Queen City Frag Fest 2017 - Official Thread

[Johnny C]

In conjunction with Aquarium Professionals of WNY, I am very excited to announce the third annual Queen City Frag Fest!

• Full Info @ QueenCityFragFest.com
• Buy, sell and trade corals, fish, equipment and more
• Raffle Drawing, Snacks, Cash Bar and Ted's Food Truck on site
• Open to the public - $5 Adult Admission, Children (16 and Under) FREE
• VIP Entrance @ 11:30am: $20 *Includes Drink Ticket, First Come First Serve
• Inexpensive hobbyist/vendor table pricing w/ some very popular vendors
• Beautiful historic venue with free parking in the Lawley Parking Ramp
• Extensive raffle with lots of premium items you will NOT want to miss
• Fun for children and adults of all ages
• Registration/Pre-Sales on Fragswapper as well as here on ReefTrader!

Details: As you can see from the flyer above, the event is going to take place in downtown Buffalo on Sunday, April 2nd from 12-4pm at Asbury Hall within "Babeville" run by URS Member "EastAmherstBias". This is an absolutely amazing venue which started its life as an old church and is now a state-of-the-art entertainment venue.

Admission: General admission to the swap is $5 for Adults, Children 16 & Under are Free. For the first time, we're offering a VIP Entry at 11:30am (30 minutes before general admission entry) which will give hobbyists the first dibs at purchasing items from vendors. VIP Entry is $20 and includes a drink ticket good for one free drink at the bar. VIP Entry is first come, first served in the form of a single-file line outside the event. There will also be a general admission line outside for those wishing to enter at 12PM.

Vendors & Hobbyist Tables: For vendors, we are offering two different options for selling livestock: non-commercial hobbyists can purchase a spot for $35 which allows you 30" table space, 500 watts maximum power and up to a 20 gallon tank for livestock. Additionally, commercial vendors are able to purchase a 8x4' space for $130 (8' table provided) along with 800 watts of maximum power and up to 75 gallons of aquarium(s). If you are interested in reserving space, please send an e-mail to queencityfragfest@gmail.com and we will arrange your space.

Swappers: We've registered our event on both FragSwapper.com as well as ReefTrader.com sites so you can converse with other hobbyists/vendors and get some really awesome pre-sale deals! *Note: FragSwapper is in the process of posting the event and will be live shortly.

Raffle Prizes: There will be a large and might we add very exciting chinese-auction style raffle for items such as all-in-one and reef-ready aquariums, LED lighting, salt and much, much more!

We are extremely excited about this event and looking forward to seeing everyone there- be sure to register for the event on the sites listed above and post here to let us know you can attend!

 

[block head]

the $ 5 rubs me the wrong way. spent serial hundred last year. no reason I should pay to get in. the pushing and shoving was a bit much . maybe it will help. I' d rather drive to Buffalo and give randy the $ 5 . miss the good old days when a swap was a swap. think i' ll pass ...

 

[prose]

Counting down the days!!!!


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[prose]

In conjunction with Aquarium Professionals of WNY, I am very excited to announce the third annual Queen City Frag Fest!

• Full Info @ QueenCityFragFest.com
  
• Buy, sell and trade corals, fish, equipment and more
  
• Raffle Drawing, Snacks, Cash Bar and Ted's Food Truck on site
  
• Open to the public - $5 Adult Admission, Children (16 and Under) FREE
  
• VIP Entrance @ 11:30am: $20 *Includes Drink Ticket, First Come First Serve
  
• Inexpensive hobbyist/vendor table pricing w/ some very popular vendors
  
• Beautiful historic venue with free parking in the Lawley Parking Ramp
  
• Extensive raffle with lots of premium items you will NOT want to miss
  
• Fun for children and adults of all ages
  
• Registration/Pre-Sales on Fragswapper as well as here on ReefTrader!
  

Details: As you can see from the flyer above, the event is going to take place in downtown Buffalo on Sunday, April 2nd from 12-4pm at Asbury Hall within "Babeville" run by URS Member "EastAmherstBias". This is an absolutely amazing venue which started its life as an old church and is now a state-of-the-art entertainment venue.



Admission: General admission to the swap is $5 for Adults, Children 16 & Under are Free. For the first time, we're offering a VIP Entry at 11:30am (30 minutes before general admission entry) which will give hobbyists the first dibs at purchasing items from vendors. VIP Entry is $20 and includes a drink ticket good for one free drink at the bar. VIP Entry is first come, first served in the form of a single-file line outside the event. There will also be a general admission line outside for those wishing to enter at 12PM.



