Predictions for 2011 Bloomington Gold?
Will this years show be better for parts and cars?
The economy. Ebay is shorting the swap meets. I have been going over 20 years. Love it. Carlisle is the KING. Too stinkin far away for us. I hope Bloomington Gold will get better. They have been scaling back. I hope the cigars and sunglass vendors stay off the swap area. If they don't have vette parts, then place them together in their own group. IMHO DG |
Don't know what to expect. Been to 2 other Mecum auctions this year and cars that should go for big bucks don't while some average cars go for bigger bucks. I've seen some 1 man auctions where the price gets bid up too high, so that explains some of it. Some people are in dire straights and have to dump their cars which is too bad. Wish the market would hurry up and bottom out like housing, so we can head back up.
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The Mecum auction at BG was absolutley terrible last year. It was not held inside the convention building as in prior years (where the Fall Classic auction is held every September), but instead under a dimly lit tent on muddy ground. Very amateur in appearance. I was at Spring Mecum and several Corvette owners I talked to had the same complaint, said they elected to take their cars to Indy rather than run them through the BG auction. I was going to sell mine there but thought better of it. Will probably run it through Ebay instead or wait until the fall auction (Pheasant Run is about 10 minutes from home for me so it's very convenienent to sell a car there).
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Originally Posted by SupremeDeluxe
(Post 1577884028)
The Mecum auction at BG was absolutley terrible last year. It was not held inside the convention building as in prior years (where the Fall Classic auction is held every September), but instead under a dimly lit tent on muddy ground. Very amateur in appearance. I was at Spring Mecum and several Corvette owners I talked to had the same complaint, said they elected to take their cars to Indy rather than run them through the BG auction. I was going to sell mine there but thought better of it. Will probably run it through Ebay instead or wait until the fall auction (Pheasant Run is about 10 minutes from home for me so it's very convenienent to sell a car there).
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How will the swap meet area be? Better than last year?
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The swap meet will never be like it was in its glory years or like carlisle but is still a great event. You get to see the best cars on the judging field, auction cars, swap meet and catch up with friends or make new ones. For me it's an escape from the real world.
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Originally Posted by vettnut
(Post 1577883724)
Carlisle is the KING. Too stinkin far away for us. I hope Bloomington Gold will get better. They have been scaling back. I hope the cigars and sunglass vendors stay off the swap area. If they don't have vette parts, then place them together in their own group. IMHO
DG Here is the problem with Carlisle if you live with in driving distance say 500 miles. The cost of a room for 3 nights, food, fuel, road tolls and the cost of admission for two people sharing the costs you are down $600+ before you buy one part. The hotels in the area jack up the rooms on Carlisle events weeks. If you go up the road to Harrisburg you may get a better rate, but there is now a Casino in the area so you people coming to it. The vendors costs for the spaces, hotel rooms and food for their employees have gotten to be too much for them so less and less come back. Corvettes@Carlisle is something to see for every Corvette owner and there is more to it that just parts vendors. Carlisle other events such as Spring and Fall have gone down hill over the last five years. There is no doubt about the fact the Web & e-bay have hurt them big time!!!! |
Originally Posted by SBR
(Post 1577889782)
The swap meet will never be like it was in its glory years or like carlisle but is still a great event. You get to see the best cars on the judging field, auction cars, swap meet and catch up with friends or make new ones. For me it's an escape from the real world.
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Originally Posted by Corvette ED
(Post 1577897164)
Carlisle may be the King but it isn't what it use to be. The same problem too many vendors selling non automotive stuff. The net has really hurt the swap meet business. I can remember a time when every Corvette Catalog vendor in the country would have a booth selling their goods at Carlisle. Last year was the worst I have ever seen it.
Here is the problem with Carlisle if you live with in driving distance say 500 miles. The cost of a room for 3 nights, food, fuel, road tolls and the cost of admission for two people sharing the costs you are down $600+ before you buy one part. The hotels in the area jack up the rooms on Carlisle events weeks. If you go up the road to Harrisburg you may get a better rate, but there is now a Casino in the area so you people coming to it. The vendors costs for the spaces, hotel rooms and food for their employees have gotten to be too much for them so less and less come back. Corvettes@Carlisle is something to see for every Corvette owner and there is more to it that just parts vendors. Carlisle other events such as Spring and Fall have gone down hill over the last five years. There is no doubt about the fact the Web & e-bay have hurt them big time!!!! |
Pretty good topic for C1/2 General.
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Bloomington is tops for seeing a lot of remarkable restored cars in a beautiful setting. The car auction is also interesting. There are a lot of good vendors, but way too many that have nothing to do with Vettes.
