15 replies to this topic

[simonlewisbooks]

Chaps I thought you might all like to know that the 2013 Silverstone classic doesn't have an Autojumble section this year.
So if you were planning to go with the intention of buying anything other than a pie and a pint for a few quid...

I had the booking forms through last week, queried the lack of any autojumble spaces marked on the map and had the following reply this morning -

"Yes the auto jumble has been discarded this year and the cheapest stall is £475 plus VAT for a Retail Unit."

So if you wonder why we traders don't always appear at events that seem tailor-made, now you know!

Two years ago I think they were offering a stand for £120. One wonders if some event organisers have even noticed the recession ? This is not a unique situation but I think the penny (or to be more exact, the Euro) might finally drop with some of them this year

[arttidesco]

Sorry to hear this Simon, makes one wonder what will be left at the Silverstone Classic this year the number of car clubs in attendance was noticeably down last year too.

[simonlewisbooks]

I was intending to do this event last year but the autojumble was actually booked up and the extra space that that had allotted was atop a spectator bank...
So this year I was in-there early.... Ho Hum.

[kayemod]

Silverstone are by no means alone in this, I've noticed the same behaviour with other similar non-car events that I've been involved with in the past. Each year the cost of a stand goes up, organisers come out with statements like "It's only 15%, surely you can afford that?". What they don't seem to understand is that all associated costs, travel, accommodation, staff costs etc, have increased by at least as much, so attending just becomes uneconomic, and fewer traders leads eventually to reduced attendance. Everyone is feeling the pinch, so in the end these events will die, and I expect that the organisers will blame us for failing to support them.

[simonlewisbooks]

Yup.
Costs go up year-on-year but spectator attendances (and thus takings) have seriously fallen every year since the recession started to bite .
Naming no names but one venue put the pitches up from £70 to £90 last year and there were 25% fewer people through the gate at each event.
Double-bubble as they say.

[RCH]

Silverstone has always been erratic when it comes to pricing. This is all from memory but the first couple of years we had a trade stand at the old Coys festival, would have been around '95, a 5 x 5 metre pitch was I think £85.00 and that included a strip at the back to park. Then suddenly the price was increased by around 17 times, I kid you not. Strangely enough the old Coys festival fell apart around then. When I queried such a ridiculous price increase they couldn't quite believe it either. They had handed responsibility over to a promotions group who had changed the way they rented the space and clearly did not have a clue as to how that was going to effect their customers. I think they only managed to fill space by massive discounting.

A few years later when they reintroduced a "Classic" type festival I enquired about that, the WSC event and the British GP. The first two they wanted £1,500 each and the Grand Prix.... are you sitting down? £27,000. We ended up getting the first 2 events for £500 for the two. Waste of time as it happened and haven't been back since.

[simonlewisbooks]

Some years ago I did an Easter Monday race meeting at a venue I won't name but it's not very far from me...
At the time the usual pitch was about £50 at most events,and the chap selling pitches said quite earnestly "we try and price it so you pay about 10% of your profit"...the pitch was £125.
Now I don't know what he thought we were selling but by the time fuel and other costs were taken into account that meant we'd have had to take £3000 to match what he was expecting. That would be at least a couple of quid from every single person present...

There were only two non-food stalls and neither of us did any good but if the pitch had been the average figure of around £50, it might have been viable and become a regular thing for both of us. Trade starts to build when people know you are going to be there every time, so there was the possibility that over a year it would have netted the circuit about £600. (anyd maybe another £600 the following year, and so on). As it was they took £250 from the two of us and we didn't go back.

Does that make logical sense to anyone?

[RCH]

Some years ago I did an Easter Monday race meeting at a venue I won't name but it's not very far from me...
At the time the usual pitch was about £50 at most events,and the chap selling pitches said quite earnestly "we try and price it so you pay about 10% of your profit"...the pitch was £125.
Now I don't know what he thought we were selling but by the time fuel and other costs were taken into account that meant we'd have had to take £3000 to match what he was expecting. That would be at least a couple of quid from every single person present...

There were only two non-food stalls and neither of us did any good but if the pitch had been the average figure of around £50, it might have been viable and become a regular thing for both of us. Trade starts to build when people know you are going to be there every time, so there was the possibility that over a year it would have netted the circuit about £600. (anyd maybe another £600 the following year, and so on). As it was they took £250 from the two of us and we didn't go back.

Does that make logical sense to anyone?

