Spring fishing show,maybe it,s just me,,,

[misfish]

First off,I would like to thank those that offered up free tickets to me.I did get a free pass to the show today.So I left work at 11 am and headed down to the show.Since I was going that way,I headed to brandt meats factory first to get some supplies of smoked meats.

 

Once I arrived at the show,my first thing to do,once I was in,,was to find the Fish-A-Thon For A Cure booth,that Dan and Ryan were manning. Well I walked around,and around,til I found them. It was nice to meet with them and drop off a donation to this up coming years event.( I was waiting for ,YA WANT A BEER, but it never happen. LOL) After a quick chat,I was off to make my rounds. Met friends,that were manning other spots at the dealers. It was nice to see them after a year or so.

 

Now heres where,if I was paying my bucks to enter ,comes in. Walking through the booths,I was seeing not many savings. Alot of prices were the same as going to the store it,s self,if not,higher. I was looking for river/stream fly fishing stuff . This is a fishing/boat show,after all.. Walking through I seen mostly bass and salmon stuff. There was a glass case of high end pin reels I seen and got glassy eyed at,but Im not there to spend 700+ for a reel.

 

I was looking for a 6-7 wt fly rod,,but not for 600 bucks. If I want to spend that,I know where to go.

 

As I make my way back to the north end of the building,I come to the boat section. Here I can say,if you are there to look at boats,well,there ya go. Lots of eye candy. Aluimcraft had some real nice boats. IMO But I wasnt there for a boat,but if I was,I would be happy.

 

So on my walk back to find the place to meet the boss,I come across what I was looking for,FISHING FLIES,REEL FLIES. Everything from pike/bass and trout of many types. Finally find the glory hole.

I waited til the guy running it was done talking to another customer,then get my chance to talk to him. I told him I was a newby,what,where I was fishing,and it was like he had been there . He pointed out many flies I should try. The one,s that caught my eye was the egg pattern for stealhead. Then there were the dry flies. So I grab about $20 worth. I thanked him,and now have an on line site to buy from.

 

 

I also have an order in for a new pair of Korkers

 

It was the last ditch effort to find the boss. Walk around,find the watering hole,and nada.

 

Home time.

 

So,is it me,or is it just the way the show is run.?

 

IMO,If it,s going to be a fishing and boat show,it needs to direct it to all fishing. Like I said,I seen more bass and salmon,and very little to the rest of the sport of fishing.

 

With that said

 

Advance taxidermy had a great booth. Heres some pics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 16, 2013 by Misfish

[pidge]

Saw those reels in the glass case your talking about Misfish..were those pricey or what, Orange one had me at hello, but I'll stick to my Crappy Tire $50 combo lol. I went looking for a decent deal, on a combo, but couldnt find one I liked price wise..oh well.

[Handlebarz]

I gave it a good thought to go into the show but it cost alot to get into a show in T.O. And I would have to sell alot to just cover the expense for hotel food and fuel for 4 days. If it was cheaper for us small guys then I'm sure they would get more different booths into the show.

[bigugli]

I gave it a good thought to go into the show but it cost alot to get into a show in T.O. And I would have to sell alot to just cover the expense for hotel food and fuel for 4 days. If it was cheaper for us small guys then I'm sure they would get more different booths into the show.

They tried for 2 years to convince me to hop onboard. Just could not see a way I would come out ahead.

[Christopheraaron]

IT'S NOT JUST YOU! LOL

 

It was nice to talk to Dan any Ryan though, and I picked up a couple of the pike flies from the booth you were at. I also noticed that there were very few deals, was hoping to find some fly tying supplies but there wasn't even a booth with them? Got to show off to the fly tying club though lol. Thanks again to Dann for the tickets, got to meet some new people even if there weren't many deals to be had.

[irishfield]

Why don't all the OFC folks that make baits and such all go together and get a booth for your items together??

[Christopheraaron]

might be cool, everyone would have to be in though.

[moemoe]

I love the spring fishing show, groundhog day for me as usually april is boat fishing weather! would love to see a OFC booth

Edited February 16, 2013 by moemoe

[grt1]

the boat and fishing show for our area is at the end of the month in Winnipeg, good for me that i'm scheduled to work that weekend. the wife would probably be p.o.'d at me if i decided to go and spend money on more fishing tackle. she says i don't use the stuff i have downstairs in the basement so why would i want more. she doesn't realize you just cant have enough tackle.

