I am sorry I got to this thread so late in the game! I just went through about 21 pages of mind numbing stings of letters and phrases. Truly a spectacular defense has been presented!<p>That said- I attended, as a vendor, both the Columbia show in question and the Raleigh show which followed shortly after. The Columbia show would seem to have been very poorly advertised judging by the turnout and the feedback from customers. I think it is fairly clear who did what looking at previous posts. We broke even at Columbia though Sunday was a total waste of time. Our profit margin would have looked much better had we split Saturday night.<p>I also heard tell of a "River festival" of some kind that also occurs in Columbia that weekend every year. It would seem that the choice of dates may have been poor as well. I had some doubts about this show right out of the gate. For one thing the Columbia market was horribly abused and beaten down by a previous show promoter who just couldnt seem to understand advertising and why not to do a show every 3 weeks. This isnt the fault of either the new promoter(s) or Tony C., but it is the environment they are working in. While I am typically extremely happy with a "Tony" show I figured he isnt the only game in town and I should give the new guys a try. Did the same for the ill-fated Bristol Va/TN show a couple of years ago. More and more it is seeming like a bad idea to stray very far from Tony C. in this area of the country.<p>The Raleigh show was brought up early in this thread so I figure I will air out on that one while I am here. I dont post too often because I try to actually stick to topics I am involved in so here is my big chance.....<p>Raleigh was disappointing from an attendance point of view but from a profitability point of view we did as well or better than we ever have. The honest truth of the matter is I think we did better because of the smaller crowd. We could actually take a little time to talk to people and they could see what we had. Normally it is way too crowded to do either. I would guess Tony was hurt monetarily by the small crowd as much or more than any one vendor there. I f he made changes or failed to do the same advertising he has more than taken the beating for it and I bet it is back to the old plan real soon! <p>From what I saw the show was pretty well organized and went off smoothly though I am sure there were a few hiccups as always. I also love the constant rumors and stories about Tony. I have been going to his shows since the very first one. Done well almost every time. Agreed with a lot of things he has done for the shows and disagreed with some others. Let him know it on a couple of occasions as well
. His shows have gotten a bit on the costly side but I always feel as though the money has been spent pretty well and there is a good crowd. You get what you pay. I hope he is making a fortune at it because he has made me a fair amount of money as well and frankly it is no ones business what he spends the money he makes on as long as he honestly represents his show and sponsors. Perhaps some of his naysayers/rumor mongers should bear that in mind. We have a friendly business relationship and he has always been professional with me. I for one have never been forced into a "choice" situation about attending his shows or shows by others nor has it even been hinted at or suggested in a serious way. I hear people talk about "other people" who have had that problem but have not yet met any of these "people" in person. Mostly it would seem that the "people" have an axe of their own to grind. Go figure. What a bunch of gossipy little whiners in this business. Wait, make that world.<p>I would highly recommend to anyone that they vend at one of Tonys shows.<p>Rich Goldzung<p>Reptile Basics Inc.<p>
www.reptilebasics.com