Misunderstanding

I have received email from folks who do not understand what all the fuss is about with OOB charging $15.00.

The case is made that everyone has a good time, the location is beautiful, the beach is nearby, and you can walk to town for pizza.

And, while that is all well and good, the question must be asked: "What am I getting for $15.00 that is not already there? Even if I do not go to the show, I can walk the beach and overpay for a slice of Lisa's Pizza (I can buy a large, complete pizza at CHOP for less than 2 slices at Lisa's). So, since I have access to those things, anyway, what VALUE do I get for my $15.00? What is OOB offering that is not already available?"

That is what folks are griping about.

No, they do not care if the gate fee is $15, as long as they are getting something WORTH $15.00. People want value for their hard-earned bucks. But at OOB, they are not getting $15.00 of value. There are much better shows at 1/3 the cost.

People do not mind paying extra if they are getting extra. But OOB offers nothing "extra" that isn't already there to be had.

To put it in perspective, most stores get about $3.89 for a gallon of milk. But let's say you pick up some milk at another store, and they charge you $10.00 for a gallon. Same milk. But THIS store charges you so much more just because they happen to be near a beach, or a pizza parlor. Does that justify charging you three times as much? Not on your life.

And that is what folks are objecting to. It's not the $15.00. It is the lack of VALUE for the $15.00. If someone pays $15, they want to get $15 of value.

Parsem, Andover and Settler's Green are all better shows, and all are $5.00 or so. Why would anyone in their right mind want to pay three times as much for a worse show?

If OOB wants to charge $15, that's fine - as long as they provide $15 of VALUE. No one likes to be screwed, or gouged. OOB is disorganized, and entrants are not treated fairly. Everyone knows that. So, who would willingly pay $15 just to get used and abused?

And we all know how this works - the other shows see that OOB got away with a $15 gate fee, so now others will charge that, until everyone is. For many folks, over a season that could cost an extra $200 or more in fees! What those "other" shows may not understand is that OOB gets few "local" car buffs - the majority of their entrants are from MA and Quebec, where $15 is chickenfeed. If the other shows try charging $15 and they do not cater to the MA folks, they would see the number of entrants decrease dramatically - perhaps to the point that their show goes under. Everyone loses.

If OOB wants to get their heads outta their butts and actually put in the effort to host a good show that is fair to all, then MAYBE it would be worth $15.00. But as it stands, their show is not even worth $5, so I will not be paying $15 next year. I'll find a better use for my money. It's not about the $15.00. It's about getting gouged.

It is also worth noting that not everyone is made of money. To some folks, $15 is still a lot of $$$ to pay for showing their car, and they have to sacrifice to pay it. We are in a recession - a lot of folks are out of work. This was not the time for OOB to put the screws to the very folks that contribute so much to their economy.

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