Convention vendor fees $$$$$$$$$$$

[afoshie]

I have been in the past and it seems there are less and less of the home ade custom calls each year. it is being took over by the production callers and the outfitters.

[cfrye11]

How much do you think you should pay. $450 seems cheap to see 44,000 turkey hunters in one weekend . If you sell your calls for $50 each you need to sell 9 or 3 a day to break even on the booth. I would think that if your call is any good that should be no problem. everyone wants something for nothing .

I run a 65,000 sq foot arena we charge $400 an hour for indoor soccer fields and its old and beat up. My guess a good deal at that place is $15k a day just for the venue

[RaspyD]

How much do you think you should pay. $450 seems cheap to see 44,000 turkey hunters in one weekend . If you sell your calls for $50 each you need to sell 9 or 3 a day to break even on the booth. I would think that if your call is any good that should be no problem. everyone wants something for nothing .

I run a 65,000 sq foot arena we charge $400 an hour for indoor soccer fields and its old and beat up. My guess a good deal at that place is $15k a day just for the venue

They want to add another $450 to the booth fee which would bring the fee up to close to $1400 for a booth.

There were reportedly 50 less call makers at the show this year compared to last.  With a price jump, there are sure to be even fewer next year.  It's not only the booth space that need to be considered.  With travel, lodging expenses and other "fees" tacked on by the establishment (the NWTF) at the convention the small guys are lucky to break even anymore.  What do most folks want to see when they go to the show?  The stuff they can't find at a Wal-Mart or other big box store and pretty soon they aren't gonna find it at the convention either.

The NWTF seems to have forgotten, or they don't care, who it was that helped them get going.  It was the little guys who gave of their time and products to support a once noble cause, the promotion of the sport of turkey hunting. 

[BigGobbler]

Looks like i am going to sell roadside out of my vehicle down the road or on the public sidewalk outside the convention .That is what it is going to come to for the small guy. This is one reason I dropped my subscription to NWTF they are getting  to monopolized and do not care about the small guy anymore.

[paboxcall]

So I don't get flamed -- I've never attended the NWTF, nor have plans to in the future.  Just an observer.

Seems like an easy solution to me if the vendors don't want to be burdened with the escalating costs to put these kind of shows on, then the cost of renting that hall must be passed along to someone else.  Refer to my first post on this thread where I found, as a chair of a planning committee, that hosting a conference later this year will cost us 40% more in 2012 than it did in 2007.  Five years, 40% more for the same location and services.  Regional hotel competitors are about the same cost too.

So for us to put on our conference, it will cost us about 40% more than it did five years ago.  We either pass that cost along to the attendees, ask for additional donations, ask vendors to come in and help share the expense and put them in front of a captive audience for two days, or some or all of the above.

Or cancel the whole thing and not do it.  That's an option too.

So who pays for the NWTF get together???  Either the people coming through the doors, ask for additional donations from sponsors, vendors, or increase the paying NWTF membership. 

Or cancel that event too.

Pretty simple math to me.

[sugarray]

So, I was interested and looked up the vendor fees.  Here they are for 2013

2013 Booth prices:

Initial corner booth - $875
Additional corner booths - $840 each

Initial inline booth - $775
Additional inline booths - $745 each

Premium - Row 1 - $250; Row 2 - $175; Row 3 - $100

Anyone comment on what they were this year?

Anyone know what Premium Row 1, 2, 3 means?

[lightsoutcalls]

So, I was interested and looked up the vendor fees.  Here they are for 2013

2013 Booth prices:

Initial corner booth - $875
Additional corner booths - $840 each

Initial inline booth - $775
Additional inline booths - $745 each

Premium - Row 1 - $250; Row 2 - $175; Row 3 - $100



Anyone comment on what they were this year?

Anyone know what Premium Row 1, 2, 3 means?

These prices do not include the vendor's license that is payed to the county, then the state sales tax levied on all sales. 
I haven't been for the past 2 years, but have no desire to go again to setup a booth.  Many of the attendees are "wowwed" by the flashy booths of the big name companies and personalities that are there to give autographs. 
There is so much "ambient noise" from the crowds that a person has a hard time getting a feel for the sound of an individual call they are trying to run.  I know I was quite frustrated by the "pro-staffers" of one particular callmaker (does not participate in this forum) standing in the aisles outside of their 4-space corner booth running calls like they were trying to call over the sound of the entire convention center.  It reminded me of the "carnies" that yell at the folks passing by trying to get them to come look at their two-headed snake or some bearded lady or something...   These guys would actually walk up next to people in the aisles and start running their calls at full volume.  If that's what it takes to sell calls, count me out.
I enjoyed meeting some of the great folks from OG when I went, but as far as making a profit, which most people who sell products like to do... it didn't work out like I had hoped.

[ol bob]

What the NWTF needs to understand is that very few people will pay 3.50 a  gal. for gas and  18.00 to get in to see what you can find at Walmart  or   Bass Pro for free.

[stinkpickle]

...There is so much "ambient noise" from the crowds that a person has a hard time getting a feel for the sound of an individual call they are trying to run...

Indeed!

[paboxcall]

...There is so much "ambient noise" from the crowds that a person has a hard time getting a feel for the sound of an individual call they are trying to run...

Indeed!

Bet that wasn't much of a problem the year one of those big companies launched their Dead Silence.

