More input wanted...

Thats correct homegrown ,
Because more of the BIGGER ones are selling cheap nickle dime animals that normally dont last lil johnny past the next weekend. Im not sure about the shows in your area but the ones that go on in NC are mostly imported , WC snakes , lizards turtles etc etc . I even saw some people walking out to cars in the lot on sunday collecting WC turtles , and other snakes etc etc from people who just drive up because they know its a show and they caughtthese animals they will sell for $2 each to a vendoir who sells them for $5 each to a person who coulda caught the same turtle in there back yard . sure there gonna saty because the parents bring them to the show to se those creepy snakes which makes kids happy, they get to occupy there lil brats for a few mintues in the reptile show & they get to see a lecture on snakes etc etc which is great for kids, but lousy for breeders . who are selling nice eating healthy animals. Then couple a a show with that AND a/c blowing on your animals all weekend long becasue the gym is kicking a 6ton uni hard as it will blow im not gonna subject my high end CBB snakes to any of that. I left sunday early around 2ish this wekeed because wasnt oe person walking the show that day goping to buy a rack . cage or $75-$10 boa when they can buy a $15 ball , $10 fish tank & think they havethe same thing .


Its just a shame the breeders get swallowed up in the importers money making off throw away animals.

now on the other hand a promoter is going to want all the vendors to stay untill close because everyone that leaves due to there wasting time & not making the money back they put into the trip , and everything with the trip then have to cary animals 100's miles home and get put bak why shoud i spendany more of MY valuable time making the promoter $12-$15 per head that walks through the door in thier pocket if nothing is going in mije or 80% of the other 30-40 vendors ?

I to would wanna fine vendors for leaving if it costs me the promoter several hundreds of dollars also but yet the venbdors et no forethought of them wasting their time making the others money its a double edge sword .

I cantell you this .. if a vendor is happy , making money there not going to just pack up n leave w/out a family emergency or somthing I wont and im sure others aint going to either. If im making sales im gonna stay , if im sitting there getting sadlle sores and andsore feet from standing and pacing hoping someone thats going tu buy something comes in the show im a fool.... When i left sunday i could have maybe stayed another 3 hrs and kept doing what i was doingwhich was NOTHING or i could packed up my stuff got my animals in a warmer place and headed home and got home before 1-2 am and have animals put away etc etc .

Maybe there shouldn't be a reward for doing what is right, but if I was the promoter, I would do whatever works and whatever is affordable to accomplish it. Not being a promoter (sure glad I don't have THAT job, lol!), I don't know if it would be worth it to implement any of these ideas. But I sure would look into it, and anything else that might work to make both show attendees and vendors happy in the most affordable way possible.

The biggest problem with all the cheap W/C sales, is that after paying $10 for a cheap snake/lizard that dies 3 days later. people do not want to pay the extra money for a quality replacement from a breeder. They think that they've already wasted 10 bucks on one, so they'll not buy another one. Never! This not only gives the hobby a bad reputation, but make sales difficult for the breeders at the next show. I hear a lot of comments from people that have purchased chameleons from brokers or distributors. Within a few days they have died. So it makes it seem as if chameleons are hard to keep alive. Which is not true. If they would buy one that is active, alert, and doesn't have sunken eyes already, chances are that it will live with proper care.

Originally Posted by JungleHabitats

Thats correct homegrown ,
Because more of the BIGGER ones are selling cheap nickle dime animals that normally dont last lil johnny past the next weekend. Im not sure about the shows in your area but the ones that go on in NC are mostly imported , WC snakes , lizards turtles etc etc . I even saw some people walking out to cars in the lot on sunday collecting WC turtles , and other snakes etc etc from people who just drive up because they know its a show and they caughtthese animals they will sell for $2 each to a vendoir who sells them for $5 each to a person who coulda caught the same turtle in there back yard . sure there gonna saty because the parents bring them to the show to se those creepy snakes which makes kids happy, they get to occupy there lil brats for a few mintues in the reptile show & they get to see a lecture on snakes etc etc which is great for kids, but lousy for breeders . who are selling nice eating healthy animals. Then couple a a show with that AND a/c blowing on your animals all weekend long becasue the gym is kicking a 6ton uni hard as it will blow im not gonna subject my high end CBB snakes to any of that. I left sunday early around 2ish this wekeed because wasnt oe person walking the show that day goping to buy a rack . cage or $75-$10 boa when they can buy a $15 ball , $10 fish tank & think they havethe same thing .


Its just a shame the breeders get swallowed up in the importers money making off throw away animals.

now on the other hand a promoter is going to want all the vendors to stay untill close because everyone that leaves due to there wasting time & not making the money back they put into the trip , and everything with the trip then have to cary animals 100's miles home and get put bak why shoud i spendany more of MY valuable time making the promoter $12-$15 per head that walks through the door in thier pocket if nothing is going in mije or 80% of the other 30-40 vendors ?

I to would wanna fine vendors for leaving if it costs me the promoter several hundreds of dollars also but yet the venbdors et no forethought of them wasting their time making the others money its a double edge sword .

I cantell you this .. if a vendor is happy , making money there not going to just pack up n leave w/out a family emergency or somthing I wont and im sure others aint going to either. If im making sales im gonna stay , if im sitting there getting sadlle sores and andsore feet from standing and pacing hoping someone thats going tu buy something comes in the show im a fool.... When i left sunday i could have maybe stayed another 3 hrs and kept doing what i was doingwhich was NOTHING or i could packed up my stuff got my animals in a warmer place and headed home and got home before 1-2 am and have animals put away etc etc .

