New England Frag Farmer's Market 3/7/2020 Storrs, CT

[joe0813]

wife got a coral and one black storm and one orange storm. Show was good but I wasn't a big fan of the booths being in class rooms. felt really cramped in most rooms

 

[TheRedBeardedReefer]

wife got a coral and one black storm and one orange storm. Show was good but I wasn't a big fan of the booths being in class rooms. felt really cramped in most rooms

Were you a fan of the $5 entrance fee? How about the general show prices? There are going to be some trade offs to holding it in a high school, but you're supporting their conservation program and vendors don't have to charge $250 a head for golden torches just to make their set up fee back. I was at both FFM and Fragtoberfest in the past 6 months, and I thought FFM was head and shoulders better, despite the venue not being as "nice".

In case anyone from E.O. Smith is reading, my wife and I took our teenage niece to the swap (she's new to all things marine bio) and on the ride home she said this: "Isn't it amazing when you see something that makes you care about a part of the world you never thought of before?".

I'm an educator and my hat is off to the E.O. Smith crew, teachers and students alike, they put on a heck of a show!

 

[joe0813]

Were you a fan of the $5 entrance fee? How about the general show prices? There are going to be some trade offs to holding it in a high school, but you're supporting their conservation program and vendors don't have to charge $250 a head for golden torches just to make their set up fee back. I was at both FFM and Fragtoberfest in the past 6 months, and I thought FFM was head and shoulders better, despite the venue not being as "nice".

In case anyone from E.O. Smith is reading, my wife and I took our teenage niece to the swap (she's new to all things marine bio) and on the ride home she said this: "Isn't it amazing when you see something that makes you care about a part of the world you never thought of before?".

I'm an educator and my hat is off to the E.O. Smith crew, teachers and students alike, they put on a heck of a show!

not saying it was a bad time or anything like that. Prices were great, just wondering why use class rooms and not the cafeteria or gym?

 

[TheRedBeardedReefer]

I bet they chose the classrooms for ease of cleaning if water spilled, to keep people moving around, and to avoid violating health codes with animals in a cafeteria. I loved seeing their propagation area and race tank. I'm sure they did the best with what they have.

 

[Mkus]

Show was great as always no complaints here I’ve been going since the first show by far one of the best for different varieties of corals and prices are always negotiable..

 

[Lionsreef]

I attended the show for the 4th year in a row and as always came home with some coral. I did though notice this time vendor pricing did seem higher than past years. This was the first time I did not buy anything from Jason Fox. He had no deals...... his pricing was identical to his online pricing and i noticed that he wasn't selling much. When i left the show (3 hours after opening) his tank was still nearly fully stocked so it looked like others thought he was overpriced.

 

[Mkus]

I attended the show for the 4th year in a row and as always came home with some coral. I did though notice this time vendor pricing did seem higher than past years. This was the first time I did not buy anything from Jason Fox. He had no deals...... his pricing was identical to his online pricing and i noticed that he wasn't selling much. When i left the show (3 hours after opening) his tank was still nearly fully stocked so it looked like others thought he was overpriced.

Plenty of other vendors to buy from I always try to buy from the “little guy” maybe at the end of the show he lowered his prices?

 

[fitch4]

We do what we can with what we have. I hear the same complaint about the space we use every year. I have looked into the gym (no way they are going to let us put that much water on that floor...) and the cafe (not a great space to use, believe it or not, and WAY away from my classroom and set-up). We also use the science rooms because there are sinks all over and it makes take down WAY easier. I hear the crowded issue, but I think that part of the beauty of the FFM is that "school" feel that it has. We have expanded into new rooms but I don't have too many options to expand into many other ones. I work every year to spread things out but some rooms get crowded. My suggestion, just wait a bit and come back to that room, it usually thins out. We do the best we can with the space
As far as pricing goes, the vendors saw a tiny increase this year, to help me cover the custodial staff, but not enough to justify any price increases. That said, they still pay near nothing compared to every other show. I wonder if some of the vendors didn't see the writing on the wall that these shows were going to start getting cancelled and tried to squeeze that last bit out of the show circuit? I did notice that the trend was toward higher end, designer stuff which means higher prices. This is really nothing new, if you want the newest named coral, you are going to end up paying way more than you should. Wait a year and it will be all over the place, and much cheaper- remember Jack o' lantern?

 

[Mkus]

We do what we can with what we have. I hear the same complaint about the space we use every year. I have looked into the gym (no way they are going to let us put that much water on that floor...) and the cafe (not a great space to use, believe it or not, and WAY away from my classroom and set-up). We also use the science rooms because there are sinks all over and it makes take down WAY easier. I hear the crowded issue, but I think that part of the beauty of the FFM is that "school" feel that it has. We have expanded into new rooms but I don't have too many options to expand into many other ones. I work every year to spread things out but some rooms get crowded. My suggestion, just wait a bit and come back to that room, it usually thins out. We do the best we can with the space
As far as pricing goes, the vendors saw a tiny increase this year, to help me cover the custodial staff, but not enough to justify any price increases. That said, they still pay near nothing compared to every other show. I wonder if some of the vendors didn't see the writing on the wall that these shows were going to start getting cancelled and tried to squeeze that last bit out of the show circuit? I did notice that the trend was toward higher end, designer stuff which means higher prices. This is really nothing new, if you want the newest named coral, you are going to end up paying way more than you should. Wait a year and it will be all over the place, and much cheaper- remember Jack o' lantern?

No complaints here I have been going since the first year and I always am happy pricing and selection thanks for all your efforts we appreciate it.
Mark

 

[Opus]

Were you a fan of the $5 entrance fee? How about the general show prices? There are going to be some trade offs to holding it in a high school, but you're supporting their conservation program and vendors don't have to charge $250 a head for golden torches just to make their set up fee back. I was at both FFM and Fragtoberfest in the past 6 months, and I thought FFM was head and shoulders better, despite the venue not being as "nice".

In case anyone from E.O. Smith is reading, my wife and I took our teenage niece to the swap (she's new to all things marine bio) and on the ride home she said this: "Isn't it amazing when you see something that makes you care about a part of the world you never thought of before?".

I'm an educator and my hat is off to the E.O. Smith crew, teachers and students alike, they put on a heck of a show!

I wish pricing here related to the setup costs. Even at our club hosted frag swaps that are free to the vendors and consumers, I don't find the prices are any cheaper.

 

[Mkus]

Is there going to be a show this March 2021???