MACNA 2018 in Las Vegas

[Kara]

Hello, everyone!

MACNA 2018 is in Las Vegas for the first time this year. As tickets pricier than I expected, I'm trying to decide if it's worth the $$.

Hoping someone's been before and willing to share some insights.

 

[SandJ]

@Kara, my family of 5 has attended 2 MACNA conferences (DC and San Diego). The DC one was hosted by my local reef club so we were close to home. Flew the family out for San Diego and made a vacation out of it. For us it was worth every penny.
The knowledge you can get from the speakers is priceless and can keep you from making thousands of dollars of mistakes in your own tank. Plus there are tons of freebies handed out...great way to try a new food or add a few T-shirts to your wardrobe.
It is nice to put a face with a company also. And to get your hands on equipment and try it out for yourself.

 

[Kara]

@Kara, my family of 5 has attended 2 MACNA conferences (DC and San Diego). The DC one was hosted by my local reef club so we were close to home. Flew the family out for San Diego and made a vacation out of it. For us it was worth every penny.
The knowledge you can get from the speakers is priceless and can keep you from making thousands of dollars of mistakes in your own tank. Plus there are tons of freebies handed out...great way to try a new food or add a few T-shirts to your wardrobe.
It is nice to put a face with a company also. And to get your hands on equipment and try it out for yourself.

Would 1 day be enough to visit exhibits and such?

 

[Hogan]

I went to the San Diego MACNA and honestly, I was severely disappointed. Most of the vendors wouldn't even talk to me. I'd walk to a booth and they'd ask if I was a hobbyist or a store and when I said hobbyist, they would say, "We don't sell to hobbyist, only to stores." and then they'd walk away. 9 out of 10 vendors treated my wife and I like that. Most of the coral vendors were ok, but nothing out of the ordinary. We ended up going over to Will's store (AquaSD) and buying a bunch of stuff there because he had better stuff with better prices! Most of the parties and activities were big drinking events and since my wife and I don't drink, that wasn't our scene either.

Again, that's the only MACNA I've been to and I hear the San Diego MACNA was a bad one, so maybe they all aren't like that.

 

[Rakie]

I went to the San Diego MACNA and honestly, I was severely disappointed. Most of the vendors wouldn't even talk to me. I'd walk to a booth and they'd ask if I was a hobbyist or a store and when I said hobbyist, they would say, "We don't sell to hobbyist, only to stores." and then they'd walk away. 9 out of 10 vendors treated my wife and I like that. Most of the coral vendors were ok, but nothing out of the ordinary. We ended up going over to Will's store (AquaSD) and buying a bunch of stuff there because he had better stuff with better prices! Most of the parties and activities were big drinking events and since my wife and I don't drink, that wasn't our scene either.

Again, that's the only MACNA I've been to and I hear the San Diego MACNA was a bad one, so maybe they all aren't like that.

MACNA is NOT for the average hobbyist. Can you find cool stuff there? Sure.. But this show is not for you. This is an industry show, for people who work in the industry. Talking to you to sell one coral is, for them, a complete waste of time. They're there to make deals with LFS for larger shipments.

This is why people go to both MACNA and RAP. RAP is for hobbyists.

 

[Kara]

MACNA is NOT for the average hobbyist. Can you find cool stuff there? Sure.. But this show is not for you. This is an industry show, for people who work in the industry. Talking to you to sell one coral is, for them, a complete waste of time. They're there to make deals with LFS for larger shipments.

This is why people go to both MACNA and RAP. RAP is for hobbyists.

LOL. RAP a very popular acronym; Google no help! Can you be more specific?

 

[Rakie]

LOL. RAP a very popular acronym; Google no help! Can you be more specific?

Reef-A-Palooza. Run by hobbyist's, for hobbyists. Speakers, vendors of both dry goods and corals, really good raffles too.

It's in Southern California, Florida, and New York. SoCal RAP is coming early October.

 

[Kara]

Excellent! Thank you.

Reef-A-Palooza. Run by hobbyist's, for hobbyists. Speakers, vendors of both dry goods and corals, really good raffles too.

It's in Southern California, Florida, and New York. SoCal RAP is coming early October.

 

[Hogan]

MACNA is NOT for the average hobbyist. Can you find cool stuff there? Sure.. But this show is not for you. This is an industry show, for people who work in the industry. Talking to you to sell one coral is, for them, a complete waste of time. They're there to make deals with LFS for larger shipments.

This is why people go to both MACNA and RAP. RAP is for hobbyists.

Yep, and the vendors were pretty rude about it too. That's why I tell people don't waste your money going to MACNA.

 

[SandJ]

Would 1 day be enough to visit exhibits and such?

