NVCF announcement !!!

[audiomagpie]

Hi everyone

The NVCF is little more than a couple of months away now.

THE NORMAL ENTRY PRICE THIS YEAR HAS BEEN INCREASED TO £10

Due to a publishing error, it is listed incorrectly as £8 in the Spring Bulletin.

The new price was, however, listed correctly in the Winter Bulletin and is correct on the NVCF website.

The slight price increase has become necessary due to increasing operating costs of staging this most unique event. It is the first increase for two years and we expect to hold the same price for next year also.

All the profit from the event is donated to the Britsh Vintage Wireless and Television Museum, which is a registered charity. So by your attendance alone you are contributing to an excellent cause!

The early entry price (9am to 10.30am) remains unchanged at £25. Normal entry is from 10.30am.

The Fair at the Warwickshire Exhibition Centre still represents excellent value for an enjoyable day out. FREE PARKING (it's now £10 for parking alone at the NEC in Birmingham where we used to hold the event), subsidised shuttle bus to Leamington Spa rail station and very good catering on site. BVWS members, on production of a 2015 membership card, will receive a £1 canteen discount voucher at the ticket office on entry to the event.

I thank you for your understanding of this matter!

Look forward to seeing many of you there.........

http://www.nvcf.org.uk/

[Aub]

So you can pay £15 extra to go in 90 minutes early and snap up all the good stuff, leaving others feeling hard done by. I dislike this elitist admission policy. Why not let everyone in at the same time?

Cheers

Aub

[Dickie]

This is normal procedure for a lot of collectors' fairs. It is also well known that all the best stuff is traded beteen the stall holders long before the public is allowed in!

[Radio Wrangler]

What that says is that if you don't want to stump up the extra fee, then it's not worth bothering going because all the best stuff will have gone.

David

[ThePillenwerfer]

I've never been to the NVCF but were I to I wouldn't pay for early entry as my experience of similar events shows that the best bargains are to be had at the end when people would rather sell stuff cheap than take it home again. The early bird may catch the rare worms but he'll pay through the nose for them.

- Joe

[MickMcmichael]

Originally Posted by Aub

So you can pay £15 extra to go in 90 minutes early and snap up all the good stuff, leaving others feeling hard done by. I dislike this elitist admission policy. Why not let everyone in at the same time?

Because the organisers (and/or venue owner) make more money from determined collectors with deep pockets. It makes no difference whether it's old radios or weaved baskets or a collection of plastic windmills, early entry costs more everywhere you go.

Capitalism with a Capital C. It happens the world over and makes it go round.

As a seasoned exhibitor, seller (and collector) I take the same view as most other traders. If someone approaches my stall at 8.00am and offers me twenty quid for a thirty quid item I politely tell them to come back at 3.00pm for reduced bargains.

If another trader or early entrant wants something I've got for sale then they generally want to pass it on at a profit or want to screw me to the floor boards to the N'th penny and will very often walk away when I refuse their offer.

So early entry (from my experience) doesn't always end in a sale. The organisers make a bit more dosh and most of the goodies are still there for the regular entrants at the official opening time.

So to summarise; Traders never want to pay retail prices and everybody wants a bargain, whether you're a high paying early entrant or another seller. But I have to say that whenever I've attended a sale and I see people going in early I generally rant and rave That's just human nature.

I never pay early entrance fees because I know that traders are sitting there, just waiting for me to make an offer - only to be told to go away until 3.00pm.

Dag-Navitt !!

Regards to all,

Mick.

[dave walsh]

Non of this should be a problem for the average punter. I paid to go in early at the Tonbridge Audio Jumble once but [for me] it wasn't worth it. That's a "high end" venue in some respects but I don't ever feel that the best has all gone by the time I get into either event. The main point about the NVCF is that it's a particularly relaxed and comfortable experience inside and out and worth going for that reason alone. As Mick says "you pays your money and takes you're choice".