First I'd like to say it was difficult to read this post in some places.


secondly, you are well aware of the chances you take when you sign up for a show. I sure would hate for you to be set up next to me at a show, because if you left early I certainly would talk to the promoter to make sure something is done. I don't appreciate having empty tables around me or next to me.
As we all know when we sign up for these shows ..you have to take the good with the bad.

As Kathy mentioned , there have been times when I wanted nothing more to pack up and head home. But I signed on for the whole weekend and thats what I am going to to.

We pay for tables and for the promoters to get people thru the door, wether people show up early or not ...we are supposed to be their until close.
If vendors are going to pack up early and leave because their not making money then they shouldn't come to the shows, and when they do leave early their should be a penalty in place.

Little brats ????
You sound like you should be staying home anyway

Even if I am not making sales every minute that I am there ...at least I am answering questions and meeting people. Thats part of this business too ...right ?

Paying for tables is like signing a contract. However, if the promoter fails to bring people through the door, have they not fell short of their obligations as well? This is one subject that works both ways. I will add that one reason that I left an hour early is because I was starving. We were not fed lunch on Sunday, which is fine. But All the junk food I ate didn't quite do it for me.

Originally Posted by audrypayne

Paying for tables is like signing a contract. However, if the promoter fails to bring people through the door, have they not fell short of their obligations as well? This is one subject that works both ways. I will add that one reason that I left an hour early is because I was starving. We were not fed lunch on Sunday, which is fine. But All the junk food I ate didn't quite do it for me.

The promoter brings in potential customers. There no guarantee how many will pass thru those doors. As I said before ...you have to take the good with the bad. Because not all the shows have poor attendance.
And I have been to shows where attendance was super crowded and did poor in sales and visa versa! It all matters what type of customers come thru those doors.
So if customers come in towards the end of the day and they see empty tables...why should they come back to the next one?

Its not all on the promoters shoulders as to what quality of customers come thu those doors, it also matters what the quality of the venders are.

Allot of people just like to place blame on the promoter, its not all their fault.

As for food...well promoters are not responsible to supply you food. Some promoters do offer it , but are not required to. Again we should know what we're getting into when we sign up to do these shows. I bring my own food or go out for it.

I wasn't complaining about any one promoter in general. And no, they have no obligation to feed us. I've done two day shows where we weren't fed at all. Daytona is one of them. They do have food there, but we have to buy it. It is more of a courteous thing to the vendors. I was vending alone & had no one to send. I don't care for fast food anyway. Cathy does a great job with her shows. I said it was all right for a first time show. Word gets around about these shows, and the next one there(if there is one) will be even better. And unlike other show promoters, she not only cares about her vendors, but learns from her mistakes as she goes along.

Paying for a table being a contract is stretching it a bit far unless the promoter actually makes it as such. Most the promoters are softies that will let you pack up early and eagerly take your money for the next show without a problem. Promoters need the money for tables and if vendors are all fined for packing up early the vendors will go to a different show (i.e. yet another problem with too many promoters and shows in an area).

However, if you have a QUALITY show where vendors WANT to vend then you can do whatever you want...enter the Daytona Show. Pack up early and I'm sure you'll be in trouble the next year. Do that at any of the SC shows (yes, Tony's shows included) you will have no problem in getting a table the next time. I think this kind of behavior on the promoters part needs to stop. But how can it? In many of these markets there are already too many shows. If promoter A fines me at his/her show then I'll just do promoter B's show a month later.

BUT, have one of these promoters put on a really good show it would be well worth my while not to offend them. Plus, when this happens, the vendor could implement a fine/reimbursement scheme. Charge $25 extra per table and then refund it a 4:45 on Sunday. Those who are there get their money back....heck, and all those who packed up early...put the money in a fund and split it among the vendors who stayed! On a slightly related note, I agree with Kathy about the times. Maybe sunday shows should be a little less time....maybe a 12-4 thing?

[quote=audrypayne]if the promoter fails to bring people through the door, have they not fell short of their obligations as well? This is one subject that works both ways. /QUOTE]

I do not agree. If the promoter puts on a lousy show you don't have to vend at the next one. The vendor DOES have the obligation to bring in the buyers and if he/she fails then they will not be in business long as most vendors will not continue doing the shows if they are paying out of pocket every time.


And for the record...I've never packed up early. I even braved the Daytona Hurricane....then again my house is in SC so I did not have that to worry about.

Originally Posted by MohrSnakes

And for the record...I've never packed up early. I even braved the Daytona Hurricane....then again my house is in SC so I did not have that to worry about.

This may be off subject, but ...
When Charlie went thru Daytona ...It was NOTHING compared to earlier when it first landed in Charlotte County. Which is where I lived.

And although it made landfall on Friday (during set up to be exact), I still did not leave until about 1:00 on Sunday afternoon.

Originally Posted by homegrownherps

This may be off subject, but ...
When Charlie went thru Daytona ...It was NOTHING compared to earlier when it first landed in Charlotte County. Which is where I lived.

And although it made landfall on Friday (during set up to be exact), I still did not leave until about 1:00 on Sunday afternoon.

I'm surprised you stayed at all. My parents lived right north and after Daytona I went there and some of the destruction was horrible. And in case you felt slighted...my previous post was not to knock you one bit....just to add a little weight to my post. I do not like people packing up early and therefore I do not pack up early.