Ed_Formerly_of_Roch Posted June 6, 2005 Share Posted June 6, 2005 There use to be computer shows in western NY once a month or so. The two companies that regularlyl came were Market Pro to Buffalo and Rochester and Peter Trapp to Syracuse. Neither seems to have been here for months and their websites don't even show a schedule. Anyone know if these companies are still around or did they go under or something?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted June 6, 2005 Share Posted June 6, 2005 There use to be computer shows in western NY once a month or so. The two companies that regularlyl came were Market Pro to Buffalo and Rochester and Peter Trapp to Syracuse. Neither seems to have been here for months and their websites don't even show a schedule. Anyone know if these companies are still around or did they go under or something?? 352077[/snapback] People still go to computer shows...? You can get bigger/better/faster/cheaper new stuff rather than the old outdated stuff they sell there... Unless it's not the same type of computer show that I'm thinking of? CW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeRay Posted June 6, 2005 Share Posted June 6, 2005 No money in WNY. No money, no show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_Formerly_of_Roch Posted June 6, 2005 Author Share Posted June 6, 2005 Yeah I kind of think thats the problem. The Peter Trapp shows were pretty decent. Market Pro shows were pretty poor anyway. You could get some good deals there on hardware, very little software. But I noticed there hasn't been any in months. No money in WNY. No money, no show. 352192[/snapback] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greybeard Posted June 6, 2005 Share Posted June 6, 2005 Peter Trapp I would have thought they are no longer feasable. Too many good deals on the Net. I wouldn't be too suprized if it was from a lack on interest from dealers. I've been to many a show in Syracuse and they used to be quite good. Last one I was at was Spring 2004 and it was less than half of what they used to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevestojan Posted June 7, 2005 Share Posted June 7, 2005 People still go to computer shows...? You can get bigger/better/faster/cheaper new stuff rather than the old outdated stuff they sell there... Unless it's not the same type of computer show that I'm thinking of? CW 352128[/snapback] I know the shows he is talking about and I used to go (and would still go) regularly. They sold stuff SOOOOO cheaply it seemed illegal (I bought two desktops, a nice speaker system, tons of software, etc, etc.. WAAAAY cheaper than you could get from even eBay). Well, as I mention, it seemed illegal (many of the vendors spoke little to no English, prices "too good to be true, etc". Well, one year, my father and I went and wouldn't you know it, into the convention center comes the FBI with a large van, local police and sherrifs. They started arresting certain vendors and throwing blue tarps over there goods. It was funny to watch the other vendors. Some tried to hide things, others kept on selling. The Buffalo News the next day said several were arrested for producing conterfeit Microsoft holograms and seals and copying software. Also, selling computers with software preloaded that was just copied to dozens of machines. Good times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jack Posted June 7, 2005 Share Posted June 7, 2005 Peter Trapp I would have thought they are no longer feasable. Too many good deals on the Net. I wouldn't be too suprized if it was from a lack on interest from dealers. I've been to many a show in Syracuse and they used to be quite good. Last one I was at was Spring 2004 and it was less than half of what they used to be. 352408[/snapback] One place I worked we'd call it the 'Peter "Get Trapped"' show, because on Monday there would be several people bringing stuff into the store to be tested that they had bought at the show, and weren't sure it was working correctly. Some would balk at paying a $45 diags fee. We would explain that they didn't buy the part/item from us, so we would have to charge them, and if they had bought it from us/locally, we wouldn't charge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted June 7, 2005 Share Posted June 7, 2005 There use to be computer shows in western NY once a month or so. The two companies that regularlyl came were Market Pro to Buffalo and Rochester and Peter Trapp to Syracuse. Neither seems to have been here for months and their websites don't even show a schedule. Anyone know if these companies are still around or did they go under or something?? 