Ro and York

[rogruth]

I see that the Charles Ro company is not attending York for the first time in over fifty years.
Is this significant of anything?

[robert.]

Probably a smart business decision. Cut your losses and move forward.

[G3750]

I don’t know what to make of it. Fall York is a big deal. My guess this move is more about things going on at Ro rather than issues at York. If there’s a York to miss, I would expect it to be the spring meet.

George

[healey36]

I generally agree with George - if you’re going to miss one of the meets, then the spring session is the one to pass.

I also suspect as the membership numbers continue to decline, the vendor sales model contracts as well. You need to sell a bunch of stuff to cover your fixed cost, and that seems to be getting more difficult for some. Unlike the member halls where a substantial driver is social, the big guys in the Orange Hall need to move inventory.

I thought I read somewhere a while back that Gryzboski was considering pulling out as well.

[chuck]

There are a lot of reasons for skipping York, especially for a big vendor. I'm not sure that any of the vendors have that much surplus stock to try and move. The import/manufacturing side has taken steps to limit production to what people are actually willing to pre-order or has a reasonable chance of getting sold. The days of the good old "blow out" sales of over production are probably a thing of the past. I have no idea what the rental rates are for the space but it may be a factor as well. Concerns over the economy softening, the tariff wars, the GM strike all may be making it less attractive for the "big guys" to make the trip. They may do better with their own discount sales that coincide with the event and York will scale back to be more like what it used to be.

[G3750]

In reading over the thread on another forum (ahem), someone mentioned some staff illness at Ro. That may be the real driver.

As to manufacturers limiting product, that is true to an extent. There are still hobby shops aka vendors with plenty of inventory they need to move.

George

[Neil]

It sounds like it's Ro related issues. In the latest Notch 6 podcast, Derek mentions that York spring attendance is down by half, and fall is significantly down as well. The impact of aging collectors and the availability of everything (product, information, friendships) via the internet is what he speculated is going on. True, you cannot get the same relationship from virtual connection as from face to face, but I've managed to stay in touch with people I haven't seen in 10+ years via email, listservs and on-line forums. Certainly it's no longer cost effective to search for product by traveling to York as opposed to eBay and the web. Information and trouble shooting advice is also easier to find on-line than at any train meet. All in all, a good thing, even if York shrinks a bit.

[G3750]

Well, Ro may not be there, but I'm told Arttista is coming back to York.

I will be attending my 36th York this week (God willing). I enjoy the atmosphere, the vendors, and the feel of the experience. I hope it never ends.

George

[healey36]

Amen...

[rogruth]

I enjoyed my one trip in 2009 or 2010.I went with Gordon Hinkle a long time and life member from the Pittsburgh area. Gordon was a retired hobby shop owner and Lutheran minister.I learned a lot from him about both of his professions, He died four years ago and I still miss his advice and knowledge.
I was always amazed at two things, in particular, that he could do. Ask him what screw was needed to hold a certain thingee on any pre or post war Lionel and he could tell you after thinking about two seconds. Then somehow with very shaky hands he could put that little screw into its little hole in one shot and not drop it. The same thing might take several tries from me. I went with him to help with his booth in the Orange Hall where he sold a wheel press and several other things. He became very upset with Lionel when he could not get parts to repair Lionel locos that were less than five years old. He was a long time approved Lionel repairman.
Sorry about this side trip that was brought about to me by the reference by George to his long time York attendance.
I did meet several that even though I only met them in person one time I still consider them to be friends. I also consider several that I have "met" on MTJ but never in person to be friends.

[G3750]

Roger,

Although I have never met most of the people in this forum in person, I too consider them friends. And I always get the highest signal to noise ratio responses on MTJ.

George