BOAT SHOW SAVINGS!!!!!!

[madprops]

So I have just been to my 2nd boat show.... whats with the lies and the high prices? I was told that dyneema standing rigging would not really save any weight (on a 50 foot cat), That any water maker I would get for my boat would cost over 8k, and the the best deal on a electric head I would ever find was 800 bucks. It took me 2 minutes to find an electric head that was 470$ when I got home.

Last year at the same boat show I gave my number to 4 different brokers who wanted to take me on a test sail, I didn't have a single call back. Kinda wish I would have met the same ones this year

It almost seems if you are really looking for some deals, you could do better spending a day online.

I will say I did get some good information and advice about painting, Maybe I should go to more of the talks/classes next time.

Side note I'm looking for a good deal on 4 electric heads if anyone has seen anything ..... or maybe i should keep one of them pump action.

Sorry for the title, I thought it was fitting

[gamayun]

When I buy stuff, it's big tickets items that I know they're making a deal, but usually nowadays, it's just to attend the talks or help friends at their booths. It's fun to check our the boats too but I'm not in the market. My guess is that people are attending less often. Our show has significantly gotten smaller.

[Mike OReilly]

You mean sales people didn't tell you that you could get a better deal by going somewhere else? Say it isn't so .

Just razzin' you . I understand your frustration .

Getting a deal on a "boat show price" is as hit and miss as any sales encounter. Sales people are on the floor to sell you their products, and they want to do so at the highest price possible. It's a rare salesperson who will tell you to go somewhere else for a better price.

There are two ways I've found to get good deals at boat shows:

#1. Get the chandlers to compete on your product. The boat show places them in close physical proximity, so I've been able to run back and forth, getting them bid on large ticket items. This has saved me big bucks on a few items.

#2. Only shop on the last couple of days. Focus on inventory they have right there. They are sometimes motivated to make a good deal on stuff they have right there, rather than have to pack it all up again.

[madprops]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

You mean sales people didn't tell you that you could get a better deal by going somewhere else? Say it isn't so .

Just razzin' you . I understand your frustration .

Getting a deal on a "boat show price" is as hit and miss as any sales encounter. Sales people are on the floor to sell you their products, and they want to do so at the highest price possible. It's a rare salesperson who will tell you to go somewhere else for a better price.

There are two ways I've found to get good deals at boat shows:

#1. Get the chandlers to compete on your product. The boat show places them in close physical proximity, so I've been able to run back and forth, getting them bid on large ticket items. This has saved me big bucks on a few items.

#2. Only shop on the last couple of days. Focus on inventory they have right there. They are sometimes motivated to make a good deal on stuff they have right there, rather than have to pack it all up again.

For whatever reason I didn't really think about going back and forth with the shops, I guess I was just a bit put off, I did get myself a good pair of sailing shoes though. I was very temped to pick up a dinghy to but after looking at how everything else was marked up I wanted to look into it more.

I did go on the last day, maybe they were just sick of tire kickers, no sales people tend to look at me as a buyer. I guess not many low to mid 30s people like to have fun

[leftbrainstuff]

Yeah. Boat shows have become useless for compinent deals in recent years. Probably still good for new boat deals sometimes.

We've also found that hardly any component suppliers bother attending.

Also most of the sailboats all seem the same. Much like car shows.

I would like to visit the Dusseldorf boat show. Otherwise we don't bother.

[Bill O]

In the past, the best thing w/boat shows was to get ideas from custom boats of things to build for our boat. The number of boats in shows are generally dwindling and the custom boats have mostly disappeared from the North American shows.

If you need big ticket items many parts distributors have some sort of discount associated w/shows. You don't even need to go to the show to get the discount, just shop online during the event.


Bill O.

[madprops]

Originally Posted by leftbrainstuff

Yeah. Boat shows have become useless for compinent deals in recent years. Probably still good for new boat deals sometimes.

We've also found that hardly any component suppliers bother attending.

Also most of the sailboats all seem the same. Much like car shows.

I would like to visit the Dusseldorf boat show. Otherwise we don't bother.

I was really hoping CPT autopilots would have a booth there, I most likely would have bought an autopilot from them.... I guess I'm probably going to get one from them anyway, but it would have been nice.

[Mike OReilly]

I'm not sure if the mythical "boat show deal" ever was a big reality. On some large ticket items it is possible, but I could do the same outside of the Boat Show. The last day deals are usually on small items that don't amount to much in the end, but are nice to get.

For me, one real benefit of attending the boat show was to be able to get up close and personal with a lot of items that I might not have been able to fondle in the past (no jokes now...). As someone who has always lived away from the big centres, it was nice to actually touch and feel stuff that I normally would only order via catalogue, or online.

The other, of course, is social. Just being around a lot of fellow planners and dreamers was really nice early on in my cruising development plans. And the lectures and presentations helped spur me on. Plus, it was a good excuse to go to the Big City and get a great deal on hotel costs.

For the record, I attended the Toronto Boat Show for about five years in a row in the late 2000s. When I started going you could get a downtown hotel room through through the show for $65. Not sure where's it's at now.