I have done Tony's shows in Atlanta and Columbia for the last 4 years now and have ALWAYS been treated VERY kindly by Tony and his staff. Tony is VERY easy to work with and I think he puts on a good show. I know this isn't much, but when a show promoter that I see once or maybe twice a year can call me by name without me having to tell him, I think that shows he cares about his vendors. He provides free food to all of his vendors as well. What other promoter does that? And there was one instance where I had a problem with the vendor I was to be placed next to at a show and upon explaining it to Tony, he had me set up in a new spot in 5 minutes. And I am not a big time vendor by any means. I get one table most times(though at the last Atlanta show I was working two) and am still treated as if I buy 10.
Also, Ben, I am curious to see the correspondences you and Tony had. I find it highly doubtful Tony would be as rude and disrespectful as you claim, but I could be wrong, and I would like to see what was said.
When it comes to wholesale, you did not explain that you were running around at the end of the show buying animals cheap or making offers. If you went to a vendor at the end of a show and offered them $175 for an import chondro(which I think are wholesaling in the $150-175 range right now?), that is totally different than them having them on the table priced that low for the general public. You making an offer to vendor and them accepting it is totally different than the picture you appear to have been painting. The last half hour of a show is different than the rest of the TWO days it's going on. Almost everyone at that point is looking to unload things and will sell things cheap, ESPECIALLY when other VENDORS come to their tables and make offers.
And the vendors you mentioned, Ben Siegel, Regal, and Glades are not exactly wholesalers. Granted, they deal mostly in imported animals and sell for lower prices, but they are not exactly big wholesale houses like Strictly or Burgundy.
Your mention of Tony's staff possibly being involved in the theft of your animals I think is a bit much. Tony usually has a core staff that does all of his shows with him and I find it far more likely that another vendor snatched your animals. This is the reason I usually don't leave my animals on the table overnight at shows. NO matter what kind of security you have during show hours, if you leave your animals on the table overnight, I think that is an open opportunity for something to get stolen.
Oh, and Tony has NEVER advertised or claimed that his shows are CB only.
Either way, it's too bad that you weren't satisfied with Tony's show and that animals were stolen from you. Hopefully you'll do better at another show