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Jon-O the Great Elite user 493 Posts |
I'm at Pate in the FTW Motor Speedway this weekend. This is billed as the biggest auto swap meet in the US. And I believe it. But being Friday, no kids. And the wind blew so strongly (up to 40 mph at times) I even had to take my EZ-Up down because, even tied down, it was dancing like a hot cucaracha on a griddle! Even tho I used the hatch of my van as shade, by the end of the day, my face is as red as a moonshiner's longies.
The one demo I did make, some of the cards in my brand new deck blew off my table and landed under the truck of the guy next to me. Not exactly my day today. And tomorrow, 10% chance of rain in the afternoon. Dunno about the wind. I think I'd rather have rain than the wind I had today. Let's face it, some days ya just can't make a dime! And yet, I did well with the strippers. It was the best day I'd had with them in over a year! And I quit at 2 PM. Go figure. Jon |
sethb Inner circle The Jersey Shore 2719 Posts |
Hey Jon, as we all know, sometimes you eat the bear, and sometimes the bear eats you!!
I have been there, done that -- last Spring and Summer year I repeatedly got washed out and blown out, it just wasn't my time. Fortunately things picked up in the Fall and I cleaned up with a few really good Xmas bazaars. You just gotta keep plugging -- that's what separates the pitchmen from the boys. The outdoor events are where you can really rake in the money, but the weather is always a risk. SETH
"Watch the Professor!!" -- Al Flosso (1895-1976)
"The better you are, the closer they watch" -- Darwin Ortiz, STRONG MAGIC |
Jon-O the Great Elite user 493 Posts |
Saturday at Pate had to be the worst Saturday, saleswise, of any Pate ever (and I've done 10 of them). Vendors, who usually stayed until the last dog was dead, began leaving at noon. I was out by 3.
I did less biz than Friday because NO ONE WENT! Dunno whether it was the threat of rain or gas prices ($3.77 at Sam's, coming home—it had jumped a dime between Thursday and Saturday) or just a lackadaisical lack of interest in general but NO ONE WENT—and those that WERE there, didn't buy!! Tho I did have a better magic card biz than Friday. (Anything is better than 1!) Since it wasn't blowing a hurricane, I used my EZ Up and had some shade for the customers. But it was a very sparse crowd. My only consolation was, the show only cost $30 for the 4 days ( I only worked 2.) Of course, there was about $100 for gas plus another $100 for the NoTell Motel. I finally got to do the drops, showing the indifferent/keys/indifferent. But it was still pretty hard. I must admit, I saw a couple of keys during the indifferent drops but didn't really matter. The reaction was ALWAYS the same. “WOW!! What the....?” Even the adults liked it. One guy said, “Betcha can't do THAT one again!” “Ha!! Nuthin' to it!” Did it again...I know he wanted me to do it so he could figure out how I did it but so far, no one has. (Because, actully I DON'T know!) And I know my closing average has gone up too. I actually never keep track of percent of sales to demos but I know that more are buying them now than before I started this drop sequence. As everyone knows, next weekend is Mother's Day. There are NO guns shows in Texas AT ALL! But many “Cinco de Mayo” things plus rodeos, youth shows, etc. I'm sure I'll be outside again. Supposed to be hot. I can hardly wait. I'll probably be PRAYIN' for a breeze by then! Jon |
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