NCPARS Fall Swap Northampton PA

[rickyfins]

NOV 1st.

check here for more information!

You can sign up through our shopping cart under ShopNCPARS
and through Fragswapper www.fragswapper.com


I look forward to seeing you all there!

OH, Anthony Calfo is our speaker.

Demos, etc.

We have over 30 people signed up already.

Its definitely gonna be a great swap!

 

[Barney121]

Just a reminder that NCPARS is having our fall swap on Nov. 1, just outside of Allentown, and right around the corner from Something Fishy. The full schedule is below. Please join us, and register at fragswapper.com once you know you are coming!

Thanks, and hope to see you there!
Scott
NCPARS President 2008-2009

 

[Steven Pro]

That is the exact same day as the swap in Columbus. I think this is two years in a row that you all have your swaps on the same day. Maybe this could be a thing MASNA could help with?

 

[Barney121]

Too bad on that. It's a good idea to check with MASNA, I know when we first picked our date in July, nobody we could find had a swap on the same date. It's always possible we we didn't check CORA, though. It's always going to be hard to find enough weekends for the all the frag swaps to be on different days, but we at least ought to be able to avoid repeated conflicts with the same group!

The spring NCPARS Swap is probably at PSU again this year, and probably April 25 2009 although we are working to confirm that.

 

[Barney121]

We are up to 80+ attendees, and 100 frags are for sale on fragswapper.com. We've also gotten addtional raffle donations in the past couple of days.

If you are thinking of attending, please register at fragswapper, this helps us to plan our day!

 

[Python73]

Once again with the high entry fees to cover buffets and other such nonsense, and a speaker at the swap. Sadly I won't be attending this swap. In the past hybrid swaps are nothing but terribly annoying, where people continue to talk over the speakers. And I'd much rather just pay $5 to get in and find my own meal coming or going.

That being said, hopefully some of our members will make the trip. This is a good group of reefers and they are fun to trade with. If the above situation doesn't matter to you, you will have a good time.

S !

 

[Barney121]

Sorry that we provide food and a speaker at our swaps, that's just what we do. Maybe we should call it an "event" rather than a swap since we do more than just swap. I've never heard of a "hybrid swap" so I'm not sure what that is, but in this case (just like we did last swap at PSU), the speaker will be in a different (but connected) room, speaking at a different time after lunch. I agree that it is annoying when people are talking over a speaker, so we aren't doing it that way. I hope you come and enjoy Calfo, we don't yet have a topic for his talk, but if we find out ahead of time, we'll post that.

Thanks,
Scott

 

[Python73]

That's good to hear, the seperate room is an upgrade to the last one I attended where there was only on room. I call it a hybrid swap, because that is what it is. A swap is just that, a frag swap. Traditional big room with people at tables and walking around trading, with perhaps a raffle at the end. Having a speaker makes it more of a meeting or an event like you said. Combine the two, hybrid.

I disagree with catering frag swaps. Most people are looking to go on the cheap and get corals, they don't care about getting chicken fingers and pasta for an extra $10. Worse, the club can't be making any money on that deal, so nobody wins. Much better to just have it somewhere that has an option to eat/drink if people want. Myself I find that as we are road tripping anyway, we find something to eat coming and/or going. The lunch is just a wasted $10.

As for seeing Anthony, I can see him any time I feel like luring him out of the South Hills with some sushi. Though I certainly encourage people to go see him speak, he is always worth the admission.

Good luck on your event.

S !

 

[Barney121]

Yes, we did have at least one swap a while ago where (as I understand it) the planning was delayed, and so it ended up with one room. I am sure it was definitely not ideal from the speaker's point of view!

I guess for 5 years we've been having hybrid swaps, then. We've actually found that most people like to be fed at the event, but of course different people can have different opinions on that. It doesn't make much difference to the club's bottom line whether we charge more and buy food, or charge less and don't buy food, so our call has been based on what our attendees report they like. Different clubs do events differently, so we (like NJRC and HVRC) are one that does food. To each his or her own!

