Pendraken Miniatures Forum

Following on from the What are picking up at Salute thread, I'm interested to know how people shop at shows...

For me generally I will have a pre-order with Pendraken that I collect at a show. After that it is a bit of a wander to see if there is anything that catches my attention. With 10mm being my predominant scale, there is very little to tempt me at shows other than books, as I make most of my own terrain etc.

i mostly buy Stuff from US based Companies at Shows,simply cos Postage is a real Killer Ordering Stuff afterwards via the Onlineshops  8)

Generally I know what I want, but add on bits that I see. Problem these days is that traders I would like to see aren't at shows I can get to. There is also far too much 28mm stuff.

IanS

Uusally go with the intention of getting a couple of things I want then wander round buying anything that "grabs me".

As with most guys here, impulse buys rule! Since I have loads of periods going in various scales anything historical fits. If nothing grabs me there's always my old pal Dave and his book stand to visit.

Sadly we dont really have any shows over here

We used to go to England and Scotland for them but it just too expensive in the end, ans with the advent of the internet and online shopping dont really have to anymore

Though it would be nice to go to a big one again sometime

Rigid budget, rigid plan, oh wait, cool, wow, new scale, figures, period, terrain, a nice book, a....

I've been much better recently, mainly due to demo'ing and not getting the time to slope round properly :D

Too broke not to have a budget but too many scales/ periods I play to have a plan.

I go with good intentions. I have a box of  "bought at show but never used."

:(

i normally have a vauge budget, and a plan to pick up a few definite bits.  If I see something i really want I exceed the budget by the amount I need to.

However having seen the various Horder shows on TV and realising how much kit I have i have reduced the amount I buy.

I normally work to a plan of four. 1) Work out beforehand what I need -get those first. 2) What I want -see if there is anything about. 3) What I would like -have a browse and 4) What takes my fancy if I have any of my budget left after the other three.

That all fell flat the other day when I went to Tunbridge Wells. Top of my need list was static grass and a couple of specific Vallejo paints. Got them no probs. Top of my want list was some 10/15mm Sci Fi figures for RPG -no-one was there. So (3) came into play and I browsed. Nothing from (4) so that was it. I actually came home with cash! If the requirements exceed the budget then I will go over...slightly.

Might have a re-think for Broadside in June as I've just noticed Brigade Games on the Traders List.

For crisis i pre ordered with pendraken, and then went around and bought the stuff that i want that is big and more expensive to ship. ( for example hexon boards)

And then an impulse' buy here and there.

It must be the tight fisted git in me (and its been a decade since I made it to a show) I generally go with a rigid plan/rigid budget and come home with cash in my hand usually with half of the items I wanted as half of the traders I hoped would be there weren't and there was nothing much taking my fancy that didn't require an enormous investment.

I normally go with a shopping list of specific items, a more general list (e.g. scenery for my latest project) and a budget of £100. This is flexible in case I see something really good.
In addition I usually have at least one pre-order to pick up.

Mine these days tends to be preorders I can pick up while Timecast are quiet!

I pretty much know what im gonna get before I go. also I will deviate I see something which would fit with the period im doing

Take care

Andy

I have a very old notebook in which I record stuff I want, this has been taken to shows for at least the last twenty years and I sometimes go through it moving stuff from old pages and lists into a new list up to date list, generally the lists are arranged by manufacturer, so I have a Pendraken List, Gripping Beast List etc.

When I go to a show I'll pick up any pre-orders first then stroll round the show having a good look then go back round with my notebook and pick up items on the list until I've "spent enough".  The definition of "spent enough" varies from show to show but repressents about 3-6 months worth of wargaming including rules and paints.  I also tend to prioritise the stuff it's best to see in the flesh, especially things like transfers and banner sheets.

At the end of the show I might go mad and get something not in the notebook, but it has to be pretty spectacular to make me part with cash on a whim.

I know it's boring but this system has worked well for decades and I don't have a lead mountain.

That's a pretty good system you have there Dan, it's far too easy to go nuts at a show like a kid in a sweetie shop! That notebook must have some pretty interesting 'wants' from the early days!

ask my husband for money and say i`m skint...then blow the lot on figures...usually works...lol
months later he says, where did all these soldiers come from.....eh I dunno.....lol got em cheap off the net....lol.....
Then he asks, where are all my A4 box folders for the hotel (we run) mmmmm full of figures and terrain, ha,ha.....

I don't. Your poll doesn't accommodate that option.

Quote from: FierceKitty on 28 May 2014, 12:02:44 AM
I don't. Your poll doesn't accommodate that option.

Seconded, unless 2 vendors is enough for it to count as a show ;)

QuoteThat notebook must have some pretty interesting 'wants' from the early days!

It certainly has, things like 15mm napoleonic british and french, and whole armies of 15mm ancients which have been bought, pianted, played with then sold.  The ancients have all been replaced with 10mm armies, I sometimes don't know whether to be impressed or depressed by that note book.

It's even got pages of stuff I've seen at shows, would like to buy but haven't ever bought but which I'd like to get into at some stage!  In this category are some beautiful 1200 renaissance ships by Rod Langdon, one day I'll get some but until then they remain in the book.

The book is also a good place to record things like out of print books I want, I was very pleased last year to finally cross off the history of the 43rd Division in NW Europe after at least 10 years of searching.  At this point someone will point out that I could have found it on the web but that would have been unsporting.

Always have at least one complete tour of the stalls before buying anything, working on the old military maxim that "time spent on reconnaissance is rarely wasted". And always shop towards the end of the show when all the crowds have thinned out and the traders have time to chat.

problem with that method is they have frequently sold out.

IanS

Not often. But then, I rarely buy the flavour of the month.

Don't tell me 10mm Aztecs and AWI in brass 'ats..........


IanS

You howwible to me!

Course - might get you to stop moaning, mind you didn'a work for FSN......

IanS

All my planned spending is online.

Shows are '£100 burning a hole in my pocket' free-for-alls where i pick up bits and bobs i didn't know i needed. 

Quote from: ianrs54 on 31 May 2014, 02:59:22 PM
Course - might get you to stop moaning, mind you didn'a work for FSN......

Oh come on! I haven't mentioned T35's, Byzantines, Korean War Chinese, superheroes or chariot armies for absolutely AGES.

You have now.  ;)

Oh yes. I have, haven't I?  :-[

Well I didn't mention trains or ships did I?