Vendor Vampires

One thing I have not liked about the Spyder events are the fact that the vendor fees are so high. This is one thing that has kept smaller vendors from coming to some shows. And let's face it, farkles are one of the best things about having these events. I would think it would make more sense to offer vendors more incentive to come so that the event would have a bigger Spyder draw. After the little guy has taken the fees out for the event, paid for their lodging, their fuel to get there and home that leaves them little in the way of profit. So what do they do? Raise the prices of their products. And where is this extra money going? Right into the promoter's pocket. It just doesn't seem right. Some of them will tell you that it is expensive to put one of these on. Wondering how much profit they are making? None have allowed me a look at their books.

It's an unfortunate fact in the business World: You've got to spend money, in order to make money. :banghead:
But nobody owes anyone else a look at their books. If they charge too much; their vendors will stop attending... :thumbup:

We're having our annual snowmobile convention this September, and I've got over 30 small "mom & pop" vendors lined up. I charge them a $25.00 fee to reserve their spot at the rally, and on the day they set up their wares, I refund their fee. This just keeps some vendors from being a "no show" which keeps someone else out. They seem to be happy with this set-up. I'm also hoping that if they do well at the convention, that they'll donate their fee towards the cost of the event.

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Originally Posted by Bob Denman

It's an unfortunate fact in the business World: You've got to spend money, in order to make money. :banghead:
But nobody owes anyone else a look at their books. If they charge too much; their vendors will stop attending... :thumbup:

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when vendors stop attending... participants will stop attending also.. at one time Honda organized the Honda Hoot.. they started charging vendors too much which caused the vendors to quit participating ... then the Honda Hoot went belly up... so everyone lost...


osm

A rock/hard place situation for sure. The "greed" factor as in, vendor fees to high, can certainly squelch the participation.

Vendors also have to make a determination if attending various events are going to be profitable for them in particular. Well attended events should be good for most vendors. Thinly attended events can result in a bust.

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Originally Posted by Doc Humphreys

One thing I have not liked about the Spyder events are the fact that the vendor fees are so high. This is one thing that has kept smaller vendors from coming to some shows. And let's face it, farkles are one of the best things about having these events. I would think it would make more sense to offer vendors more incentive to come so that the event would have a bigger Spyder draw. After the little guy has taken the fees out for the event, paid for their lodging, their fuel to get there and home that leaves them little in the way of profit. So what do they do? Raise the prices of their products. And where is this extra money going? Right into the promoter's pocket. It just doesn't seem right. Some of them will tell you that it is expensive to put one of these on. Wondering how much profit they are making? None have allowed me a look at their books.

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welcome to trade shows, i did sema & limo shows for over 10 years & those are very expensive. back then i had to do 10k in sales to show a
profit that is why i no longer do them for over 12 years now

Bob, you may be right that someones' books are private, however I am having a hard time understanding that some events allow venders to come in cheaply, or even free. And yet others as so expensive as to be ridiculous.

We were going to the "Big One" at Myrtle Beach this year and the promoter initially told us it was going to cost about $1000.00 for 3 days. Which, with all the other expenses made it almost impossible to make any profit. Then, less than 30 days before the event we were told by this person that they had incorrectly read the fee schedule by the city and that we were going to have to stay the whole show, be charged additional fees to cover their oversight, and if we left early there would be an additional termination fee. Stuff like that is not needed in the Spyder community.

Many of the venues are well run and fair in their pricing while some of them are so off the wall that I feel a little greasy after dealing with them.....

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Originally Posted by Doc Humphreys

Bob, you may be right that someones' books are private, however I am having a hard time understanding that some events allow venders to come in cheaply, or even free. And yet others as so expensive as to be ridiculous.

We were going to the "Big One" at Myrtle Beach this year and the promoter initially told us it was going to cost about $1000.00 for 3 days. Which, with all the other expenses made it almost impossible to make any profit. Then, less than 30 days before the event we were told by this person that they had incorrectly read the fee schedule by the city and that we were going to have to stay the whole show, be charged additional fees to cover their oversight, and if we left early there would be an additional termination fee. Stuff like that is not needed in the Spyder community.

Many of the venues are well run and fair in their pricing while some of them are so off the wall that I feel a little greasy after dealing with them.....

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Not going was great for you on this one.. Because the Big One cancelled early and left the vendors holding the bag without refunds....

I do business with the small vendors (having been a small business owner) whenever possible and I hope future Spyder events will become more accessible to you and others

Come to Spyder Quest in Lake George - I understand that vendor fees are pretty reasonable . . . nojoke

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Originally Posted by Hayfield

Come to Spyder Quest in Lake George - I understand that vendor fees are pretty reasonable . . . nojoke

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Yes, that is one of the really good ones! The wife loves Lake George nd they put on a great event!! Not sure we can get off for that one. Time will tell!

