Some perspective: 2005, "The Demise of the Pipe Show"

[adam12]

In the past few weeks if you've been following Craig's posts about Chicago, you can tell that there are changes afoot for their pipe show. Personally, I am impressed that Chicago is trying to make the pipe show a true experience this year, not just a place for sales to happen. For those of you who don't remember or don't have a knowledge of the history of pipe shows, this is a refreshing and important change. Years ago the pipe show world was suddenly transformed into a big sales opportunity, where the shows were nothing more than marketplaces, even cut-throat at times, it was real bad. The camaraderie, knowledge, and fellowship was eclipsed by an almost urgent market mentality, leading to (in very recent years) a "get rich quick" scheme where many individuals who don't know the first thing about pipes arrive to purchase entire collections before the shows even open, returning to their rooms, and within 2 days their entire cache ends up on eBay. (No names, but I could provide a few if I had to.) At Chicago in 2008, I recall the door opening on Saturday and it was like Black Friday at Wal-Mart. This was not a good thing, in my opinion.
Now, it seems (if Craig's posts are any indication) things are beginning to transition to a more informational and FUN experience, as opposed to just sales. This is what the pipe shows were all about at one time.
So here's a little perspective. An important blog post to remember from the Pipe and Tobacco Collectors Blog, from 2005, was called "The Demise of the Pipe Show":

I've been attending pipe shows for about 9 years now... long enough to see a significant change in the atmosphere and focus of the local pipe show. I am not referring to shows such as the RTDA which I had the great fortune to attend recently. I'm talking about the local club show such as those sponsored by the likes of CPCC, C.O.R.P.S., and others.
When I first attended pipe shows, there was a wide variety of exhibitors from the fully commercial exhibitors ( McClelland, McCranies, PCCA, and others), to the individual pipemakers ( Mark Tinsky, Lee Erck, Clarence Mickles, and others), to the hobbyist with items to sell or trade (Mike Penix, Mike Hagley and others) to those attending a show with the sole purpose of putting their pipes on the table to engage in conversation with other enthusiasts about the merits or lack thereof of a particular make/style/finish/shape or its match up with a particular tobacco. I could easily stop and talk at a table for half an hour exploring their thoughts about their collection, what made it unique, why they chose 'that' to collect, how it was displayed, what they thought was the 'best' piece and why.
At the most recent C.O.R.P.S expo, I believe there were 2 or maybe 3 collections on display, purely for the opportunity to display ... it was the part of a show that I most looked forward to… talking about different collections. While it is always nice to find that perfect addition to your collection, the real value of the show was talking to people and learning about facets of our hobby I just didn't know about.
Pipe shows (are) no longer about the hobby, but (are) now about buying and selling pipes. We no longer get excited about putting together a four-way trade, finding that last person who had the key to complete the ring. No longer did we trade a fine piece of wood to gain another to fill that hole in our collection. The focus now was about selling enough merchandise to cover the expenses of the trip. No longer did we work to make a trade, we just wanted the quick sale. I remember Mike Penix telling me long ago, "Wood is harder to find than money" and I fully understand what he meant. Buying a pipe is easy. Making a trade that benefits both (or all) parties to the trade is much more difficult. And I believe this thought of instant gratification will be the ultimate demise of the pipe show. No longer is it a forum for exchange, education, and camaraderie, it is just a different venue for the local flea market.

http://pipecollectors.blogspot.com/2005/10/demise-of-pipe-show.html
So here's my thoughts. And of course, when Kevin has become so directly involved with the "business" side of pipe shows, I'm choosing my words diplomatically (as opposed to the typical silliness I often use). Because of the smoking bans instituted in many states, pipe shows have been forced to address the real reason why they are even having a pipe show at all. (Well, I hope that they are addressing it.) This change has turned out to be a blessing in disguise, if you will, because without the traditional apparatus to provide a venue for the pipe show (i.e., no hotels, no conference centers, etc), the pipe clubs that host these shows have had to provide things to draw pipe enthusiasts (as opposed to just "customers") to want to attend. In order to get people to attend, they have to broaden the events beyond sales opportunities they can get elsewhere (in other words, "why should I attend a pipe show when I can just buy pipes on eBay?" - that's the mentality they are trying to eliminate).
When you start looking at the pipe community as more than just customers, you begin to turn the entire theme back towards what it could be (more fun and fellowship, and less cutthroat buying and selling which ends up being the be all-end all of the pipe show, which simply cannot sustain pipe shows at all), then you are really beginning to answer the blog post from 2005 by saying, "this is not just a market, this is an EVENT, and we're going to prove it." As they say in the business world, evolve or die.

