Been following this discussion & feel I should comment as I too had a table at the the Fri/Sat show & the conclusion I have come to is it is the last time I will set up at this show.
I could go on about former CSMMI shows as I have been attending them both as a vendor, displayer, & attendee since the "old days" of the 1970's, but I will try to be brief as I don't wish to bore readers ---
This show back in the 1980's period was a super show, actually it would have been the "main attraction show" of southern ON back in those days - many dealers attended from UK & USA & the displays were of a very high quality - comparable with the major shows in the UK & USA.
The decline stated when the show moved to the St Catharines location around the mid '90's & I cannot say why this decline got going but it did over the yrs, & both vendor & attendee attendance gradually became poorer & poorer. The show moved briefly (2 yrs I think) to Kitchener & this turned out to be a disaster.
The decline continued with one exception in 2007 when the MCC & CSMMI put on a combined show & this show was quite successful. I did very well at this show & the displays were first class.
I missed the next two yrs but returned in 2010 & this show was a disaster also, primarily due to a conflict with another show in the 905 area that no one seemed to know about, & it seemed as if the CSMMI organizing committee was unaware of it also, thus attendance was way down on all three days of the show. Many vendors were complaining about the poor attendance & resultant loss of revenue.
The show moved back to Burlington I think in 2011. I attended as a spectator in 2012 & noted the attendance on Sat morning was poor but the displays were much better than 2010.
So I thought I would give it one more go this yr as the format was now two days (Fri/Sat) with the Sunday eliminated.
Unfortunately this years show was also a disaster with poor attendance on both days. I checked at the front desk on Fri before departing & was told the 36 had come in the front gate. I did the same at varying times on Sat & just before I left at 1330, 55 had been thru the gate. Now numbers like this are very very poor for a so called 'major show'.
So why is this decline occurring??? Why is Etobicoke & Markham (now Oshawa) so successful at attracting attendees?
& that question I don't have an answer for! Perhaps its the location, cost of tables (as mentioned by Clive) could be a factor when you include the other additional expenses (& they can mount up quickly), perhaps time of year??
Weather was not a problem last weekend.
But I do know if the collectors don't attend then the dealers will cease to attend as its just not cost effective for them!
I know I lost money at this show & it was (for me) the worst show I have attended in as long as I can remember, thus I have decided I wont be attending any more CSMMI shows in future yrs.
& If I've bored anyone I apologize, but I guess I just had to get this disaster off my plate.....
RCN Bryan
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