers come to hamfests anymore?

Most of em are too damm old and can't walk up
a flight of stairs at home, let alone a flea market.
Comes from years of smoking cancer-sticks or
smelly pipes. Watch'em drop in QST each month.
(Wayne Green was 100% right on this tobacco issue)

Often heard comments from hams at a hamfest when speaking
to a dealer at a hamfest:

Hey, how come youze guys dont have special hamfest prices?
Your prices are way too high.
Will you take a $100 less for this rig, since we're at a hamfest?
When are youze guys going to bring rigs to hamfests that people
wanna buy?
You guys stink, I can do better through your competitor's catalog.
This rig is scratched, will you take $250 off the marked price?
Hey, tell me about this new rig (takes up 35 mins of salesman's time,
then walks away saying he can get it for less.)

QSL and 10-4 on EVERYTHING you said above.
I've seen and heard it hundreds of time.

Comment Dealer makes when asked by hamfest committee
to set up at a hamfest:
Not worth my time or the expense.

Roger-Roger-Roger! Somebody buy that man a beer! : )

My gripe is why the hell do they have to be soooo early on the weekend? The
weekend is my time to relax and sleep in a little bit compared to my
workweek of which I normally have to be up at about 5:30am. If they were to
start at say 10am instead of 7am or 8am like I see most of them start I
might actually go to more of the hamfests....... (since I have to drive at
least 1-3 hours to get to most of them.)

The other gripe is, personal hygiene....... is it really a huge inconvience
for someone to grab a quick shower and toss on a little bit of
antipersperant/deodorant???

Ryan KC8PMX



"Steve Stone" wrote in message
et...

So what you are saying is that hams attending hamfests should buy damaged
radios at list
price ?

Everyone likes a bargain. Everyone likes to make a profit.

Somewhere in between there is a middle ground.

Steve
N2UBP

In article , says...
Often heard comments from hams attending a hamfest:

Where are all the dealers? How come there are way less dealers
this year? Why don't dealers come to hamfests anymore?




Often heard comments from hams at a hamfest when speaking
to a dealer at a hamfest:

Hey, how come youze guys dont have special hamfest prices?
Your prices are way too high.
Will you take a $100 less for this rig, since we're at a hamfest?
When are youze guys going to bring rigs to hamfests that people