Living in the Alexandria, Virginia area, I guess in some ways I'm lucky. The big shows are just outside of Baltimore about once every month or two - Greenbergs and Great Scale. But... I heartily concur with what's been said already. I wish there were more N gauge stuff showing... specifically, more N scale building kits. I find that neither the shows nor the LHS's seem to stock much in this area. Prices seem to be all over the place, which is sort of expected. Structure kits, when they can be found, are sometimes discounted a little bit, but ready builts much less, except for the Bachmann plastic ready builts. Some of those are OK, but after a few they all begin to look rather alike. Some dealers are obviously enthusiasts and others, well, they're in the business of selling, and really couldn't care less whether they sell GP9's or AK47's. Like everywhere, there are bargains, and then there are not. I recently picked up a new Bachmann Spectrum consolidation for 84.00 (GREAT runner!) which I thought was not a bad price, considering it is now 140.00 in the Walthers catalog. I also saw it at another table for 100.00 and at another for 125.00. So, I guess its look, listen, learn, and have a MSRP source handy if possible. (I also won a lifetime pass door prize several shows back. YeeHah! ...which I intend to wear out.) I've also been to some smaller shows, and the variety seems much less, both in price and selection. The first such show I went to featured GI Joe and even Barbie doll trash (really! I'm not kidding!) at the entry hall. I almost turned and ran screaming into the rain before getting to the main event inside...which actually was pretty decent. But the promoter of that one should have been hung high upon the nearest semaphore. Go figure.
Harpo