Transworld to charge to attend St Louis Conv.

[xxxdirk]

Just got off the phone with TW and they are going to lower the age limit to 16 this year, but are also charging $40 to attend. This includes 1 seminar and admission into the welcome party...
Thoughts?

[drfrightner]

Here is what I think... $40.00 isn't enough and I expect it will rise over the years probably up to $100 per person within a few years. And I think its what should be done and I'm happy they are doing it.

Couple of things...

1) You can't put all the weight of the show on the vendors, while the buyers share no responsibility what so ever for the productions of the show. The show is more or less for the buyers, all the seminars, education, events are geared for buyers so buyers should share in the cost of the show.

2) If you increase both costs for vendors because they are the only ones you can turn to for income to produce the show what happens... vendors skip the show (bad for buyers) or they reduce booth space (bad for buyers). You want to see new stuff you want vendors of all shapes, sizes, and styles to attend and not be left out in the cold because they are a start up or what ever. Buyers can help themselves by sharing the cost of the show to keep vendors costs lower.

3) Fact is this show can only get so big it will never be some 1 million square foot show so ... there is a limited amount of vendors to buy booth space so costs of these shows of these sizes must be shared between vendor and buyer to keep them profitable for the producer in this case Transwrold.

4) Lastly let me give PROPS to Transworld they are taking this serious... they have attended with their booth to promote our show at Hauntcon, MHC, Water park Show, Fun Expo and now IAAPA coming up. Additionally I've seen ads in all the major amusement magazines recently. They are going FULL BLAST THIS YEAR... they are spending their money on this show and I expect it will be very successful and well worth the $40.00 or whatever they charge.

5) Lastly, if you are getting entrance into events or seminars or whatever those cost money as well so atleast to me it seems like you are getting something for your money and that is a good thing.


It was going to happen I'm simply surprised it was only $40.00 I was expecting $50 or $75.00.

Larry

[graystone]

Hummm Hard To Say...

Personally I don't care what they charge, but I don't agree with the statement that the buyers should share the cost. The buyers are spending tens of thousands of dollars they are not making money or selling anything at the show to recoup their admission. If a vendor sells enough then he will not miss the rent he pays on his booth and will look at it as a wise investment for his or her company. So I am not sold on that statement.

What if Wal-Mart, Target, Sears, every store out there said we will sell to you but you will have to help us pay our rent? Or what if those Haunts out there said the cost of admission is $15.00 but to help us on rent were going to tack on another $5.00? Again I am not buying that and I don't see alot of people buying it either. I also don't see vendors droping their prices because the buyers are helping pay their rent. I would have just said thats how it is throw it on TransWorld and leave it at that. That statement just makes the vendors look bad and I don't think they want to be in that boat. Again I will attend but this is just another 50 to 100 bucks people has to pay on top of food, gas, plane, rooms ect. Shane and its I don't know the answer to this one! Shane this time.

***Just to add to this and say I agree with Scott 16 is still to young. I don't see alot of 16 year olds spending money. And when its all said and done I think the vendors will see this will end up costing them even more money as they will have more of their printed materials in the hands of kids who want it for a collection. Bottom line if you think you lost alot of printed materal to non buyers wait till the kids tote them off. Also was this not the reason we/they moved to St.Louis because everything cost less?

[poison]

Hot Potato!!

Well i have to say that Larry makes a very good point. The show is getting tougher and tougher to do every year. Rising costs of booth space, Air, Electric, drayage, shipping, etc.
And there are so many costs involved with owning your own SEASONAL business, rent, insurance, tools, etc. So just to to one trade show a year is really expensive and cuts into your profit. And then add on the fact that you will only be selling and building products for about 6 to 7 months out of the year.
And you have to be able to float your company on what ever you made during that time.
And Shane makes a valid point too. Haunt owners aren't open all year either. A very short window to make a profit. But many of them set up and tear down.

So bottom line is maybe this new policy will help bring in more serious buyers and a few less tire kickers.

Just my 2 cents : )

[zimmerman]

$40 to get in Transworld

If a haunt brings four attendees to the show it will cost them $160.00. I'm on a tight budget. For me, that is $160 less that I'll probably be spending on props. This might be good for TW. I hope the vendors get enough of the admission fee or reduced rental costs to offset the loss in sales.

[UndeadProd]

Hi, not to sound too much like an old crank ... but I'm not a fan of lowering the age limit to 16. This is a business show, and I'm not excited to hear that there will be non-qualified buyers clogging up the show floor and occupying the vendors' time.

Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of inspiring and encouraging students to get into the field -- but Transworld is a show for business owners and buyers. I love that shows like MHC and Hauntcon are family friendly, but why make it that much harder for haunt vendors to work with qualified buyers at Transworld.

I'm going back to watching Judge Judy. You kids git off my lawn!

[HauntedMemphis]

Anyone who think's this is expensive, wait until it moves back to Chicago.

[ThECRaZyLadY]

Teens at Transworld????