I did get a good deal on my boat lift at one of the boat shows a few years ago, so if you want to really spend lots of bucks the boat shows are definately the place to go

[SlowPoke]

I won't disagree with your observations, Brian but I go to these shows for entertainment; to spend a few hours on a winter day thinking about my pastime. It's not the same as going fishing but pretty damn close. It's always nice to run into old friends and make new ones. Sure, I keep an eye out for deals but they're few and far between.

There was a time when you could go to the show and score a deal but that was before online sales forced Canadian retailers to shave their pricing to the slimmest of margins. There just isn't enough room for deep discounts and the cost of a booth would make your head spin.

I think the show participants are excited to break even and hope to earn repeat business and gain exposure.

[bigbuck]

It is a day out during the winter. Deals can be had to a certain extent, you just have to see who will give you the best price on a given item. I agfee that the days of the smoking deals are done with the advent of online stores. Get out see whats out and have fun.

[Garnet]

I was at the Redwing Tackle booth all day. Talked to a lot of people. Everybody seem to be havinga good time.

[Uncle Buck]

Ive given up on these events...

 

WIth the cost of fuel, admission and parking (if applicable)

 

there are no "deals" that i have found that make it worth while economically...

[Roe Bag]

It's been a while but the last time I went it was so crowded you couldn't get a good look at the merchandise. Not sure about now but the best deals were always later on the last day of the show. Seems they would rather sell than have to pack it all up and take it home.

If you establish a relationship with a local retailer he can usually order anything you want. If you deal with him often enough you'll start to see deals.

At least, that's been my experience.

 

 

[hirk]

This is an industry trade show open to the public with the intent to offer diverse product under one roof,to showcase new product and to educate via seminars,based on those criteria I think it is a sucess. As far as deals people have to understand its a trade show not a flea market! I keep hearing people talk about the good old days and how the deals were so much better,well I put that down to perception over coming reality because I went to shows in the good old days and the deals were no better.

[Garnet]

What I think most don't get all this merchantdise will be at another show next week. The retailers just restock move to next location.

 

Now maybe if you go to the very last show they attended this year there would be some emergency to reduse stock..

[craigdritchie]

I believe most people have absolutely no idea how much money it costs to exhibit at a show. The average cost to rent a 10x10 booth space is around $900 - $1,000. That's the smallest size spot avialable - basically a table and two chairs - so most tackle dealers have booths that are much, much larger than that. But it still costs about a grand for every 10 feet of floor space. If you have a 10 x 20 foot booth (still a comparatively small one), you're out $2,000 right from the get-go.

 

That takes care of your real estate, but you also need to pay for the actual booth itself. Buy one, build one or rent one, you're out more money there. Yes, you can use the same booth for several years, but it still costs money to build/buy in the first place, so figure on spending another couple of grand there. Plus you need to pay extra for things like electric power (need it for your cash register and credit card machine) .... thats a few hundred bucks for the weekend ..... plus lighting. All of these venues are union shops, so you can't even plug in an extension cord yourself - you have to pay the electrician $100 to do it. That's no lie, and it's no exaggeration. You also have to pay the electrician another $100 to unplug it at the end of the show. If you don't, they just send you a bill for $100 anyway. One way or another, you pay.

 

You also need to buy additional insurance coverage for the show, mainly to protect you in case someone takes a header and falls in your booth space ($???). Plus, you know over the course of a weekend you will lose a certain amount of stuff to theft. That just happens. As the owner, it's simply more money out of your pocket - and at one of the slowest times of year.

 

Signs cost money too. So do booth decorations. You need shipping containers for all the inventory, and you'll probably need to rent a truck to get it all to and from the show. None of this stuff comes for free.

 

Then you have the cost of staffing the thing. You need to pay people to work the booth (and that's over and above paying for the people working at your normal store if you stay open during the show). If the show is out of town from your shop, you also need to cover your staff's transportation costs, feed them, and put them in hotels too. If it's a three-day show, remember, you need to pay them for additional time to set up the booth and take it down afterwards. You have five days of expenses on a three-day show. You don't have to pay for them to get in each day, but you do pay for parking like everyone else. Most buy a parking pass instead of worrying about multiple reciepts each day. There is no price reduction.

