I just wanted to share an experience so we can all learn. Last week, I attended a meeting of the local I.B.M. I am not a club member, but I was hoping to inquire about membership. This happened to be their yearly club flea market, so it was fairly busy. However, I was not greeted by anyone as I wandered around the room and had a number of conversations. Not one person introduced themselves or welcomed the new face to their club. I even sought out a gentleman who I believed was one of the club officers and tried to have a conversation with him about the club. He was obviously distracted and failed to even introduce himself.

However, the worst thing that happened in my opinion happened when the auction portion happened. There were a couple of sets of DVDs and other items that had been donated to the club and the sale proceeds went to the club directly. The person in charge explained that "some random dude" donated these to the club and then kept referring to the donor as the "rando." The lack of gratitude and appreciation was really disappointing to me and really turned me off on the club and its members.

I realize that a lot of us are socially awkward and may have chosen magic as a way to meet other people. I also know that there are so many conversations about how the new generation is moving away from the clubs and the brick and mortar stores in lieu of internet and YouTube magic.

Finally, I would say that we should be very careful how we treat people. I have a ton of books and collectible items that I was hoping to find a good home for and possible even donate most of my library since I have read the books and they are now gathering dust and should be read by more people. Rest assured, I will not donate to this club and join the ranks of the other "randos" who gave freely.

Not all clubs are created equal. Find a different one, I would!

What part of the country are you from? Not to call out the club that dismissed you but someone may be able to help you find a better club. I am not a religious person but I attend a monthly FCM meeting because it is the only one close to me. FCM does have some rules and fees but there are only a few actual FCM members there. To not break their rules, we just made a second club that meets at the same time and place as the FCM meeting. By doing this, we can actually get a decent turnout.

Also, you do mention the auction/flea market. They may still be worthy of a second look on a regular meeting night. When we have swap meets and such, we invite other clubs that are all in a 50 mile radius and see a lot of people we have never met but due to running tables and auctions, we don’t really have time to meet and greet every new face.

Michaangelo that is a really sad experience. I would definitely forward your experience to all the officers.

I probably would look for a new club too.

I agree with Poof-Daddy. It isn't really fair to judge the club by the activities during a flea market/auction. My club has an annual flea market/auction and it draws in a lot of magicians that never attend the club, many of whom we don't even know. Many times, the actual officers of the club are not in attendance so others take charge. it is very possible that the actual members of the club knew exactly who the donor was and it may be a sort of inside joke as far as the references to the "rando".

I would plan to attend a future meeting of the club and see what happens. Many years ago, I attended a local meeting and no one acknowledged my presence, introduced themselves or made me feel wanted. I actually got up and left. A few months later I attended a meeting and was received with open arms so to speak. In fact, I was actually elected as president and served in that capacity for 8 years.

If you're really interested in that club, give it another chance.