I believe that when it comes to organising the trade stands at an event like a race meeting those responsible have no notion of the economics of running such a stand. I suspect they believe that we are all coining it and can afford to pay. I did the Goodwood FOS up till about 2005 and year on year it was a case that the price went up, the number of competitors selling there went up and the profit(?) went down. Walking around I could not see how quite a number of traders could be making anything yet they carried on going which presumably sent the wrong message to the organisers. I've not been to the FOS since so don't know how many traders still go but I enquired about space for this year and the cost has more than doubled from when I was last there. I went, as a speccy, to the Revival in 2011 and was surprised to find that there were actually very few motoring orientated stands amongst the vintage clothing in the main area. Speaking to an old friend, artist Chris Dugan, across the other side of the road he said that he could not possibly afford the price in the main area anymore.

I actually did some costings a few years ago to consider the viability of setting up a sort of travelling circus of regular traders which could be offered at a price to organisers, decided it would take up too much time for too little return but maybe it is the sort of thing which is needed.

[DN5]

I am still amazed that the organisations are selling no tickets on the day.

Takes all the fun of looking at the weekend weather forecast to pick the best day.

Geoff

[jackal]

Hello

Of the big events it looks like Boolee(had to write that.....it has been my favourite miss spell I have seen!) is still good value for the number of people that attend and alot of people i know seem to do alright out of it. I did quite nicely 2 years ago on the car mart but like everything it does depend who is there on the day and i was lucky.

Slightly off topic but connected is lack of advertising that something is actually going on. To be honest I have seen more signs pointing to small autograss clubbies than you will see around silverstone for events there. as a kid i am sure i remember adverts in daily newspapers for silverstone and thruxton which is how we ended up going to all those glorious 70's handicap events and f2 meetings. It must've been the papers as it was before i started buying Motorsport News and dad didn't buy any car mags.

Maybe if there was more advertising by the side of the road then more than 5 people would walk through the gates, ticket prices could come down, burger prices and so on. the last autograss clubbie I went to was free spectating, about 150 car entry and a burger and chips was £4. There was a whole hillside of spectators and it was jolly good fun.

Sadly alot of circuit racing these days is a bit dull and cant compare to drifting around secondlife with pink hair and high heels(not me officer!)so how much would change with more advertising i do not know.

/Carl

[arttidesco]

Hello

Maybe if there was more advertising by the side of the road then more than 5 people would walk through the gates, ticket prices could come down, burger prices and so on. the last autograss clubbie I went to was free spectating, about 150 car entry and a burger and chips was £4. There was a whole hillside of spectators and it was jolly good fun.



/Carl

As I understand it these days advertising by the side of the road is likely to get you a fine from the local council... for littering

[Rudernst]

I will miss the jumble very much
i bought a lot of interesting stuff there, over the years
for me it was part of the attraction,a very charming and authentic one

for my money, i would prefer a jumble to a stupid BMW hospitality and promo village
but then, BMW has deep pockets

You could argue that small traders should be charged just enough to cover cost of the promoter as they are part of the infrastructure
on the other hand; even we racers have to pay, and we with our cars are the reason why people turn up at all

the promoter thinking of course is that they need to milk everything and everybody for as much as possible to make the event pay
which seems difficult enough to do

lets see where this takes them

I wont cancel any races because the jumble is gone
but it makes the event a little bit more plastic
and a little less of a given calendar fixture that i do regardless of how much it upsets the family vacation


Rudolf

Edited by Rudernst, 22 March 2013 - 17:11.

[CiroMenotti]

As I understand it a space only plot IS available at Silverstone Classic.
All major traders are booked to exhibit, mostly using the competively-priced tents provided by the organisers.

Look forward to seeing all my regular TNF customers at the event.

All research Ted Walker

(Who cannot remember his password....)

[simonlewisbooks]

As I understand it a space only plot IS available at Silverstone Classic.

Yep it's 5x5m and about £695 + VAT....

[bigears]

Blimey, that's a shame.

It is the same with the Autosport International Show, there was plenty of autojumble stalls in the past and the numbers have dropped down and I haven't been to the show for a few years now.

I have started going to the Race Retro show at Stoneleigh for my source of autojumble.

Where are the other best places for me to go? I was thinking about the Silverstone Classic until the recent news about the lack of stalls.

[Rudernst]

Blimey, that's a shame.

It is the same with the Autosport International Show, there was plenty of autojumble stalls in the past and the numbers have dropped down and I haven't been to the show for a few years now.

I have started going to the Race Retro show at Stoneleigh for my source of autojumble.

Where are the other best places for me to go? I was thinking about the Silverstone Classic until the recent news about the lack of stalls.

the jumbles at the VSCC Events tend to be very interesting
Spring Start for instance end of April at Silverstone

Rudolf

after some more thoughts...
VSCC Events as such are interesting and tend to very good value

Edited by Rudernst, 22 March 2013 - 22:38.