ARC Annual Swap Meet

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cameron

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OK it isn't sanctioned by ARC and it isn't annual because we have never had one (to my knowledge), but I think a Swap Meet is a great idea.

I know I have a couple dozen items I would like to move. I am sure Mike has a small truck that he can load up with stuff. Several others seem to post pretty regular items as well as frags. I know everybody is into frag horse trading as well as walking around talking to everyone. So lets get this thing planned out.

Attendee parcipitation would be free and we could charge say $20-$30 for a table and individuals can split a table so us little guys don't have to come out of pocket much. We could probalby get a few of the local sponsers to come as well.

If we are modestly successful on this first time, these things tend to grow. Eventually these can be a nice revenue stream as larger swap meets can charge at the door and they are great for club recruitment as well.

Thoughts?
 
We did a dry goods swap meet in the recent past for one of our meetings that I thought was great. the SWU 1 swap meet was poorly attended, but everyone was focused on other things that day, anyhow. I think an annual (or semi-annual) meet would be great!

A central (read: not in flowery branch or Tennessee!) location would be nice (Steve, any thoughts on this ;-) ). Also, doing it on a weekend would obviously be a good idea.

should we start taking a tally here of how many people would want to set up?

Also, I kind of feel like if we get the location for free and don't have to shell out for tables and such, maybe we shouldn't charge. Besides, where do you draw the line between walking around with a bunch of baggies and sitting down at a table? Just some initial thoughts, I'm open to anything at this point.
 
I think I might have a few items available and I'm sure my wife would be thrilled if we were to organize such an event!
 
Do I hear a combination dry goods and frag swap??? Now we're talking!
 
I think we should bring snacks and food too... :) Why not make it better than other frag swaps.
 
would could hold the event outside and make a picnic out of it? Lake Lanier is always nice, or unless there is a park closer to city-ish area so its convienant for everyone <-- tho i know that will be a tough one to make possible for we have people coming from all over ga. Great idea tho.
 
While I am all for grilling meat outside, this would work better as an indoor event since that would keep the frags cool and everyone else for that matter. I am way for a grill event this summer though.

I don't know what the attendance is for this sort of thing, but past swap meets that I have been involved with have generated 100+ people and in some cases nearing 500 when done right.

The important factors are advertising, getting local stores to setup and staying organinzed. If you can keep the event to a vendor setup at 8am, show at 10am run till 3pm kind of deal you will get more vendors and less hassle. People generally get tired if you try and run these too long.

If we decide to do a picnic/food type deal, this would probably work best as something more informal... like a big garage sale.
 
sounds fun, I dont have anything to trade but would be willing to buy some stuff. Count me in !!
 
im in too. dont have alot to trade but i have a empty tank and alot of money to spend on frags
 
Bleedingthought;42049 wrote: I would be interested. In a large scale, though, how do people go about trading? Just a free for all kind of thing? That seems messy. :)
Click to expand...

I really think it all depends on how well organized this becomes. As Cameron hinted at, there are different ways of doing things. In my opinion, if we "centralize operations" under the authority of a small team of organizers, we could pull together a pretty well organized swap. If we go the organized route, I would propose we:

1) appoint a Frag coordinator, who would be responsible for a sticky post at the top of the forums and would keep track of a list here of what is being offered by whom, and what is sought by whom (people could send him/her PM's of what they have/want, which could then be compiled and posted in order to keep the thread fairly clean and straight forward/user-freindly.

2) appoint a facilities coordinator who would be responsible for finding a location and setting a date, as well as securing tables and any supplies we may want on hand (water, bags, towels, etc.)

3) appoint a sponsor coordinator, who would be responsible for making arrangements and offers to outside vendors. This might be a tough sell, so this person would need to be pretty organized and be able to give a good estimate of attendance and the sorts of things people would buy (Sammy, you need to show up with that coral dip you just got in stock, I bet it would sell like hot cakes! also, frag glue and epoxy, used stuff laying around in retail stores that they can't sell to regular customers, etc)

4) appoint an advertising/publicity coordinator to get the word out and contact other nearby clubs (we have done this before), leave flyers at stores, post on other forums, and get the people to turn out.

THEN, these folks could then work their magic and if all goes well we'll have a bunch of people show up, get a bunch of new corals and dry goods, and all end up with a bunch of red bugs and acro-eating flatworms in our tanks! (just kiddin...though it has happened before)

OR,

We could just keep it simple and start a thread and have members update it, find a place that works, and hope people show up.

OR, we could keep this one real simple and then plan a BIG GIANT frag swap for MACNA!

just some ideas...
 
if no one else wants to do it i wouldnt mind taking the Frag coordinator position.
 
Okay we've got a taker...

One more important little thing we may want to think about.... Is this going to be/need to be a Club-Sponsored event, and if so, can we get some thoughts and input from our officers?
 
Mufret and I went to the Chatt. swap last year. It was held in at a local tech school that already had the tables and chairs. I believe that there was a small entry fee, per person, maybe $5 and that probably covered the rental of the room.

I don't think that there was a charge for tables. Or at least Mike and I didn't pay for it.

They did have some raffle stuff from LFS and several of the swapper donated frags as well.

What I was amazed me was the swappers that set-up 10-20 gallon tanks selling their frags. Include lights and all. It seemed like zoas sold very well.

There was a mix of newbies, experienced and a few hard core reefers.Traffic was steady and hot items went fast. But I was surprised that some stuff like the lady next to me trying sell her red mushrooms for $5 did not sell well. I love the one I bought from her.

There where actually a few vendors selling stuff. Glass Cages had a both and where selling several different size tanks. Reef Nutrition even had a small set-up.
 
Thanks for the overview--This sounds like something to shoot for! I think one other experience learned from that swap from what i remember hearing was to have equipment available to inspect corals CLOSELY!
 
I'll talk to the Board and push for ARC sponsorship.... lets see what you guys can put together :)
 
well i can start a post in reef discussion forum and see how many people actually are planning on bringing frags and stuff. if someone will make it a sticky that would be great.

but before i can start i thinkit would be good to confirm a location and date
 
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