 

For an average sized tackle dealer, it might cost $8,000 to $10,000 to exhibit at a weekend show. Do you have any idea how many rod and reel combos a guy has to sell to earn that money back? And that's just to get back to zero ... he still hasn't made a penny of profit yet.

 

That being the case, why on earth would any dealer load up on high-end inventory just to sell it at huge discounts? That makes no sense at all.

 

I understand people go to shows hoping for a deal, but let's be realistic - the only stuff you see on sale are the things they make a really good markup on. The things you see at more or less regular price are things they make average markup on. Stuff you don't even see there at all ... they probably don't make that much on to begin with. It's nice to say "I wish they had more of this or that at the show" but if they can't make money selling it there, it won't be in the booth - simple as that.

 

And the stuff people will buy anyway .... why not just keep it back at the shop and let people pay full price? After all, isn't the whole point of your business to make money? Why give it away for free when you don't have to?

 

I like shows. They're a great place to socialize and network. They're fun entertainment. And the seminars are always good. That's why you go. But anyone who goes to a show expecting to find amazing deals on high-end equipment will usually be disappointed. You hear about the odd exception, but for thge most part, dealers go to get rid of stale product or blow-out stuff they didn't pay a lot for to begin with. It's the grab bags and high markup stuff that makes it worth their time to attend.

 

Last thought - hirk, it's not a trade show. That's a completely different animal. There are no retailers at trade shows, it's corporate booths only. Trade shows make money on the seminars they provide. Registration costs in the thousands - each! Go to a major trade show and you can easily spend $10,000 in a weekend just attending seminars. They're all about education and corporate networking - totally different thing from the spring fishing show.

Edited February 16, 2013 by Craig_Ritchie

[bigugli]

Many of us can remember back 25-40 years back when the Sportsman Show was really different. It was a different time and a different animal. It was packed full with small tackle shops, independents. manufacturers. They are all long gone. Just like most of your small town, mom and pop, bait and tackle shops. Gone.

Todays shows are for the big players and for those with deep pockets. Yes the promoters try to bring in small vendors, but as Craig pointed out it takes a lot of money with small hope of return.

At least in a trade show you are paying to place your product before a known audience of buyers and sellers where the goal is not the single sale at the show, but the addition of long term customers you have managed to attract, and the retention of existing contacts.

[colin519]

Even the Sportsmens show this year did have some great deals. I bought a sleeping back for 50% of retail (paid 55 for a bag that lists for 115 on eBay!) and some tackle that included free crankbaits as well as a decent deal (30% or so less than BPS) on a Plano tackle bag.

 

I am in Toronto sitting and weighing whether I want to go out there. I would be stocking up on splitshot, hooks, perhaps a rod and reel if I can get a decent deal. Should I not bother, and just go to SAIL where at least you get a decent price compared to BPS?

[captpierre]

I believe most people have absolutely no idea how much money it costs to exhibit at a show. The average cost to rent a 10x10 booth space is around $900 - $1,000. That's the smallest size spot avialable - basically a table and two chairs - so most tackle dealers have booths that are much, much larger than that. But it still costs about a grand for every 10 feet of floor space. If you have a 10 x 20 foot booth (still a comparatively small one), you're out $2,000 right from the get-go.

 

That takes care of your real estate, but you also need to pay for the actual booth itself. Buy one, build one or rent one, you're out more money there. Yes, you can use the same booth for several years, but it still costs money to build/buy in the first place, so figure on spending another couple of grand there. Plus you need to pay extra for things like electric power (need it for your cash register and credit card machine) .... thats a few hundred bucks for the weekend ..... plus lighting. All of these venues are union shops, so you can't even plug in an extension cord yourself - you have to pay the electrician $100 to do it. That's no lie, and it's no exaggeration. You also have to pay the electrician another $100 to unplug it at the end of the show. If you don't, they just send you a bill for $100 anyway. One way or another, you pay.

 

You also need to buy additional insurance coverage for the show, mainly to protect you in case someone takes a header and falls in your booth space ($???). Plus, you know over the course of a weekend you will lose a certain amount of stuff to theft. That just happens. As the owner, it's simply more money out of your pocket - and at one of the slowest times of year.

