Well due to the car wreck of Cynthia's sister I was asked to fill in to help run the vendor's room. In general I think all of the vendors try to go out of their way to accommodate the others. I think this applies to all of the tradeshows and conventions. No doubt the Diamond/Wolfe has its own challenges but I see it as their battle. My only hope is that all be professional about it. It would be nice that all be more transparent. Fair or even healthy competition is a good thing. It spurs us to better vendors in so many ways. Where I totally disagreed with the 50% off sale by Wolfe it was obvious to all what point they were trying to make. They made their point and in the process lost a good share of their profit margins. I assure you they still made money. They just made less. That was their choice. Several of the vendors approached me as it would affect their sales. No doubt most people come to a convention with a defined budget to spend in the vendor's room. When there is a half off sale with one vendor then sales divert to the sale that very well might have been given to other vendors. I do not agree with what they did but I would fight for their right to do so. I certainly would not allow them to dictate my promotional price. The other vendors could easily given a tit for tat. We obviously were sober enough to hold to the normal promotional prices. Most give some sort of additional discounts to get more sales. From a business perspective anyone knows a vendor has to have a fair profit margin to stay in business. Only the consumer can determine what is fair. Companies that provide a quality product at fair prices will last in the end. The bottom line is the vendors have a responsibility to be profitable and also please the consumer spending money. Those that run the vendors rooms or conventions simply need to try to be fair and do what is best for their venue. Cynthia is right.. if the vendor's can not at least cover their costs then you are foolish to think they will be back paying the booth fees. The saying goes, "fool me once same on you and fool me twice then shame on me." In business it often boils down to the numbers. I have been burnt at tradeshows in the past and opt later to not go again. Those that know me know I have a general good business head. We all have the right to choose. I respect Cynthia's, Marcela's and all's right to choose what is best for their venue. In the end you can not please all the people all of the time. When you think you can, then you have probably been tipping the gin bottle too much or you are brand new to business.
Gary From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Cynthia Keeler Sent: Friday, January 30, 2009 11:36 AM To: Face Painting and Body Art Association Subject: [fpba-assn] Re: Diamond / Wolfe It is true that there is a limited amount of vendor space in the vendor room, and it is first come, first served. We, as producers, do try to give a variety of companies equal opportunity. If you have too many of one kind of product, no one makes money. Our event is also a horse of a different color because the vendors don't usually sell retail. They are used to wholesale trade shows. So, in actuality, I have gotten grief from my "local retail" outlets in Orlando since the beginning of the Conventions. The locals feel that the wholesale distributors should NOT be personally selling retail anyway, that "they should have the opportunity. So, as you see, there is much "to do" behind the scenes and I "get it" from all sides. But, in the end, as producers, we have to pay our "event" bills at the hotel for rental space for the convention classes, jam rooms and vendor space and that fee is THOUSANDS. We want the vendor room to be full and we will take all the vendors that are needed to accomplish that end, keeping in mind, if the individual vendors don't make money, they won't be back next year.That's the way we are able to stay in business and pay the Convention bills and expose the attendees to all the latest and greatest in the biz. Colorfully Yours! Cynthia Keeler Publisher and Editor/ Face Painting and Body Art Magazine Subscriptions and ad info: <http://www.fpbamagazine.com> www.fpbamagazine.com <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected] or call 407-628-9998 Face Painting & Body Art Association <http://www.fpbaa.com> www.fpbaa.com --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Face Painting and Body Art Association." This is a PG-13 forum dedicated to the discussion of Face Painting and Body Art. This group is provided for the benefit of all and as such is not moderated. Our goal is to promote open and unrestricted communication between people interested in face painting and body art. We hope that you will be courteous to others and try to stay on topic. You are free to offer products or services related to face painting as well. Please address concerns with the original poster before contacting the management. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/fpba-assn -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
