Why are Whitman shows so expensive?

Granted, I've only been to Baltimore, so I'm making an assumption if they have shows elsewhere.

It's free to attend (if you don't "early bird"), and I've *heard* that it is rather pricey for dealers to rent tablespace... so I assume that the coin prices are higher than other shows to recoup some of that?

And the table rental is high compared to other shows because... The venue charges too much? What else could it be?

(Caveat: *some* people have told me that there are still bargains to be found, but it seems to me that they are getting harder and harder and take longer and longer (time and effort) to find.)

Thoughts? Comments? Rebuttals?

 

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What does a table cost per day at Whitman Baltimore ? Can you give us examples of other shows cost per table per day (i.e., FUN) ?

 

You want to see "expensive".
Try one of the ANA shows.

 

I can imagine....you have all the professional academics at that show I bet, in addition to a good crowd and dealers/vendors. And maybe Chicago, in the middle of the country, attracts more people so you can charge more for that, too.

My local club hosts a show and we charge a few hundred per table per day. More amenities (Wi-Fi, location, carpeting) it can double it to about $500/day. That's still cheap....the big Home Show or RV Show they charge $1,000 or $5,000 per table/booth.

 

I can't give any numbers... @ToughCOINS? How much do they charge at Baltimore?

I've just heard that it is pricey from several people... Buyers and sellers... And from experience, the coins *I've* been looking for have been on the high side...

 

Whitman is a very well run show. The Baltimore show is one of the
better attended shows. Well located and easily accessed by plane and
train.Two or three large auctions with each show. The major TPG's
attend as well as 90% of the national dealers. Easily accessed from
all of the major hotels, none of whom charge high prices. All kinds
of restaurants and entertainment. Like most shows, go the first two
days, on Saturdays the dealers start packing up early. Even if your
budget does not allow big purchases, you will see lots of nice coins
and get to meet with fellow collectors. Nothing like seeing and talking
about coins face to face with collectors.

 

I'd go to Baltimore Whitman, but time and money-wise I'm just doing FUN this year. Baltimore isn't far away but not sure I can swing it.

 

That's not bad.

But if you need 2 tables...add in transportation costs....hotel/meals....it adds up.

 

Even for a smaller dealer you can probably assume expenses of around $3K. If he is able to get a 15% mark up on what he sells, he is going to have to sell $20,000 worth of coins just to break even

 

That's what I always wondered about at a show like that, local ones (which cost less), or even just running an LCS: CAN you sell enough coins volume-wise and then at a 15-20% markup make enough to live on ?

And....how do you get that inventory ? If you buy from another dealer, if you pay close to retail, you can't charge 15-20% on top of that because you'll be priced too high. Unless you have enough retail people selling you at wholesale (the bid) and you have others buying retail (the ask), I always wondered how you could manage the balancing act.

 

A smaller dealer may be there 1-2 days. Perhaps Saturday morning and flying or driving out that day. They are frequently sharing a table with another dealer to split the costs. Possibly the same with lodging. I think you're overestimating costs. Even with flying, I bet you can keep costs down to around $1000-$1250 ish. At that range, you'd only need to move about $8-9k to break even.

But don't think of the show as a retail scenario, think of it as a business investment. Breaking even might be very desirable if you've done so by moving stale inventory. You could even be at a net loss for the show on paper, but if you have acquired fresh stock that you have buyers for, the show may have put you into an overall profitable position. You might make valuable contacts or acquire new customers through the show as well, which is harder to put a value on, but is also clearly worth some upfront cost (as with advertising).

 

That $750 plus fee is a big hole to get out of. Will rich spenders be attending? Are the bids in the sheet going up?

 

I guess I'd be stupid renting a table to sell my $500 collection.

 

Do you just knock off 5-10% for fellow dealers ? Is this an Unwritten Rule -- they'll do the same for you ?

 

No financial expert here, but tax wise I would expect these shows must provide some sort of tax deductible expenses for the dealers.

 

The expenses are certainly deductible, but there's no 1040 or Schedule C benefits that I can think of.

I'll let the actual dealers here confirm or refute that.

 

I'm going. Paid $750 for the table. About $400 for hotel. Then I'll have meals, but I do that cheap, with fresh breakfast at the hotel and free dinner courtesy of Heritage. I'm paying my son $100 to come help me out, so there's that. Then I've just got fuel in my Hyundai, but it gets good mileage.

One thing y'all may be forgetting is the X factor coin. We all have a cherrypick or two or three that if we sell at the show, pays for all our expenses. Additionally, the buying opportunities by setting up, getting in the show early, doing dealer to dealer trades, etc, can pay for all your expenses and then some.