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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2014 8:44:46 GMT
I was hoping for EKP too...couldn't find what i needed at the show so placed an order for £50 with EKP last night online but it would have been nice to have picked up what I needed at the show...IMHO £1200 is too much for a small stand, that's an awful lot of sales for the small companies to make just to break even. Malcolm also mentioned to me how things seemed a little quite, especially on the Thursday.
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Post by Roger on Oct 20, 2014 9:50:23 GMT
That's an awful lot of money for a small business to find. I'm afraid that it's always been the same with shows though. Our old company spent tend of thousands on being at shows but in the old days you had to go or you weren't seen. It's all different now when you can see and buy on the internet. The organisers are slow to respond to this fact and want it to be like the old days.
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dscott
Elder Statesman
Posts: 2,438
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Post by dscott on Oct 20, 2014 10:02:10 GMT
Growing a beard to hide the double chin and not cutting going grey hair for 5 months so can buy a new sorry extra lathe and milling machine helps. Also being with a young daughter and non aging wife helps. Still got instantly recognized by Baggo when we met!
Bought Katie the biggest ice cream she could carry by the traction engines, took loads of photographs of ideas and an upside-down Paddington, the 7 1/4" version of Speedy and bought some copper for SIMP's boiler. KFC on the way home via picking up a special set of frames for a .................. Black Five from an ex L.M.S. he wouldn't say british rail! Fireman!!!
Then it Rained and I had paid for the M6 back from Birmingham? I thought that the first run was usually done dry?
David.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2014 11:18:02 GMT
Quote}---- "It's all different now when you can see and buy on the internet. The organisers are slow to respond to this fact and want it to be like the old days."...........Which is why I put forwards that call to the Organisers and Traders..........If between them they don't get their act together sharpish, then the third part of the "Triangle" ie}--- the customer base will eventually dwindle away to the point of no return..........As you will have read in my post, one of my ideas is that you can order and pay ON-LINE, inform the trader when you'll be collecting (am or pm) and then just go to their stand and collect...........Increased access and trade, reduced overheads / stand charges, more exposure and better customer interface.....What's not to like ??
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Post by Roger on Oct 20, 2014 11:59:22 GMT
I agree Alan, but what history tells us is that often shows go below a critical mass and then die. That's not always a bad thing, because if there's genuine interest, someone will pick up the baton and do create a new show. This is what happened several times in the PCB industry, although now there are only shows in Germany, there isn't enough reason to show in the UK any more. I feel sure there will be a Midlands Show for some time to come though, there seems to be a lot of interest.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2014 11:59:26 GMT
Does anyone know who the prizewinners were in class 3 (locos 5" and above). All I could see in the competition area were a well-made King that surprisingly only won a 'highly commended' certificate, and a badly-painted 9F that was there two years ago and was commended. I guess the first, second and third prizewinners were on club stands, but just where?
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Post by houstonceng on Oct 20, 2014 13:04:47 GMT
Buying on line and then ringing the trader to pick it up is only any good if they are already committed to attend a show. Many will just not attend and charge postage. It's cheaper for them.
Talking of Rotogrip, they were at the show after, someone said, three years away, however in relationship to their stands of old where you could buy most of their stock, the stand at MMEEx this year was pathetic. I stood next to someone enquiring about QC holders for Dixon posts and was told " We didn't bring any down"
I was interested in their QC holders as well, since of the ones I've bought over the years, only theirs and some second hand ones from RDG (when they sold previously owned) fitted directly onto my Dixon without needing modification. OK, they are more expensive than RDG or Cronos ( who weren't there) but I prefer to buy for a little more than get em home and find they don't fit. So that's at least two sales lost.
Arc Euro no longer attend shows, Cronos missing, Hemmingway as well. Greenwood stand looking MT but JB Cutting tools doing a roaring trade. Does that tell you something ?
Perhaps the best way would be for traders, like the coal an, to park their vans and supply to their buyers without paying for a stand. Not something the organisers would wear me thinks.
