Allentown show - some thoughts

Ed Clark · Post by **Ed Clark** » Thu Oct 20, 2005 3:23 am

I went to the Allentown. PA show last week. As I was driving down there I had many thoughts of the show. If you are a collector just looking to buy and sell and make a profit, this is not the bast way to make money. Depending on how many days you stay it can cost 200 - 300 dollars and then there is gas and food. That is not even taking in to account the people who fly there. One of those who usually is always there (The Geezer) was missed by all. Anyway, that can take a BIG chunk out of profit. However, if you are a collector looking for a fun time and the opportunity to see many great people who you do not often see, this is a GREAT time! Of course I am always looking to add to my collection and sell some reels. By far it is the comradare, the laughs, the fun and the great people that make you go. I look at it like a mini-vacation and a little time away. Steve Vernon has a fantastic sense of humor and never fails to make me laugh! You see unusual and sometimes rare reels that you get together and talk about. You get to meet new people and sometimes put faces to those who you only know by name in posts and so on. I have a real passion for reels and my collection. By the way, I did add eleven new reels to my collection including a couple of very scarce ones - BONUS! Another bonus is the in depth knowledge of all the collectors there who are always willing to share their knowledge. So for me, regardless of the outcome - it is a GREAT time. And Dave who puts on the show year after year - THANKS!

Ed Clark · Post by **Ed Clark** » Thu Oct 20, 2005 6:39 am

By the way, many of the reels at the shows just go from collector to collector. Many of the reels will never make ebay. If you just sit around and wait on ebay you may never have an opportunity to get the reels. Don't get me wrong, I do ebay also, but there is a whole world out there beside ebay. It is like networking - you know who collects what and reels just exchange hands that never make the net. If I did not mention everyone at the show by name, please do not feel slighted. There are to many to mention and you all know who you are. I enjoy all your company!

Steve · Post by **Steve** » Thu Oct 20, 2005 8:32 am

Thanks for the kind words, Ed. But let's remind folks that laughter is the best defense against the despair of being a reel collector. jester

Bill Muth · Post by **Bill Muth** » Thu Oct 20, 2005 10:38 pm

Great remarks Ed, and dead on. I haven't been able to make many of the larger shows lately, but the smaller shows are great chances to meet people, and the last three small (less than 50 table) shows that Ive attended have resulted in incredible finds at extremely reasonable prices. It's so much more fun to spend the day hanging out with other collectors than clicking through internet auctions on ebay.

The first show I ever attended with my dad was the now long-dead Sioux Falls, SD NFLCC show. I was a beginning reel collector, second year in the hobby (dad had been collecting a couple years more than me), and I was hoping that, by some long shot, there would be a Meek reel there so that I could finally own one. Andy Foster's table was the first one I walked up to, and the rest is history. I stlll have the B.F. Meek & Sons Bluegrass No. 3 reel that I bought from Andy that day. I must have looked at and played with that reel for three hours before I finally bought it. Andy has continued to put tough reels in my collection over the years, and it's always great seeing him at the shows.

Ed Clark and I have never met in person, but we've bought, sold, and traded lots of reels, tips, leads, etc. over the last few years, and I consider him a friend. We decided to fix our "never met" status at the Lang's November auction, where we'll be splitting a room and attending the show and auction, and it's going to be a blast.

Simply put, shows are still my favorite place to buy old tackle.

SWIM JIG · Post by **SWIM JIG** » Thu Oct 20, 2005 11:38 pm

jump jump

SWIM JIG · Post by **SWIM JIG** » Thu Oct 20, 2005 11:47 pm

Yes Bill I full well know what you do at auctions haha , that last one we were at in michigan was a WOSER!, You went wild on those lures, and some reels Yikes us po boys? well I got some things, in all fairness that was one VERY LARGE AUCTION! You still got those glass jugs with holes in them? someone called them Minnow traps? Out of all our members in ORCA I guess we were the only ORCANs there, it was a wee bit nippy that night! I am certain you and ED will do just fine! I would like to see you two in a bidding intangelment HA HA (LOOK OUT ED!) ha ha Your ohio Conection Col. Milton Lorens aka SWIM JIG jump cool-thumb yay-banana USA

piscesman · Post by **piscesman** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 9:43 pm

I too went to Allentown last week. I found a quicker way down that saved 30 minutes off the drive. Great ride down too. The show was reely good. Didn't add a reel to my collection but was abale to get other items. Met with some very nice people and had good conversations. Talked To John G of Lang's and found out he lived only 15 miles from where I grew up. John even delivered bait to "my" bait shop. Had a GREAT time talking to him. Going to these shows is much more than making a find(which is an added bonus) it's meeting face to face. Something you are looking at right now but can't quite do. One small down side, there was the lack of "table presence". It seems that people that rent tables like to abandon them in search of items them selves. I don't mind but they have no-one to keep the store. I literally gave money to a gentleman next door so I could buy an item. Other people were just not around. It seems to happen more at NFLCC to me than other shows. It still was worth the drive. Tight Lines..
Kim

Allentown show - some thoughts

Allentown show - some thoughts

shows and auctions!!

hit the wrong buton!!