With all due respect to the Copia crowd, those of us in Minnesnowta, have our own version sponsored by Midwest Mountaineering in Mpls, April 27-29. I hope many QJers can make this one. We need to help it grow.

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It's just a bit "commercialized", having it headquartered in a buisness (but I think that is the point).

If it's gonna grow, it's gotta get out of there and into a more generic and user friendly setting.  There's already little room to move about the store and the facilities are marginal.  As an outsider to the "cities", getting your flyer and trying to decipher the location scheme is truely "daunting"....if you are trying to lure in new visitors.  For those already planning on going, it's no big deal.  The location is also difficult to navigate for newcomers to the area.

But still, I'm with you, I'd like to see it grow on to something bigger.

I agree with everything Wally said.  I'd like to add a few comments about the auction.  I have both sold and bought boats there years ago.  I have traveled up from southern Minnesota for the event and auction.  But then a few years ago the fees, IMHO, just got to be too high.  I don't mind paying a percentage fee as a seller.  Hopefully the auctioneer helps to get you a higher bid.  But who really pays for it -- the buyer.

The way they're set up is that both the seller and the buyer pays a percentage 15% from the seller and 10% from the buyer.  That 10% is on top of the bid.  If you bid $500 you pay $550!  BTW the seller only gets $425 of that.

Maybe I'm naive about these things but since you have to have a bidders' card anyway, why not charge a flat fee for a bidders' card and do away with the buyers percentage?  As I said, perhaps I'm naive, but it just has that "scam" feel to it for me.  IMHO the seller gets less for the boat than he should while the buyer pays more than he should.