Computer Shows...

[casey]

I just returned from Allentown and the computer show. I have been going to Computer shows for about 15 years and at one time I could go to a show within driving range every weekend. It's down to a couple of shows every couple of months. When I pulled up to the parking area I was surprised at the amount of cars there and had to park far away from where I usually park. As I approached the Hall I saw that they also had a pinball/amusement machine show going at the same time in another building.
Inside the computer show it was dead city. Not only were there fewer merchants but fewer people. It seems that the era of computer shows will be coming to an end. The prices aren't as good as the Internet and half the stands were either printer ink or miscellaneous goods that have nothing to do with computers. I have seen worse shows but not where this one was. I did pick up new floppy drives for $7 and Sata cables for $1. I saw the sata cables up to $5.99 each, which I though was crazy...I haven't been to a show in a few months and it looks like it will be many more before I go again...

[dale@fcg]

Were you at the Trenton Computer Festival, Larry?

[PeteF]

Inside the computer show it was dead city. Not only were there fewer merchants but fewer people. It seems that the era of computer shows will be coming to an end. The prices aren't as good as the Internet and half the stands were either printer ink or miscellaneous goods that have nothing to do with computers.

Casey,
I've been going to the shows since about 1985. Mostly the Trenton Computer
Fest and other shows in central & south Jersey. At the Trenton show I loved
the fleamarket best but the "free talks" thing also drew me in. I noticed the
same thing as you in the past few years as show attendence keeps dropping.

What killed it?

Well, now as I walk through the computer fleamarket, what goes through
my mind is that I can find the items I'm looking for easier and get better
info on each item by going to eBay. So I think eBay is largely responisble
for the death of computer fleamarkets. Maybe the same thing for vendors
selling new stuff. The world has changed dramatically as a result of Internet.

As for the "free talks" thing at the Trenton Show, I noticed this year that
they had less talks to choose from and not many interested me. This was
the major reason why I did not attend this year. No big deal because if you
select a topic on just about any of those free talks, and Google it, you can
probably more info to keep you reading for hours.

Ironic as it sounds, I believe the Internet killed the computer shows.

---pete---

[casey]

Were you at the Trenton Computer Festival, Larry?

That's a little far for me to go, although I did go to the
Edison show in 1992 just to buy a computer. I went to Newark, Delaware a couple of times but that was my limit, although the way things are going I might have to change my mind.

I agree that the Internet killed the computer shows. I'm much more up on the prices and noticed today that I could get a better deal on most stuff over the Internet.
Besides with the few vendors that were there, it took away your choice of merchandise.

[PeteF]

Were you at the Trenton Computer Festival, Larry?

Hey dale,
Keep an eye on your number of posts. It's 94 as I'm replying now.
You are classified as "member" at 94, but I suspect you become
"senior" when you hit 100 posts or 101 posts.

Does anyone know what trigger points are for the various
user classifications?

---pete---

[dbarrow]

It's the decline of the brick and mortar computer shop...
The shows were where these people went to get rid of old inventory. Or, they would throw together a few boxes from the old inventory and sell them.

More and more "local shops" are vanishing as margins have gotten very thin and they can't compete with the big online stores. Even most of the big ones in my south Jersey area bit the dust in the last couple years.

Without those vendors, the only ones left at the shows are people hawking old junk and stuff not related to computers at all....

[RAK]

I was at the Tri-State show over in Cherry Hill last month-they moved it from the high school to the National Guard Armory, but was still pretty crowded. It's never been one of the big shows but I can usually find what I'm looking for. There does seem to be a larger junk quota than in the past, though. And constantly bumping into other people tends to wear thin after a while. I only went into a local store once, a while ago; that was to find out how much it would cost to upgrade from my 450mhz Aptiva(I did say it was a While ago:)). He quoted me a price of 960$ o make a PIII unit. That's when I decided to learn to build my own.

[dale@fcg]

You mean "senior" has nothing to do with age. Can I retire if I become a senior member?

[mylanta]

Hey dale,
Keep an eye on your number of posts. It's 94 as I'm replying now.
You are classified as "member" at 94, but I suspect you become
"senior" when you hit 100 posts or 101 posts.

Does anyone know what trigger points are for the various
user classifications?

---pete---

On most VBulletin senior would be at 100 posts.

[dale@fcg]

I'm feelin old

[PeteF]

It's the decline of the brick and mortar computer shop...
The shows were where these people went to get rid of old inventory. Or, they would throw together a few boxes from the old inventory and sell them.

More and more "local shops" are vanishing as margins have gotten very thin and they can't compete with the big online stores. Even most of the big ones in my south Jersey area bit the dust in the last couple years.



Doug,
A while back, I read that many vendors attended the computer shows just
to generate CASH. The articles said they often sold at no profit but the main
goal was to generate CASH. I don't understand the retail business enough
to make sense of that.

The other issue you raise about the small computer shops disappearing
is interesting. In my area of NJ, (20 mile radius of Trenton) there are
plenty of Computer Repair Shops that also build & sell computers.

I was talking to Mike of Queens NY and asked him to open his local phone
book yellow pages to the Computer Repair section and he told me there
was practically nothing listed. I wonder if that is a new trend? Seems
very odd that there would be no market for small computer repair shops,
especially in a very densely populated area like Queens, NY.

This also makes me wonder if these trends mean new opportunities
for home based businesses that can operate & survive on a shoestring
budget whereas the bricks & morter storefront type business cannot
survive.

---pete---