I wasn't impressed by the size of the tent and the outside tea/coffee stall. OK the entrance area has been extended, but the tent was narrower as well as shorter and the extra tent that housed the cafe and a few exhibits could still have been there. Is Dr Death hoping to turn the whole area into a permanent building ? I understood that was his requirement but vetoed by the council.
The up side is that it's a better exhibition than Sandown which has even less traders these days, and the models - which I mainly go to see - are starting to rival Sandown.
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Post by fostergp6nhp on Oct 20, 2014 17:46:01 GMT
The higher the prices the less traders will go, so less income and up the prices will go again, etc, etc.
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Post by albert on Oct 20, 2014 18:19:37 GMT
Hello Jason, I enjoyed your video a lot ,but, it would have been even better if you had left the music?? out so I could then enjoy the back ground engine beats and the general noise of an exhibition.
Albert
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dscott
Elder Statesman
Posts: 2,438
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Post by dscott on Oct 20, 2014 20:11:41 GMT
Katie and I have done all the shows like Sandown, Ally Pally, Bristol and Guildford. This was my first visit back to the Midlands for 10 years. I went to the second show in Leicester as a student then followed it till Stoneleigh with a slow collection of castings and materials over that time.
We enjoyed the show on Sunday finding many things of interest on the club stands. Buying from College Engineering, J. B. cutting tools and having a lovely chat as a future customer of Bridgeport Castings.
The future as I see it is a transfer to local clubs (as long as it does not rain Guildford 2012!!!) and have several smaller venues to which Traders would be attracted to by an eager set of customers and reasonable rates!!!
David.
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Post by ppplant on Oct 20, 2014 20:21:20 GMT
Jason, thanks for posting the video. It is my Garrett on the saw bench, I never get the chance to see it working, it is nice to be able to see what is happening. Phil
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Post by Rob on Oct 20, 2014 21:43:37 GMT
You'd think they'd change the business model slightly and have reduced price for exhibitors/traders, or even make it free. Presumably, the more there is to attract people to the event, the more money they make through ticket sales. took loads of photographs of ideas and an upside-down Paddington, the 7 1/4" version of Speedy Where was that? I totally missed it! I saw the 5" Speedy, but no 7 1/4"!
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Post by fostergp6nhp on Oct 21, 2014 7:01:01 GMT
Maybe a reduced stand price for the ME traders to make it more attractive, after all the organisers also have to return a profit.
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Post by ejparrott on Oct 21, 2014 8:05:30 GMT
You'd think they'd change the business model slightly and have reduced price for exhibitors/traders, or even make it free. Presumably, the more there is to attract people to the event, the more money they make through ticket sales. took loads of photographs of ideas and an upside-down Paddington, the 7 1/4" version of Speedy Where was that? I totally missed it! I saw the 5" Speedy, but no 7 1/4"! It was in the tent, outer wall..forget the club now...
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Post by Roger on Oct 21, 2014 12:22:52 GMT
I must have had my eyes shut, I didn't see either of them!
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Tony K
Elder Statesman
Posts: 1,573
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Post by Tony K on Oct 21, 2014 13:56:14 GMT
I must have had my eyes shut, I didn't see either of them! Maybe this is one of them?
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Post by Roger on Oct 21, 2014 14:17:49 GMT
At first glance I thought so too, but no, it's not a SPEEDY. I like the way the buffer brackets are on the outside though, I wish mine looked like that.
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Post by GWR 101 on Oct 21, 2014 15:30:42 GMT
Is the one at the front a Juliet 1. Like your comment Roger,I wish mine looked like that. Paul
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Post by Roger on Oct 21, 2014 16:03:24 GMT
Is the one at the front a Juliet 1. Like your comment Roger,I wish mine looked like that. Paul I have no idea but I'm sure someone will tell us. I can see me re-working that part of the frame at some point, but not now. There's too much else that needs making and it would set me back too far to do it now.
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SteveW
Elder Statesman
Posts: 1,399
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Post by SteveW on Oct 21, 2014 20:54:13 GMT
I must have had my eyes shut, I didn't see either of them! Maybe this is one of them? Guys, that's a shot of the Cheltenham stand. Maybe able to help if you need to ask the owner of that inverted chassis.
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