DC Pen Show: Sorry guys! It looks like I just booked the last room!

[Lachryma]

I'm stunned!  This will be my first trip to DC and, obviously, my first trip to the DC Pen Show.  I'm so excited!  

 

But I never expected the Pen Show block to sell out!  

 

Well . . . I have long hair, glasses, and a fistful of old pens.  Say hi to me!

 

I will be there Friday and Saturday and I haven't decided about Sunday.  On at least one of those days (but probably both) I'll have to visit the ASL Signing Store Starbucks (I'm an ASL interpreter) if anyone is up for coffee and I'll be at the sketching wkshp and anywhere vintage pens, ink, pretty paper are sold!

 

Is it true that most things will be cash only?

[Paul-in-SF]

Never been to the DC show, but in my limited experience the "cash only" tends to apply to the smaller dealers selling (mostly) vintage pens. The bigger outfits don't have any problems taking credit or debit cards. It's also been known to happen that the lobby ATM runs out of cash at some point. 

[brokenclay]

Congratulations! Enjoy!

[whichwatch]

My experience as an attendee, and more recently as a table holder, is that while in the old days it was always cash only, more recently even the small guys (like me) have Square and can take credit cards.  That's not something you can count on 100%, and dealers may be more willing to negotiate on a cash sale than a credit card, but I think acceptance of credit cards has certainly grown at shows.

 

I'm only one person, speaking for myself.  Certainly contrary opinions and experiences are welcome.

[SpecTP]

I've never had to carry much cash at the DC or Baltimore pen shows. Most of the dealers I noticed can handle credit cards as long as the wifi is working ok.

[Parker51]

On 7/24/2021 at 2:54 PM, Lachryma said:

I'm stunned!  This will be my first trip to DC and, obviously, my first trip to the DC Pen Show.  I'm so excited!  

 

But I never expected the Pen Show block to sell out!  

 

Well . . . I have long hair, glasses, and a fistful of old pens.  Say hi to me!

 

I will be there Friday and Saturday and I haven't decided about Sunday.  On at least one of those days (but probably both) I'll have to visit the ASL Signing Store Starbucks (I'm an ASL interpreter) if anyone is up for coffee and I'll be at the sketching wkshp and anywhere vintage pens, ink, pretty paper are sold!

 

Is it true that most things will be cash only?

It varies a lot, so some cash likely would be beneficial, but more and more people are accepting accepting cards, but don’t expect much if any discount if you use a credit card. PayPal is also fairly common, but is slow as it requires verification of payment. Other electronic methods may be available, especially with the non-casual sellers. And, if they know and trust you, a check will work. If they know and trust you extremely well, then a promise with payment in a mutually agreeable way happens. You likely don’t have that kind of relationship with anyone at the pen show, but I am mentioning it in case you witness that type of transaction as I have occasionally. Typically that type is dealer to dealer and involves some invoicing arrangement.