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I see there will be TWO rather large auctions at IOWA GAS this year. One is at 3:00 p.m. on the first swap meet vending day, and the second at 5:00 p.m. on the second (and really final) swap meet vending day. Seems like having two in-house auctions in mostly prime vending time is a lot of competition for the swap meet vendors to face. These are the guys who have to pay for their sales spaces, hotel rooms, travel expenses, and the original cost of their merchandise before turning a profit. OR, is this situation merely an indication of how merchandise is changing hands in the hobby these days....less swap meet activity, and more online auction buying? Any thoughts from those who have attended IOWA GAS in the past? Perhaps this is more of a nationwide thing, rather than an IOWA GAS. Comments? John

P.S. Jim, don't hesitate to move this post, if it's in the wrong forum here on Old Gas.

Jolly Jon,
I couldn't agree more with your post! Take it from someone who has traveled there from Ohio. There's nothing more frustrating than watching the foot traffic at that show go down to zero for 2 or 3 hours because they had to have an indoor auction during the outdoor vending hours! Some will argue that it gets very hot during that particular show, but they still need to keep the number of auctions to a minimum, we see enough of them weekly on our phones.

Goober