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New Pennsylvania Super Shows!

Scott, You say that you know of several venomous vendors that do not plan on attending the show. Just out of curiosity, is there any particular reason that you know of? Other prior commitments, or just not gonna support this show.

Just curious.
 
mikeyt said:
Scott, You say that you know of several venomous vendors that do not plan on attending the show. Just out of curiosity, is there any particular reason that you know of? Other prior commitments, or just not gonna support this show.

Just curious.
Click to expand...

One vendor I am personal friends with and work with also(which the list is not current or accurate as we are on it and are not signed up for any of the shows) and three others I am in contact with on a daily basis and they are on it and not attending either..the post was not meant as a stab or negative gesture...the fact is that venomous sales depend on the crowd and many of the new venues may not bring that crowd unless advertised as such or at least a showing of some of the venomous vendors actually attending..as bad as the other venue is which I agree,it is known and has a following thats reliable,also closer for alot of us from the west.just as the carlisle show..the crowd is just not there..other than the hamburg show the pittsburgh/cheswick show is the only other that has a good venomous following and crowd thats worth the time. So no real reason other than the risk for such a long drive ect.. and not knowing what to expect.
 
DIESELMACK said:
One vendor I am personal friends with and work with also(which the list is not current or accurate as we are on it and are not signed up for any of the shows) and three others I am in contact with on a daily basis and they are on it and not attending either..
Click to expand...

Thanks for your comments Dieselmack.

I don't keep track of who is coming and who isn't. I just update the website accordingly and I get weekly updates from Marty. If we removed and replaced everyone that attends the show every time, it'd be an incredible amount of work since most vendors can be counted on and they sign up at the last minute. Vendors even show up 'the day of' to try to get a table.

This is a double-edged sword. Those who don't wish to risk the drive, don't support the new/improved format. And when the crowds come and see a lacking of venomous vendors, those people may decide to not attend the next show(s). Those vendors who do support the show will only come if the crowds are good. If the crowd is light (which we do not anticipate due to the amount of advertising going on), then those vendors may not want to risk signing up again. So it is a double-edged sword.

As far as advertising goes, these convention centers have their own team of marketers and are advertising the show on their own for us. Did the owners of the fieldhouse do that? I don't know... I highly doubt it.

Carlisle is not Philly. Not by a long shot. The Philly area is an enormously populated city. This is why there are huge convention centers in that area... to house all of the people. Let's face it, the crowds have been light at Hamburg as well. I've seen it.

We already have a huge response from the vendors and all comments have been positive. They can't wait to get out of the fieldhouse. Those vendors who balk on this show will be missing out.
 
Scott, I do happen to agree with you on many aspects. The venomous sales as well as all other sales do depend on the crowd showing up, Getting the crowd to come means also getting the vendors to come.

Carlisle has some potential, but got off on the wrong foot when it started, and is not much better off now under the new promoter. I think they will either have to step it up or step down.

Hamburg is definitely well known and has been a staple in the reptile market for many years with a dedicated following. But it has also been well known by both vendors and buyers alike as a show that has outgrown its facility in many more ways then one. As a buyer I have attended many, many hamburg shows over the past years and have always heard the same complaints from vendors and patrons thru general conversation.

People attend hamburg because they have no where else to go, so it seems to me that the old saying "if you build it, they will come" comes into play here. I mean, all that is going on here is a current established show (that has already existed for many years) is moving to a bigger, better venue, adding new vendors and many new assets that will benefit both vendors and patrons. Why would no one support this? Makes no sense to me.

Those who choose not to go, no longer need to complain.
 
I agree completely and am behind the change...as for the updating of the vendors,that is understandable. I hope all falls into place and turnout is good,I will more than likely be there with a few others and make the trip just to check things out.
 
I personally think it is important to update the list of vendors as much as possible. There are some vendors that I would make a trip to see or at least make a longer trip. I think if someone is looking for something in particular and that list is not updated to show the current vendors attending you can possibly lose a bit of people that way too.

If I go to the show to see a certain vendor and find out the list was not updated, that might put a bad taste in my mouth.

Would Marty take a volunteer to keep the list as current as feasibly possible.
I know last minute things come up, but maybe a certain time frame before the show, say two days, or a week or whatever. Then on the list itself maybe a notation of list being current up to such and such a date? This is part of the advertising a vendor needs to help draw his own crowd to the show.
Here again, just my opinion. Don't want to upset anyone :D
 
As a buyer I pass up alot of the vendors and tables at Hamburg because it is to crowded and you cant get to them easily. I would probably spend more when I go, but if I cant clearly get to a table and see what a vendor has to offer, im not stopping. And then if I cant get a chance to talk to the vendor about my purchase I am definitely passing it by.

So I am definintely looking forward to the extra space at the new show. Some vendors may make a few sales from me at this show.
 
That's great Mikey!

