Excel boat show tickets - war has been declared

MoodySabre

MoodySabre

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A certain association I know is able to offer tickets for £7.50 - half the gate price - offered by the organisers to promote attendance through clubs and associations.

Are they running scared? I was going anyway so /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
"Solitare" can't even give 'em away

Well according to "1971LOU" /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Cheers Joe
 
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A certain association I know is able to offer tickets for £7.50 - half the gate price - offered by the organisers to promote attendance through clubs and associations.

Are they running scared? I was going anyway so /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

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The Westerly Owners Association are giving away tickets for next weeks Earls Court show FREE to members. I don't imagine they paid the organisers for them!
 
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The Westerly Owners Association are giving away tickets for next weeks Earls Court show FREE to members. I don't imagine they paid the organisers for them!

[/ QUOTE ]The WOA has to be the best of all owners' associations. Tremendous support. Shame you don't support Nauticats /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
 
I'll gladly pay the full ticket price to both shows if someone will cover the air fare Saigon to London return.

I need to buy a diesel hot water heating system, a radar, water cooled genny and maybe some odds and ends that catch my eye.

Any exhibitors that would like to cover travel exxxxxs please contact me through the board.
 
The ticket price isn't the issue for many people - its travel and accomodation. To come from Newcastle to London its a 4 hour train journey (give or take) - so you really need at least one nights accomodation. Two people on the train (or 2 tanks of diesel plus parking) and a hotel for the night - thats knocking on for £250 - so £10 each to go to the show is immaterial really.

We did SIBS and won't do either London show as the cost of going will not outweigh any discounts we get (plus our local chandler will always match any boat show price anyway!)

Jonny
 
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A certain association I know is able to offer tickets for £7.50 - half the gate price - offered by the organisers to promote attendance through clubs and associations.

Are they running scared? I was going anyway so /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

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This offer is available to many clubs, and is an initiative I believe of the great Capt John Goode, who is helping out on the organisation side. I also believe that he would have actually liked to make the admission free to all but presumably the sums didn't add up.
 
I believe the organisers are giving away and/or discounting tickets a lot this year as it's the first one and they want to get Earls Couts established as an event. I'm guessing that they plan to break-even at best this year and if the show is deemed sucessful they will build on this in 08, 09....

Personally I'm really looking forward to going.
 
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Can you help me with this? Why are we expected to pay to enter a shopping centre for boats?


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Took the words right out of my mouth. In my line of business I attend a few 'trade' shows (NEC, Earls courts, Olympia etc) each year and as a buyer I receive free entry for my staff and I. As punters to boat shows we're all potencial 'buyers' so why should we have to pay an entry fee to what is essencially a selling opportunity for the suppliers?

Not that I paid to get into the last one in London.........
 
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Can you help me with this? Why are we expected to pay to enter a shopping centre for boats?

[/ QUOTE ] Because loads of people who are not ever likely to buy anything like to visit just for a fun day out. Haven't we all been to the Boat Show at times in our lives when we have no intention of spending anything whatsoever? If you let everyone in free of charge without checking that they are even boaty, you won't be able to see anything - you'll be queuing up.

I don't think that it ought to be such a price issue for boaters - you get to see all the latest gear and talk to experts who have been in the field for years. Yet I agree that genuine visitors should be encouraged. How about a cash back for visitors who satisfy certain stand criteria or, maybe better, free tickets in the yachting press? Then only people interested enough to buy the magazines will get the tickets.
 
Lemain makes an excellent point that seldom crops up in these discussions - going to a boat show simply as a day out, not as commercial transaction.
I've decided to go to Earls Court, out of curiousity more than anything, I certainly don't get weepy-eyed about the place like some others seem to - I'm going for a nice day out. Going to London by coach, under 10 quid for an over-60.
I shall go to Excel, as well, and I'll have a nice day out. Might buy something, might not.
 
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Because loads of people who are not ever likely to buy anything like to visit just for a fun day out.

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That's just sad - if I want a fun day out I go sailing.

I would only go to a boatshow a) if I want to buy something or b) I got a free ticket.

Buying something at boatshows is rare these days. There used to be a boatshow discount - this now seems to have turned into a boatshow mark-up /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

As for these so-called experts you get to speak to: last one I went to I got spotty youfs who didn't have a clue at more than one stand. Furuno & Cactus in particular pissed me off.
And there was a bloke on the YBW stand who didn't even know about the forum.

I agree with previous posters: why should you pay to walk down a boaty High Street?
 
"Sad" to go for a day out to the BS? It takes all sorts /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I got a really good deal on a Navman plotter with C-Map cartridge last time I went to LIBS. The time before I bought a new tender, outboard, davits,... OK, I was fitting out for our Med cruise but my point is that you can visit various dealers and negotiate a decent price there, on the day. My tender was supplied by a company from up North for delivery to the Hamble and I saved considerably over the best price local to Hamble.

At Excel I missed the little stands offering discounts but hopefully they will be at EC - isn't that the whole point of going back to EC; to recapture what was lost in the move?

I really wish I could make it over this year to EC but I can't treat myself - it would cost hundreds by the time I had flown over, etc.
 
Sorry don't agree at all. I think you're being duped. It's a market place for goods, nothing more nothing less. Yes it can be fun but if I go, its to research or buy something. The stands are not paid by the show organisers to be there, they pay to have a stand there to sell their goods.
 
Why should boat people feel they should be treated differently from any other special interest group?

Punters have always paid to enter the Motor Show, Garden Shows etc, most of which are trade shows hoping to attract buyers.

I have no special knowledge, but am pretty sure that if the exhibitors had to cover the entire cost of putting on such a show, there would be no shows at all.
Without the income from punters admission tickets it would just be un-economic.
 
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