Did eBay kill the Trenton Computer Festival?
The first TCF I went to was in 1986. It was a blast. Lots of cool computer equipment which, at the time, wasn’t so old (yet). Atari hardware like the 2600, 800, and cartridges were all over the place. Apple II’s, Stylewriters, TRS-80′s, you name it. This went on for many years; you could go to this show once a year and find a ton of goodies you’d never find at a garage sale.
I hadn’t gone to TCF since 2002. There was really no need for me to. I went this year since the show was coming back to my old stomping grounds at Trenton Sta…oh, I’m sorry, “The College Of New Jersey”. It was dismal. Half of the flea market area was empty. Most of the stuff that was for sale was, in my opinion, stuff that would never sell on eBay. A perfect example was this guy who had a laserdisc player and a milk crate of LDs for $40. That proves my point exactly since I couldn’t sell ONE laserdisc on eBay two years ago, let alone a milk crate of them. There was one Atari 400, no 800′s, 2600′s, or cartridges to be found. I saw one guy with some old Sega stuff and another guy with an original Game Boy. Mac Plus’ were $2 (with broken keyboard!). iMacs were $40. Pentium II laptops for $20 (no CD drive). In a word: junk.
So what happened? The best I could determine was that eBay killed computer flea markets. Why stand out in unpredictable weather when you could sell your stuff from the comfort of your own home? What’s funny was I saw a guy I went to TSC with who I overheard saying to his buddy that “eBay really killed this thing”. The downside to eBay is that you can’t see it before you buy it, but if it fails and you have a reputable dealer, the most you’re out is time to fix the transaction.
It’s a shame that the show did this poorly. Coming to this show was like going to a giant Christmas tree where you had to buy the presents, but everything you wanted was here.
We’ll see what happens next year.
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