Sorry, you lost me.

Agreed Crowds are a good thing, but you're going to Lose the flea and then the sellers and buyers that it brings in. The Flea adds more foot traffic, and more rented spaces that's more Pintastic Revenue. The tournament next to the premier vendor games and the line to play was Heavily congested. Those new pins brought in the real foot traffic and i agree vendors need buyers.

How do you propose the flea gets fixed? Ok to shoot my idea down, i understand the logic but where's your solution ? Flea will not work in the auction room as someone suggested. There's no way to haul parts to the area or a way to back up trucks to unload .

This is my son's "can we get on the freak'n road and just go to Pintastic already" face. I just found this photo of me hitting the bank prior to us leaving. He wants to know when is the next and closest expo. What do I tell him?

IMG_1981 (resized).JPG

What I plan on doing for next year is getting a long extension cord, some very long USB cables and using my laptop with the 2 Logitech C270 webcams I have. I am going to the STOMP tourney this Sat and I hope Tim Sexton will be there. There are a few people around here that stream so I can ask them a bit on stream settings, etc. Major bonus if I can figure out a way to get a feed of the projector into the stream. I think I might need a capture card for that and that may require my desktop computer. Then I don't have to edit anything and I just have to upload the videos to Youtube.

Me too. I didnt attend the seminars, tried it last year, it's not my cup of tea. Glad i
Missed the Joey Chesnut Buffet Friday, I'm sure its fixable though.

Just saw that next year it's July 5-7....score!!

Would the hotel let you set up a big tent for the flea market? People notice big things like this:

https://wholesaleeventtents.com/product/46-x-20-heavy-duty-white-party-tent-gazebo-canopy/

Surprised by the pricing at that link - $1500 for 46'x20'... imagine a rental would be ideal as someone would bring it, set it up, and tear it down for you.

-Rob
-visit http://www.kahr.us to get my daughterboard that helps fix WPC pinball resets or for my Pinball 2000 H+V Video Sync Combiner kit

Correct me if im weong but I think the problem last year was a lack of foot traffic to the vendor area. Problem solved this year!

Allentown and now York moved the flea mostly indoors. I will be at York and will be happy to report back.

Tents work but rain still sogs out the fun and you have to get wet
to get under the tent and return to the building. Yeah $1500 is expensive !

A few flea guys that i know set up in 2015, neither has returned to Pintastic due to the reduced traffic and amount of other sellers. The auction needs our support its just like the flea , not enough merchandise.

I still say have an indoor flea its good for the show. The flea was on the right side of the lot along the building in 2015 , kiddie rides were out back where the flea was in 2017.

You sir are correct. i can't argue. But now we have another puzzle, getting foot traffic to the flea and more flea vendors. And how do we get more interested parties and goods involved in the auction.
Hey one problem was corrected because we dont want vendors bailing on Pintastic.

Just my two cents on the Super Pass.
I was only there Friday & Saturday and I still went with the three day pass and my friend did too. We did the same for 2016.
When you add up all the perks, including the new VIP, you more than get your money's worth.
I've blown more than $85 on two trips to a barcade and that's about 6ish hours playing time total.

http://pinballsaratoga.com

I don't know man. I just like the tournament where it is. There were well over 100 players this year and makes sense for them not to be stuffed in a small room.

Perhaps the flea on the side idea is good. I honestly had no idea there was a flea market this year. Just make it more visible.

I'm going to second this. The Sanctum had this spot the first year, and then it got crammed into the VIP room, it was great to have it back where it started, plus it's easy for them to get games in and out, right next to both exits, it's the perfect fit for what they run.

Flea market is major draw for me, when it comes to fixing old EM's used is all you have for a source most of the time.

Looks like all the shows have an indoor flea market, is there really no room for it inside the hotel? It usually rains every year and was basically a bust this year due to weather and the fact no one knew it was out there. If it's not moved inside I doubt people will waste their time rolling the dice and reserving a spot. I almost reserved a spot this year as I have a butt load of parts in my loft collecting dust but did not want to be tied to a table in the back lot and risk bad weather, glad I decided not to pull the pin. If it's outside next year I definitely will not reserve a spot, not worth it. With the show being held on basically the July forth weekend next year, I don't think I will be able to attend anyway, bummer..

Weren't the Flea Market spots pretty much given away this year as you got a pass to the show with the spot which cost $85? Perhaps shorter Flea Market times would help, say 10-3 or something. That way the flea market vendors are not spending the entire day outside and they can enjoy the show and then you could announce it overhead when it opens, every hour on the hour and half-hour before it closes.

Do we need two different kinds of flea market offerings? Outdoors: long hours, weather risk, great visibility if in front. Indoors: protected, maybe have electricity, maybe have shorter hours.

When you discuss the auction, please state what your personal interest is. Specifically, would you consign items? If 99% of the people just hope that someone else will consign, then prospects are not good.
.................David Marston

Not every show is gonna be everything for all people. When I think pintastic, I don't think flea market - that's an Allentown thing.

Nothing wrong with trying things but I doubt you'll ever be able to get everything to work for everybody. The stuff that IS working you probably shouldn't mess with much.

As long as we have enough people who pay to attend live, this would be worth considering. I think the internet situation in that seminar room is dubious, though Jaap Nauta had moderate success with his live connection in 2016.
.................David Marston

The auction is fun for me because the live bidding is exciting and I like to play-along and guess how much the items will go for. Most of the time, I don't have the room or means to bring some of the larger items home like jukeboxes or redemption games, and I already have a Multicade which puts me out of the market for those. For bidding on pinballs, most pinballs are for sale in the free play room anyway, which kind of makes an auction for pinballs irrelevant. And second, the quality of the auction is highly dependent on the amount of people interested and the quality of the items. Compared to last year, there were fewer people and lower quality items so it wasn't as good. While the auction is fun and unique, it does have it's niche audience.