352077[/snapback] I think Market pro is still in business, based in DC. My wife is good friends with the owners, they all went to Va Tech together. Typicall story of someone with a basic idea, working their rear offs, and making a businessThey made a kiiling on those shows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pine Barrens Mafia Posted June 7, 2005 Share Posted June 7, 2005 I think Market pro is still in business, based in DC. My wife is good friends with the owners, they all went to Va Tech together. Typicall story of someone with a basic idea, working their rear offs, and making a businessThey made a kiiling on those shows. 352617[/snapback] I bought parts for my PC at a MarketPro show in Allentown. Built a nice little system for under $750. If you do your research beforehand, you can find deals there on really good stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_Formerly_of_Roch Posted June 7, 2005 Author Share Posted June 7, 2005 Actually that did happen to me. I bought a copy of XP Pro at one of the shows, and when I went to install it, told me serial number had already been installed. I had to call Microsoft, expected a hassle, but really didn't get anything from them. They just asked, where I bought it, the vendors name and location and gave me a new number to use. My guess is they put the name in a file. If they rarely ever hear about a particular company, they ignore him and figure, mistakes happen. But if the same name keeps coming up, they go after them. Was that fairly recent when they raided the show? I know the shows he is talking about and I used to go (and would still go) regularly. They sold stuff SOOOOO cheaply it seemed illegal (I bought two desktops, a nice speaker system, tons of software, etc, etc.. WAAAAY cheaper than you could get from even eBay). Well, as I mention, it seemed illegal (many of the vendors spoke little to no English, prices "too good to be true, etc". Well, one year, my father and I went and wouldn't you know it, into the convention center comes the FBI with a large van, local police and sherrifs. They started arresting certain vendors and throwing blue tarps over there goods. It was funny to watch the other vendors. Some tried to hide things, others kept on selling. The Buffalo News the next day said several were arrested for producing conterfeit Microsoft holograms and seals and copying software. Also, selling computers with software preloaded that was just copied to dozens of machines. Good times. 352530[/snapback] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DieHardFan Posted June 8, 2005 Share Posted June 8, 2005 Peter Trapp I would have thought they are no longer feasable. Too many good deals on the Net. I wouldn't be too suprized if it was from a lack on interest from dealers. I've been to many a show in Syracuse and they used to be quite good. Last one I was at was Spring 2004 and it was less than half of what they used to be. 352408[/snapback] The shows died a natural death when hardware marketing and internet storefronts matured. [Always thought it was quite a gimmick that Trapp could make money off both the sellers and buyers, probably also squeezed the hotdog vendors]. Used to buy 90% of our hardware at the shows in the late 90's. Had to know the reliable players from the one shot flim flams and you were OK. Then the Insights and TigerDirects became more cost effective. For a while the hardware vendors relyed on momentum, public ignorance of current pricing and/or state of art products and dumping of last generation products. At that time you could still get good software deals but most were semi-legal OEM copies. Technical books (especially used) and niche items (NICs, cabling etc) were the real reason to pay the price of admission at that time. By 2002 or so the best deals were found using the PriceWatch/Pricegrabber type search engines. The shows still were hardware dominated and the established names relied on selling to the home user whose 1999 vintage PC he bought/built from show parts died or needed updating and didn't realize that the shows were no longer cost effective. Also saw alot more shady dealers who sold defective stuff being recycled as new. Today the pricing variation between vendors is much smaller and the time, effort and risk of using second tier storefronts much less actually traveling and paying to get into a show is hardly worth it. One interesting current differentiator is a storefront that will stand behind a manufacturers rebate. Many manufacturers were/are offering great rebates but either denying them due to small print loopholes, saying they received the rebate forms late or never got them (look at the current turbotax rebates, they refuse to accept certified mail, hmmm wonder why?) , making you submit them on-line via sites the require you to go through a labyrinth of windows that frequently crash during the process, or simply failing to deliver. It's a happy ending though. Today you can get an exponentially more powerful machine that costs half the price of the ones that were available just 5 or 6 years ago. It's really amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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