I just returned from the meet Saturday evening, having had a really fun time there, and have just read through this thread. My overall impression of the meet is that it was significantly better than I expected, in virtually every way. EDTCA volunteers deserve a whole lot of credit for organizing and conducting a meet like this in what are still somewhat unusual times and circumstances.
Virtually all of the dealers I spoke with over my three days there reported that they were doing, or had already done, very well from the standpoint of sales. In part, that was likely due to some of the "major players" not being at the event, and the smaller dealers almost certainly reaped the benefit. For me, a real highlight was hearing from Steve Breneisson (Ross Custom Switches) that he virtually sold out of product and has a pile of orders that will keep him and his folks busy through the winter and beyond. That tells me that people are working on, or building layouts, and that bodes very well for the O gauge segment of the hobby. After all, folks don't collect track; they buy it to use it. My guess is that Atlas and GarGraves--two other major track suppliers--would also have benefited from being at York since a number of attendees ask me if they were there.
Overall, I think it was a fine meet, and the actual attendance figure doesn't mean much to me one way or another in light of the times we are living in. I certainly saw lots of people hauling boxes out to load in their cars and then returning to the halls for more buying. And I was part of that action, having bought more at this meet than I have at any York meet in the past decade or so.
Best of all, of course, was having the opportunity to meet up with old friends and even make some new friends. This truly is the world's greatest hobby, and many of the world's greatest people are participants.