I wouldn't have much to consign personally except for random parts, which is more of a flea market thing.

-Doug

Or expanded freeplay into that room since we overflowed this year!

I mentioned earlier in the thread that it might be useful to spread out the EMs... The back aisle that had most of the EMs was fairly easy to navigate. The middle aisle was often not easily passable-- moving some EMs into that row to relieve congestion would be one way to keep the flow of traffic more even throughout the room.

I could do that row as one of the 2 middle rows....I like the uniform look of a solid row of EM games. Maybe I will use that back row for some of the higher demanded games next year to help spread the crowd.

doug i posted my trailer was out in the parking lot - if i recall didn't i bring back your first game a few years ago. thanks ed

Yes you did bring back my first game, thanks! Since then, in two years, I've gone from no games to 2 pinballs, a Multicade, Megatouch, 10ft Skeeball, Slot machine, Dartboard, Wii system, and Heighway's Bacardi Baffle Ball. You were right -- they do multiply!

Even if I could bring games back, I have zero room for them at the moment. Although my exercise room is right next to the game room...

-Doug

I would take the other shows into consideration and check the schedules with the vendors you want to make sure you can get.

Just throwing this out to the public will just generate a whole bunch of suggestions based on people's personal schedules.

Any weekend before or after July 4th might be better than having it start day after the holiday.

Ya I agree. The popular machines in that room were hard to get on and there were alot of ems that were open some of which didn't even work. I couldn't really get on any games I wanted in there so I basically stayed in the vendor hall where their was more room.

Would it be better to alternate rows? For each aisle, have one row of EMs and one row of SS? That would still group the games, but could alleviate some foot traffic by not having SS games on both sides of an aisle.

Personally I like it being Fourth of July week because I take the whole week vacation and I get a day back from the holiday that I can use somewhere else. You might actually get more people who take the Thursday/ Friday off to make a long weekend out of it.

I think the auction was fun last year. There wasn't much that interested me so I didn't even stay this year. But I think that room is where it should stay. Maybe more promotion of they're being an auction and what the rules are on bringing? I think one bad year isn't a reason that you should scrap it.

I don't necessarily agree with an electro-mechanical room. I think having them integrated in with the other machines you are more apt to have a casual player hit the start button then to have them go and find the room with those in there. Plus if Brian doesn't bring 16 machines again next year and you take the electromechanical machines out of there what does that room look like then?

I loved the VIP room, maybe put the flea market and there while the VIP machines are elsewhere? Only drawback there is if people have large stuff to haul it in and out.

It seems like we need more rooms for the show

Yes....Many People (self included) will either have or be going to holiday cookouts/parties the weekend after the Forth which will affect numbers.

Partially true, but York is also got a nice flea market. I know not everyone is into the flea, but also not everyone is into tournaments, face painting, and the VIP room. I had a VIP pass, walked in, walked out, not my speed. The show has got to have diversity to keep a diversified crowd. Outdoor fleas are really hit or miss, and mother nature has been more like mother _____ these past few years.

One thought I had about Pintastic in general, and this is by no means a criticism. How are other folks doing when trying to sell games they have placed in free play? It seems that I didn't see or hear of many sales happening, or people having to lower their asking prices dramatically. I compare this to some of the general consensus at the Allentown show, where games seem to fly out the door at high prices in many cases. No facts to back this up, just bringing up a point for discussion.

I saw a lot of games moving. Certain titles just didn't seem to be "in" this year.

A lot of show goers love how the games are laid for the past 3 years of this show. All that great classic style artwork all lined up together just looks darn classy at the very least. The old school mellower sounding and playing pins around the perimeter and the louder faster modern pins in the center is still the way to go compared to other shows who do it differently.

The side effect of having it a bit more crowded in the newer pin section is having anyone not wanting to deal with that full time, head over to try a nicely restored EM for a change of pace and really get a chance to experience the mellow Chime Sounds and play of these EMs to see why people love them. =)

The EMs around the perimeter is still BEST as otherwise, they would get drowned out being set up next to a newer louder pin.

-Dave (Doc)

If you leave the EMs on the back wall maybe make the isle a little smaller and give the extra space to the center isle?

What if we used the auction room for machines with prices listed on them? Make it a play and buy room? Not sure if the number break down supports that or not.

i had a few offers on a couple of games and i said no because they wanted to take them out asap - i ended up selling for a little less later on in the show. i sold 4 games. thanks ed

Lots of solid input. Re: games not selling- Its a tough show to sell an EM, and yes by and large Allentown is much easier to sell because it's mostly pinball people walking around. The central location in Allentown attracts people from a wider geographic circle. Pintastic is still a great show , needs tweaking, and they're listening.

The only idea being scrapped is the Pintastic girls. Man it sounded great, but it didn't mesh with the Friday night crowd. The buffet I'm guessing has already been modified for fairness. The auction , needs more stuff, i think they are all ears and want to improve it.

The free play room does need a little adjusting, its not totally dysfunctional however. I dont play much SS so it didn't affect me. I'd like to see the promoters move the few vendors in the free play room and relocate them to open up game space and accommodate the long lines for popular pins. But not put them off in a corner, or discoursge their foot traffic .

The show has a few quirks hopefully our suggestions help the promoters make a few tweaks.!

Pintastic flea market was pretty awesome last year, when Automated dug a little bit into their vault and brought a truck load. They had some good parts games. I was hoping they did the same this year.

I'd be down with the June dates.