A Little Smaller Attendance Than I Expected

I've never been there.  Are these vendors that would have booths inside the arena as well, or are these just regular guys trying to sell their stuff on tables they brought?

I've seen it both ways. Sometimes they sell only at these "bandit" meets in the hotels, fire hall, and other venues, however, they may also get tables at official TCA York show. For some, they don't want to deal with the rules and cost of the TCA show, others, they do both because the crowd is there and the sales are good. I'm sure everybody has their reason and opinion on why, but that's been my experience.

I've been to this meet albeit only in the fall.  What you have pictured is sparse compared to October.  There is an inside hall and typically also vendors in a spillover room, the lobby, and hallway areas.  The lot area that you have pictured is usually full of vendors.

ALL of the bandit meets these days are mere shadows of what they once were. I can well remember going to York early in the week for a good number of years and making the rounds to all those sites over a two day period. Back then, it really did pretty much take two full days to see everything. Found a number of great items at the parking lot and hotel lobby/meeting room sites over the years, but pretty much stopped visiting them after Eastern Division changed the regular meet dates, with the bandit meets being adversely impacted. There was a time when it was virtually impossible to find parking nearby at many of those sites, and you often had to do a good bit of walking just to get to where the action was. However, I really enjoyed those mini-meets because it was great to be outdoors when the weather was nice; the walking was good exercise; running into old friends was a definite plus; and it was just fun to walk around with a burger or hot dog and fries while scouting the available wares.

I've noticed the bandit meet got smaller when the york show added Thursday's.  Like Alan said that parking lot used to be jam packed and so were the other shows that are no more.

@E-UNIT-79 posted:

I've noticed the bandit meet got smaller when the york show added Thursday's.

Precisely why the 'official' York meet added the half day on Thursday: kill off the competition.  I recall talking to many vendors back in the early to mid 1990's who sold at the bandit meets but not at the 'official' meet.

Yes the good old days are gone

Made the  short one hour trip earlier today to the Wyndham Garden train meet. This is my first time going to a York 'bandit' meet. Sure wish I had gone to the bandit meets years ago, 'back in the glory days'. Indoors in the banquet hall there was lots to see, and the vendors were great, all seemed to enjoy the conversation, tradition and experience of being there as much or more than they were concerned about making a sale. Although the parking lot was thin with tables, the friendly camaraderie  shared  by the vendors that braved the windy conditions was contagious. Had a great time, picked up a nice Lionel 226e at a fair price I was happy with, and also a Weaver outside braced boxcar for $10, and a nice MTH premier reefer for $25. I was tempted to hit the Four Seasons Sheraton meet, but it was already 12:30 and they shut down at 2:00pm; and besides I wanted to save some funds for the fairgrounds tomorrow.

@aussteve posted:

Pictures from the Wyndham parking lot show at 10:30am on Tuesday

Pics of the outdoor lot can be deceiving - rainy on Tuesday and really windy today - nobody wanted to be outside.  However, your general observation is correct - there were several empty tables inside.  I no longer bother with the other bandit meets.

I think eBay and the train auction sites did more to reduce the bandit meets than Thursday York.

I was there yesterday. They are a sad shadow of what they once were. The Wyndham looked just as sad as it did in those pictures. There were some nice European and PreWar items inside. Four Points wasn't much either. They had two rooms. They had to be at by noon. The second room was empty when I got there at 11:00. The picture is from the first room at Four Points.

Scott Smith

@carl552 posted:

I think eBay and the train auction sites did more to reduce the bandit meets than Thursday York.

My thoughts exactly.  I have bought some nice NOS/NIB stuff from eBay for very reasonable amounts, and I have bought way more NOS/NIB stuff from Stout auctions than I'm comfortable with telling my wife.  That, coupled with a couple of purchases of new stuff from Mario's and Hennings keeps me happy.  If I did go to one of these things, my single emphasis would be to find a ZW-L.  As everyone knows they're hard to find.  There was a NIB ZW-L on a recent auction that went for almost $2,000!  I stopped my bidding at $850.

EBay, ED TCA??? How about fewer attendees, cost of fuel, and covid. There used to be sellers from across the country at the bandits. Who thinks its worth their while to make that trip today? Even the retailers a few hours away no longer attend. Its a downward spiral. Fewer sellers mean fewer buyers.

Pete

Ghosts of the good old days, and worst l have ever seen.  Boom to bust...hope Fairgrounds is better, or l'll find another rathole ro pound motel and gas $ down!

I went to the bandit meets on Wednesday and was shocked by how small they have gotten even since just 2019.  I remember one spring York meet it snowed while I was at the Wyndham show and there were still more tables outside than yesterday.