What would you like in a show?

I am doing my annual show again this November and I have been a vendor at over 1000 reptile shows in, I believe 16 states, 32 cities over the past 13 or so years. I am really curious to hear what suggestions you guys may have from both sides of the aisle, vendor and customer, that you would like to see that would make a show better.

I did some things I thought were really different and neat at my show to make things more enjoyable for everybody, but I really wonder what you guys think. What about it? Any thoughts?
Evan Stahl

Reasonable price for tables, was the only one that didnt get my vote due to the fact I dont sell at shows. In the few shows that I have been to, I have been in search of good grub and a reasonable admission.

Hey Al. It is quite a dilema for show promoters. Do you charge a high price for tables and limit your dealer pool risking empty tables or charge more for admission at the door and alienate some customers? Tough choice. You have to find a balance somewhere but it is hard to do. I charge $100 for a table for two days at my show. So basically $50 a day. I feel that is reasonable. I charge $6 for adult admission. I also feel that is very reasonable, even cheap these days. You can't see a movie near me for less than $8.25. You have to bring in the public for the vendors to make money no matter how much or how little you charge for tables.

There are shows that charge as little as $3 admission all the way up to $15. There are tables as low as $15 and high as nearly $300! It is really wide open.

Good food was a must at my show. I am really tired of old hot dogs or running out for fast food. Evan

I would imagine it would be hard to charge a small table fee as well as a small admission fee. If I would choose one or the other, I would try to make the adult admission lower if possible, because from what I gather, It is alot easier to sell ANYTHING if there are people there to buy.

Lower admission=more potential buyers.

Although im sure you would have to make x amount of money total for both.
The high admission prices at some shows would have to hurt as far as people paying to enter. One show that I thought was overpriced was Tinley. Wasnt Tinley $15.00 at the door?
Im no show junky as there are not many shows in my area.

You hit the nail on the head Al. Tinley was expensive at $15, but Bob and Brian did a bunch of great stuff and set up one huge beautiful show. So again we get back to the "You get what you pay for" mentality I guess. It is tough. Nice, large facilities are expensive. Advertising is expensive. Everything is expensive. It is a tough balance. Any thoughts on any other angles of the show concept or thoughts about doing something different? I think people like Bob and Brian are doing great things, but I also feel that there is always so much room for inovation it would be nice to see more new things. Evan

I'd like rich people with fat wallets that like lizards

...or at least Visa/MC with high limits

I don't do shows anymore myself, not as a vendor. I may again someday, but I have no plans of it. I grew disenchanted with the whole marketplace mentality.
There is a couple of things that I've never seen implemented though, that would be useful. I'd like to see maybe 5 or 10 tables set aside to be sold as half tables. This is mainly just to level the field a bit for the smaller breeders who have a harder time justifying the purchase of a full table when they can never fill it. I prefer to purchase from such people, or at least directly from a breeder. I've gotten tired of the prevelance of large dealers who purchase 5 or 6 tables for all their WC stock and the stuff they've picked up over the last two weeks.
Breeders have my respect and buisness, but high volume dealers who only buy and sell normally get little more than a cursory glance as I walk by. I'm probably in the minority here, but that's my viewpoint.

Another thing I would like to see is a trade/private sale room set up for shows that do not allow outside reptiles to be brought in. I understand not letting people bring in animals to sell, and from the vendor perspective I agree with the rule.
There are times though that someone arranges for delivery of an animal at a show to avoid shipping.
While people should not be allowed to simply bring a tub of lizards and peddle them in the show, prearranged sales or trades should be provided for. I know there have been several shows I had no need to go to but did because someone asked if I could bring their snake to them there. The show provides a fine excuse to make the drive.
While I haven't done it myself, I have been with people who took animals with the hope of negotiating a trade with a vendor.
In these cases, it would be simply a nice convenience if the activity was provided for. Difficult to implement perhaps.

A large variety of animals is always a great plus, although it may not be very much in the control of the promoter. I've been to several shows that were saturated with CH balls and leopard geckos. Buyers easily get tired of seeing the same thing, especially when they have no real interest in them. Without variety, the show will eventually go under.

As far as door prizes and all, I can take them or leave them. Honestly I don't even listen to the announcements, so I may have won in the past an never knew it. Basically they have no bearing on my enjoyment of the show.

