Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Do Gas Prices Affect Your Card Show Attendance?

I've been reading a lot lately about gas prices affected attendance at card and memorabilia shows. If you're driving a few hours to a show, are you checking the prices at the pumps?

To me, the gas prices are not the determining factor on if I'm going to a card show, but maybe I'm the only one. If gas prices are $2.00 or $2.50 a gallon, does that really matter if you're driving to show were you're going to pay $5-$10 to get in, spend $10-$20 on food/drink, buy a box/pack, buy a few single cards, and pay $$ for autographs?

Is that extra 50 cents per gallon of gas keeping collectors away from the shows? Or are dealers using that as an excuse?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

For me it is not the cost of gas that is my concern, but the time of the entire trip. With the closest show 30 minutes from my house, 1 hour is already taken up just for transit time. With so many things to juggle over the course of a weekend, including 2 young sons wanting my attention, it is harder and harder to carve out the 2.5 to 3 hours needed to attend a show.

deal said...

It may for some depending on the type of show. Whenever I post up cost of a card or box or whatever I include the cost and the tax (if any) and shipping (if ebay). That is it.

The other expenses like gas, food drink I file under entertainment. It is likely I would be driving somewhere else or stuffing my face elsewhere if I wasn't at the show.

Hell if I don't get my head out of the dime box, going to a card show might be the cheapest thing I do all month.

Rod (Padrographs) said...

What card shows? The closest one is 30 minutes away and the last time I went half the dealers didn't have any prices on their stuff and the other half thought it was still 1990 and they could charge beckett or over.

James said...

I think if the tables are there and the autograph guests (if any) are decent, then people will show up. I budget a couple of shows each year... next year the National is definitely on my list.

Everyone going to the National?