PAmotorman

this has to do with Pa charging sales tax on their all mail orders to Pa. if they sell parts at places like carlisle

MikeM

WHo opened your YUengling for you since IDidn't make it this year?

PAmotorman

I brought pop top cans this year no bottles. did you desert us over on VHs ???

gbvette62

That's part of it, at least for the big companies like Central and Ecklers.

The State of PA considers a business that operates in the state 8 or 10 days a year, to be a full time business in the state. If you vend at the Spring, Fall and Corvette Carlisle's, that amounts to 10+ days, and the state wants 6% sales tax on every order shipped in to the state for the entire year.

To avoid the issues and paperwork of collecting sales tax for PA, so it's easier for them to just bring prepaid orders and give out catalogs.

For a lot of companies, there isn't enough business there any more, to make it worth bringing a lot of inventory. I do Corvette Carlisle, my spaces cost almost $800, the hotel $500, tolls to get there are $50, gas another $150, and of course food and drinks for any friends that show up to help me. That show costs me $1500-$2000 before I even get there, and that's not counting the cost of acquiring parts to sell. I have to do three to four times my expenses, just to break even. Besides all of that, vendors have to deal with theft and weather! There comes a point when it's just not worth going anymore.

MikeM

Call me if you still have my phone number or email yours to me.

PAmotorman

called and left a message with phone number

Milliamp

My wif and I went this year and sadly I have to agree, I was looking for bumpers for my 67,I finally found them under a 8 ft tent, toward the back of the fairgrounds. the husband and wife team told me that this is their last year, everything costs more, from the space that they rent to the hotel. They are going to use the internet from now on. Maybe there is still hope for an event in Tucson some day.

PAmotorman

the same thing happened to local short track racing. once big $$$ people got involved and they drove out the base that was the wide support of the hobby.

Corvette ED

I have been to every Corvettes@Carlisle since it started. In the 80's & 90's if you were restoring a C1-C2 or C3 car this is where you could find any part that you needed. Every Corvette vendor in the country was they. How many of you remember Chicago Corvette Supply there in the trailer? Ecklers, Zip, Paragon, Mid America, Stoudts Corvettes, Corvette America. Vendors who sold or made anything for a Corvette had a vendor sport. Vendors who offered rebuilding services of parts or chroming? I can remember a guy from Walnutport Pennsylvania who had a trailer full of C1 parts?. Contemporary Corvette which is the largest Corvette junkyard on the east coast had a large parts display they are gone.

Now I guess the biggest new vendor is Corvette America? I talked to my sales rep there and he said they did big business. Since they are in Pennsylvania it only makes sense they would come. Al Knoch is always busy selling and doing instillations.

All of parts action now has moved to the Manufactures Midway. The exhaust instillations were busy. GM tent, and the other vendors. This is where the actions is.

I worked for a dealer friend in the car corral. I would say they only sold 40% of the car corral spaces. We sold 2 out of 4 cars and got 3 orders for new Corvettes from the show. Friday we were busy all day. Saturday from 8-to12 was busy after that nothing.

Someone mention the price of food. It is as bad as going to a pro football or baseball game. If you want to eat good food reasonable you need to go out gate 7 at the end of the car corral J row of parts to the Marshalls house. They have the hamburger stand and you can eat good cheap. Marshalls told me that Carlisle gets 25% of all food sales on the grounds so I guess the vendors jack it up to cover their end.

The OP is right about one thing. I heard from several parts vendors who said they are done and won't be back next year. Vendors set up now Wednesday/Thursday so it is 3/4 nights of rooms, food, fuel, tolls, employees, vendor spaces it just costs to much.

2 years ago I heard a good statement made by some guys from Boston. There were 6 of them and they said to come here and stay 3 days it cost them about $600.00 each before they buy one part. They could stay home and buy on the net and the first $600.00 would be like free.

Spring/Fall shows have been going down hill also. This paying 10 months in advance could be the dagger to end it.

I think 10 years from now the Carlisle Fairgrounds will be sold/gone and it will be a housing development.

PAmotorman

since most NOS parts are long gone most vendors are all selling the same parts. I saw the same thing happen at racing parts trade shows over the years.

91DRM

rfn026

It's expensive for vendors. That's always been the case. Back in the days of Corvette Fever magazine we had to sell thousands of subscriptions at the show to justify our travel expenses.

I'm not sure anything has really changed except the numbers have just gotten bigger. For the average Corvette owner it's more or less a vacation expense. For the average vendor it's a business decision. The ROI at Carlisle is problematic for any vendor.

One reason the NCRS Lakeland show is going to grow is that it's a lot cheaper in Lakeland FL. Last year there were a lot of private vendors and small Corvette companies selling used parts. I look for that venue to get even bigger over the next few years. Lower expenses means more profit at the end of the weekend.

Richard Newton
Car Tech Stuff

ohiovet

Lets face it, The Carlisle Shows are a viable business that have been very successful over the years.
They (The Millers) have served as a great platform to promote the Corvette and general automotive hobby.
As times change the hobby has changed and become a big business for both the show's, the vendors and other associated suppliers, manufacturers and service providers both large and small.

So my point is; What do Lance Miller and Bill Miller have planned for the future to keep this going?