 

[rigleautomotive]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13470341#post13470341 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Python73
Once again with the high entry fees to cover buffets and other such nonsense, and a speaker at the swap. Sadly I won't be attending this swap. In the past hybrid swaps are nothing but terribly annoying, where people continue to talk over the speakers. And I'd much rather just pay $5 to get in and find my own meal coming or going.

That being said, hopefully some of our members will make the trip. This is a good group of reefers and they are fun to trade with. If the above situation doesn't matter to you, you will have a good time.

S !

You are definately an exception to the rule.we poll our members and found that food is important to them when they are spending 4 to 6 hours at an event.also a speaker like calfo brings people that are interested in learning from the best and listening to a very interesting,funny and intelligent person.Reef keeping is a very expensive hobby so if the entry fee seems high to you i am not sure how you can afford to maintain a coral reef.We know we can not please everyone so we attempt to do what the majority of our members like and have done that quite nicely considering the last swap broke all NCPARS records for attendance,corals traded and items raffled.

 

[rigleautomotive]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13474601#post13474601 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Python73
That's good to hear, the seperate room is an upgrade to the last one I attended where there was only on room. I call it a hybrid swap, because that is what it is. A swap is just that, a frag swap. Traditional big room with people at tables and walking around trading, with perhaps a raffle at the end. Having a speaker makes it more of a meeting or an event like you said. Combine the two, hybrid.

I disagree with catering frag swaps. Most people are looking to go on the cheap and get corals, they don't care about getting chicken fingers and pasta for an extra $10. Worse, the club can't be making any money on that deal, so nobody wins. Much better to just have it somewhere that has an option to eat/drink if people want. Myself I find that as we are road tripping anyway, we find something to eat coming and/or going. The lunch is just a wasted $10.


As for seeing Anthony, I can see him any time I feel like luring him out of the South Hills with some sushi. Though I certainly encourage people to go see him speak, he is always worth the admission.

Good luck on your event.

S !

Sometimes if you dont have anything positive to say its better not saying anything.Not everyone is as influential as you and have the ability to see anthony calfo at will. I am not sure why you feel like you need to balance our budget,define frag swap, or plan our swap but we will be sure to let you know if we need any help

 

[Python73]

So... let me get this straight. You post in the PMAS forum about your swap, but don't care to hear our opinions about it? Our club members would be driving 4+ hours to get to your swap, we feel it beneficial to tell them our experiences.

I'm not sure it's in your best interest to make personal attacks in this space. I have plenty of money, for this hobby and otherwise, thank you very much. I very specifically explained my opinions on both parts of your swap that I don't like. I also pointed out that I find the NCPARs members to be fine reefers, good to swap with, and Anthony to be a fantastic speaker. Perhaps you didn't understand what I wrote. It happens.

Regardless, this is an open forum for exchange of information and ideas. If you don't want my opinion, you are quite welcome to ----> click on something else.

Good luck on your swap NCPARs. I hope it is well attended and succesful for all who attend.

S !

 

[rickyfins]

You are right Sam, this is an open forum for exchange of information and ides, but it is not the place to talk bad about another societies events and ideas.

Regardless of what you think of "US" your outlook on our venue offends when so many have put forth so much effort to make others happy and have a great event.

We do care about opinions, but not opinions that can or will put a negative light on such a great event. Those can be kept to yourself!

 

[Barney121]

Too bad this discussion went downhill! We are always happy to hear input, although we do things in one particular way and we know different people like different things at swaps. We welcome everyone to our swaps, however it is set up. So let's leave it at that. Thanks everyone for input!

 

[Barney121]

Just as an update: in addition to individual attendees at our swap, we also welcome small vendors. It's always nice to see a new "wave" of frags from other areas make it into our swaps. Also, if you are attending, we now have a floor map posted on ncpars.org, and you can request a specific spot.

Thanks, and hope a few folks from western PA can make it!