[Ravenser]

QUOTE QUOTE (pedromorgan @ 31 Mar 2008, 08:15)
The frustrating thing is that it can be done. the new erith show i am told was a dream come true for the traders.

As one who attended Erith I would agree with that, but why oh why do the rising costs get passed on to the trade?

Regards

I suspect they get passed on all round. I believe the venue for Erith is a primary school in SE London with layouts in the classrooms. Ally Pally is a full blown professional exhibition venue with perminent staff, catering concessions to be kept happy etc etc. While I don't of course know the respective venue costs, I'd bet a modest sum that the cost per square foot at Ally Pally is a good deal higher than for Erith . Admission price was £10 on the door as opposed to £7 at York - I know there was a fairly generous system of concessions for advanced bookings, vouchers attached to BRM, etc but still theres a fair premium for being in the capital - both shows had 40 layouts

Apart from the traders and the gate there is no source of revenue - with a big show you are forced into a professional venue with inhouse caterers who expect to make their cut - no room for the WAGS to chip in with that useful few hundred pounds

It's a sobering thought that there were probably 3 times more model shops represented at the show than exist within the M25 ring these days - the high cost of rents in London has wiped out nearly all the local model trade. I'm not sure that conditions in Greater London are viable for traders at any level these days

 

[Ravenser]

I don't believe "more value for money venues" capable of taking a show with 40 layouts exist within the M25 - though you could argue that's exactly where Warners are heading in looking to do a show at a new showground at Peterborough. I'd imagine the costs per square foot, for exhibitors accomidation etc etc at Peterborough would be literally a fraction of those for the Ally Pally show. Spalding is held in a big agricultural shed outside the town and their cost must be small in comparison to shows in the SE

Of course the same pressure applies to the medium sized shows as well , who are also faced with relentless rack-renting from their venues. Rents have already more or less wiped out the London model shops . Eventually much of the infrastructure of the hobby could be driven out of the more properous and densely populated parts of the country and we end up with a world where you buy over the internet from specialist traders living in Mid Wales , Cornwall and Invernesshire