Slowly fading away -

I went to our local (Albany. NY) flea market/camera show this weekend. This is held in Spring and Fall at a local

hotel.

 

When I first attended, five years ago, the vendors were many and packed into a barely adequate (small, its not a big

hotel) ballroom and a second banquet room. This time, only half of the ballroom was used and there was plenty of

space and empty tables.

 

No darkroom equipment this time to speak of and only one fellow with junk boxes of odd parts and filters. Only one

vendor selling any real variety of Leica gear.

 

I can't imagine these shows will go on much longer. I'll miss them.

 

BTW, I came away with a 39mm skylight filter and a couple of Leica cassettes.

Ten years ago there was a camera show that was held here in Orlando in Jan. that was a 2 day event. There hasn't

been a show in Orlando in about 5 years. Yes, I miss them also. And, it is not so much that no one wants to buy

and sell as it is the poor pre-sale advertising that kills these sales with poor attendance.

 

Camera shows, for me, are where dealers show stuff that is over-priced or at the same price as retail but, if anything

they sell is marginally functional, zip, they are gone by the end of the day so what warranty? Next, there are the few

non-professional guys who decide to get a table and get rid of their excess photo gear. These guys have possibility

of selling something at a decent price. I also go to see the "museum pieces" and test out gear. But, of course, the

very best of the part of these sales are the people who attend and bring something to sell. Not always easy to tackle

them on the 10 yard line before they reach a dealers table but, hey, I have picked up a few bargains much to the

dismay of the dealers who sometimes have complained.

 

The real problem with running a camera show is the cost. Renting a place to hold it, renting the tables, and getting

insurance. Then you have to spread that cost over the number of table rentals and some people don't want to pay

$50. to $75. for a table. But, as difficult as it all is, I have to admit my total amazement at a show that is held here

on a regular basis - a bead show. Yes, beads. Even I can't figure how they are a success.

There used to be at least four shows a year in Chicago, It is now down to one and probably only about one fifth as many vendors.

Blame ebay.

 

That and the digital revolution making film gear less interesting to newer photographers.

Mainly ebay, I think. Also KEH and the internet more generally.

 

Local camera shows are an incredibly inefficient way of selling. It would be like if you had corporate stocks to sell, taking the stock certificates to a hotel ballroom to sell them instead of trading them on an exchange. With so few sellers, so few buyers, and such high transaction costs, there is no way you are going to arrive at the true market price of your items. That can provide windfalls to clever buyers or sellers, depending on whether someone overestimates or underestimates the market price, and a person with an internet-enabled handheld could go to those shows and take advantage of arbitrage opportunities by checking the true market price against the offered price in real time, but those are all just symptoms of inefficiency. A lot of inefficient things are enjoyable but all we can really do is mourn their passing.

IMO, it is definitely Ebay. I've done some searches, and a number of the dealers I remember from the hotel shows and Shutterbug now have set up "shops" on the ebay. Less overhead, larger audience, don't have to spend their Sunday schlepping boxes and manning a table. Can't blame them, but I sure do miss the opportunity to try before I buy.

Pity.

 

But the regular shows in my little country (the Netherlands) seem still as well attended as a few years ago. That having said, most of my second hand gear comes from eBay and similar. But it's just great to browse and see so many stuff.

Ebay certainly is partially responsible for the demise of camera shows but I believe that some cause is the nature of the cameras manufactured in recent years.

 

Digital cameras and the electronics-heavy film cameras don't have much resale value (if they're working at all after a few years). The vendors are being left with little to sell (or can be sold).

I haven't been to one for a few years, but I think that gun shows are still thriving. Maybe, because ebay is a non-player..

 

Having been a member of photo.net for a few years, I also suspect that this forum is receiving fewer inputs.

 

I miss steam locomotives.

This Sunday is the Second Sunday Camera Show in Wayne, NJ. It's much smaller than it used to be and I look for books as much as I look for camera equipment. The sellers are closer to my father's age than to mine but if I go with a friend it's still fun.