[vcf-midatlantic] VCF East Swap Meet - Save the Date - Saturday November 7 (Rain: Sunday November 8)

[Sentrytv]

Evan
There is no doubt that everybody has a right to their opinion.

You and I had this conversation as well.

I believe that a swap meet is a good thing and besides you can’t Poopoo the idea,
since this is the first time we actually are going to have it.
We’ll give it a try and if it doesn’t work out we don’t have it again.
Certainly can’t hurt to try.

Besides because everybody’s been locked up inside, no Hamfest, no swapmeets, people are Jonesin’ for a swap meet!

Mike Rosen

Sent from:
My extremely complicated, hand held electronic device.

> On Sep 13, 2020, at 2:28 PM, Evan Koblentz <evan at snarc.net> wrote:
> 
> 
>>> In years past, I pushed for a swap meet with previous management but the response was "It would be too much like a hamfest and hamfests are dying".
> 
> That's out of context.
> 
> Several people in the group asked for a swap meet * during * VCF East. I declined, because many of these people wanted to have a swap meet table instead of exhibiting. That would have damaged the exhibit hall and replaced much of it with something attractive only to people who are already in the hobby.
> 
> It would have contributed to shrinking the hobby. My goal was to grow the hobby by introducing it to the public.
> 
> Consignment was a (very successful) compromise. It let everyone sell stuff without taking away from the exhibit hall and also making some extra money for the group.
> 
> I was right about that, and I was right about hamfests. How many families and kids excitedly go to a hamfest? Swapmeets are incestuous, and that makes communities wither and go extinct.
> 
> You're able to have a swapmeet this year only because management is not bogged down running the real show.
> 
> VCF's success is because of my earlier decisions, not in spite of them.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>>> On Sep 13, 2020, Jeff Galinat via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic at lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
>> Hi Adam,
>> Excellent! Even though I am a little bummed as I live in AZ now instead
>> of NJ, this is great news! Swap meets have been a large part of the
>> vintage
>> computer and ham radio communities for years. I still find occasional
>> vintage computer items at hamfests but a vintage computer swap meet
>> would
>> be great for the hobby.  In years past, I pushed for a swap meet with
>> previous management but the response was "It would be too much like a
>> hamfest and hamfests are dying".
>> One of the largest draws for TCF was the flea market and I had many
>> great
>> finds over the years but they effectively killed the flea market by
>> moving
>> it in to a small room.
>> I still have a good amount of vintage equipment in NJ so maybe I can
>> participate in a future event if it happens next year.
>> Best of luck with the event,
>> Jeff
>> On Sun, Sep 13, 2020, 9:32 AM Adam Michlin via vcf-midatlantic <
>> vcf-midatlantic at lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
>>> Hi Everyone,
>>> Alas, there will be no consignment at our hybrid VCF East coming up,
>> but
>>> we have decided to try something new and have an *outdoor* Swap Meet.
>>> Vendors (which can be individuals) will be able to rent space and
>> people
>>> will be able to attend the event for the very modest fee of $5. All
>> VCF
>>> surplus will also be on sale at this event.
>>> DATE: Saturday, November 7, with Rain Date Sunday, November 8
>>> TIME: 9AM TO 6PM
>>> Location: InfoAge, 2201 Marconi Road Wall, NJ 07719
>>> $20 for vendors for first space, $10 for each additional space. 4
>> spaces
>>> max - BRING YOUR OWN TABLES/BLANKETS/WHATEVER
>>> $5 for admissions for general public
>>> We want to emphasize this will be an *outdoor* event
>> I'm particulary excited about this because, back in the 1990s, my first
>>> stint (habit, if you prefer) of vintage computer collecting was
>>> supported by attending regular computer swap meets in Silicon Valley
>> at
>>> De Anza College and Lawrence Livermore Labs. The enthusiam at
>>> consignment each year tells me we are ripe to bring something like
>> this
>>> back on a regular basis, but, of course, COVID make things trickier
>> than
>>> usual.
>>> Best wishes,
>>>             -Adam