As a participant, this show has mixed reviews. The city of Dunedin's strategy, if there was one, seems to have been to combine as many events as possible into a single day. There wasn't just the Antique Fair and Classic Car show going on; but the Green Market (a farmer's market), and a Doggie Wash fundraiser, with some kind of beer-festival related activities going on at the same time. My personal feelings are that having so many diverse events happening simultaneously, all targeting different customers and interest groups, tended to detract from each other rather than add to the total experience. Although the foot (2- and 4-) traffic was quite high, there were so many people wandering about who were just Not Interested in what an Antique show had to offer. Plenty of instances of partners being "dragged along" and looking unhappy at having to spend *any* time at the stretch of road where we were set up, because they were just interested in getting their doggy washed. Or in getting to the beer. Or in buying their organic veggies for the week.
I'm thinking "cluster - " something. What's that other word? Starts with an F and rhymes with "muck"?
The weather was DIVINE. No humidity, some gusty wind just to keep us on our toes, sunshine and not too warm. It *should* have been a rockin' day for sales. BUT. But. We were at the end of a two-week period when gas prices had risen $.33 per gallon. Nothing scares our customers into frugality like rampant, rising gas prices. I swear it creates a glue to be formed in peoples' pockets, and they can't take those hands out of them, not even to pick things up to look at them.
That said - all these apparent negatives working against us - we had what is passing lately for a decent show. I only had to retreat to the van once for a panic attack and case of the weepies. (More about this development later.) We did, however, experience the first customer return since starting in this biz.
I've posted the photographs of the item in question: it's a change making machine (like we used to see bus conductors wear around their belts) that is affixed to a two-drawer bill holder. Made by the McGill Metal Products Company (still in operation), this item came from a local marina and has a great patina, some delamination, and the metal portion of the item is lightly covered with rust, as you'd expect from a piece that spent its operational life in salty, sea air.
It was the first - and fairly substantial - sale of the day. Unfortunately, 3 hours later, the customer came back with the item, saying that once he got it home and took a closer look at it, he started to suspect that it wasn't a genuine piece, but rather, made up. That is, the coin changer might have been old, but he thought the wooden base was a later and newer addition.
Er.
The label indicating who the manufacturer is, is on that suspect wooden base. How would that have happened? And how out of the question is it that McGill would make such a product? - a portable, fairly secure and rudimentary cash register, for a business like, say, a fishing charter?
We were dumbfounded at the man's claims. I started to think, though, about how many shows we'd been to and witnessed dealers in heated arguments with customers over quality and veracity of items. Everybody loses - the customer does (or doesn't) get their money refunded; the dealer gains a reputation for attempting to pass off fakes or inferior goods AND they are branded as being difficult to do business with. I know a couple of dealers who are very strong on principle... and rather low on sales volume.
No protests from us, we cheerfully refunded the customer his money, wanting him to remain happy and hoping that he will take another chance with us in the future.
In the meantime, I offer these photographs of the item in question. Pretty certain that it will find a good home, and soon enough.
