Bill - I used to attend the shows in Kitchener, Ontario until it shut down a number of years ago. Also attended the show in Hamilton, Ontario but when I started travelling to Florida in January, when the show is held, I haven't been since. I attended the show in Toronto quite a few years ago, but the crowds made it impossible to get anywhere near the displays.

The last time I attended the Hamilton show, most tool companies were there, and there were seminars that I took in occasionally. Lee Valley never had much inventory but I always took advantage of their free shipping while at the show - they've since opened a store near me and it's only a 20 minute drive so the free shipping isn't required.

I used to go to the shows to pick up something specific or check out the show specials like Bessey clamps, etc.

 

They brought back the Detroit show this year after a 3 year absence. No advertising at all. I just happened to see it on a misc email about craft shows. Didn't even go.

 

Sorry to see them fade away. Without manufacturer support, they just won't happen. End of an era is nigh.

 

Similar story here in Portland, Oregon. It was a show worth attending for several years and then the cost of admission plus parking outstripped the value. Last time I checked one was not even scheduled. I do miss it as it was both educational and provided some excellent shopping opportunities. Oh well.

Before I retired it seemed the same course was running through the major medical society meetings.

 

I used to go to the one they held here in the Lower Mainland (BC). They held it in the Agriplex out in the valley...a long drive and a ferry to get there. Maybe a $100 all in.
The two biggest exhibitors, KMS Tools and Summit Tools decided to pull out and host their own annual 'Open House' so to speak. Pretty much killed it. (I think maybe Busy Bee did the same thing.)
If I'm not mistaken the exhibitors fees were a large part of the reasoning for leaving; I heard that the show promoters got a bit greedy.

 

Another thing killing such shows is the availability of youtube videos. One video by a manufacturer/supplier on youtube will reach more viewers than all the attendance numbers at woodworking shows. Plus, there's no fighting the crowds, travel, expenses to watch.

While open houses at brick and mortar operations will continue, a well-done informative video is far cheaper and light-years ahead of trade shows.

Economics is on the side of information through the least cost to reach vast numbers of interested parties.

With the exception of Home Depot and Lowe's which are within 4 miles of my home, I've spent thousands online and nothing at any brick and mortar "woodworking suppliers/retailers."

Even my recent purchase of a Jet dust collector was made online. I went to a "woodworking" store to look at Laguna bandsaws, examined the Jet dc and talked to a salesman, but the 220 model wasn't in stock, the store price was higher and didn't include shipping.

I came home, ordered it from Amazon for cheaper and with free shipping, and two days later it arrived at my shop and one hour later assembled and working.

This is how business is done today.

 

Another thing killing such shows is the availability of youtube videos. One video by a manufacturer/supplier on youtube will reach more viewers than all the attendance numbers at woodworking shows. Plus, there's no fighting the crowds, travel, expenses to watch.

While open houses at brick and mortar operations will continue, a well-done informative video is far cheaper and light-years ahead of trade shows.

Economics is on the side of information through the least cost to reach vast numbers of interested parties.

With the exception of Home Depot and Lowe's which are within 4 miles of my home, I've spent thousands online and nothing at any brick and mortar "woodworking suppliers/retailers."

Even my recent purchase of a Jet dust collector was made online. I went to a "woodworking" store to look at Laguna bandsaws, examined the Jet dc and talked to a salesman, but the 220 model wasn't in stock, the store price was higher and didn't include shipping.



I came home, ordered it from Amazon for cheaper and with free shipping, and two days later it arrived at my shop and one hour later assembled and working.

This is how business is done today.

Sadly, that is true.

 

At some point the tide turned for all the "shows"...Electronics, Woodworking, even Boat shows...

I guess a vicious cycle happens...maybe it's chicken and egg....

Less purchases at the shows because of prices on the internet...leads to less inventory at the shows...less discounts...less vendors...and the spiral continues.

On the other hand, vendors and manufacturers don't offer the same products and services at the shows...no reason to, they get the orders anyway.

Discounts at the shows don't mean anything anymore because same or better prices can be had on line. And what makes it worse, you can't go to the shows and "take it home and play" because all they do is take orders.

The shows were great because you could "touch and feel"...it used to be a buyer's market. Now the vendors and manufacturers don't need to compete.

Millenials don't need the touch and feel...they don't need to own vs rent. Hell, you can even buy and sell your vehicle without ever leaving your smartphone. They deliver and pick up in your driveway. They don't want to boats because they can rent one for a week or two. Smartphones and iPads/tablets apps even replace marine electronics. Cameras and remotes even allow machines to be controlled from the living room couch.