[stinkpickle]

...There is so much "ambient noise" from the crowds that a person has a hard time getting a feel for the sound of an individual call they are trying to run...

Indeed!

Bet that wasn't much of a problem the year one of those big companies launched their Dead Silence.

  I'm sure all the neighborhood dogs went crazy.

[savduck]

So I don't get flamed -- I've never attended the NWTF, nor have plans to in the future.  Just an observer.

Seems like an easy solution to me if the vendors don't want to be burdened with the escalating costs to put these kind of shows on, then the cost of renting that hall must be passed along to someone else.  Refer to my first post on this thread where I found, as a chair of a planning committee, that hosting a conference later this year will cost us 40% more in 2012 than it did in 2007.  Five years, 40% more for the same location and services.  Regional hotel competitors are about the same cost too.

So for us to put on our conference, it will cost us about 40% more than it did five years ago.  We either pass that cost along to the attendees, ask for additional donations, ask vendors to come in and help share the expense and put them in front of a captive audience for two days, or some or all of the above.

Or cancel the whole thing and not do it.  That's an option too.

So who pays for the NWTF get together???  Either the people coming through the doors, ask for additional donations from sponsors, vendors, or increase the paying NWTF membership. 

Or cancel that event too.

Pretty simple math to me.

Once again, I fail to see " or move the event to a place that is more cost effective"

This sounds a lot like the gas companies defending why gas is an expensive as it is.  Move the event. There are places out there that see the revenue that this event could bring to their town. Some one some where is willing to make a deal.

[paboxcall]

So I don't get flamed -- I've never attended the NWTF, nor have plans to in the future.  Just an observer.

Seems like an easy solution to me if the vendors don't want to be burdened with the escalating costs to put these kind of shows on, then the cost of renting that hall must be passed along to someone else.  Refer to my first post on this thread where I found, as a chair of a planning committee, that hosting a conference later this year will cost us 40% more in 2012 than it did in 2007.  Five years, 40% more for the same location and services.  Regional hotel competitors are about the same cost too.

So for us to put on our conference, it will cost us about 40% more than it did five years ago.  We either pass that cost along to the attendees, ask for additional donations, ask vendors to come in and help share the expense and put them in front of a captive audience for two days, or some or all of the above.

Or cancel the whole thing and not do it.  That's an option too.

So who pays for the NWTF get together???  Either the people coming through the doors, ask for additional donations from sponsors, vendors, or increase the paying NWTF membership.  

Or cancel that event too.

Pretty simple math to me.

Once again, I fail to see " or move the event to a place that is more cost effective"

This sounds a lot like the gas companies defending why gas is an expensive as it is.  Move the event. There are places out there that see the revenue that this event could bring to their town. Some one some where is willing to make a deal.

Bidding the convention would save some dollars, for sure, in the short term, but some dollars isn't enough to pass along any significant savings.  And if a new venue cherry picked the bid, they won't stay that cheap foor long, can't afford to take a loss.

Moving it to a larger city would increase costs in many other ways, for example price of a hotel in Chicago or Atlanta is much more than it is in Ashville...moving it to a smaller city would also increase cost because the supply of hotel rooms and restaurants isn't sufficient -- so demand on short supply would push ancillary costs associated with travel and stay upward.  Plus the smaller town would complicate traveling -- further from major airports, harder to get to, etc.

That's a short sighted easy answer to say move it, moving it complicates many aspects of it you don't consider and provides little to no savings, and may end up costing more in the end.

[misfire]

I dont know the answers, but I dont see where competition is ever a bad thing. Booth prices have increased almost every year for the past several years, just that this year seems to be more monetarily. The average vendor is automatically $2000 in the hole before the show even opens. Now for people like HS Strut, Primos, etc, that is not a problem. But when you are a vendor selling custom calls, that is a steep hill to climb, especially for someone whose name is not as widely known as others. When you add that a callmaker is trying to sell his wares in a space not really conducive ( you are not going to hear just how good or bad a call can sound when it is drowned out by 50 million other calls and sounds) that makes the task even more daunting. I think the NWTF owes it to ALL vendors to do whatever is in their power to ensure that these shows are attended by everyone, vendor and attendee alike. So if that means shopping venues, that should be explored. And even though I live in Atlanta, I would not recommend this area, but outside the perimeter there are many places that could do a great job with this show, as well as many others throughout the country.

[paboxcall]

I dont know the answers, but I dont see where competition is ever a bad thing. Booth prices have increased almost every year for the past several years, just that this year seems to be more monetarily. The average vendor is automatically $2000 in the hole before the show even opens. Now for people like HS Strut, Primos, etc, that is not a problem. But when you are a vendor selling custom calls, that is a steep hill to climb, especially for someone whose name is not as widely known as others. When you add that a callmaker is trying to sell his wares in a space not really conducive ( you are not going to hear just how good or bad a call can sound when it is drowned out by 50 million other calls and sounds) that makes the task even more daunting. I think the NWTF owes it to ALL vendors to do whatever is in their power to ensure that these shows are attended by everyone, vendor and attendee alike. So if that means shopping venues, that should be explored. And even though I live in Atlanta, I would not recommend this area, but outside the perimeter there are many places that could do a great job with this show, as well as many others throughout the country.

I'm sorry that the facility lay out creates that situation, you would think the convention would be a great place to show off your calls.  Having never been there I can still see your point about how difficult it is for a potential customer to really hear a yelp roll over on a long box for example, with everything else going on.