@Hudson J1e posted:However, it seems to me that ever since the public was allowed to enter the dealers halls not that many have showed up. I am just judging this by how many I have seen at York. Maybe there is more than I think but without real stats I don't know.
Clem's Primer posted some of the (unofficial) stats regarding "the public" attendance over the years:
- Apr. 2017: Abt. 600 (this was the first time "the public" was allowed into the dealer halls)
- Oct. 2017: Abt. 400
- Apr. 2018: 389
- Oct. 2018: 418
- Apr. 2019: 332
This is about the attendance of a small one day fire hall show. I wonder how many of them eventually joined, how many were just looking for something to entertain themselves, and how many were there to take advantage of the meet without being a TCA member?
I don't think opening up the whole meet to "the public" would do anything other than kill the meet or turn it into another small regional TCA meet that people more than an hour or two away wouldn't bother attending. And how many people would drop their TCA memberships in a hot minute if they could "get the milk for free without buying the cow?" I have talked about this subject with many table holders in the member halls since I joined their ranks, and the vast majority I talked with would stop coming if the member halls were opened to "the public."
For years, Greenberg held 2-day weekend train shows in what we refer to as Orange Hall (I don't know if they still do or not), yet from what I have heard from my train friends in the area, they only occupied half the hall. Why didn't those shows get bigger? Why didn't more dealers and manufacturers/importers come? Why didn't more non-professional dealers come? The Greenberg people I have known over the years have been pretty dedicated people who knew what they were doing, so it wasn't a matter of competence. York grew because of the TCA as a whole, both the EDTCA people who do so much work to make York happen, and the TCA members who support the organization and the meet. Yeah, I wish I didn't have to use so many vacation days to go to York, but I consider that, as well as my TCA dues, and the fees I pay to get into York a small price to pay for the fun I have there, and the friends I have made there.
Andy
