Pen Show Newbie Question

[Shane Cavitt]

I'm hoping to be able to attend the Dallas Pen Show sometime over the next couple of days. Have never been to a show, but have been doing my homework as to what I can expect. My question is about trading. Is it accepted? Encouraged? Expected? I have a couple of vintage pick ups that aren't my cup of tea and was wondering if the possibility exists that I could trade them for other vintage. I'm not talking high end or extremely collectible stuff. Just good user pens. How does trading work and how should I approach it? Thanks in advance for any tips/pointers!

[kevmid]

I can't answer your question on the trading aspect but if you are a show newbie, in case you haven't seen it, Matt Armstrong from the Pen Habit did a good 45min video recently on what to expect and how to handle a pen show. It's called pen show primer http://penhabit.com/2017/08/22/pen-show-primer-matts-musings/

Might be something useful there. Enjoy the show!

[Shane Cavitt]

I can't answer your question on the trading aspect but if you are a show newbie, in case you haven't seen it, Matt Armstrong from the Pen Habit did a good 45min video recently on what to expect and how to handle a pen show. It's called pen show primer http://penhabit.com/2017/08/22/pen-show-primer-matts-musings/

Might be something useful there. Enjoy the show!

Yes I have watched the primer from Matt. Good stuff and definitely learned a lot from it.

[penwash]

While trading between a visitor and a vendor happens, it is not the norm at pen shows.
The vendors are there to make a profit, obviously, otherwise they won't be a vendor for a long time.

So in my opinion, if the vendor sees something that they are looking for, they will trade with you, but they won't do it otherwise.

Therefore I don't think that trading is frowned upon, but you need to adjust your expectation according to what you have to trade for.

[Shane Cavitt]

While trading between a visitor and a vendor happens, it is not the norm at pen shows.
The vendors are there to make a profit, obviously, otherwise they won't be a vendor for a long time.

So in my opinion, if the vendor sees something that they are looking for, they will trade with you, but they won't do it otherwise.

Therefore I don't think that trading is frowned upon, but you need to adjust your expectation according to what you have to trade for.

Will, thanks for the reply. I know vendors are there to make money and that was why I asked the question so as to know what to expect. I have no illusions of making a one for one deal. I was thinking more in terms of offering a trade to help reduce the price. Something like a trade-in on a car. I have X pen + cash for Y pen.

Turns out I will not be able to make the show, but it is good to know for the future. Thanks again for the education!