Don't we get enough of this during the season?, Immature and annoying teens, no offense Nick. I have a 16 year old son myself and he will NOT be attending. Also at 16 they can't make any legal decisions, so hows that going to work. If the $40 is to get rid of some of the "tire kickers" don't you think that you are inviting more? Isn't this a business show/convention?? I will tell you if I were a vendor I wouldn't be happy about this.

Christina
FEARFEST

[UnDeRTaKer313]

LOL WOW!!!! you got to be kidding me!!!!
THis year i will be 18, and after all the years of waiting they lower the age now that im old enough hahhahahahahahaha

good thing we had a good year, gonna load up on some props at this thing!

and honestly, dont even be worried about kids coming, its essentially a very big halloween store to them, no 16 year old would pay 40 bucks to get into it... im glad they raised the price, it almost makes it feel more exclusive by doing this. most trade shows are crazy expensive like larry said. couple extra bucks isnt a big deal

[shawnc]

What if Wal-Mart, Target, Sears, every store out there said we will sell to you but you will have to help us pay our rent? Or what if those Haunts out there said the cost of admission is $15.00 but to help us on rent were going to tack on another $5.00?

This has actually been happening for a long time. The warehouse stores like Costco and the Price Club have charged admission to shop there for decades. And UPS charges based on the size and weight of a package, how far away the delivery is and how fast you want to get it there. But before you write the check, they tack a fuel surcharge onto the top of the total. I have seen a few online stores noting over the last few years that the shipping price they are quoting you doesn't include the fuel surcharge, which will bump the total up a bit after you check out.

So what will the end result of these changes be? I guess we'll have to wait and see since no one knows for sure. I think lowering the minimum age would attract more kids but then charging admission will keep out the younger crowd and look-loos. Real buyers probably won't be discouraged since $40 is a relatively small amount compared to travel, motel and food costs.

And since nothing operates in a vacuum, will next year's attendance and sales totals really be a reflection of the changes, or more related to the economy? Some haunts may have been scared by this year's attendance numbers and the general doom and gloom on the news and keep their purchases down in order to save money.

[badlander2000]

Just to balance things out, You all know that at 17, Nick Francis is the youngest pro haunter ever and I believe Matt Colton and I for example both have jobs and are both going pro, I also know a lot of vendors personally from MHC and Hauntcon and they all say I am very qualified to do business once I have an income. So there should definitely be some kind of test made to see if you are able to make good business decisions at the age of 16 or 17 and operating a SUCCESSFUL and ADVANCED hand-made home haunt should get you added consideration. I dont really know who else out there in this age group is going to Transworld but, I do believe that a well qualified teenager including Scarygoat (sorry I forgot your name) at age 15 should be allowed entrance granted he has a minimum amount of money.

[Lupus_Grenwych]

Just to balance things out, You all know that at 17, Nick Francis is the youngest pro haunter ever and I believe Matt Colton and I for example both have jobs and are both going pro, I also know a lot of vendors personally from MHC and Hauntcon and they all say I am very qualified to do business once I have an income. So there should definitely be some kind of test made to see if you are able to make good business decisions at the age of 16 or 17 and operating a SUCCESSFUL and ADVANCED hand-made home haunt should get you added consideration. I dont really know who else out there in this age group is going to Transworld but, I do believe that a well qualified teenager including Scarygoat (sorry I forgot your name) at age 15 should be allowed entrance granted he has a minimum amount of money.

15-year-olds (or anyone under 18 or still in high school) that are that serious are few and far between, though. How arbitrary would TW be if they started having some sort of interview process to allows entrance to some minors (based on qualifications, not age) but not others? It would be more trouble than it's worth.

Honestly, I'd just smuggle him (or them) in. If he's that mature, then he shouldn't be a liability (e.g. he doesn't go prancing about like a kid on a field trip=he doesn't stand out like a sore thumb=no one will notice, if you're clever enough).

[Terrorknight]

I do think your a little off base with the buyer should be helping pay there booth space. Just like it is costing more for the vendors to show there product it is also costing more to run a haunt. It's not shared more by one or the other. Now i'm not saying that $40 is going to break the bank but like you said if the price goes up and up just to get in on top of the $500 to $600 in getting there and staying well soon haunters will stop going and in turn hurt the vendors sales. I think they need to look at the long term effect and really coming out of a wet season maybe this isn't the best time to start charging.

[mindtumor]

I don't care if Transworld wants to show, whatever its not that much money. But don't say the buyers don't share the cost of Transworld. People spend thousands at that show and I am sure the vendors include what the cost of doing that show is into the price of their products. The vendors pay Transworld to do the show and customers pay the vendors for their products at the show.

If they raise the price to $100.00 they better be getting double the vendors we had last year. Hopefully, they don't outprice themselves for what you get. What does it cost to get into IAAPA? If they start charging close to that price then you better be getting close to what you get for that show. Keep in mind though that we don't make what amusement parks make though before anyone uses that argument.

[bhays]

Hi, not to sound too much like an old crank ... but I'm not a fan of lowering the age limit to 16. This is a business show, and I'm not excited to hear that there will be non-qualified buyers clogging up the show floor and occupying the vendors' time.

Agreed. What was the logic for lowering the age limit? I understand the admission fee if the booth rental fees are reduced accordingly. I suspect that will not be the case however.