Carisle is tops for vendors. There are not a lot of NCRS type cars, but there are hundreds of modifird and customized Vettes. It is huge and many many sights to see. In going there for 2 years, and spending 2 days each time, I think I have only been to 50% of what is present. |
This will be our 38th year. I missed the 1st one. Its the only swap meet that I set up at.:D We go mostly for the fun and partying with old friends. The cost of going as a vendor is getting out of control:crazy2:
This year the total cost for me and my wife will be close to 2G's:crazy: Kind of expensive for 4 days of fun mixed in with a lot of work! We bought a guy out so we will have a little more stuff that we normally have. Most of it is small, but hard to find things. We have mostly C2 stuff with some C1 & C3 parts. Stop by H100-102 and say Hi! Its always neat to put a face to a name? Bill & Dian http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t...ictures060.jpg |
Thanks for supporting!
Guy B Gold |
I am in WITHDRAWL TONIGHT
I have attended every year since 1998 (except 2008 when I was hospitalized with a bad gall bladder). The early events at NORMAL and SPRINGFIELD were fun, but I was a ''working stiff'' in those days and I made only 5 of those events.
This year, I am going to miss. Sorry guys, but economically it just is not in the cards. The fact that NCRS NATIONAL is JUNE 29-JULY 4 in San Diego only 100 miles south had influenced my decision as well. I wish all the GREAT HALL INDUCTEES my congrats. And also the show participants as well. It takes tons of effort and $$$ to bring a car and parts. Bill, tell all my friends I miss them and will ''be there'' in 2013. THE ECONOMY WILL GET BETTER AFTER NOVEMBER. I FEEL IT IN MY BONES. |
I think that last year was an anomaly at Carlisle, a lot of the vendors stayed away because of the Tropical storm.
Originally Posted by Corvette ED
(Post 1577897164)
Carlisle may be the King but it isn't what it use to be. The same problem too many vendors selling non automotive stuff. The net has really hurt the swap meet business. I can remember a time when every Corvette Catalog vendor in the country would have a booth selling their goods at Carlisle. Last year was the worst I have ever seen it.
Here is the problem with Carlisle if you live with in driving distance say 500 miles. The cost of a room for 3 nights, food, fuel, road tolls and the cost of admission for two people sharing the costs you are down $600+ before you buy one part. The hotels in the area jack up the rooms on Carlisle events weeks. If you go up the road to Harrisburg you may get a better rate, but there is now a Casino in the area so you people coming to it. The vendors costs for the spaces, hotel rooms and food for their employees have gotten to be too much for them so less and less come back. Corvettes@Carlisle is something to see for every Corvette owner and there is more to it that just parts vendors. Carlisle other events such as Spring and Fall have gone down hill over the last five years. There is no doubt about the fact the Web & e-bay have hurt them big time!!!! |
Originally Posted by vettnut
(Post 1577886557)
How will the swap meet area be? Better than last year?
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My buddies and I are BG veterans, having missed just two years since the show started in 1973. We realize the event has changed over the years, but it's still a fine event for us. We are traditionalists and miss the memories from the event's years in Bloomington/Normal. For instance: burnouts in the Chi Chi's parking lot; talking with other owners well into the night in the dorm parking lots; visiting endless parts vendors in the livestock buildings at the old McLean County Fairgrounds, catching breakfast at Bob Evans before heading out of town Sunday morning; and the road tour through the rural Illinois countryside with farm families in their lawn chairs waving flags and kids holding signs reading "light 'em up," or "roast 'em". What memories. What fun.
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Originally Posted by HeyMark
(Post 1581116177)
My buddies and I are BG veterans, having missed just two years since the show started in 1973. We realize the event has changed over the years, but it's still a fine event for us. We are traditionalists and miss the memories from the event's years in Bloomington/Normal. For instance: burnouts in the Chi Chi's parking lot; talking with other owners well into the night in the dorm parking lots; visiting endless parts vendors in the livestock buildings at the old McLean County Fairgrounds, catching breakfast at Bob Evans before heading out of town Sunday morning; and the road tour through the rural Illinois countryside with farm families in their lawn chairs waving flags and kids holding signs reading "light 'em up," or "roast 'em". What memories. What fun.
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Originally Posted by HeyMark
(Post 1581116177)
My buddies and I are BG veterans, having missed just two years since the show started in 1973. We realize the event has changed over the years, but it's still a fine event for us. We are traditionalists and miss the memories from the event's years in Bloomington/Normal. For instance: burnouts in the Chi Chi's parking lot; talking with other owners well into the night in the dorm parking lots; visiting endless parts vendors in the livestock buildings at the old McLean County Fairgrounds, catching breakfast at Bob Evans before heading out of town Sunday morning; and the road tour through the rural Illinois countryside with farm families in their lawn chairs waving flags and kids holding signs reading "light 'em up," or "roast 'em". What memories. What fun.
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