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York, Pennsylvania

York Antiques Shows Grow Very Big

by Lita Solis-Cohen

In the weeks leading up to the three shows in York, Pennsylvania, held October 31 and November 1, 2003, dealers predicted that it would be a make or break event. They hoped it would herald a new era in York but worried that there would be too many dealers and not enough buyers.

It was not a disaster, but it is an experiment in progress. Some business was done, but it was spotty, as it has been for the last three years. Some dealers sold very well, having their best York shows ever; many others did not; and many said there have been callbacks in the days that followed.

Those who came to buy said they were thrilled to see so many Americana dealers in one place, but by the time they covered all three shows on Friday, they were tired, their heads were spinning, and many said they couldn't absorb it all in one day and needed another day to sort it out. (All show admissions included reentry anytime both days.) Those who came on Saturday, when the crowd was thin, found a broad range of treasures that had been overlooked the day before, and if prices seemed steep, dealers were willing to deal.

The idea for three shows began last May when show promoter Frank Gaglio learned that, with Jim Burk's blessings, promoter Barry Cohen had cloned his York Tailgate Antiques Show (traditionally a fall event), rechristened it the York County Classic Antiques Show, and moved it into the Old Main Building on the York Fairgrounds, right across from Jim Burk's Greater York Antiques Show and Sale in Memorial Hall West on May 9 and 10, 2003.

Learning that Burk would move his November show to the new Toyota Expo Arena, then under construction, Gaglio inquired about the availability of Memorial Hall for October 31 and November 1, 2003. When Gaglio learned that the new Toyota Expo Arena would have room for two shows, he asked Jim Burk, who for 34 years has been the czar of antiques shows held at the York Fairgrounds, if his Barn Star Productions could share the new arena for a fall show. Burk said yes. That left Memorial Hall, where Burk had always staged his Greater York shows, vacant for Barry Cohen to move in with the fall edition of his York County Classic show. (For more on Cohen's fall York show, see page 44-B.)

Gaglio said his aim in promoting another show in York was to bring in 500 to 1000 more buyers and create in York the kind of excitement he brought to Manchester, New Hampshire, in August with his Midweek in Manchester show and his Bedford Pickers Market. (For more on Gaglio's fall York show, see page 12-C.)

At first Gaglio saw his show as a sister to Burk's with a single admission in the big new arena. The single admission, however, was not to be because for 34 years, Burk has given part of his proceeds to the Y's Men's Club at the York YMCA, and Burk said the YMCA thought a single admission a bad idea. That's why there was a floor-to-ceiling metal fence in the lobby and a folding wall in the arena separating Burk's show on the west side from Gaglio's on the east.

Gaglio said he could not have launched his new show without Burk's approval, and his early advertising for The Pennsylvania Antiques Show on October 31 and November 1 included the tag line "Barn Star Productions in cooperation with Jim Burk Antiques Shows proudly announces two great shows under one roof."

Two good shows they were, and a good crowd came, though plenty of big spenders were missing. There was competition elsewhere that weekend. In Boston Skinner's held a very successful Americana auction on Saturday, and the Ellis Antiques Show opened on Thursday night and remained open all weekend. Ron Bourgeault's Northeast Auctions scheduled a huge three-day fall sale in Manchester, New Hampshire, Friday through Sunday, which may account for the fact that few came from New England or New York.

By Saturday morning Jim and Donna Burk were not so sure it had been a good idea to give their blessings to more shows in York. Gaglio and Cohen, on the other hand, were thrilled with the response. Cohen said more people came to the 7 a.m. early buying at his show on Friday than ever before, and by noon his gate had exceeded his November 2002 tailgate at the motel, and he still had a day and half to go. Gaglio claimed that attendance at his show was as high as the first day at his Philadelphia Navy Pier show, well over 1000. Donna Burk said attendance was not much different than at any other York show. Jim Burk confirmed that they sold 209 more tickets on Friday than in November 2002, far from the 1000 more that Gaglio had promised.

The shoppers who found their way to all three shows on Friday, past 380 dealers' stands, found the experience fast-moving, challenging, and exhausting. There was an awful lot to see.

The dealers, however, were not universally thrilled with the fierce competition for collectors' dollars. The consensus was that the time of the staggered openings needs fine-tuning. Frank Gaglio got the coveted 9 o'clock slot on Friday. Burk originally said he'd open at noon but changed his mind and opened at 11 a.m., so shoppers had only an hour and a half to shop Gaglio's show before lining up for Burk's.

That left Barry Cohen with a 7 a.m. early buying time instead of his usual 8:30. A lot of people got up early and paid $20 to see Cohen's show. They marveled at the wide aisles and easy-access floor plan that accommodated 120 dealers in 115 booths (a few dealers shared booths). The ticket price at that show dropped to $7 ($6 with an ad) from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. (Some people paid $6 or $7 just to eat lunch there. Earl of Pipher Catering ran the food service, and word got out that the homemade food was much better in Memorial Hall than the greasy hot dogs and fries served at the long counter that stretched from the east to the west, perpendicular to the fence, in the lobby of the new Toyota Expo Arena.)

