The Conte web site currently suggests that OTSN may be declining as a show. My own experience with OTSN conveyed a very different picture. I’ve attended OTSN for the last 12-13 years (perhaps longer) with only one missed year in all that time, so I have some experience with the show and a sense of perspective re the way the show has changed over time.
I found the Conte assessment very puzzling. Every year that I’ve been the show appears to be getting busier. During the last two to three years people seem to be arriving earlier for the show, booking into the hotel Wednesdays for early room trading. I now know that if I want to pick up coveted toys I’d better plan on Wednesday arrivals or stuff will be gone. That was certainly true this year. I picked up a bunch of stuff Wednesday afternoon that sold out by late Wednesday evening or by mid day Thursday. I also noticed when I checked in around 2pm Wednesday that the hotel was scrambling for rooms, saying that it was fully subscribed for the show. And this was Wednesday! 5 years ago Wednesdays were more or less dead; now I know there will be several prominent dealers open for business.
I spent hours walking around the corridors Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, like most of the other show attendees. Corridor traffic was increasingly busier day by day. By Friday afternoon the halls were pretty crowded. In my own subjective estimate I’d say that hall traffic was clearly up this year, not down. I confirmed my suspicions by asking a number of dealers how they had done during room trading and at the show. TSSD (plastic), Barzso Toys (plastic), and Minutemen Toy Soldiers (largely metal) all reported a record year of sales. Hobby Bunker thought they probably bested last year’s room and show sales or, at worst, were on par with ’05. By Saturday, TSSD had outstripped its total sales for room trading and show sales last year. Barzso toys had sold out of its new fort walls by Friday afternoon. I know, because I helped Jim Clouse paint more walls for Ron to sell on Saturday and for the Sunday show. Jim’s a machine, by the way – I don’t know how he did all the painting he did. My contribution was minimal. Barzso Toys is now considerably backordered for the Tripoli Fort and Jim’s got tons more painting to do. George at Minutemen sold out of a lot of the items he’d painted for the show early on as well. Nick of TSSD had heard that some metal guys had found the show somewhat slower than expected, but he was told they attributed slowness to the tremendous amount of new metal product competing against itself (not a problem for George). I did notice that Andy’s room (K & C) was always VERY busy; excitement about new K & C product was palpable. His displays were extraordinary. The Alamo chapel and figures and the Crusaders vs. Moslems fighting over his model castle were astonishing. I gather that parts of his castle will be available for sale in the future. To be clear, the castle itself consisted of front walls, towers, and gate; there were no sides and rear wall for the castle.
My subjective impression was that the actual show on Sunday was, again, busier than last year. Don Peilin, the show’s organizer, confirmed that, in fact, ticket sales for the show were up over last year.
Conte suggests that one collector balked at spending the $850 on the cost of attending the show, preferring instead to spend the money on the internet. Anyone who’s attended OTSN understands that it isn’t just about toy soldier purchases. It’s about having one of the greatest toy soldier adventures of a lifetime: seeing all the guys, the long chats in the halls and in the rooms, the outrageous, off the wall stories, laughing til your sides hurt, dinners and lunches with buddies, AND the chance to see the BIGGEST toy soldier store in the world. That’s what Don Peilin has given us every year for the past 26 years. That’s quite the contribution.
Dick
I found the Conte assessment very puzzling. Every year that I’ve been the show appears to be getting busier. During the last two to three years people seem to be arriving earlier for the show, booking into the hotel Wednesdays for early room trading. I now know that if I want to pick up coveted toys I’d better plan on Wednesday arrivals or stuff will be gone. That was certainly true this year. I picked up a bunch of stuff Wednesday afternoon that sold out by late Wednesday evening or by mid day Thursday. I also noticed when I checked in around 2pm Wednesday that the hotel was scrambling for rooms, saying that it was fully subscribed for the show. And this was Wednesday! 5 years ago Wednesdays were more or less dead; now I know there will be several prominent dealers open for business.
I spent hours walking around the corridors Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, like most of the other show attendees. Corridor traffic was increasingly busier day by day. By Friday afternoon the halls were pretty crowded. In my own subjective estimate I’d say that hall traffic was clearly up this year, not down. I confirmed my suspicions by asking a number of dealers how they had done during room trading and at the show. TSSD (plastic), Barzso Toys (plastic), and Minutemen Toy Soldiers (largely metal) all reported a record year of sales. Hobby Bunker thought they probably bested last year’s room and show sales or, at worst, were on par with ’05. By Saturday, TSSD had outstripped its total sales for room trading and show sales last year. Barzso toys had sold out of its new fort walls by Friday afternoon. I know, because I helped Jim Clouse paint more walls for Ron to sell on Saturday and for the Sunday show. Jim’s a machine, by the way – I don’t know how he did all the painting he did. My contribution was minimal. Barzso Toys is now considerably backordered for the Tripoli Fort and Jim’s got tons more painting to do. George at Minutemen sold out of a lot of the items he’d painted for the show early on as well. Nick of TSSD had heard that some metal guys had found the show somewhat slower than expected, but he was told they attributed slowness to the tremendous amount of new metal product competing against itself (not a problem for George). I did notice that Andy’s room (K & C) was always VERY busy; excitement about new K & C product was palpable. His displays were extraordinary. The Alamo chapel and figures and the Crusaders vs. Moslems fighting over his model castle were astonishing. I gather that parts of his castle will be available for sale in the future. To be clear, the castle itself consisted of front walls, towers, and gate; there were no sides and rear wall for the castle.
My subjective impression was that the actual show on Sunday was, again, busier than last year. Don Peilin, the show’s organizer, confirmed that, in fact, ticket sales for the show were up over last year.
Conte suggests that one collector balked at spending the $850 on the cost of attending the show, preferring instead to spend the money on the internet. Anyone who’s attended OTSN understands that it isn’t just about toy soldier purchases. It’s about having one of the greatest toy soldier adventures of a lifetime: seeing all the guys, the long chats in the halls and in the rooms, the outrageous, off the wall stories, laughing til your sides hurt, dinners and lunches with buddies, AND the chance to see the BIGGEST toy soldier store in the world. That’s what Don Peilin has given us every year for the past 26 years. That’s quite the contribution.
Dick