It can be, but there is a lot to see lol
I would look at the speaker line up and see which day is most appealing. Then set reminders on your phone for when the speakers you want to see start, and also for any raffles (write on the ticket who it is from and when the drawing is, also a zip lock bag helps keep track of any tickets).
Have a map of the booth layout on your phone (I save it as an image) or a printed layout. Write down any specific vendors you want to see and their location. That way you do not get overwhelmed and miss something that was important to you.

 

[Kara]

It can be, but there is a lot to see lol
I would look at the speaker line up and see which day is most appealing. Then set reminders on your phone for when the speakers you want to see start, and also for any raffles (write on the ticket who it is from and when the drawing is, also a zip lock bag helps keep track of any tickets).
Have a map of the booth layout on your phone (I save it as an image) or a printed layout. Write down any specific vendors you want to see and their location. That way you do not get overwhelmed and miss something that was important to you.

Thank you! Excellent advice!

I suspect you've done this before...

 

[Opus]

MACNA is NOT for the average hobbyist. Can you find cool stuff there? Sure.. But this show is not for you. This is an industry show, for people who work in the industry. Talking to you to sell one coral is, for them, a complete waste of time. They're there to make deals with LFS for larger shipments.

This is why people go to both MACNA and RAP. RAP is for hobbyists.

I must have been at a different MACNA then. All the coral vendors were there selling to hobbyist other than maybe ORA. None of them were big enough to sell on a wholesale basis except for maybe WWW. I also found the equipment vendors to be friendly and would actually try and get me to stop and talk to them (I'm not a talker).

I can't comment on the speakers. I'm too ADD to sit thru one of those.

 

[SandJ]

Hmmm, I guess we have had the exact opposite experience at MACNA as others on the site. Sure, there are some vendors that are friendlier than others...but we have found plenty of vendors willing to talk with us about their products or corals.
We have attended RAP in Orlando also, and to me it was just a mini MACNA.
The reception and banquet were family friendly to us (kids were 5, 12 and 13), and there was alcohol at them. But I think most of the drinking happens at the room parties (or maybe we just left too early to see them turn wild lol).

 

[Rakie]

I must have been at a different MACNA then. All the coral vendors were there selling to hobbyist other than maybe ORA. None of them were big enough to sell on a wholesale basis except for maybe WWW. I also found the equipment vendors to be friendly and would actually try and get me to stop and talk to them (I'm not a talker).

One experience isn't all experiences -- But it is an industry show. They appeal mostly to LFS owners, and coral vendors don't need to be "wholesale" to sell to one or two LFS.

 

[SandJ]

One experience isn't all experiences -- But it is an industry show. They appeal mostly to LFS owners, and coral vendors don't need to be "wholesale" to sell to one or two LFS.

I was under the impression that MACNA was geared toward hobbiest. If it is an industry show, then why are all the speakers geared toward hobbiest? There are a few vendors that only sell wholesale, but even those vendors talked to us and gave us info packets to take back to our LFS.

 

[DaveMorris]

Every vendor at MACNA knows that the majority, by a long shot, of attendees are hobbyists. It's too bad that people got some bad treatment by vendors at MACNA but I guess that is a YMMV sort of thing. MACNA is more like a convention and tradeshow where shows like RAP are more of a giant frag show. Lots of similarities, but also lots of differences. I think any opportunity to spend time with fellow reefers is money well spent. Knowledge is key to this hobby and all of these shows, big and small, help foster that knowledge exchange.

 

[KStatefan]

Now I am rethinking my trip

 

[jolt]

I've attended two Macna events, Washington DC, and New Orleans. As a hobbyist I felt very welcomed there, and I did not feel the event was particularly industry oriented. There were plenty of booths willing to talk to me. There were some wholesale booths, but I would not say they were the majority. Even then I enjoyed looking at their booth even if we both knew I was not their customer. I found the talks very interesting. I could have done the floor in one day, but enjoyed going back many times in between talks and taking a deeper look into things. Sunday afternoon there were deals to be had on livestock, and even equipment people did not want to haul back to the shop. I learned a lot and brought back a haul of frags both times.

 

[Opus]

If it is an industry show, why is it put on by the local club and not the industry?

 

[Opus]

Hmmm, I guess we have had the exact opposite experience at MACNA as others on the site. Sure, there are some vendors that are friendlier than others...but we have found plenty of vendors willing to talk with us about their products or corals.
We have attended RAP in Orlando also, and to me it was just a mini MACNA.
The reception and banquet were family friendly to us (kids were 5, 12 and 13), and there was alcohol at them. But I think most of the drinking happens at the room parties (or maybe we just left too early to see them turn wild lol).

That is my whole beef with MACNA. They always make it at a time after school has started so there is no way for me to go. If I'm going I want to take the whole family and make it a vacation. Whenever I've brought it up, the answer I've gotten has been that this is a hobbyist event and they make it after school has started because the hotels/airfare are cheaper since it isn't peak travel time.