DEMA - What the hell?!

[Johnoly]

Extra? They charged you $57 per chair and over a $100 for each table. NONE were provided unless you paid for them!

Uhh, pretty carpet in the booth Pete, buck a foot?

 

[mike_s]

if you look at DEMA's webpage.... booth space for non-DEMA members was $21.25 per square foot. DEMA Members paid $16.75 per foot. (without extra tables, chairs, internet connection, etc.)

So a non-dema member getting 4 booths that were 10x10 would be $8500 for the show.
for a DEMA member, you're looking at about $6700 (list price)

That's not including employee cost, creating a booth or signs, literature you give out, shipping costs, travel cost, etc.

The trade show could easily run a manufacturer $20,000 for small booths or lots more for the bigger ones.

 

[DiveNav]

The trade show could easily run a manufacturer $20,000 for small booths or lots more for the bigger ones.

You are right - at the penny http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/images/icons/icon_cry.gif

 

[Leadking]

I exhibited at DEMA starting in 1981. I can tell you the show is expensive, I average $6k per booth or $24k for my four booths, and we did it on volunteers. It ran $200 per man hour. If every person (assuming the general public) took a piece of literature and spoke briefly to one of my staff we would lose an incredible money on them. As it was we lost money on every show but did it to build a relationship with our dealers. I know everyone would like to attend the DEMA show but the costs to the exhibitors are such that it is not practical unless you have a VERY large profit margin to work with.

Let the flailing begin!

 

[Leadking]

Way off on that. It's not a secret. Markup is typically 70-110% on big items, sometimes less, probably 150-300% on small stuff. This is typical with lots of retail stuff, clothing and gift items are often higher yet.

I can tell you for a fact you're way off on the big stuff. MOST dive stores work on a 30-40% margin, if they are lucky. I was in the grocery business for 11 years and know that grocery stores works on a 20-30% margin. People walk down the aisle picking what they want, no trying it on, how does it work, let me think about it. They stand in line to pay for it and then bag it themselves at the end. Virtually no returns and problems. AND the grocery business is considered a low margin business. I agree that dive stores make a large margin on small stuff-they have too. Buy one bolt at a hardware store, the margin is huge, but that's what it costs to keep the doors open. I can also tell you that I have been involved with product that go into Target and WalMart that have margins of 80-90%.

Get in the game and you will see owning a dive store is not a get rich scheme.

 

[cardog]

I WISH we had those margins in the auto industry. I'm working at a 3 to 8 percent margin on new inventory all the time. The only place that there is money to be made in my business is on used cars and in the back end.

 

[cerich]

I WISH we had those margins in the auto industry. I'm working at a 3 to 8 percent margin on new inventory all the time. The only place that there is money to be made in my business is on used cars and in the back end.

there is no back end money in the dive business.

So on a 20K car you make ~1k, a dive shop needs to sell ~3-4 regs to make the same money. EVERYBODY drives a car, not so with diving.

Please, you make it sound like selling cars doesn't pay, the size of the buildings you sell in tells a different story.

I wish I had your back end deals, service at $80 an hour and virtually every adult with a job as a user of the type of product I sell.

 

[mike_s]

I WISH we had those margins in the auto industry. I'm working at a 3 to 8 percent margin on new inventory all the time. The only place that there is money to be made in my business is on used cars and in the back end.

what irratates me about car dealers is all the fee's they try to get you on when they sell a car to you.

I'm not talking about tax and title fees, but optional add-on's that the dealer does that are not needed and other fees added at the time of sale.

For example, dealers will often do an undercoat sealer on a car which adds to the cost. This might be great in Michigan where is snows all the time a cars rust out, but in the south where we live, it never snows! It's just not needed.

all kinds of other stuff like that they put on the car as "dealer installed options".

Another example. sales guy and I agree on a price of X amount plus tax and title. When I go in to sign all the paperwork, they've added a $250 "business transaction fee" that they say is required for them to fill out all the paperwork to complete the sale. I tell them that's not my problem and I didn't agree to the fee and refuse to pay it. Only when I get up to leave do they finally waive the fee as they were about to loose their sale also.

Makes you wonder how many people they screw this way.

Leaves you with little respect for the car sales industry.


Your 3 to 8 percent is skewed by the fact of these add on fees and dealer kickbacks from the manufacturers.

 

[almitywife]

what irratates me about car dealers is all the fee's they try to get you on when they sell a car to you........

i buy the fleet vehciles for our company.... i love the $700 "dealer delivery" fee when the car is already in the lot or the extra for paint.

once, to get the car i needed in the budget i could afforded i ordered a vehicle without paint... then the car dealer spent 15mins explaining to me that i cant order a vhicle without paint as they all come with paint and there is no negotiation on it - my response was then dont try to charge me an extra $1800 for paint (it was a euorpean car) when it is not an option and the car already exists in that colour! i got the car

with all this talk about expo fees im afraid to find out how much a booth would cost at our aussie oztek in 2009... was hoping to ask the SB boss for a booth - yikes!

 

[cardog]

what irratates me about car dealers is all the fee's they try to get you on when they sell a car to you.

I'm not talking about tax and title fees, but optional add-on's that the dealer does that are not needed and other fees added at the time of sale.

For example, dealers will often do an undercoat sealer on a car which adds to the cost. This might be great in Michigan where is snows all the time a cars rust out, but in the south where we live, it never snows! It's just not needed.

all kinds of other stuff like that they put on the car as "dealer installed options".

Another example. sales guy and I agree on a price of X amount plus tax and title. When I go in to sign all the paperwork, they've added a $250 "business transaction fee" that they say is required for them to fill out all the paperwork to complete the sale. I tell them that's not my problem and I didn't agree to the fee and refuse to pay it. Only when I get up to leave do they finally waive the fee as they were about to loose their sale also.

Makes you wonder how many people they screw this way.

Leaves you with little respect for the car sales industry.


Your 3 to 8 percent is skewed by the fact of these add on fees and dealer kickbacks from the manufacturers.

You are shopping at the wrong store or that is an acceptable practice where you live. In Washington State, the AG would have a stores *** if they tried to do that. I've been in the business for 15 years and have never worked anywhere where they "undercoat" a car unless the consumer purchases that option at the time of sale. I would walk out of a store that was trying to charge you those fees also. I would deffinately never work at a store that used those practices in every day business.