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I feel like vintage toy conventions used to be a place where collectors could connect, trade, and maybe find that one holy grail item at a reasonable price. Now, it truly seems like it's mostly dealers trying to flip things for maximum profit, with prices inflated beyond what you'd even see on eBay.
Has anyone else noticed this shift? I went to one recently, and while there where some cool displays, teh focus seemed to be less on celebrating the toys and more on aggressively selling them. I remember when people were excited to show off their collections and share stories; now it's all about "rare variant, $500 OBO." It feels like the community aspect is slowly being replaced by purely transactional interactions. Maybe I'm just getting old and nostalgic, but I miss the days when these cons felt more like a gathering of passionate collectors and less like a pop-up antique shop with a focus on childhood memories being resold at exorbitant prices.