 

[marmal4de]

I enjoyed your thoughts Adam.

 

[adam12]

Thank ya! I'm just a casual observer, but interested in the way things are headed.

 

[barkar]

Thanks Adam...same thing has happened to the motorcycle shows over the years....I don't ride now but when I did the shows were more a swap meet and a chance to talk to other riders...now its just sales.

 

[winton]

Cool Adam. I see your wisdom peeking out from behind your clownish persona. Thanks for sharing your perspective.
Please don't misinterpret the previous statement. It was intended as a complement.

 

[adam12]

No, I can dig it! I am actually not as goofy in real life. (Unless you ask my wife)

Thanks Adam...same thing has happened to the motorcycle shows over the years....I don't ride now but when I did the shows were more a swap meet and a chance to talk to other riders...now its just sales.

I can say the exact same for guitar shows. Years ago, a guitar show was like an opportunity to look at guitars. Buying wasn't even in your mind. Then, it became a big sales thing. But a "sales thing" with pipes can't be sustained if the investment is so high. There has to be more than just sales.

 

[jaysin]

Good read and very insightfull with a lot of thought put in to it.

Thanks for posting it.

 

[romeowood]

The more things change, the more they stay the same. The money needs to flow in both directions in order to make the events sustainable, but the community needs to be developed alongside that in order to sustain itself as well. And knowing Kevin on a personal level, the guy's in it for the love of the community--there's plenty of other things that he's qualified for that make a lot more money, frankly--and I think that this community is exactly what is needed to engage the people that make this all possible. Good post, Adam... Man, I wish I could make it to the show this year.

 

[porshcigar]

Adam:

In my opinion, much of what you have said is correct, because we have been trying to address the issues that you have raised for several years. Frank Burla made the Chicago Show what it has become with a philosophy that a show has to have continuous change, or it would stagnate and become boring.
Several years ago we started the pre-show, to make a venue in Chicago for guys who wanted to trade pipes, sell a few pipes from a collection, or move some old tobacco out of the cellar. We limited everyone to 1/2 table (24" X 48"), which is enough for an individual, but too small for a retailer. It has always been free both to exhibitors and the public. Now, because people want it to be more informal, and be able to smoke, the pre-show has been become the Swap and Smoke, and has moved into the tent. This will feature 80 1/2 tables, which is a pretty good sized show, and it remains free to all. This is the best we can think of to keep the old non-retail type show alive. New ideas are always welcomed by the Show.
The pipe display is another issue. As the Chicago Show grew, displays shrank. I think the major reason is that guys who display their pipes don't want to be tied to their table all weekend and never see the other 299 tables.

Our response has been to rent 4 to 6 locked glass cases (at a considerable expense to the Show) and provide them free to pipe collectors who agree to display all day Saturday and Sunday. We give them a prominent space right in the front of the Show and place the announcement of the displays on the first page of the Show programs. This gives the collector the opportunity to both display and enjoy the show. Again, this is the best idea we have, and we are open to suggestions because we want people to display.
Yes, there is a commercial side to the Show. We have 80 or more artisan pipe makers at our Show each year. And we love every one of them. They come from all over the world, including: Russia, Denmark, Italy, Germany, Japan, France, Austria, England, Canada, and all over the USA. They expend a considerable amount of money to fly to Chicago, stay at the hotel, and pay for a Show table. These artists are professionals. They earn their living making and selling pipes, and yes, they have to make up their travel costs, and a profit, to keep coming back to Chicago. However, these pipe makers are the reason that so many people also come to the Show from all over the world to see and buy pipes. If an individual is a collector of a specific Italian or Danish Pipe maker, is it not just wonderful to come to Chicago, meet the pipe maker in person, and buy a pipe right from his hands? This is commercial, but it is also the heart of the pipe collecting hobby that eBay can never equal.
On Friday night at the Show, we provide a banquet each year for 600 people. Free. A seven course buffet dinner including dessert is served to everyone. Where else can you go in the world and have dinner with 599 other pipe collectors, makers and sellers, and eat your fill for free? The show does this to spread the spirit of the brotherhood and sisterhood of the pipe, and it costs the Show plenty. Thank you Altadis USA and Villiger Cigars USA in memory of Peter Stokkebye for your help in presenting this free dinner for all.
We put on seminars and a pipe making school every year in order to educate people about pipes and tobacco, and to share the respect and admiration that we have for the tobacco pipe.
And then we have our 6000 square foot tent. It is open from mid-day on Wednesday to 1 AM Monday and never closes. It is available for visiting and smoking. Again, the Show does this not only to replace indoor smoking that is now illegal, but also to spread the companionship and international spirit of the pipe (and a few cigars). The use of the tent is free to all, except the Show, which again pays a considerable amount to rent it. On Sunday each year, the UPCA holds the U S national slow smoking championship in our tent. Many smokers from all over the USA come to compete, also, many international champions travel to Chicago to smoke as guest contestants. Where else except at a big pipe show could such a national and international event take place in the USA?
We know that the Show is not perfect, and that is why it is changing this year, and will change again next year. We ask everyone who attends, and everyone who hopes to attend someday, to offer suggestions to make the Show better. Please.
Those of us in the Chicago Club who put on this Show love pipes and the Chicago Show, and we love everyone who comes. We want to put on a world wide pipe party every year, and we call it the Chicago Pipe Show.

