What makes a militaria show ‘good’?

Ever since our hobby started hosting its own shows, organizers have been trying to crack the code on figuring out what makes a show “good” in the eyes of both the attendees and the displayers. Often, what makes a show profitable for a dealer isn’t what makes it good for the shopper. Is there a middle ground?

Shows in the post-eBay era

Up until the advent of the Internet and eBay, military relic shows were the primary venue for dealers to interact with customers. In addition to displaying at events across the nation, many American dealers relied on the sales list that he or she would send to a select number of customers or subscribers.

After the Internet became accessible to most and word spread of a new selling venue called “eBay,” the way dealers and collectors interacted changed dramatically. In the late 1990s, fewer collectors felt the need to go to shows, and in turn, declining attendance and sales caused many dealers to consider going to a show to be a waste of time—after all, they believed they could sell their items for more on eBay and not incur the travel expense of gas, lodging and food. By the turn of the 21st Century, many were asking, “Are shows dead?”

Like any marriage, the honeymoon between dealers and collectors with eBay didn’t last. The Internet giant continued to raise fees and strip any recourse from dealers in disputes, so many longtime, committed eBay dealers dropped out of the mix. They tried a few other Internet venues that were similar to eBay but with far less viewers before realizing they had to try something different to connect with collectors. By about 2005, many concluded that shows were, indeed, the best venue for selling. Seven years later, the hobby is seeing a revival in shows—both in dealer and visitor attendance.

What makes a good show?

My friends on the U.S. Militaria Forum (www.usmilitariaforum.com) had a very good discussion a few weeks ago when a participant who goes by the handle, “Old B-1,” asked, “What are the makings of a good militaria show?” Old B-1 invited forum members to, “List your ideas that can make a militaria show good.” The answers were very interesting. In the hope of inspiring some show promoters, I will try to condense some of the extremely valuable points many forum members shared.

Our buddy, Old B-1 seeded the discussion with his own list:

Old B-1, though, was looking at what qualities could he, as a potential show promoter, provide to make it a good experience. As the replies from the Forum poured in (in all, 21 posts followed Old B-1’s initial question), it became clear: There was one set of answers best for the dealers and the another set that was best for the show visitor.

“Beast” spoke for both audiences, however. He addressed location, lighting and aisle size: “One of the most important things to me is location. It should be close to a major highway with easy access. This also helps with the access to hotels and food. Also size and lighting inside the facility. I have been to too many shows where you can't look at the tables because the aisles are jammed.”

It was noteworthy that good food came up several times. In addition to commenting on location and careful scheduling to avoid overlap with other militaria shows, veteran collector and forum moderator Gil Sanow added, “good food at reasonable prices” was essential for the “good show” experience, but cautioned, “This won't bring people in, but it'll keep 'em happier when they get there!”

Changing inventory would seem to make obvious sense, but many show vendors seem to miss the value of rotating stock. Justin, who goes by “OD Man,” addressed one of the most frequently heard complaints from show goers, “There needs to be fresh items and dealers at each show,” noting, “There is a local military/gun show near me that I can honestly say hasn't changed in four years. Same items, same people—even the tables are in the same spot!”

All of this chatter, though, subsided when “Shenkursk” (who happens to use the American North Russia insignia as his avatar) raised several valuable points, astutely noting that any show promoter is, “…trying to serve two distinct groups of people—dealers and collectors—each with a set of goals that are sometimes different, but overlap in many areas.” He aptly noted, dealers want a lot of collector attendance. It is crucial, though, that a promoter recognizes the difference between “boots through the door” and “collector attendance.” Shenkursk summarized, “People who come to the door on Saturday, pay admission, walk around, and BUY stuff. This is not to be confused with 'public' - curious non-collector folks that pay admission, come in, walk around, enjoy a nice visit, then leave.”

Confusing “people through the gate” with “potential customers” is the same thing that happened during the peak of eBay selling. Sellers misinterpreted tens of thousands of users with “potential customers.” The “hit indicator” at the bottom of the sellers’ listings quickly dispelled the myth. Whereas there might be millions of people using eBay, that doesn’t mean anything if only 37 people view your item!

Shenkursk went on to build on Old B-1’s list of what makes a show good for dealers (with a fair amount of humor that was simply too good to not include here!):

Our friend Shenkursk did not abandon the collectors in his pontificating. Quite the contrary, having written an equally informative (and entertaining) list of what makes an event good for the collector:

“The bottom line,” Shenkursk concluded, “a good show is a deceptively tricky thing, subject to a lot of factors— many of which are beyond your control. Dealers need to make dollars to make their travel worthwhile. Collectors need to find new treasures for their collections. Everybody needs to have a safe, fun time in a nice facility. Being within an hour's drive of a major airport is important, as is having hotels, restaurants, etc. near the facility. Big cities can be a problem due to parking, gun laws, traffic, etc., but you don't want to be too far away from a major population base or the crowd goes down.” A good show, it would seem, requires a show organizer to be both a tightrope walker and a juggler (and knowing how to supply good food doesn’t hurt either!).

Whether you are a collector or a dealer, what do you feel are the ingredients of a “good show?” The answers to this question can help shape the buying, selling, trading and collecting military relics and historic military vehicles over the next five years. Comment at the bottom of this blog or send your thoughts directly to me at:

John.adams-Graf@fwmedia.com

I will combine your comments to those submitted to this blog and share them in our print magazines. The strength of our hobby depends on a healthy communication between dealers, collectors and show organizers. Let’s work together so that we can enjoy the hobby and insure it is still available to the next generation of military enthusiasts.

John Adams-Graf

Editor, MT & MVM