It's a shame...but the market drives responses...

Don't get the wrong idea...I definitely take advantage of the convenience of technology...but not for everything.

 

My feelings exactly, but I do miss the ability to touch and try out the more expensive tools before I buy them, and these shows served this need. In the Fall the Klingspore Shops have an annual show at the Hickory, NC convention center that's as big or bigger than "The Woodworking Shows" have been of recent years and they go out of their way to help local clubs with space at the shows and they have free vendor classes and demos. Admission and parking are FREE at the Klingspore shows too.

This year "The Woodworking Show" has decided to return to Charlotte, NC after about 5 years absence, and I'll likely go "because it's about woodworking", but it may be the last of their shows that I attend though. The parking AND the show entrance fee makes me wonder if it's worth going to them any more. 20 years ago these shows were 2X as large with many tool vendors there who brought stock with them. Peachtree Woodworking and Woodline both had large booths there too.

Charley

 

Bill, we went to the show in Seacaucus, NJ last weekend, and Honestly, I was pleasantly surprised. We hadn't been to one of their shows in about 5 years because they were getting to be awful. The New England show is a joke. There was a huge presece of manufacturers in the Jersey show, Makita..DeWalt..Lee Valley.. Woodpecker, I don't know how their prices were because the rude people in attendance were just standing in the way telling the sales reps all their sad stories about how bad the tools were. We attended a short seminar on the Digital Wood Carver that was presented by Laney Shaugnesy, he did a good job and his presentation was vey interesting. We are looking into a CNC, but I don't think that will be the one. Anyway, there were several wood vendors at the show, and it was some of the nicest wood i have seen in a long time, I know one of the vendors was out of Virginia.

For anyone interested, the Northeast Woodworkers Association Showcase is in Saratoga, NY in 2 weeks. It is a great show of talent and there are some vendors there, although those numbers have diminished also. If you live in the Northeast, it's a fun day and a really nice show.

Overall, I agree with you Bill, the cost to attend such poorly presented "Trade Shows" does not make a lot of sense.

 

For years I had season tickets to the Nascar race at Bristol. Any seat was a good seat.

Then, beginning about 1996, they added about 25000 seats. A few years later they added more.

The intimacy was lost. No longer were all the seats good. Longer times to get in and hours to leave the parking area. Concessions went out the roof on price.

In 1999, I sold my season ticket position for a tidy sum. Now I can watch the race on a 53" television with surround sound, eat my own food, avoid the drunks, use my own bathroom, and have no traffic or travel except walking my dogs in my quiet neighborhood cul-de-sac.

Nearly 98% of my business is done online with video calls, the other 2% is meeting with local clients to eat lunch and have some laughs.

I do not miss Bristol or the long travel and the expenses of meeting with clients.

Same with trade shows. I can do everything but touch the merchandise, and with the generous return policies of online vendors, I can order, touch it, and decide whether or not to keep it.

Like button hooks and buggy whips, trade shows for most people are in the past.

 

The Indianapolis working working show was early February. I decided not to go last year , but thought about going this year until I realized how much it would cost to park and enter show for both wife and I. I can remember when spouses got in free. Also, as many of you stated, many “woodworking” suppliers have been replaced by low end junk suppliers. Over the years, I have made many of my purchases at the show. I January, I ran out of foam brushes that I usually purchased in bulk at the show. I decided to go on Amazon and purchased what I thought was a quality foam brush. I have used several of them and have been very satisfied. I agree that the ability to purchase and have delivered in two days hurt the shows.

When I was working, I was responsible for the companies and one problem was that the cost per square foot of space was increasing each year. I would evaluate the show versus “qualified leads” to determine if the show was that important to my company. The other factor that was hard to measure was whether the company was sending bad signals for not attending.

Frank

 

I find it interesting that the largest number of sq ft at the show were occupied by the junk dealers, selling $2 router bits and other stuff that I would never consider buying.

