Without question, this was socially the most successful SOS so far. We met and talk to literally hundreds of collectors and the Thursday night party was huge! Some people like John Gaadt showed up too late, and the pizza was gone. My sincere thanks to the brothers Lebrasseur, who sponsored this entire event. Something about Thursday you get tired. We have now moved into the hospitality suite of the hotel, which provides great location and a hell of a lot more seats. Still, people were sitting on the floor. Next year, the hotel promised to set up even more chairs.
Yes, we were able to renegotiate the group rate with no increase in the price. $79 with breakfast included. The group rate is loaded in the system, and you can make a reservation by calling the La Quinta at : Airport & Expo La Quinta Inn & Suites
4125 Preston Hwy at I-264 ,Louisville, KY 40213
Phone: (502) 368-0007 Toll Free: (866) 477-0007
http://www.airportandexposuites.com/
The name of the group is pickelhaubes.com and all you must do is tell them you are with the group to get a reservation under your name at the rate of $79. There is a no-show fee. So if you get a confirmed reservation and you do not cancel It., they will zap you. I recommend you get your reservations in quickly. The hotel was packed with people going to the show. So much so that there was nowhere to sit Friday morning at breakfast. Not only were the pickelhaube guys there, but also the Helmnet guys. Quite a few people who had traveled from Europe stayed at the La Quinta.
I would say traffic was down this year. Some folks estimated the drop in traffic, to be approximately 30%. Nonetheless, every table was filled. Without question there were more helmets for sale this year than any other I have seen. The prices however remained very high in fact stupidly high. If the dealer was not part of the well-known trading group those prices did not come down and nothing got sold. Therefore, several dealers were reporting horrible sales for the show while those dealers who came down in price sold their wares rapidly. I broke tradition and actually bought two helmets!
The key date is Thursday. At about 730 or eight o'clock in the morning the dealers and table helpers lineup to go into the hall. While people are setting up the dealers and table helpers are picking through what is on the table. Many well-known dealers such as Weitze do not even open their tables and spend the entire morning picking over other people's stuff. Many many helmets are kept under the table and traded to friends and other collectors Thursday morning. My first helmet was purchased by 815 the first morning. However to be fair, the deal had been worked out over dinner Wednesday night. My second helmet came from a dealer who had found it in the woodwork and traded it to a friend who sent it over to me and I bought it. There was no limit to the number of people I could ask their opinion of. For this I have many people to thank. You could get all sorts of opinions and knowledge from all sorts of collectors. Thursday afternoon, the crowds were allowed in, and much of what was left was gone by end of day Thursday. Friday was a full day but many many people left on Saturday and I can only imagine that on Sunday it was a ghost town. One big change was the table reservations, could not be made for the following year until Saturday at 1 PM. Gus can tell you how it was on Saturday, but there is also a big national gun show in the same area that day.
I guess what I'm saying to the new guys is that in my opinion the most important way to find quality helmets is by becoming a known entity. Being known online helps a great deal, but there is no substitute for drinking a beer with a collector that you might trade with two years hence. Being on the "inside" is a great method and the fastest way to get there is by attending SOS. I know that is not possible for everyone so participating online is the number two method. I know it costs more to go to the show than anyone would care to spend but there is no replacement for elbow rubbing and being totally accepted. Suddenly helmets become available and prices are much more palatable.
The cloth covered helmet is very interesting. It seems absolutely in one piece un-messed with yet is marked to JR 101 with a Prussian wappen. Randy Trawnik says he has seen several of these always marked to JR 101. I do not have a picture of a Saxon mixed wappen.
Gus brought a mannequin of a French soldier fully outfitted. The intent was to bring attention to the table, as well as being able to find the table in this convention hall of 1600. It worked. We could have sold that mannequin 10 times over. Even the great Helmut Weitze tried to buy it from Gus. Next year perhaps he will bring two. The joke of the show was when Helmut Weitze tried to clear a check from Dick Roback by asking James, Gus, Paul and I if he was trustworthy! First of all I do not think that we are the most accomplished credit agency, but if we were comedians, we could have said "Dick is out of prison now and while I do not think he has found work if his parole officer says the check is good that would be good enough for me!" Of course Helmut Weitze approved Dick's check, but that is another example of someone being a known entity online and in person. If it was not on the "inside" who would Helmut Weitze have asked?
James says Paul got the purchase of the show, but I think it was James. The more I look at this salesman sample of cockades the more I realize he got quite a deal. Thanks to Gus for negotiating a much cheaper price, but this card is sweet. A Feldwebel from Baden!
So, I think there are helmets coming out of the woodwork and out of collections, but everyone expects a very high price. Slowly but surely, I think the prices will follow the stock market.
