The new Atlanta show schedule

"Well, glad you are going to attend the
show! I honestly assumed you were with the whole herp
society defamation, take over plow which is so not
right but anyaway, glad to have you be a part of the
show. Yes, I actually think it will be not a good show
but a great show."

This was just forwarded to me from a vendor doing Tony's show this weekend that also happens to be a member of the GHS. The e-mail is from Tony Cueto I have left the vendor's name out for now(he/she does not wish to lose their table money), so you may take it as you will.

Now, the GHS, nor myself as it's acting "voice" in this thread has defamed Tony in anyway. Nothing that has been stated here has been untrue. Stating the fact that Tony Cueto misrepresented himself to the Cobb Galleria as the "marketing director" of the GA Herpetological Society is not defamation. Nor is stating that Tony has expressly been told that the GHS will no longer be a part of his Atlanta shows, the reason being his falsely using our name. It is also a fact that Tony was asked to remove the GHS from his listing of attractions, which he still has not done.

As for takeovers, the GHS did shows in Atlanta for 5 years before Tony came into town. Tony did not ask our permission or consult us beforehand so that we might work out a schedule to make both shows fit. He simply set up at the same venues we planned to do shows at within a couple of weeks of our show. The GHS is in no way attempting to take over Tony's show or defame it, but yet we did not feel the need to consult with Tony over our own business plans. He obviously did not feel the need to consult us over his business plans to do shows here.

It appears that Tony might be upset that we are getting back into the show business again and will be offering up competition to his shows. As he has shown with Columbia, it appears that Tony sets up a show in a market and believes that the market is exclusively his from then on. Tony Cueto does not own the City of Atlanta nor any of the venues in Atlanta or any other city, and it is up to them to rent to and take money from whomever they wish.

The reason the GHS has decided to go back into shows is NOT to compete with Tony or "run him out of town." The GHS is now in the process of setting up several herp conservation grants, and we decided to go back into shows to build up revenue for these grants. We are not in the show business to pay our bills or rent or to make a ton of money. We are doing our show to further not only responsible herp keeping, but also conservation and general awareness of the herps around us. We are also planning a much different event without the carnival atmosphere.

If Tony continues to do his show in Atlanta, that is fine. We are not in the business to compete with him or try to make him fail. We do not wish his shows to fail. In fact, we hope all the vendors all do well this weekend. We will simply not be involved in the event.

The Cobb Galleria has confirmed the show for this weekend. Tony has made good on his word and everything is on for this weekend. See you all there. =) http://www.cobbgalleria.com/calendar/calendar.cfm

Just got back from the show and to say it was a disappointment would be an understatement. I had a table a couple of times at the Birmingham show last year and did ok there. I considered a table at this show but am glad I didn't spend the money! There were about 20-25 vendors (I didn't count, but it was a FAR cry from the 125 advertised on the website). There were few customers, nothing like the crowds in the past. I bought a few items but nothing really blew my bloomers. I feel bad for the venders who probably won't break even for this show. I hope the GHS shows are better planned (no last minute date and venue changes please!). I will attend the GHS shows and maybe vend if I think the show has potential. BTW...before anyone asks, NO I am not Rob and NO I am not related to Rob. I have had a transaction for some tanks with Rob and he has been an up front guy. (He also has a few nice snakes!)

I was there on Saturday. I knew 3 venders and I talked to them about 5 when everything was shutting down, they had all done very well. I agree the venders and crowd was down in sheer numbers, but the people that did come, came to buy. Of course Tony himself, does not make a commission on those sells, so his money is derived directly from the venders and patrons, and I honestly do not believe he made back enough to cover the 9k he paid to rent that place, let alone the other expenses. I have never seen the Tamps show, but from what I derive it was a bomb this year. I know that Greenville and Atlanta were bombs. That is 3 disappointments in a row for Tony, if Columbia tanks next month, he should probably look at getting out of this business. Tony, I am telling you man, Columbia is the Mecca of southeastern hot keepers, ditch your venomoid boy before that show.

We did extremely well at this Atlanta show. Everyone that came through the door it seemed came with cash and credit cards and were buying. They were not just buying the low dollar items either....they were spending money! I know that we brought back a lot less than we took, and we had 10 tables full of stuff!!!

I for one want to thank all the customers and vendors that did come out. Hope to see you all at the Columbia show......This one is in our hometown!!

I'm glad you did well. How many vendors were there? I didn't get to attend. I was in Pa.

I was amazed at how many people were buying. Of course, the low
numbers means that no matter how much people spent, some vendors
didn't sell much. If he can get the numbers up in June, and make sure all
the vendors show up, Atlanta in 2006 should be great. The venue
change killed him.

I really hope things go well for Tony, he's had a rough couple of days.

The second Tampa show wasn't bad at all. It was bad for vendors, as
most didn't seem to be buying. Overlal numbers weren't too bad though,
much better than the first Tampa show this year.

Eric A

I was a little bummed about driving three hours for a show of 20 (give or take) vendors. I cheered myself up by telling myself that I needed to buy frozen rats somewhere anyway, and the show was just a bonus. (Of course, they were sold out of frozen rats, so I was extra bummed.) I decided to at least shop for my favorite little animals -- the Cornsnakes. Nope. No cornsnakes allowed at the show. MAJOR bummer.

I wasn't too impressed with this show. (Although the show may have been geared more toward the non-Cornsnake keeper who lives closer to Atanta and feeds frozen mice only. Who knows?)

I did win a free t-shirt as a door prize. =)


Chris

I was the guy with short hair selling tickets up front

I drove 7 hours - from Raleigh. Thankfully, I was working for Tony, and
not going to buy stuff. For me, the trip was worth it. I got all the feeders
I needed for over a month, and I also got some plants for my frog tank.
Hell, there was a Lodge cast iron factory outlet on the way back, and I
was able to get my wife that dutch oven she wanted for christmas - I
hadn't been able to find the thing. So, despite the long ride and a
weekend away from my wife and daughter, not a bad weekend at all.

tony's really had a lot of problems recently. Some of them are admittatly
his own doing, but a lot of things were beyond his control (His car
actually did burst into flames on I-75). He's made some mistakes, but
he's honestly had a tremendous string of bad luck as well.

He really knows how to throw a show. I'm confident that he'll be able to
get things for the future shows situated once more. the postponement of
the Atlanta show was a terrible hit.

Originally Posted by CJBianco

I was a little bummed about driving three hours for a show of 20 (give or take) vendors. I cheered myself up by telling myself that I needed to buy frozen rats somewhere anyway, and the show was just a bonus. (Of course, they were sold out of frozen rats, so I was extra bummed.) I decided to at least shop for my favorite little animals -- the Cornsnakes. Nope. No cornsnakes allowed at the show. MAJOR bummer.

I wasn't too impressed with this show. (Although the show may have been geared more toward the non-Cornsnake keeper who lives closer to Atanta and feeds frozen mice only. Who knows?)

I did win a free t-shirt as a door prize. =)


Chris

Chris,

GA has some screwed up laws about cornsnakes......and other indigenous reptiles. The only thing I had on my table that DNR objected to was 2 Florida Kingsnakes that they said were becoming indegenous to GA, so I took them off of the table, put them back in the box and went on. Other than that and my alligator business card holders, we were good to go.

Were you one of the folks that got one of our shirts as a door prize? I know we gave a bunch away!!


On another note.......I'm sure Tony will be fine for the Columbia show, they always say bad things come in 3's and he has had his 3 bad things (4 if you count his van)....so his string of bad luck should stop. Anyway, I'm celebrating my birthday the weekend of the Columbia show, so everone can come and help me