My booth with a great new Tiffany floor lamp addition
I say thank you now, but for most of the weekend, I didn’t think I would say that. The show started off well on Thursday with good attendance, good interest, and moderate sales. Attendance stayed good throughout the four days of the show, but that was partly due to the promoter’s generous distribution of complimentary tickets.
I’ve got mixed emotions about that. On the one hand, you can’t make a sale to someone who’s not there, so good attendance is important. On the other hand, there are a tremendous number of people who attend shows because it’s great entertainment, either free or low cost. That’s great for the attendees, but surely not for the dealers. You can understand that, right? Shows are better than museums. You can hold and touch the objects and ask questions of experts. Try touching something at a museum and see what happens. Off with your head!#&*%
Sunday afternoon at the show
Business was much slower on Friday (to be expected) and non-existent on Saturday (not to be expected). Sunday is the day when I never know what to expect. Most of the time, Sunday attendees are out for a good time, so sales usually suffer. Occasionally, serious clients can only make it on Sunday, or clients who were in earlier return, so it can be a good day. This particular Sunday was the latter. So the result for me was a decent show, off from previous years, but good for today’s economic climate.
I spoke to several other dealers and asked how they did. One dealer was ecstatic and said it was his best show in Baltimore. Another one did very well and was quite pleased. The majority of dealers I spoke with described their results as mediocre. No big surprise there.
Please send me your suggestions or questions about art glass, lamps, Louis Icart, shows, auctions, etc. If it’s interesting, I’ll answer your question in a future blog entry.
Call or write and let me know what you would like to buy, sell, or trade. philchasen@gmail or 516-922-2090. And please visit my website. chasenantiques.com
I was there for the show and did buy something from a dealer. I think it was a mistake for some dealers to indicate a high discount can be arranged. Why not just directly lower the price from the beginning? In a show, there are so many good, tentative things that can attract a potential buyer that once a customer moves away the chances that he will return is low.
I did return on Sunday, only to say goodbye to a few dealer friends.
Nice blog!