The hours for Frank Gaglio's show were convenient, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, with no preview and no early buying; the $10 admission was good for reentry anytime both days. It was a spacious and attractive show. The bright lights in the new arena made it seem like daylight even without extra spotlights in the booths. The wide aisles, a park with green Astroturf and benches in the center, and pumpkins and cornstalks and Halloween candies in the entrance made it festive.

The rush of excitement was short-lived, however, because most shoppers had only an hour and a half to rush past the 130 dealers before lining up to see what Jim Burk's 129 dealers had in store next door. They came back.

The line for Burk's Greater York show was very long. Gaglio's dealers, who could not leave their booths to line up early, said it took them 20 minutes to pay their $10 and get in. Even though Donna Burk insisted that their gate was not much larger, the narrow aisles made it seem more crowded than ever. Shoppers said it was claustrophobic. Dealers complained that people couldn't stand back and see what they had to offer, with the result that business was slow for a lot of dealers who usually sell well at York, and several said they would move to Gaglio's show next time.

Booth rent was lower at Burk's show than at Gaglio's because he owns his walls ("the worst walls in the business" said several dealers who, in the same breath, said they would be loyal to Burk after all these years and never defect to any other show). Gaglio rents his walls, and his dealers said they were glad to pay more for solid plywood walls, spacious design, and easy load-in and pack-out at eight different doors, while Burk's dealers said they struggled with two loading docks because booths blocked the other entrances.

Burk's hours were from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday and noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday, so Burk's dealers shopped Gaglio's show on Friday from 5 to 7 p.m. and on Saturday morning before their show opened, complaining loudly that their show wasn't opening until noon.

At noon Donna Burk said she was not happy. "Why can't these show promoters find another weekend for their shows?" she asked. "The hours need to be changed! I think all the shows should open at once at ten a.m. We will open earlier on Saturday next year and probably say open later on Friday."

Jim Burk said no way would he be the last show to open next time. "I'm not going to be a good guy anymore," he said.

Frank Gaglio said he would like to see opening times staggered, so buyers have a minimum of three hours to shop each show and time to clear their heads before going to the next one. Dealers at Burk's show said that by the time people got to them at 11 a.m. on Friday, they were tired and had no idea what they were looking at.

By midafternoon one collector was overheard saying that she wanted to find her way back to a booth but couldn't remember which show it was in. It was more important than ever to mark your program if you wanted to return to a dealer. All the promoters printed programs with floor plans with booth numbers, but only Barry Cohen listed the exhibitors alphabetically and gave their towns and phone numbers. Gaglio's plan listed names and phone numbers, handy for callbacks, but as usual Burk's traditional blue program listed the names of the dealers by booth number and the name of their town.

Burk's dealers moved in on Wednesday, so they had an extra day for preshow buying among themselves (they couldn't shop the other shows, which moved in on Thursday). Nevertheless, by the end of the weekend there was a certain amount of cross-fertilization, i.e., dealers from one show buying at the others. "There are not a lot of RPs buying, that is, Real People," commented one exhibitor, who said that dealer business had been good.

"I drove three thousand miles to get here," said Los Angeles dealer Michael Ogle of American Garage, who exhibited at Frank Gaglio's Pennsylvania Antiques Show. "It's been spectacular for me. I bought well at all three shows, and I sold well too."

If 380 dealers in three shows seemed daunting, wait until May 7 and 8 when there will be four shows and an unconfirmed Yorktowne auction on the York Fairgrounds on Mother's Day weekend! Bob Goodrich of Goodrich & Company Promotions, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, will introduce The Early American Antiques Show at York in Memorial Hall East, right across the lobby from Barry Cohen's York County Classic show. He said he will have the same hours and charge the same admission as Cohen.

"I'm not out to steal anyone else's dealers. I will find seventy-five new faces with good-quality antiques for a small show," said Goodrich. "I think York is geographically ideal for a big event. It's ten or fifteen miles off the turnpike; route eighty-one comes right to Carlisle, half an hour away, and the airport is about the same distance." Goodrich sees York as "a major shopping center for quality antiques."

Goodrich thinks it will take a few more times to establish a major multi-dealer event in York. He said he would not have chosen May 7 and 8, the Friday and Saturday of Mother's Day weekend, which is less than three weeks after the big weekend in Philadelphia with the Philadelphia Antiques Show, Gaglio's large Philadelphia Navy Pier show, and Cohen's Center City show. November seems to be a better time for a big conclave of dealers and buyers; it's far enough from August in Manchester and January in New York City. Many are asking if this big event needs to be staged twice a year?

The promoters say yes. They say 75% of their dealers have returned their contracts for May, and they are getting requests from others to do their shows. The 25% who will not return may be the high-end dealers who said they neither bought nor sold well and will concentrate their energies elsewhere.

For more information, contact Jim Burk at (717) 872-2778; Web site (www.jimburkantiqueshows.com).