The Rand Show is billed as the largest trade fair in Africa, and "in terms of size and visitor attendance, the Rand Show is rivalled only by the large state fairs held in the USA". Since I needed to shop for appliances and furniture anyway (moving to an unfurnished apartment next week), decided to see what was on offer. It is not a cheap affair if you just want to browse, a 85Km round trip, R55 entry fee and R15 for the parking!
Yes, I got there at 6pm - but considering that it is a Friday, there was hardly anyone there. In fact, by the general look of things, it seems like there was not many people in attendance. But that sort of worked out quite well for me - I managed to "negotiate" the price of a bed from R5249 down to R4000 (including delivery) - so it was a worthwhile trip in that sense. I was actually quite impressed with the customer service (Mattress King). Let's just see if the delivery works out on time!
On other furniture and appliances, I could not really see anything I wanted - so it is off to the usual suspects (Game/Makro/Hi-Fi Corp). On the other halls, there was a surprisingly large section from various government departments, including housing and even correctional services. But they were not well manned, and all seemed to be packing up.
To be honest, over all, it was just another big market - without life. I suppose, it is much better during the weekends; and in that case, why bother opening during the day?