 

I had a different experience this year at the show in Toronto. It's held next to Pearson International Airport. The parking is always free and I went the first day of the show which was on a Friday, running for 3 days. $15 dollars to get in and hand stamped to return if you so desire. A lot of exhibits. Two or three seminars a day. About half of the exhibitors would take orders to ship later and the others had plenty of stock. Bosch, Dewalt, Makita, etc. were there with stock. A separate section had carving and inlaying, (I forget the term) demonstrated as well as some lesser pursuits. I've been to others, Woodstock, about 100 kms. west, was borderline waste of time, and Hamilton which is rather small and they charge a mint for parking so they lost me. A couple of vendors at Toronto remarked on the unusual crowd size this year. The guy from Trend, he came from North Carolina, said he'd never seen so many people here. He put on a good display of their sharpening equipment. It comes and goes, though. Next year may be just the opposite. It's good to see and touch and feel. (the tools). I'll go again next year because of proximity. It's just up the road aways.

 

Bill,

I wrote a review on our local woodworking show in October. Trust me you show had much more than ours and I had to drive over an hour to get there. It was terrible, bad enough to make me say I will not go back !

Dan

 

I went to the Woodworking Show in Kansas City. It was very disappointing as you experienced. Peachtree was not there. They were the largest vendor last year. My understanding Peachtree is a family owned business and had family issues and were skipping this year. They plan to be back next year. There are a significant number of vendors that have left over the last 15 years. If it weren’t for sitting through Jim Heavy’s presentation and Carter’s presentation, I could have been through the entire show,on a Saturday, in about an hour.

 

It it was closer(6hr drive) I would go to the Toronto show, it sounds way better than ours. Montreal doesn't even have a show except for the pros with high priced equipment that only pro shops can afford or justify. I work as a technical rep for a Mississauga based company and I asked my boss if we could attend the show together and he said he could not justify the expense of my travels.

 

Sorry to say I've never been to a woodworking show. Doesn't sound too promising anymore. My daughter and I exhibited for years at an annual doctor meeting, but after assessing the results, determined it really isn't worth all the cost (20 perent increase over last year plus premium hotel cost). We find that most of our business comes from articles in journals, Facebook and our newsletter. I will try to go this year as an ordinary participant, mostly to speak with friends, but will have something to promote our do it yourself offer. Sell one and all my expenses are paid. Bet my only competitor will be happy, but she's getting older and needs a cane, so I don't think she'll be around forever either. After 37 years in the field, I have some residual good will. Maybe I'll find someone ambitious to carry the business on. My daughter isn't doing that well at it.

The market for power tools is pretty small when you think about it. The consolidation and buy outs of smaller tool makers is proceeding apace. If we don't go, the tool cos. won't either.

 

Booth rental is a big factor, I think. Plus paying to staff it if you're a major exhibitor, as well as travel expenses. I pay $2-300 for the "major" events I do go to. Twice that for a double booth at the Polish Festivals. This year, the 3rd biggest outdoor/hunting/fishing show raised the price to $450 for a 10 x10 (but with storage behind). Add to that a couple nites at a hotel and trailer rental on top of usual personal expenses, you need a pretty big crowd. Thought we'd do the really big Outdoorama this spring too (falls in the right time of year for me). $975 for a 10 x 10 with no storage. Too high when you're selling $10-100 items. Would hate to see what the bigger spaces were going for.

 

I went to the Milwaukee show a couple weeks ago. Sounds very similar to your experience. It was probably half size since my last visit three years ago. I noticed the same price hike.
I do enjoy the (Carter) Alex Snodgrass band saw presentation though. Bought a couple new band saw blades and one of their stabilizers. Have not used it yet. Would sure like to make one of those reindeer's he's so good at. Figure I would loose a couple digits in the process though.

I also noticed the missing tool manufacturers. I had hoped Kreg would be there, as well as Milwaukee Tool. The parking was free.

The $14 entry fee gave you three entry tickets which allowed you to go all three days if you so wish.

 

I went to the Milwaukee show a couple weeks ago. Sounds very similar to your experience. It was probably half size since my last visit three years ago. I noticed the same price hike.
I do enjoy the (Carter) Alex Snodgrass band saw presentation though. Bought a couple new band saw blades and one of their stabilizers. Have not used it yet. Would sure like to make one of those reindeer's he's so good at. Figure I would loose a couple digits in the process though.

I also noticed the missing tool manufacturers. I had hoped Kreg would be there, as well as Milwaukee Tool. The parking was free.

The $14 entry fee gave you three entry tickets which allowed you to go all three days if you so wish.

Mike, if these are the reindeer you're talking about they're not that difficult to make. I downloaded a pattern from the internet and made about 10 of them a couple years ago as Christmas gifts for the kids in the family, and of course spouse had to hang one or two on our Christmas tree.

