Spring Frag Swap - London

[Salty Cracker]

They have bands at this location, so at worst it would be extension cords, they have tables for our use.  Insurance on the place is covered, my concern would be personal liability (someone suing me personally because they slipped on a fish head or something stupid).  I have more liability insurance on my rental properties than I do property insurance, because, well, people are opportunistic. 

 

[Jewel]

WOW lots of interest, remember this was my idea, I think I should get a free lunch out of it, just kidding. I think contacting the suppliers would be a great idea, sometimes you can get free stuff from them, then we could raffle it off, proceeds to the next Frag Fest and also the Frag Tank. i personally know the owner of ORG and Flavio in Milton, I'm sure they may want to participate

 

[Petercar (RIP Dec 2017)]

Tables hold a tank of water?

the michigan swaps do have small tanks on tables in there hallls.  They have be along the wall for powerbars so ppl are not tripping over cords

 

[Salty Cracker]

www.londonfragfest.ca is registered, I think a vendor application page will be on there, plus a list of vendors and info about time, location etc.  Ideally I'd like it free for visitors if I can swing it. 

The free press is always an option for promotion, it just sucks that while their readership has decreased, their prices have increased.  In fact, a teeny tiny classified ad could be half the cost of the hall.  It's crazy, so kijiji and word-of-mouth may be the best option.  As stated, this is NOT a money making venture, so don't be shy about promoting it once we get it in gear. 

Free lunches are $9.99 

 

[AdamS]

My opinion is to charge suppliers a nominal fee. The cost to send a person to the event is far greater than the nominal fee. And as salty stated before, people don't value something they get for free.

If you need tables, you can get them from Raymond brothers, we did it for a trade show we put on last night 

 

[Salty Cracker]

My opinion is to charge suppliers a nominal fee. The cost to send a person to the event is far greater than the nominal fee. And as salty stated before, people don't value something they get for free.

If you need tables, you can get them from Raymond brothers, we did it for a trade show we put on last night 

I'm going to try and keep is as cheap as possible for everyone involved.  At this point I'd like to see in and around the neighbourhood of $25 per vendor and maybe $5 at the door.  Any shortage I think I'll be on the hook for, and any extra will go to a public charity.  I mean, win win the way I see it and hopefully fun for all

 

[jroovers]

Sounds like a good idea.

You could maybe get a sponsor to pitch in for some of the hall rental in exchange for advertising and a choice spot or setup at the swap.  Maybe TheFragTank swap brought to you by IA or BA's or some other store (these are examples, not implying they would or want to sponsor or attend)... at least maybe cover some of the hall rental costs.  And maybe allow those vendors to exclusively sell some choice dry goods as well at regular or slightly discounted prices.

An alternative you may also want to consider is for a commerical vendor to charged slightly more than a private vendor... for example, charging me $25 to sell frags from my basement 120 gallon is relatively more cost prohibative to me than say $25 to a commerical fragging operation such as frag-a-lot (please note the basement operation irony is not lost on me).  As these vendors have much more to gain in terms of sales volume, you might want to ask them to float more of the cost of putting on the event - they are vendors that are going to benefit the most.  Heck, if you get enough interest and commitment, you might want them to float the rental cost entirely as they are the ones who are going to profit from a strong turnout of customers all in one spot on one day.  Depending on who is selling and who is buying, $500 might be the equivalent of two to three choice chalice frags. 

Anyhow, sounds like some work to get arranged and to launch, applaud you guys for doing it! 

 

[Salty Cracker]

Yeah, gotta figure out the pricing for sure, I want it to be cheap for everyone, vendors included.  I think that it would be more expensive for a commercial seller than a frag seller absolutely.  I'd like to think that if we could get some absolute newbs out, they may 'catch the bug' and need to buy tanks, equipment, etc.  London just hasn't had anything like this to date. 

I appreciate the PMs keep the ideas coming.  Unfortunately the best way to make sure something like this to happen is for one person to really take the lead and "just do it" but I want everyone to have input, and while the first year is unlikely to be without hiccups, hopefully future years will be smooth as butter. 

 

[Salty Cracker]

http://londonfragfest.ca/

I'll flesh it out/add links as info comes in.

 

[sunnykita]

You can put me down as a volunteer, runner, whatever is necessary.
I have no frags, what about having a swap section? most people seem to have extra equiment, supplies around that they'd like to get rid of. The fish shows we used to go to had auctions, but they were a lot of work.

 

[Reef Hero]

Wow, great work so far salty!!!! I am here to help as well so just let me know if you need anything.......
I think we need to get a date, time, and location and then go from there......this will be the first questions asked by both hobbyists and vendors......
$5 per person is more than fair IMO......


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[teebone110]

Nice work Glen!

Good to see someone actually grab the bull by the horns and drive this idea. The first step is to identify a date, webpage, invite, etc. and it looks like you are taking care of business. Im always available to help, feel free to reach out if needed.

Also, I would suggest to see if there is a way to build awareness to thefragtank.ca...

i.e. just like MACNA, has reefcentral all over it, we should do the same for our site. This will only increase membership and  diversity of frags and related items in our local community  8)

 

[unibob]

Definitely able to help.

Good work salty.

 

[Salty Cracker]

I agree that thefragtank.ca will be front and center, the more hobbyists we attract, the better.  One person guessed that only a small percentage of reefkeepers in the area probably know about the site, imagine the frags we're missing!!!    The webpage front screenie was a 2am job, so honestly a work in progress. 

I have a few 'actual work' things to do today, then I will get on top of a signup sheet. 


I have to put packages together too... Gold, Silver, Bronze, etc.  Gold would get top ranking on the site, at the event and a full table. Silver would get webpage presence and a full booth, etc etc, right down to cash sponsor.  These will stay up on the site for the full year, and be named if and when we give money to the boys and girls club. 

Oh and I picked the boys and girls club because they're non profit, and who knows those kids could be future reefers, and hell I like kids.

 

[Poseidon]

Who doesn't like kids?

 

[phi delt reefer]

Who doesn't like kids?

 

[Poseidon]

[quote author=Poseidon link=topic=4354.msg40613#msg40613 date=1360774668]
Who doesn't like kids?

[/quote]

now now, dont go twisting my words, you know what i meant  :?

 

[unibob]

Free candy is what I read.

 

[Salty Cracker]

Free candy is what I read.

Free candy is $9.99

 

[Salty Cracker]

Okay site is fleshed out, not much more I can do until I talk to the person in charge of renting the legion at this point.  I don't know things like how much the tables will hold, how many tables will fit in, if actual legion people can just wander in etc etc etc.  So pricing is preliminary, everything is preliminary really.  As it is I'm the only sponsor since I'm the one fronting the cashola.  I won't be taking any money until the hall is booked. 

I'm going to chat with teebone this weekend about manpower, as the offers of help are awesome, but really, it's more fun to swap frags than to work, so I'm trying to keep the manpower down to minimal.  I really just want people to have a good time.  Like Rick's swap, that thing is laid back and fun.