Here is an event to behold, I was the director of it for many years along
with Gene Radin and Ron Pennel all officers in the AMA district.
We held this event for over 30 years in Yosemite's San Jose Family Camp
Now it is held at the Stockton Family Camp at Silver Lake California.
The one thing people love is the vendors alley, people like to come and snoop, ask questions and $$BUY$$
stuff. WE NEVER CHARGED A VENDOR FEE EVER...
We always knew people come to a ralley for all the meet and greet, poker runs, bike games, dress judging
and more and that more people would come if we had lots of vendors, and that is the way it is today
The only thing we ever asked of our vendors is to donate door prizes and pay the same entry fees that everyone
else paid to attend.
Maybe the promoters of the Spyder Events will take a lesson from the AMA

I am working on a plan for Spyder in the Smokies!!

Spyders in the Redwoods charged a $100 vendor fee when you made your reservation and if you showed up you got the money back. We had an awesome week there and I know that the attendees would love to see more vendors next year.

The difference between events like Spyders in the Redwoods and the Myrtle Beach event is that the Myrtle Beach promoter is in it for a profit.

as a small vendor as myself and with very limited items for sale I couldn't afford to go to all those events cause like you say vendors fees sky high I wish I could be there but like you say add the fuel,food,hotel then if the crowd isn't spending money then your really screwed. but I haven't raised my prices since starting up and I hope I don't have too.i can only afford spyderfest at the moment but hope to be able to go to more soon.

The 'promoter' of the Myrtle Beach Rally and Spyders in the Smokies is known to charge an exorbitant fee to vendors. That is just one reason why you won't see most of the SL supporting vendors there. He has been banned from this site. Personally, and I stress personally, I would not attend any of his events.

Why don’t the vendors get together and pick a location to set up stalls and create their own rally? With so many vendors spread out all over the place, if 3 or 4 that are reasonably close to each other planned on setting something up in a certain location for a weekend (ie: the vendors in KS / MO / AR / IA etc picked a point central to those states) I am sure that ryders from those states would turn up to buy / have installed items on their wish list.

We are working on something like that for Spyder in the Smokies this year!!

http://dochumphreys.wix.com/roadster#!specials/c16up

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Originally Posted by bruiser

The 'promoter' of the Myrtle Beach Rally and Spyders in the Smokies is known to charge an exorbitant fee to vendors. That is just one reason why you won't see most of the SL supporting vendors there. He has been banned from this site. Personally, and I stress personally, I would not attend any of his events.

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:agree::agree:

That is the reason we are setting up away from there. The guy at The Hub is great in letting us set up there. Motel is directly across the street. We will be on the main road!

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Originally Posted by bruiser

The 'promoter' of the Myrtle Beach Rally and Spyders in the Smokies is known to charge an exorbitant fee to vendors. That is just one reason why you won't see most of the SL supporting vendors there. He has been banned from this site. Personally, and I stress personally, I would not attend any of his events.

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Originally Posted by BikerDoc

:agree::agree:

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What did he 'promoter' do to banned from this site?

Mike

I have been in business 30+ years and I have put on small events along the way. The promoter is correct that an event is a business transaction and it should at least break even. When vendors or attendees feel that they didn't get their monies worth, they don't attend/do business with that person in the future and he/the event dies. Sometimes they don't die quick enough for my liking:banghead:

People that have never been involved in putting on an event really have no idea how many man hours are needed and money up front. IMO most of these are successful only because of all of the volunteers. I don't know the promoter that is the subject of this tread, but from reading his response IMO he is a bit naive in running any kind of business. Of course, he couldn't of been aware of a TD, but the county thing is on him. He should have had a contract with the county/city that protected him from any changes. Time will tell if he pulls off the Smokies event. I don't wish anyone bad luck, if they are idiots they usually self destruct without my help.

Hopefully he learned from his pass mistakes and everyone will enjoy the next event. This is a small community, so secrets don't last long.

the shows i used to do were serious trade shows with very big money involved, smaller shows are a lot of work & may or may
not always show profit. the limousine shows i vended at were run by companies who also had spots to sell their stuff. they
also had gift bags that 'sponsors' spend a lot of money on that the show profits from. i did the jacob javits show in nyc one year,
they charge 20 years ago $105 for a large bad of potatoe chips & a suitcase of beer and they make it hard to move in & out unless
you have their union people do it for you for a considerable charge.

Speaking of shows... and you mentioned the Javits Center...

http://www.motorcycleshows.com/

The climate seems to have changed a bit towards big events and the vendors that attend them as well as those who sponsor the events.

I now count four such events where there have been some "fallout" concerning the above.

I for one would be very cautions about sticking my neck out in hopes an event will bring enough people and vendors to make it happen and to assure that those at risk get a fair profit for their efforts.

Just hoping that the fallout does not put a big crimp on the next round of special :ani29: events that are now being held all over the country.

Those who have never been involved in such an undertaking should understand that there is a whole lot going on in the background to assure that the event goes off smoothly.

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Originally Posted by Doc Humphreys

That is the reason we are setting up away from there. The guy at The Hub is great in letting us set up there. Motel is directly across the street. We will be on the main road!

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Doc, the 'event' for me is the roads out there and the vendors. You guys setup somewhere and arrange a Spyderlovers price on some rooms and I'll take a chance on the weather and make a reservation where you guys setup. I'm not doing the Spyders in the Smokies and 'bleh' to Fontana, but I'm up for a run around the mountains most any time. Decent chance it'll be friggin cold and nasty :) though...end of October is a real iffy time there.