Gem and Mineral shows as a whole

[Jeff U]

Has anyone been to any of the local "club" shows anywhere this year. My club's is coming up in November and we have not heard much from other clubs. Have sales/attendance been up or down?
Inquiring minds want to know....

Jeff

[Bluesssman]

Our local mineral club had a show in May I think. The attendance was very much down and word from the vendors was sales were poor.


Gary

[stonesthatrock]

oh my thats not good news.   We have 4 shows coming up that we do and i hope things pick up by then.

mary ann

[mirkaba]

Our show was in April. Attendance was great, down slightly. The vendors were all very happy with the turnout and are coming back this coming April..............Bob

[Willy]

The local club here in the San Antonio held there show a few weeks ago and there were less than 1/3 the number of vendors as last year.  They took up the whole Civic Center space and two side rooms the past 3 years I have gone, but this year had hardly 1/2 of the main room.  Crowds were small on Sat, but big on Sun, but mainly lookers or parents showing their kids the minerals and stones.  The biggest draw was one vendor who had whole geodes and was letting the kids crack them open right at his booth.  The vendors selling books and equipment seemed to be doing quite good, but several vendors with just slabs and rocks left well before closing on Sunday because had few sales.  Heard several say didn't even make the $800 fee for a space.

The Bead and Gem show the following weekend wasn't much better and several vendors we know said they didn't make their space costs. ($550 for 10x10 or $750 for 15x10 space).  I would say about 1/4 of the jewelry vendors have not been showing up and called it quits, but the lapidary people seem to be doing much better.  On the internet, my lapidary is doing OK, the jewelry is a bust.

Was figuring after a show today, that we need to sell percentage wise 3 times what we did today to just cover the space cost of 2 of our next 5 shows.  Hoping that the start of the Holiday Shopping season will help some to make up for slow sales this Spring and almost total lack of sales this Summer.

Willy

[hulagrub]

Our club swap was last weekend, One dealer from AZ said he made money, just not as much as last year. My wife sold close to $500 in pendants and earrings. What I saw was that rough rocks and slabs were selling, but the cheap googaws were not. Attendance was somewhat down, mostly due to rain predictions.

[Mark]

Our really small local show was last weekend.  Attendance may have been a bit lower in previous years.  There were fewer dealers, which was really obvious because of the small size of the show.  The dealers that were there, had the same stuff from previous years.  I could see our local show closing down from lack of new material and not enough dealers.

The big East Coast show was packed and seemed to be about the same as last year.  Seemed like quite a few people buying, especially in the wholesale area where we spent most of our time.

Mark

[Willy]

Our big 3 day show that happens twice a year opened today and it was packed elbow to elbow within 30 minutes of opening and some were still trying to get in at closing time.  If the next two days are the same, I would say 50,000 people probably showed up.  A few less vendors than in the past, and some well known names not present.  One thing about this show though, you have to have a Texas Sellers Permit and Tax Resale License or a Certificate as a Business from another state to get in.  Plus entry is further based on presenting a company check or using a company credit card for the entry fee at the door.   It is not open to the public.

$1000 to $2500 sales were not uncommon to see at some of the vendors and I saw one $35,000 ring go at a diamond vendor.  Of course a 10x12 space is $2750 and goes up to $4500 for a 20x40, so you had better have some thousand dollar sales to pay for just the space.  But anyway the people were out and sure amazing to see how many businesses assocaited with minerals, gems and jewelry when you see a crowd like that of all licensed people.

Willy

[Bluesssman]

I sure hope all of the positive reports are a good indicator of what is to come. We have the Genoa show a week from tomorrow and I hope it goes well.


Gary

[hulagrub]

Hope you all just do good!

[ScarlettoSara]

Good Luck Gary with the show next week.
Hope you come home with nothing left but your smile:)

[stonesthatrock]

good luck on your show,  we have our first one of this season coming up next month in sedona.  i hope it goes well.

mary ann