[Milsurplus] Timonium, a one time great hamfest

[Peter Gottlieb]

My thoughts exactly!

I can't tell you how many times I've heard from sellers that they could get 
such-and-such for an item on ebay.  I then ask, why don't you sell it there then 
and not make the effort to haul it here and back home?

The reality is that, like you say, ebay can show you the maximum an item *may* 
fetch, but then you pay ebay and paypal fees and have to deal with problems 
which may occur in shipping (almost always ending up in the seller losing), 
buyers who demand to return the unit, and the occasional fraud (again, 
frequently the seller loses).  So, that peak price may not be so high in the 
end, and what about all the other of the same item which sold for less on ebay?  
And that is exactly why those sellers bring the item to hamfests, but they 
forget that the market is a different one there and they are unlikely to make 
significantly more on a bottom line basis at the hamfest.  There have been many 
times when I saw something really neat at a hamfest but couldn't get the seller 
to come down much (if at all) and then went home and got the same item 
(including shipping) for way under what the hamfest seller demanded.  And it 
gets delivered right to my door!  That happens enough times and it makes one 
think seriously if the time and expense of going to hamfests is worth it, at 
least from the tailgate purchasing standpoint.  Such seller attitudes play a 
definite part in the decline of hamfests.

Peter

On 4/8/2013 10:16 AM, Todd, KA1KAQ wrote:
> On Sun, Apr 7, 2013 at 6:00 PM, Steve Gajkowski <grasshopper at epix.net>wrote:
>
>> As usual, I found that unless you wanted to sell at well below market
>> prices
>> (not ebay), the stuff only sells to other vendors early in the fest,
>> otherwise people just reflect on when they had one!!
>>
> I think there's still a misconception out there among some hamfest sellers
> that ebay somehow reflects market price, which would explain why some folks
> continually haul things back home with them. Market price is what the
> current market will bear. I'd bet the Timonium market is considerably below
> the ebay highest prices paid market or Dayton, or even FrostFest.
>
> It comes down to what you really want to do: sell an item or keep hauling
> it around. I did the 'hauling it around' thing for a while until I got sick
> of it. Figuring up the handling time, gas, back pain etc it became clear
> pretty fast that the true value to me is having the item gone and out of my
> way. Once I embraced that concept, stuff began to disappear. The time and
> fees spent on ebay and shipping are no different.
>
> Unless there's a huge crowd gathered at your table throwing money at you,
> my advice is take the money and RUN! (o:
>
> I always recall the memory of outdoor tailgating up to the road at the
>> entrance and having to lug 130 lbs of 32v2 up the hill past the convention
>> building to stow in the car...
>>
> Must've had an extra transformer or three added inside? Mine tips the
> scales just over 100 lbs but it feels heavier ever time I move it!
>
> I was happy to see Jeep, n3hvg  Ted, w3pww  chuck w3fjj   Ed, ka3ptx and
>> others..
>>
> Was reading on AMfone.net that Chuck will be relocating to a new place in
> Delaware after the visit from that uninvited tree leveled his home. It'll
> be good to have his potent signal back on the air.
>
> Glad you guys had some fun at the 'fest. If you can meet up with friends
> and enjoy the social aspects of the event, it makes up for a lot of other
> things that are lacking as far as equipment or turnout. We used to have a
> group that met up in Fell's Point on Friday for dinner and beverage
> consumption, then of course the former party at KB3AHE/Slab & Carol's place
> after the 'fest. It made the trip worthwhile.
>
> ~ Todd,  KA1KAQ/4
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