Who's going to the GA Dive Show Nov 30th & Dec 1st? @ Conv Ctr HOW ABOUT A SB HH???

[Lorenzoid]

. . .
Sams Club, Costco and a few others seem to do rather well at it. But again they seem to have what their target audience wants.
. . .

Nobody goes to Sam's Club or Costco on a regular basis to just look around and maybe chat with the vendor. You buy the membership because you know you will be going there with something specific in mind that you intend to buy, not to mention the expectation that prices are lower than you can find at non-membership stores. Do dive show vendors typically offer discounts to attendees?

At this rate, the attendees will outnumber the vendors. I suppose if a lot more vendors sign up, I might attend. And the Friday get-together that someone proposed sounds like a plan.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I don't know about this show but at the one I attend every year in Ohio it is not just about seeing gear and listening to sales pitches. Smart organizers line up presenters on a variety of topics. I present some training or safety topic every year as well as have a booth. There are also workshops and often agencies will do updates for pro members. Space is expensive as is providing a dinner ticket in the case of the show I do to the presenters that volunteer their time and knowledge. I travel 3 hours, pay for a hotel room for two nights, rent booth space, and come up with a new one hour presentation every year. And believe me it's not for a free dinner. I do usually get a student or two, some small sales, but mainly I do it, as do many of the other presenters, because we love diving and divers. 16 bucks is cheap. You can spend that on a 3 d movie that is over in two hours. You spend all day at the show talking to others who share a common interest. Not just look at gear and go.

 

[mike_s]

Nobody goes to Sam's Club or Costco on a regular basis

Actually I know people who go on a weekly or twice weekly basis. (why... I have no clue... but they do. They think it's the greatest thing in the world). (I don't typically go more than once every month or two).

Do dive show vendors typically offer discounts to attendees?

I guess that all depends on the show... and what "sales vendors"(shops) are there as opposed to Equipment Manufacturers (who typically don't do direct sales).

Go to most any consumer Electronics show and you'll have manufacturers "showing their product" and vendors "selling products". typically get get GREAT DISCOUNTS at these shows.

can't say that about this show. according to the Exhibitor list, it's all "dive charter or travel operators' with exception of 2-4 gear manufacturers. so No... doesn't seem like they'll be any "huge gear discounts". why? no one there to sell gear.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

One important point that some of you may not know is that the show, for liability reasons, may not allow vendors to sell certain items. I can't sell regs, BC's, drysuits, or wings at the show I go to. It is due to the litigious society we live in. No sales of "life support gear" on show property. Vendors of these can take orders (including paid ones) for later delivery but not actually hand them over on show property.

 

[mike_s]

One important point that some of you may not know is that the show, for liability reasons, may not allow vendors to sell certain items. I can't sell regs, BC's, drysuits, or wings at the show I go to. It is due to the litigious society we live in. No sales of "life support gear" on show property. Vendors of these can take orders (including paid ones) for later delivery but not actually hand them over on show property.

I bet the real reasoning behind that is that some "full price LDS's" don't like having customers buying stuff onsite from ones that discount.

(and they just use "Legal Liability" as an excuse because they don't want to loose the other shops".

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Of course that is also part of it. Local dealers don't want mfg's or other shops to come in and take business from them.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Insta-Gator]

They should work a deal with the Atlanta Boat Show for space. Boat show always draws big crowds. People who like water may like diving

Speakers/presenters on subjects outside OW reenforce latent curiosity and may create or affirm demand in the customer base ====> more sales, more training. IJS

 

[Lorenzoid]

Would be nice if the OP would chime in.

 

[skearse]

Just noticed...this is the same day (Saturday) as the SEC Championship game.

 

[mike_s]

They should work a deal with the Atlanta Boat Show for space. Boat show always draws big crowds. People who like water may like diving

I think they tried this a few years ago in Atlanta. (I remember it vaguely )


I though it was a good idea also. ...... but others (prob Dive Show exhibitors) didn't like it.


I'm guessing that they got "too much" non diver traffic that took up all the brochures, etc and took too much time talking to non divers.
This might be great for certification agencies, but dive manufacturers want to sell gear to divers. not explain how stuff works to people who are never going to dive.




We had the same issue at our IEEE show. Lots of high end vendors such as SUN, Silicon Graphics, etc in the "carpeted booth" area, and then lots of PC junk, electronics, etc vendors in the 'concrete floor area' doing direct sales.

The high end vendors did all kids of high end displays in their booths. Such as virtual reality, etc.

It was a Friday/Saturday show. Friday mostly catered to the business professionals who were the real money for the show and vendors.


the local school system thought it would be good to expose their high school kids to this, so they brought them in Friday by the bus load. I mean 10-15 bus loads.

it killed the show. The high end Vendors spent all their time with teenagers in their booths, disrupting business to business sales. You couldn't move in the show or get in the booths for all the teenagers.

it was the death of the show. The next year 80% of the high end vendors bailed on renewing the show. The people who worked the show got very little in return for the time they put in and traveled for, due to all the school kids. They got very little business off the show and thus didn't re-book again. within 2 years, the show "folded" and is no longer put on.

I just point this out because it's amazing how changing the target audience can change vendors from coming.