Last year was the first time that I had attended the Open House and I must say that I had such a great time. It was nice to meet other people from the forum, the people responsible for such high quality instruments and see some of the crazy guitars coming out of the factory. I don't think that the expense that Hamer incurs because of this one day is that prohibitive. Not only are custom orders being placed that day, but many future sales are done because people get to see the magic behind these guitars. I've been out of the guitar world for nearly 10 years. Since June 2004, I have purchased 5 Hamers. They are all used except for one. The way that I see it is, that, although I have not bought many new guitars, I have enabled others who wished to buy new by purchasing their old guitars. I think that I've done my part in a very small way. I don't really know much of the dealer wars and so on, but I would really hope that Hamer opens their doors to us next year. It would be a shame not to be able to participate again.