 

So sad to hear your experiences guys. I personally love to see tools demoed in person to ask questions before I buy them (if unfamiliar).
I haven't been to any of the woodworking "shows" here in Australia yet, although there's supposed to be one in Sydney this year I'm thinking of attending.

To be honest I'm finding it hard enough to have local suppliers of things I want. Timbecon is my main supply store so far, but they're in different states to me so I can't go in and see anyone. There's pretty much no specialty woodwork shops in Newcastle where I live, so online ordering is pretty much my only option.

Suffice it to say I'm pretty picky about where I order from.
I have yet to find a good wood supplier here too, as one I have purchased from were quite unfriendly to deal with and had no care for handling the wood I was purchasing, so I'm not likely to buy much from them.

<sigh>

 

Mike: here's a link to the plans I used

https://woodgears.ca/reindeer/plans.html

And here's a link to the instructions - ignore all the Sketchup stuff and go down to the part where he starts gluing the plan to the wood.


https://woodgears.ca/reindeer/index.html

 

All the show are having the same issue, even the toy and train shows around us are going down. One of my customers that sells at flea markets said he thinks the flea markets will become a thing of the past also. Makes me sad, will it come to all online buying and selling and no one goes outside any more.

 

Makes me sad, will it come to all online buying and selling and no one goes outside any more.

I go outside all the time; spend several hours every day working in the yard, feeding birds, landscaping, planting, etc., all the things I enjoy doing.

Of course, I could spend that time at shopping malls, food courts, looking for parking, sitting in traffic or creeping along in bad neighborhoods, and interacting with rude and ignorant people. That's always fun.

I haven't been to a mall since 2001, and other than hardware stores and grocery shopping, both activities I enjoy, I don't plan to go back to the mall.

I save time, money, and other resources by buying online. That makes me happy and tranquil, not sad.

I understand it might not be your choice, but I wouldn't return to those pipe-dream days of yesteryear for anything.

Steve

 

I was at the show this weekend, and was a bit disappointed with the vendors, especially not seeing Bessey, Kreg, and Peachtree. I stopped by the front desk, and there was a letter that explained a lot of what is going on with Peachtree's absence. Peachtree has always been the primary vendor for these shows, and is often who brings in many of the other vendors. The company is family owned, and the owner's sister has been going through breast cancer treatment. Talking with one of the organizers, she has completed treatment and they are hoping for good news shortly. As a result, they made the decision to not attend the shows this year, with hopes of them returning next year. The organizers of the show did what they could to bring as many of the vendors back on their own, and while claiming they had just as many options, it did feel smaller this year. So while it was disappointing, it was understandable, and hopefully Peachtree will be able to be apart of it again. Also, they told me that the Atlanta show Peachtree WILL be there, and the schedule does show that as well.

I was planning on getting my next 4 Bessey clamps to finish out my K-Body collection, but I ended up getting a much needed set of dado blades (got the Ridge Carbide set), so it worked out in the end.

That said, I do wish they would freshen up some of the presentations. It seems like it is the same bunch of guys every year. While they do change what they are doing, it does start to get repetitive.


Link to the letter that was posted at the show: https://www.ptreeusa.com/PDF/cancer_letter.pdf

 

Thanks Vince. They are now on my computer.

Mike

 

Guess I'm in for a surprise as this is the 1st year I even heard of the show so I guess technically it will be the "best" show I've ever been to but it is sounding dismal. I've talked a few others into joining me and it sounds like I may need to apologize soon. I guess we'll see soon, the show in Chantilly is 2 Saturdays away after the Atlanta show.

 

This is sad. There is real value is real value in face to face learning and sharing.

Unfortunately, here in the SF Bay Area, we don’t get many woodworking shows.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

I used to go every year to Baltimore first week of January and sometimes to Chantilly in March for 18yrs I haven't been in two years. Alex definitely has the best presentation. Jim Heavy is a nice guy. The shows keep getting smaller and smaller It seems since Black and Decker/Stanley bought up Delta,Oldam and Porta-Cable also Incra stopped exhibiting the selection isn't as good. The shows seem to be structured more to Wood turners than anything else. I used to get some great deals but they don't seem to be there anymore. Festool,Lee Valley and Woodpeckers prices are outrageous for the hobby woodworker even-though they have some nice tools. Over the years I have bought Delta 6" planer,Jet full sized lathe,Dewalt thickness Planer,Powermatic band saw,Kreg Jigs Porta-Cable Routers and many Viper Router Bits and SummerField Bit sets