A Guitar And Gear Support Forum

So I'm starting to do some clean up, and have about 10 guitars I'm thinking of putting up for sale. Mostly a bunch of Harley Bentons and their ilk, in the $150-$300 range.
And lo and behold, the Rose Quarter guitar festival is going on in Portland this weekend. Basic booths with a 8 foot table cost $150. I'd be able to break even if I upcharge about $20 per guitar vs what I'd charge on CL, not sure how sales would go though. From the pictures I see of previous events, they mostly have higher end stuff (boutique luthiers, or USA made PRS/Gibson/Fender from local shops).

Has anyone gone to something like it?
Is it worth the cost?
Is it worth the time (6-8 hours on one of the last weekends until May where it doesn't rain here)?

There is only one way to know for sure.

Back in the 1970's a friend & I started a Home Computer magazine (in those days the term PC was unknown.)
As a result we went to a number of Computer Shows. We always made money in Atlanta & Philly.
The others were iffy. You might make money this year & lose money the next.

$150 for 1 day? Around near Philly is $450/2 days but the show is huge. Smaller place are most likely $50-100 so i guess it's in the ballpark. I think about now any show is going to draw lots of people due to the past year.
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mozz wrote: ↑Wed Nov 17, 2021 8:58 pm $150 for 1 day? Around near Philly is $450/2 days but the show is huge.

Do you go to these?
It's about 45 min south of me...
I think they just had one last weekend.

I'm not sure people are going to be buying Harley Benton class guitars at a show like this...only speaking personally...if I were to buy at a local show...I'd want something unique....if a Harley B. showed up at the show that I liked...I'd only buy at a deep discount.

thepezident wrote: ↑Wed Nov 17, 2021 9:16 pm

mozz wrote: ↑Wed Nov 17, 2021 8:58 pm $150 for 1 day? Around near Philly is $450/2 days but the show is huge.

Do you go to these?
It's about 45 min south of me...
I think they just had one last weekend.

Never been to the OAKS show but a good friend told me i should go see the thousands of guitars. $10-15 to get in. I looked and saw it was last week, i would have gone if i knew about it. The spring/summer show has not announced the date yet.

I've been to the small indoor show at Jakes flea market on RT 100, not a big building but free admission.

$150 plus 8 hours of manning a table would not be worth it to me. You likely are not going to fetch much of a premium over CL or other free marketplaces, and you have to wonder if that type of show will draw the audience you are looking for.

People looking for a $150 used Chinese imports are probably not headed to shows like this in large numbers. They are on CL, Facebook marketplace or showing up in a local shop with a kid who wants to start lessons but doesn’t know much more than that.