 

[adam12]

Craig, I know you can't resolve all of the issues completely, or please everyone. So it's a good thing that you guys have the foresight not to try - you're emphasizing getting people to the show for something more than a sales experience. This is a very smart business idea. For instance, let's say you wanted to eliminate pre-show sales by ending the Friday swap (something that a lot of people have suggested): that would just make people do the pre-show sales in their rooms. So I agree with your philosophy: why bother? I don't think you can do everything, because it's up to the individual retailer how to deal with the issue of "is it a show, or is it just a sales floor".
Here's an example. There is a guy who carves pipes who shows up every year with about 10 pipes, and they are all sold by Friday to retailers overseas. I mean he just basically liquidates to the first buyer who comes along. It's obvious he's only in it for the money, and I wouldn't compare him to more exclusive retailers, because he doesn't really care about the "display and show" aspect. But I know he is not the typical seller. He is one of the get rich quick types. There isn't much you can do about that group, Craig. So you guys are smartly doing what you can to build the SHOW aspect, and I think the sales aspect will take care of itself the way the market has. Once that guy finds out that the market for his stuff has dried up, he will fall by the wayside. (I can name many pipe carvers who were in it 10 years ago who have now disappeared for this very reason.)
I don't think people realize just how much the entire pipe show idea is hanging by a thread right now. Consider that blog I quoted. That was 7 years ago, and since then the pipe shows have weathered a recession and smoking bans. And even more importantly, they have weathered the arrival of a very slick opportunistic group who arrive at the shows with zero knowledge about (or appreciation for) pipes, and end up purchasing entire collections for the sole purpose of retailing them on eBay. If pipe shows can give people a reason to come out other than quick cash, they will make it. And that's what it seems like Chicago (and others) are doing.

 

[admin]

This is an excellent thread. Thanks Adam and Craig.
Craig and the other club members really work their tails off, and have an unbelievable amount of resources invested in this extremely impressive event. I don't know how they do it.

 

[mattia76]

Great post, Adam. This is going to be my first Chicago Show, and I've actually got a table...to sell some pipes.
But I'm more excited to meet people I've only corresponded with on the internet or through newsletters. Marty Pulvers, Peter Heeschen, Rad Davis; the list goes on and on. I've sold at shows in St. Louis and Kansas City and I learn more about our hobby and meet amazing people every time.

 

[kcghost]

It's a different world today. Things cost so much that you have to work at getting reimbursed for those costs. I don't think most people have a clue as to how much work it takes to put on a quality pipe show. And to have a pipe show you have to make a profit somehow in order to put one on again next year. Personally, I don't know why anyone would want to work like get a return of about ten cents an hour.
We all dislike the guy who shows up with a briefcase full of cash and tries to buy up all the good stuff before the show starts, but you know it takes two to tango. The seller didn't have to sell them before the show started. But, he's trying to make a living and needs to cover his travel costs. Better to sell now than wait until later.

 

[mso489]

Interesting piece of history on fairly recent pipe show(s), that the ebay pillagers could turn a profit. You'd think the

preselected audience at the pipe show, who know what they're looking at (to some degree) could counter-balance

the ebay approach, but I guess its the volume of eyeballs attained. Business and the markets will always have

strange competitive dynamics. 'Just hope these don't run off the sense of community and shared interest

altogether.