Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
New media
New media comments
Latest activity
Classifieds
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Log in
Register
What's New?
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Navigation
Install the app
Install
More Options
Advertise with us
Contact Us
Close Menu
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Forums
The Water Cooler
General Discussion
Gunshow admission prices and how to start a gun show questions
Search titles only
By:
Reply to Thread
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Message
<blockquote data-quote="vvvvvvv" data-source="post: 1707819" data-attributes="member: 5151"><p>I can tell you that your profit margin figure is nowhere near accurate if based solely on the gate.</p><p></p><p>Just to <a href="http://okstatefair.com/?page_id=561" target="_blank">give you an idea of rental fees for some shows</a>.</p><p></p><p>Advertising is dual purpose, and with dual purpose advertising even $15K won't get you very far (and is actually one of the things that I believe contributes to the dwindling quality of gun shows). Your advertising has to cater to certain groups of firearms owners, buyers, gawkers, etc. not so that you can have a large head count at the gate, but so that your vendors will find your show to be a profitable-enough venue to keep returning so that your patrons keep returning to see what your vendors have to offer. Putting up a billboard at the I-40/44 interchange and posting tiny yard signs next to on-ramps doesn't build interest for new patrons which is why you see the same ol' same ol' types show up time and time again. I know that before I got on this forum, I figured the OKC gun shows were some kind of scam because I never heard of them outside of seeing the yard signs next to off ramps. To a young country boy like me, that screams "scam, stay away". That, and the poorly-designed circus-style posters that look like they've been reused every year for the last decade with only the dates changed... and then there's the websites that come up for some of them when you hit Google ("updated" timestamps don't matter to the microwave generation... if it looks like 1997, then it hasn't been in business since 1997 even if it says "Copyright 2012" or "last modified January 17, 2012"... you get one second to attract attention, and another 5 seconds to keep it, and that's it). <sales pitch>$300 per year (plus a one-time $400 setup fee) can get you a modern website that allows you to easily edit content from any web browser (event registration and billing available for additional fees)... <a href="http://vmdoh.com/contact" target="_blank">ASK ABOUT A DEMO</a>!</sales pitch> </p><p></p><p>I'd probably spend some good hard-earned money at a gun show - even if the price at the table is a little higher than in the store (I'm a greedy bastard: an hour spent shopping is an hour I could have billed at probably 3x what I "saved" by shopping, or more) - if I knew that I was going to find what I want before paying the cover charge. I'm not going to spend even $1.00 to go through a gate that I believe I will likely come out of empty-handed.</p><p></p><p>Additionally, expenses aren't only incurred on the weekend. I'm not a gun show planner, and I'm not an event planner, but I've seen enough behind the scenes of event logistics to know that a weekend event probably has around four weeks of planning behind it - especially if they are trying to do something to actively attract new or retain old people to their recurring event. And the more people you expect, the more planning that has to be done. And <strong>you are paying people every step of the way</strong>.</p><p></p><p>Now, if you told me that my gross margin on a weekend event that I spent a month or more putting together was going to be $15K, I'd say take your proposition elsewhere. The way I look at it, part of that $15K has to go in my pocket. Part of it Uncle Sam has to choke on. And a lot of it needs to be reinvested into the next edition of the event to ensure its success. If I worked 60 hour weeks in the month leading up to the event to make sure it went off without a hitch, I'd want to pocket at <em>minimum</em> 6K after taxes. Allowing for Uncle Sam's high-fiber meal, that leaves $5K+/- as a cushion for unforeseen issues and, if no issues come up, to reinvest into the event.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="vvvvvvv, post: 1707819, member: 5151"] I can tell you that your profit margin figure is nowhere near accurate if based solely on the gate. Just to [URL="http://okstatefair.com/?page_id=561"]give you an idea of rental fees for some shows[/URL]. Advertising is dual purpose, and with dual purpose advertising even $15K won't get you very far (and is actually one of the things that I believe contributes to the dwindling quality of gun shows). Your advertising has to cater to certain groups of firearms owners, buyers, gawkers, etc. not so that you can have a large head count at the gate, but so that your vendors will find your show to be a profitable-enough venue to keep returning so that your patrons keep returning to see what your vendors have to offer. Putting up a billboard at the I-40/44 interchange and posting tiny yard signs next to on-ramps doesn't build interest for new patrons which is why you see the same ol' same ol' types show up time and time again. I know that before I got on this forum, I figured the OKC gun shows were some kind of scam because I never heard of them outside of seeing the yard signs next to off ramps. To a young country boy like me, that screams "scam, stay away". That, and the poorly-designed circus-style posters that look like they've been reused every year for the last decade with only the dates changed... and then there's the websites that come up for some of them when you hit Google ("updated" timestamps don't matter to the microwave generation... if it looks like 1997, then it hasn't been in business since 1997 even if it says "Copyright 2012" or "last modified January 17, 2012"... you get one second to attract attention, and another 5 seconds to keep it, and that's it). <sales pitch>$300 per year (plus a one-time $400 setup fee) can get you a modern website that allows you to easily edit content from any web browser (event registration and billing available for additional fees)... [URL="http://vmdoh.com/contact"]ASK ABOUT A DEMO[/URL]!</sales pitch> I'd probably spend some good hard-earned money at a gun show - even if the price at the table is a little higher than in the store (I'm a greedy bastard: an hour spent shopping is an hour I could have billed at probably 3x what I "saved" by shopping, or more) - if I knew that I was going to find what I want before paying the cover charge. I'm not going to spend even $1.00 to go through a gate that I believe I will likely come out of empty-handed. Additionally, expenses aren't only incurred on the weekend. I'm not a gun show planner, and I'm not an event planner, but I've seen enough behind the scenes of event logistics to know that a weekend event probably has around four weeks of planning behind it - especially if they are trying to do something to actively attract new or retain old people to their recurring event. And the more people you expect, the more planning that has to be done. And [B]you are paying people every step of the way[/B]. Now, if you told me that my gross margin on a weekend event that I spent a month or more putting together was going to be $15K, I'd say take your proposition elsewhere. The way I look at it, part of that $15K has to go in my pocket. Part of it Uncle Sam has to choke on. And a lot of it needs to be reinvested into the next edition of the event to ensure its success. If I worked 60 hour weeks in the month leading up to the event to make sure it went off without a hitch, I'd want to pocket at [I]minimum[/I] 6K after taxes. Allowing for Uncle Sam's high-fiber meal, that leaves $5K+/- as a cushion for unforeseen issues and, if no issues come up, to reinvest into the event. [/QUOTE]
Insert Quotes…
Verification
Post Reply
Forums
The Water Cooler
General Discussion
Gunshow admission prices and how to start a gun show questions
Search titles only
By:
Top
Bottom