13,655 collectors of
postage stamps, historical postcards, coins, banknotes, minerals and telephone
cards from the whole country and from abroad gathered from September 15th –
17th at the Prague Fair Grounds, where the 9th Annual Collector (Sberatel)
International Trade Fair was held.
To the great joy of the 214 exhibitors from 32 countries,
this year’s fair broke the old attendance record by nearly two thousand
visitors. Visitors to the trade fair were not only able to see the most
expensive and rarest Czechoslovak stamp, ceremonially exhibited to the public
after several decades by the collector Ludvík Pytlíček, but they also could,
for example, weigh in their hand a one-kilogram bar of pure gold at the stand
of the Austrian Mint or evaluate designs of the Czech Euro at the Czech Mint
stand.
Collector is the biggest meeting of collectors in
Central and Eastern Europe, and many companies issue commemorative collectors’
rarities specially for the trade fair. This year, the Czech Post and such
postal services as those of Switzerland, Slovakia, Germany, Bosnia and
Herzegovina and the United Nations Postal Administration had specially
cancellation rubberstamps made for the Collector Trade Fair. Also available for
purchase was a special Chinese telephone card intended for this year’s Prague
trade fair.
As in the past, visitors could have their stamp,
coin, banknote, telephone card or precious stone collections appraised free of
charge by the certified experts present.
This year’s Collector Trade Fair drew a great
response in the press, radio and
television.
This year the presenter, the company Progres
Partners Advertising, obtained the opinions of exhibitors and visitors. The
surveys indicated that both groups, apart from some exceptions, were
exceptionally satisfied. You can read the statements of the exhibitors here.
As far as the visitors are concerned, a sampling
of 277 randomly chosen visitors showed that fully 40% of them had visited the
fair more than once and that 90% of them were satisfied with the offerings of
the exhibitors. The trade fair was not just for Prague’s citizens, as was shown
by the fact that only 37% of the visitors were from the City of Prague, most of
whom came on Sunday. Forty percent were from outside of Prague and 18% (one out
of six) were from abroad. Of the total number of respondents, only two percent
said they would not attend the trade fair next year. The ages of the visitors
were interesting. 54% were under age fifty, and one visitor out of twelve was
under age thirty. For detailed results, click here.
The Jubilee Tenth Annual Collector Trade Fair
will again be held at the Prague Fair Grounds on September 14th – 16th, 2007.
More information for exhibitors and visitors will
be promptly published on this website www.ppa.cz
Jindřich Jirásek
Trade fair director
Progres Partners Advertising Ltd.
Please visit: http://www.ppa.cz/?page=sberatel_en
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