I see by this discussion that some vendors are afraid of taking a chance on an established show that's in a new location. However, one thing I feel I should add to this is that Marty ran a show at the Valley Forge Convention center in Philly in 2006, and just like now, some vendors were skeptical. But what happened was about 2,000 people showed up and since the vendor attendance was a little lighter than normal, those that were selling make a killing that day. And that was a one-time, 2-day show. Also, a bad storm from a Hurricane rolled in and he still had 2,000 people show up! Imagine what this show will be like since its not a one-time event... a show that will be at the same location time and time again, with no Hurricane! Trust me, the people will be there and the vendors who are skeptical and want to "play it safe", just might find themselves one step behind all of the vendors that do show up to sell. Just some food for thought. :)

Additionally, I'm updating the vendors list tonight, so feel free to check it out! www.NorthernBerksReptileShow.com and www.EastCoastReptileSuperExpos.com are both working now.
 
i think that this move is long over due with the condition of the old field house getting worse and getting dirtier every time that it is used. it never gets cleaned by the owning group so i would love to see a bigger show than it already is.
 
So I went to Hamburg this weekend. Where were all the people. No crowd. I could actually get into the aisles and see what vendors had to offer. With the exception of all the vendors that had there garbage in the middle of the aisles. Congrats to all the vendors who made sales to me that I could never buy from before because I couldnt get to you.

Also, just a note. What in the hell is up with all the garbage for sale there this last time. Example, pocket books, squirt guns, busted up tanks and cages and more. It looked like a damn flea market.

Whats the deal with all of the dogs and cats for sale? Last time I looked this was a reptile show not freakin Pet Co.

Anyone else wanna comment.
 
mikeyt said:
So I went to Hamburg this weekend. Where were all the people. No crowd. I could actually get into the aisles and see what vendors had to offer. With the exception of all the vendors that had there garbage in the middle of the aisles. Congrats to all the vendors who made sales to me that I could never buy from before because I couldnt get to you.

Also, just a note. What in the hell is up with all the garbage for sale there this last time. Example, pocket books, squirt guns, busted up tanks and cages and more. It looked like a damn flea market.

Whats the deal with all of the dogs and cats for sale? Last time I looked this was a reptile show not freakin Pet Co.

Anyone else wanna comment.
Click to expand...

Ha yeah, I noticed all the weird stuff too. It definitely had an odd feeling this time around. I'm wondering if now that the new shows have been announced if people are weaning off of the fieldhouse. I got there at 8am and was only about 20 people back in line from the door. Even by 9 the line wasn't terribly long. Granted they were calling for snow, but still. Also with there now being a show every month, I think each show may suffer a bit because there is no "urgency" to be there to get things. I know personally that I load up on supplies at each show because they have to last me until the next one. I'm sure there are others who do the same thing.
Was it just me or did prices seem to go up a bit? Even from the last october show. The fall/winter shows used to be great to get cheaper animals because breeders wanted to clear out their extraneous stock to focus on the current breeding season. I havent seen the reduced prices this year yet.
 
There were chickens in the aisle about 8:30am. Never saw that before! I loved being able to get up to the tables and see everything. Talk to the vendors! I was able to spend quite some time with Tom from TND Dragons to purchase a bearded. I never would have had the opportunity in prior shows to be able to see all the different reptiles up for sale, let alone get up to talk to the vendors and be able to ask questions,ect... I bought quite a lot too! :D
 
I dont think prices changed all that much on the tables this time around, but vendors were definitely willing to negotiate. my friend bought a bumblee bee that was marked $750 for $450, and I bought quite a few ball morphs for reduced prices so I think if you were seriously buying vendors were willing to budge.

I dont know if the snow held that many people back, I have seen alot worse weather there and it is still packed. Not sure if the promise of the new show would have taken that kind of effect on attendance this early in the game, however, in talking to many of the vendors and people while I was in line there is quite a buzz about this new show, and many who plan on attending.
 
One of the things I also noticed about the Hamburg venue was the price/quality of animals. I've only vended the show a few times, but have been going there for a while. Many of the other vendors have been going there primarily to move some of their cheaper stuff and make room. My lower end stuff has generally sold better than the higher end stuff.

I have sold some stuff there, so I'm not knocking it, but a larger venue couldn't hurt. It's catch 22. When the place is packed, people can't get to your table to see what you've got without getting shoved out of the way. When it's slow, it's really hard to make any money.

All in all, I plan on doing both, time permitting. I just spoke to Marty and am in for the Jan. 16th show in Reading, and I plan on calling Denise to set things up for either the next Hamburg show, or the one right after.
 
it was very packed in the morning when I went but it was a very good show the only thing was it was still dirty so the new bigger building will help take care of that
 
There was definitely a strange vibe about the show this time. There was definitely alot less people there this time around. Vendors do seem to go there to get rid of some of their cheaper stuff, but look at what Hamburg has become. Years ago it was an up an coming show and was actually nice to attend, but now it is like a combination road side flea market and Pa Farm sh
 
Everyone remember that most people will be violating the Lacey Act by selling at any of these shows if S373 passes. Join USARK, donate, and most of all CALL YOUR CONGRESSMAN!!!
 
I have been checking the new website for the show and I still see that the vendor listing is still not current. I contacted two of the vendors looking for specific animals and they have told me that they have not signed up for the show. How am I to know who is gonna be there if the list isnt right? The show is only 4 weeks away, it should be updated.

just a suggestion
 
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