I've attended York, on and off, for about 13 years. I've been lucky that the past 5 years or so have been "on years" and haven't missed one lately.
Personally, I have no need for anything new. I've added the Postwar stuff I wanted to add to my Postwar collection and I've got plenty of other things. I'm moving into a slightly smaller home which compounds the need for less. Not that I'm not buying anything else......
A few random thoughts:
Guys selling Postwar and related stuff. Some of them must be smoking crack based on the pricing alone. I saw plenty of beaters with insane prices. I only buy the best of the best when it comes to Postwar and I just have to shake my head. I didn't even really see any super awesome deals on modern stuff (except NIB PS3 MTH Railking Imperial Challengers being blown out for $250 by one Orange Hall Dealer - that was REALLY tempting and if I didn't already have a Lionmaster Legacy challenger with smoking whistle, I would have bought one!) and even the good deals I saw I just walked by. I'm at a saturation point and just am not buying much these days.
Dealers: Some of these guys don't really seem to want or appreciate your business. For example: Bought a set of MTH Passenger cars from a large dealer in the Orange Hall. I said "Thank you" and he said "You're Welcome" and went back to his cell phone. Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things but shouldn't you, the dealer, be the one saying "thank you"? I also saw a nice Postwar boxed set in the Red (?) hall. Stood there looking at it, looked around to see if anyone was around and no obvious table owner was there. I get it if you need a bathroom break or something but even the neighbors said he had been gone a while. Guess you didn't really want the sale. Perhaps this is "show and tell" instead of "make money" for some.
Crowds: I would be stunned if it was over 10K this April. To me, it was DEAD. A ghost town. As I've said time and time again, if they want the public in there and/or for this thing to survive, the half day Thursday and Saturday and all day Friday isn't going to work. You HAVE to have it Saturday and Sunday from 10-5 or similar.
Sales: I bought a trio of Postwar freight cars and a set of MTH Passenger cars, plus some JT's smoke fluid. This was actually the first York in a few years I've actually bought something. I spoke to many that didn't buy anything and I heard one dealer say it was a "terrible" show in terms of sales. On the other hand, Gryzboskis (spelling?) told me they were making money and doing well. I guess it depends on what they had and their prices.
Me: A bad day at York (no such thing) is way better than sitting in my office on a Friday. I always have loved going to York and always will. I personally have always had a preference for the October show over April anyway. I'll be going to York as much as I can until either I'm dead or York is dead. Hopefully neither anytime soon.
Just my $0.02......
