The Little World

Many exhibitions and fairs have trade stands as a major feature of their days…and the WASMEX held recently was no exception. I counted half a dozen or so of various sorts in the main display hall. Most of them were old acquaintances and in one case I got to meet an old friend as well.

You might wonder if the business of bringing your goods to the display hall would be counter-productive. It might be if you have a solid bricks-and-mortar shop in the metro area that people attend anyway. After all, they could come in during business hours and you wouldn’t have to pack a car full of stock for the weekend. Plus you could have computer and till failures in the comfort of the shop rather than at a folding table…

But consider the advantages as well:

You can get customers who can never get to your shop because of work commitments. If they have money because of this work, you might get some of it.

Show special prices may shift stock that has barnacled to the shelves. Show buyers are often cashed up and eager to spend.

You meet new people who may be customers of other shops and then have an opportunity to hijack them. You still have to be polite to your competitors but only until the show closes.

You can donate stock as prizes. If you do this with gift certificates you can be doggone sure that the winner will spend more on their visit than you’ve given them.

Now as to the old saw about the hobby of scale model building dying, I refer you to the Sunday Swap Meet sale outside the hall. There was a line of customers outside the main door – kept there to allow the sellers to set up in peace and the buyers to get a fair go – that looked like a Shanghai bank panic. It may have stretched to Northam…

There was buying and selling on a blockbuster scale. I purchased a coveted model for $ 10.00 and ran away with it like Gollum in Lord Of The Rings. To be fair I also purchased some things from sellers in the hall and they were nearly as good. And yes, I have started on the new $ 10.00 airplane and it is all I could have hoped for.

There was also a stand that allowed people to paint figures that looked a very clever idea. I’d welcome any stands that conducted tutorials as well. Indeed this sort of thing is common at other trade fairs and society gatherings. I wonder if the committee would welcome offers from people willing to conduct these – I can think of several that I can do myself.

In the end, I spent all my show money and had all my fun, but I was left wondering whether or not the shops that did not attend did themselves any favours. They may feature plastic scale models on their shelves but the fact that they did not put up a show table tells potential buyers that the kit market isn’t important to them…or is it?