One other idea I have had, which may be totally unfeasible, is to change the admission policy. One of the largest problems at many shows are the sight seers. People who often have no interest in reptiles, but make it sort of a family day at the zoo so to speak and bring the kids out to see all the weird creatures.
I'm sure you've been to shows where the attendance was 5000, but the vendors report low sales.
This is also a big aggravation for the attendees who are there to make purchases. They find themselves unable to get to the table for all the casual onlookers who are marveling over the alien like reptiles but have no idea what they are looking at, many cringing or having mock convulsions (i.e. the willies) because "snakes are creepy".
This problem is especially severe at a show I go to regularly. On the same grounds there's normally either a dog or horse show and a gun show the same weekend. Many people visiting these other events drop by the herp show while they are there. This causes attendance to break 8000, but only a fraction of those are there to buy, or are able to for the crowd.
I'm all for introducing new people to the hobby, but it's in everyone's best interest if the people standing in front of the table has at least a possibility of buying something.
As an alternative, I would propose a different method of charging admission. If you want say $6 for an adult as the ticket price, then charge say $16 at the door. Any purchase at the show would entitle them to $10 back on the admission charge. The vendor they purchase from could sign or stamp the back of their ticket stub for verification.
Ideally it would be valid for any purchase at all. At the very least, the dry goods vendors selling $1.99 water bowls would make alot of sales.
While this may possibly lower admission revenue by discouraging the people who come only for the novelty of seeing animals they otherwise care little about. It would, in the end, raise the quality of the shows. The people who have no intent of buying anything at all are only good for the $6 admission anyway. Beyond that they only serve to waste the time of the vendors, and get in the way of those who are there to spend money.
As I said, this may be completely rediculous, but from the standpoint of someone who has never organized a show, it seems like an idea that might be workable.

You know Clay, I am actually right there with you on most of what you said. Some interesting thoughts.

I always thought it was easy to get animals into shows if you know a vendor. They just come out and get it in for you.

I don't know how well the ticket refund charge thing would work but that is a great idea that I have heard used at some other types of trade shows. I'm just not sure with the low attendance and overabundance of herp shows in many areas, how it would go over. I do think many people would argue over it.

To avoid the ball python/leopard gecko delima that is becoming such common place these days, I booked a bunch of tables at my show to people who I knew were specialized breeders. I had 1 person with poison arrow frogs only. 1 with bearded dragons only. 1 with only turtles, etc. That way you highlight those vendors as specialized to the segment of the crowd that is looking for that particular thing. I wanted to have a couple dealers at my show just for the variety they can carry, but 3/4 of it is breeders and unique items like clothing, caging, etc. It may be an unpopular approach to setting up a show to not allow 10 tables of leopard geckos, but the end result is happier vendors and a happier public. Evan

It is normally not a real problem to get animals in if you know a vendor. Many show goers though, don't have this luxury.
We know alot of people in the hobby, and that gains us certain benefits that many do not have.

I do like your approach to getting vendors. While you don't want a monopoly on a species, limiting the number of vendors that typically specialize in a certain common species helps everybody. The vendors only have one or two other booths to compete with instead of 10, and the buyers don't feel like they're at a leopard gecko convention.

I also agree that implementing some sort of admission rebate system would likely be met with resistance, but I also feel that some method of limiting the amount of attendance by the "let's go see the wierdos and their reptiles" segment would in the end result in a better show on both sides of the table.
Perhaps my opinion of this is affected by the biggest show I attend regularly being predisposed to this problem from the other non-related events always held at the same time. It may just not be a real problem in other locations.
What we have is a building probably twice the size of a high school gym with 140 tables. I believe the last show broke 11,000 in attendance for two days. By midday, just getting down the aisles gets nearly impossible, let alone getting to the table to actually buy anything.

And personally, I would simply ban baby strollers from the show, get a back pack for those carpet crawlers, geez.

I completely agree with the whole refunded ticket price thing. I was actually thinking it while reading what Clay had written and then, poof, there it was. I was thinking a full refund of admission with a certain purchase price. Basically just a (reimbursed) discount on whatever they bought since prices are generally somewhat negotiable anyway when you're buying more than a water bowl. Because you are marketing your show to the people that will buy, why not have them get in for free? Only problem I can see would be people abusing the system. One plan to circumvent that would be for the vendors to receive one certain colored ticket per animal they have and they hand it to the person who buys the animal who gives them their admission ticket and then the buyer gives the refund ticket to the person at the door on their way out for the refund and each dealer has to be accountable for all the refund/entry tickets which are to be compared to the inventory later. Don't know how much the dealers would like that extra responsibility, but I think once the ball got rolling on it and they saw that more people came to buy, they'd probably be more open to it.

As for food, YES, please get something worth eating in there. Personally, I don't eat pork or beef, so I never have anything but junk to munch on and I'd like a nice turkey sandwich or sub or something.

Also, for the people buying... request that the dealers print up a basic care sheet to accompany each animal sold.

As far as high admission price goes, I don't think it'd be a deterrant for those who come to buy, but it may be a deterrant for those who come to look, and for those who come to look, but end up buying. Again, more incentive to refund in whole or in part the admission.

ALL KIDS MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY AN ADULT AT ALL TIMES!!! (enough said there)

Well, I'm sure I could think of more, but it's 4:30am, and I'm tired... off to bed!

Good luck with your show!
jb