A few good points Gav. 
One thing about your last comment, the hobby is bigger than just the forums, yes, But I havent seen anyone outside of a forum try n organise a pinball expo in the last 3 plus years.
Is there such a person who loves pinball and has as much passion as a forum member. I think AP and AA shld have a world record recorded by The Guiness Book of Records for being the best n most loyal pinball people on the planet. !
Something else i thought about, I dont think machines shld be for sale at a expo, unless its a NIB Stern. There shouldnt be competition inside a expo unless its a pinball competition i believe. Or the first thing that happens when people see price tags on 2nd hand pinballs is "rip off" ""so and so charges too much, its not shopped properly etc etc". A brochure representing a business etc is enough, no more machine sales at a expo would be my ruling UNLESS it was a for sale only sticker, with price on application after the Expo, by calling XYZ seller. Parts yes, etc etc. NIB yes, 2nd hand, some strict rules. Displays, pinny tournaments etc, part sales, resto services etc, all welcome, all fun stuff.
Everyone shld keep discussing ideas, it certainly all helps.
Having machines for sale will get people through the door and maybe raise the bar for some retailers to actually do the right thing by their machines and their customers. It is the "perceived" favouritism e.g. only AMD can sell machines that will see anything like this fail again. Surely there must be some lessons learnt from 2009. Why would any other retailer bother attending if they can't have their items on the floor and ready to sell. You need to strike whilst the iron is hot, people from interstate or that have travelled a distance to get there won't come back next week to buy a machine.
Also remember, this whole thing needs to be funded somehow, charge per square metre, the more machines there for sale the bigger the space needed and in turn it generates income for the event.
This is merely only a thread on a forum and we can already see the difficulties involved.