 

Signs cost money too. So do booth decorations. You need shipping containers for all the inventory, and you'll probably need to rent a truck to get it all to and from the show. None of this stuff comes for free.

 

Then you have the cost of staffing the thing. You need to pay people to work the booth (and that's over and above paying for the people working at your normal store if you stay open during the show). If the show is out of town from your shop, you also need to cover your staff's transportation costs, feed them, and put them in hotels too. If it's a three-day show, remember, you need to pay them for additional time to set up the booth and take it down afterwards. You have five days of expenses on a three-day show. You don't have to pay for them to get in each day, but you do pay for parking like everyone else. Most buy a parking pass instead of worrying about multiple reciepts each day. There is no price reduction.

 

For an average sized tackle dealer, it might cost $8,000 to $10,000 to exhibit at a weekend show. Do you have any idea how many rod and reel combos a guy has to sell to earn that money back? And that's just to get back to zero ... he still hasn't made a penny of profit yet.

 

That being the case, why on earth would any dealer load up on high-end inventory just to sell it at huge discounts? That makes no sense at all.

 

I understand people go to shows hoping for a deal, but let's be realistic - the only stuff you see on sale are the things they make a really good markup on. The things you see at more or less regular price are things they make average markup on. Stuff you don't even see there at all ... they probably don't make that much on to begin with. It's nice to say "I wish they had more of this or that at the show" but if they can't make money selling it there, it won't be in the booth - simple as that.

 

And the stuff people will buy anyway .... why not just keep it back at the shop and let people pay full price? After all, isn't the whole point of your business to make money? Why give it away for free when you don't have to?

 

I like shows. They're a great place to socialize and network. They're fun entertainment. And the seminars are always good. That's why you go. But anyone who goes to a show expecting to find amazing deals on high-end equipment will usually be disappointed. You hear about the odd exception, but for thge most part, dealers go to get rid of stale product or blow-out stuff they didn't pay a lot for to begin with. It's the grab bags and high markup stuff that makes it worth their time to attend.

 

Last thought - hirk, it's not a trade show. That's a completely different animal. There are no retailers at trade shows, it's corporate booths only. Trade shows make money on the seminars they provide. Registration costs in the thousands - each! Go to a major trade show and you can easily spend $10,000 in a weekend just attending seminars. They're all about education and corporate networking - totally different thing from the spring fishing show.

Well said. I go for the entertainment value. Breaks up the long winter

[lookinforwalleye]

If your looking for deals there are plenty around on the WWW no need to waste gas pay for parking and admission.

[misfish]

If your looking for deals there are plenty around on the WWW no need to waste gas pay for parking and admission.

 

 

That seems to be the norm now.

 

I don,t need to hear what it cost to set up a booth That,s their choice to do so. Knowing they can make or break or lose.,I want to know what they will do for the buyer/customer. Why bring in high end items? Why sell higher when they know, there are others that are lower? I hear the point about making a bit of cash,but be competitive.Not over priced.

 

Those that buy a lot,know what a reasonable price is. Here,s a real time thing I saw there. A simple pouch of pink trout worms. $5.99. That has to be the highest price I have ever seen for them. Lowest being $3.99 at Sails. It,s a simple bag of bait, This booth was not a small dime store booth,it was a well known retail store.

Like said,they are there to get your bussiness and bring you back. Well,that didnt work,well it did for one,The fly guy.

 

Maybe the trip was worth while. I found a great dealer to use via the WWW.

Edited February 17, 2013 by Misfish

[Christopheraaron]

Ya, the fly guys were good. Would've been nice if they had materials though.

[misfish]

Ya, the fly guys were good. Would've been nice if they had materials though.

 

I agree. BUT,he was there to sell flies.

 

But he saved me time.LOL

 

There was a booth there a couple of years ago,that was teaching how to tie flys. That would of been a great to see again.interactive.

 

I really liked those big poppers he had,but I can tie them. It,s those wee ones that will make me go crazy.LOL

Edited February 17, 2013 by Misfish

[Christopheraaron]

LOL, actually there was the izaak walton fly fishing club that was doing a "kids come up to tie a fly" thing. I went up and showed them all how it's done LMAO. Think I'll join the club actually.