DO RECORD SHOWS ALLOW BOOTLEGS?
Many record shows prohibit the sale of bootleg recordings. There are two reasons for this; the political reason, and the REAL reason. The political reason is that the sale of bootlegs is illegal. The REAL reason is that bootleg dealers tend to make off with too much of the cash. Boot dealers tend to be “fly by night” operations that don’t typically compete with “straight” dealers, other than at shows. The “name of the game” at record/CD shows is to have the consumer leave all of his cash in the room, and most of us do. Bootleg CDs tend to be popular selling items at shows. The less competition from bootleg disc dealers, the more cash is available for the others. If your primary interest is bootleg recordings, you should call in advance to determine if bootleg dealers will be allowed. A general rule of thumb is that the large, widely advertised shows do not allow bootleg dealers while the small shows sometimes do. Even so, the large shows are still likely to have a smattering of “import
