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Dave brought it up. Maybe he is open minded enough to find something useful in an opinion that differs from his.
My comment about the show being better off if the auction was held afterwards was about Columbus. The auction might not be better off, but the show would be. Personally I don't think it would have much effect on an auction that had quality consignments.

I haven't heard anyone say anything positive about vendors leaving early.

I may or may not at some point in the future promote a show,but for now I'll stick with running my own business. The guys that promote the shows usually have a much bigger investment in time than money. One thing I don't have right now is much free time.

Approximate numbers from the average show at Peotone: Approx. 90 indoor vendors, and 20-50 outdoor vendors. 1100 buyers through the front door. Not many shows can boast of numbers like those. Wayne did an outstanding job of building that show. Tim and Kevin have done a great job as well since they bought the shows. Like it or not, part of the reason Peotone has been so successful is because the vendors have to stay until the show is over. Something Wayne did was hand out questionaires to the vendors and buyers. He was smart enough to know that he had to please the vendors AND buyers. Look at it this way.....say the promoters do something to really tick off the buyers and the crowd drops from 1100 to 500. Who do you think is going to scream the loudest? The VENDORS!
You gotta have the buyers to keep not only the show going but the hobby too. Newbies don't start off as vendors, they start off as buyers. Look around at the shows and you'll see alot of seniors there. Younger collectors generally have a harder time attending shows during the week.
I set up at one show a year to sell off things that no longer fit in my collection. I participate in the hobby because I enjoy it, not to profit from it. My only concern is what's best for the hobby.

I encourage EVERYONE to take a few steps back and look at the BIG PICTURE. Its human nature to only see things from one perspective.