The early entry issue has been raised before and Mike Barker pointed out that the increased income for the BVWS was not only welcome but helped ensure that the event can be kept going. It's not generally possible to please everyone but please don't be put off attending on the basis of assumptions!
Dave W

[Paul Stenning]

Having worked on the entrance at the NVCF, surprisingly few people take their purchases out to their cars during the early entry period. Of course some may leave their items with the stallholder for collection later, but it does seem that of the 100-ish people that pay for the early entry, only a few actually buy anything.

As others have said it tends to be the most expensive and desirable items that will be sold during the early entry period - the sort of stuff most of us could never afford anyway! Those who can afford that sort of thing wouldn't care about the extra cost of early entry. The best bargains are to be had in the last hour when stallholders reduce prices to avoid taking stuff home and are much more open to offers.

Unless you have deep pockets and are looking for something rare and exclusive, wait for the normal entry and stay until the end.

Of course financially the event needs the early entries to remain viable, but let others cover that!

[Radio Wrangler]

Living an the far Northern wastelands, I've never been to an event where there was paid for early entry, but the amateur radio rallies I've been to have traditionally had early entry for the disabled, to let people with crutches and wheelchairs have a go round while the aisles are clear.

I'll second what's been said about hanging around for bargains at the end. The heavier or more cumbersome or harder to pack an item is, the better the bargain.

I've bought a few bargains that were supposed to be working but had failed on the day. Being able to diagnose and fix things is useful.

David

[GrimJosef]

Originally Posted by MickMcmichael

... So to summarise; Traders never want to pay retail prices and everybody wants a bargain, whether you're a high paying early entrant or another seller. But I have to say that whenever I've attended a sale and I see people going in early I generally rant and rave That's just human nature ...

This, broadly speaking, is my experience too. But I have to spend a day of my time and the best part of £20 on petrol to make the trip so I feel that the extra entry fee is worth it for the prospect of picking up a bargain. A couple of years ago I was the first person to reach a Wharfedale SFB-3 speaker. The seller (not a trader) wanted £35 for it. I was happy to pay that. Had I waited for the cheaper entry I would certainly have missed it (someone else came along while I was completing the purchase and was annoyed to find he'd been beaten to it). So there are bargains to be had at early entry and the traders don't get them all. On the other hand if I was looking for something unusual but not particularly desirable (a scrap set that contains parts I need, for example) then I'd be happy to wait until the entry was cheaper. I've made a number of very worthwhile purchases after lunch.

Cheers,

GJ

[Beobloke]

Originally Posted by dave walsh

Non of this should be a problem for the average punter. I paid to go in early at the Tonbridge Audio Jumble once but [for me] it wasn't worth it.

As mentioned above, though, the VERY best stuff is already gone by then. I have been selling at the Tonbridge Audiojumble for the past seven or eight years and I cannot remember the last time I had taken less than three figures by the time the early entry buyers came in.

As people have said, at any of these fairs if you're looking for a specific rarity and are happy to pay for it - come early. If you're looking for a bargain and aren't too fussy about what it is - wait until the end!

As to the NVCF - I'm immensely looking forward to it. It's always a great day out!

[Reelman]

In my opinion....
If you can only go to one show go to this one!
You would have to attend many, many, boot sales, antique fairs and radio rallies to see just a fraction of what is available at the NVCF. Therefore financially it will always be a good deal. I wish we could go back to 2 a year!
It is nearly a 200 mile 'round trip for me but I wouldn't miss it for the world. Also a good chance to meet old forum friends and make new ones.
Hopefully see you there, you won't regret it......until you get home and the wife sees what you bought.....
Peter

[Radio Wrangler]

You could always go to *sell* something

David

[Dave Moll]

I would echo the sentiment of Peter (Reelman) that NVCF is not to be missed - even though it's nearer to a 400 mile round trip for me - the penalty for living in the wilds of Cumbria.

[Mike Phelan]

I always go there unless we're away.
Such is the size of the event there are plenty of bargains throughout the day, especially towards the end.

[Tazman1966]

It is such a good event but this year I won't be able to make it as I'll be at a wedding in Hungary the following weekend and had to work the 9th and 10th in lieu