Around Australia and indeed around the world, part of the culture of Amateur Radio are the radio equipment sales hosted by radio clubs.  Sometimes called a Hamfest, a Radio Market, or a White Elephant Sale, they all have the same basic elements.  

A club will hire a community hall or similar venue for a day, organise tables, book sellers, then at an appropriate time, typically 10:00 of a morning, open the doors to the buyers. Mostly these events will run until mid-afternoon.

The sellers will be a combination of individuals moving on unused equipment, traders dealing in secondhand gear, disposal of deceased estates and commercial traders of new equipment.  These events service multiple needs.  They allow newcomers to the hobby to purchase equipment at low prices.  They act as a social event where operators who mostly only meet over the air, get to catch up in person. They create an excellent fundraising opportunity for clubs to fund their operations for another year.

Fees

This will vary with size and location of events, but there are similarities.  Visitors are charged an entry fee, of around $7-8, which often includes a door prize ticket  and stallholders are charged around $17-20 for each table they occupy.

Food

It is common for a food van to set up for the day, or the club concerned may further augment their income by selling sausages in bread, coffee and canned soft drinks.

Door prizes.

Another common theme is for a raffle prize or door prize to be drawn on the day, typically 1-3pm in the afternoon of the event.  Here prizes are donated by traders or purchased by the club as an attraction for the event.  Primary door prizes are often quite valuable, featuring a transceiver or antenna system.  This is usually followed by a selection of lesser prizes.

Lectures

While most event tend to be reserved for equipment sales only, some larger events also have guest speakers presenting topics of interest in a side-room next to the main venue.

Advertising

These events are always advertised in emails and magazine entries by the host club, but they usually go further afield and advertise in the magazines of other clubs within a large radius.  Adverts also appear in national magazines.  Word-of-mouth between operators help to spread the message of an impending event. (Typical advert below)

Useful Links to VK events

Hamfests Australia: 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1675116319317400

Macedon Ranges Amateur Radio Club: 

https://www.mrarc.org.au/victorian-ham-festival-directory/

VK Classifieds Events Page:

https://vkclassifieds.net.au/classifieds/events.html

VK4NGA Digital Voice Systems: 

https://vk4nga.com.au/hamfests/