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2011 newmenbers

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speedenforcer:
I was reading the stats page and it sais there were over 8000 new members in 2011, is this accurate?

emike123:
In the old days, we were getting slammed by robotic sign ups that we had to delete.  That is why we added some basic questions for folks who have signed up since and this has slowed the Viagra merchants considerably.   We have 276 registered members now, about a quarter of which log in regularly.  There are also a few members like Ed, Bart, and Tom still on our roles who have passed on from this world.

Garret:
Mike, what do you think the numbers reflect in terms of overall artillery collectors?  I recently spoke to one of the bigger dealers and he said sales have been slowing in terms of heavy artillery.

emike123:
I think there are plenty of Civil War artillery collectors.  We don't need a high % in this country of 350 million people!

The last few shows have been blockbuster from a sales perspective and online sales are strong as well.  I was not selling shells when the market for the big shells peaked (unfortunately I was buying them then though), and there is no question the prices for the big boys is off considerably from the peak.  At the market top ~10 years back I think there were two things puffing up the market:  1) there were 4 or 5 active, well heeled collectors like Michael Adamson vying with each other for everything and 2) the big shells were less common before folks figured out how to run the saltwater shells where a lot of them had been dumped. 

The size and cost of most big ones narrows the market for them to a subset of the overall artillery collectors.  There are a lot more guys who can swing a 3 figure shell than a 4 figure one and shipping and handling is a lot easier for the field caliber ones.

That said, I have sold several big shells recently, but admittedly none of them have been very expensive. 

One thing that I think is a myth that circulates is that the hobby is doomed because there are no young or new people in it.  I think this is a factor of time and money that older people have more of than younger folks.  We have had some customers under 25 at recent shows who have spent a lot more money than I had spare when I was that age.  We also have several newer collectors learning and buying the basics.  It is an aim of this forum to cultivate those newer folks, who are highly susceptible to getting misled on ebay and from other less trustworthy sources.  When they are uncertain about what they are getting or angry about having been hosed, these folks tend to not buy or even get turned off from the hobby altogether.

pipedreamer65:
Guys, I will chime in here.  My son is an up and comer.  he is 11 y/o and he has been around this stuff his whole life.  I have recently been showing him the electrolysis process basics by running some small items and we have 4 land shells lined up to run, a marsh shell and a reconstruction to complete.  He seems to be really interested despite being bombarded with school, scouts, karate, television, internet and his I-pad.  I will tell you this, I have had a few children in the house off and on, and they do nothing but stare at the stuff I have around.  I even gave some of them a few smalls.  I'm confident there is a new crop of collectors growing up.

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