Expo...nentially more expensive

I'm certainly happy to know that Roanoke and Salem are getting some decent expos, and I'm looking forward to the Business and Technology Expo coming up, but let's consider a few things here.

While I gave up going to The Home Show weekend before last for the Birth and Baby Expo (which was - by logistical mishap turned boon - free), I'm not sure I would have been too bananas about it anyway: paying for entry into a show that's selling stuff.

Same for the Women's Expo this last weekend, which - even had I been in town - I wouldn't have gone to, admittedly. But I did get the lowdown from a friend who did, and $16 at the door for her and her 13-year-old daughter in order to find high-priced wares inside spelled walking around aimlessly for an hour to make it feel worth while and leaving empty-handed.

I completely understand the seller's point of view: booths are not cheap at such events, and recouping sometimes several hundred dollars in overhead means higher-prices on goods. I can understand why sellers still attend, too, since you often have to get a little creative in finding things to do in Roanoke.

What I wonder is - with expensive entry fees, expensive booth rentals, and expensive goods - who's making the money? My first guess would be the venue location, but it wouldn't surprise me to hear that they've failed to reach fiscal projections as well.

So what does this all mean? Well, maybe nobody's making the money. To me, it means that during these slumped economic times, maybe a smaller entry fee would mean more buyers. Maybe smaller booth fees would spell more booths sold.

In other words, maybe the real issue is that no one's come up with anything more creative than upping prices in order to solve a very complicated economic environment. In the mean time, businesses large and small are shrugging their shoulders and wondering why no one's buying when prices have risen incrementally since this recession began.

What ever could be the reason?