Vendors & Hobbyist Tables: For vendors, we are offering two different options for selling livestock: non-commercial hobbyists can purchase a spot for $35 which allows you 30" table space, 500 watts maximum power and up to a 20 gallon tank for livestock. Additionally, commercial vendors are able to purchase a 8x4' space for $130 (8' table provided) along with 800 watts of maximum power and up to 75 gallons of aquarium(s). If you are interested in reserving space, please send an e-mail to queencityfragfest@gmail.com and we will arrange your space.



Swappers: We've registered our event on both FragSwapper.com as well as ReefTrader.com sites so you can converse with other hobbyists/vendors and get some really awesome pre-sale deals! *Note: FragSwapper is in the process of posting the event and will be live shortly.



Raffle Prizes: There will be a large and might we add very exciting chinese-auction style raffle for items such as all-in-one and reef-ready aquariums, LED lighting, salt and much, much more!



We are extremely excited about this event and looking forward to seeing everyone there- be sure to register for the event on the sites listed above and post here to let us know you can attend!

Johnny C how do I go about obtaining the VIP passes?


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[akmzero]

I'm with you on the entry fee, the VIP entry doesn't bother me, but should give you more time than 30 minutes as sometimes a single deal will take that long.



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[prose]

Mods can we get a sticky on this?

 

[webslinger]

Entry fee???? wow! I guess I'll have to negotiate more with the vendors.

 

[dreaminmel]

Tossing this back up to the top... maybe it'll stick!

 

[MiaCoral]

The $5 dollar entry fee is well worth it. I went last year and got tons of good deals and the vendors all had awesome stuff along with all the private sellers too!

 

[webslinger]

Just a money grab. I've been there every year. The prices are average at best but it is nice to see all sorts of stuff in one place. The charge should be to the vendors. It maybe now won't be so crowded.

 

[MatAndPatti]

I agree, $5 doesn't seem that bad. I think that was more than offset by the deals we got. Of course it would probably suck if you were just there to look, but not buy, so maybe this will help out with the crowds a little bit.

BTW, I don't know what time if folks complaining about the crowds got there, but we usually arrive somewhere between 1 and 2:00, and have never found it overly crowded. By 3:00 it's really starting to empty out, and I think at least some of the sellers are more willing to make package deals. Sure you might miss out on some things that sell off quick, so I guess if that's a factor for you then show up early. We also like to get there later so we can stay for the raffle.

 

[MiaCoral]

They do charge the vendors. I think it's $130 dollars per table.

 

[block head]

this event is purely commercial. any reasonable frag is going to have several hundred consumers willing and able to snap it up. even 1k an inch sticks or 750$ unicorn torches got bought last year. raise table fees if necessary. Vendors did thousands in sales. No need to charge . greedy Imo. last swap I went to they bought us food , gave me a beer , and maintained a lfs year round. Almost surprised mods are allowed to shill for the event. $ 5 isn't a big deal. Probably pay more in tolls driving back and forth. I feel like I'm rewarding out of state vendors and chop shops. fun event, I'll pass. just doesn't sit right this year.

 

[mrpergo]

I thought about driving up this year but 5 bucks to go look around after I already drove and hour, I don't think so . Too many VERY nice shops here in the Rochester area with GREAT prices and support.

 

[prose]

Lol people it's 5$ come on


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[Johnny C]

the $ 5 rubs me the wrong way. spent serial hundred last year. no reason I should pay to get in. the pushing and shoving was a bit much . maybe it will help. I' d rather drive to Buffalo and give randy the $ 5 . miss the good old days when a swap was a swap. think i' ll pass ...

Entry fee???? wow! I guess I'll have to negotiate more with the vendors.

Just a money grab. I've been there every year. The prices are average at best but it is nice to see all sorts of stuff in one place. The charge should be to the vendors. It maybe now won't be so crowded.

this event is purely commercial. any reasonable frag is going to have several hundred consumers willing and able to snap it up. even 1k an inch sticks or 750$ unicorn torches got bought last year. raise table fees if necessary. Vendors did thousands in sales. No need to charge . greedy Imo. last swap I went to they bought us food , gave me a beer , and maintained a lfs year round. Almost surprised mods are allowed to shill for the event. $ 5 isn't a big deal. Probably pay more in tolls driving back and forth. I feel like I'm rewarding out of state vendors and chop shops. fun event, I'll pass. just doesn't sit right this year.

I'm sorry if anyone feels offended about the $5 entry fee, but I'd be willing to guess that these folks haven't been to regional swaps (outside of a LFS) as most of them charge anywhere from $25-50/person to enter the doors.

We've offered QCFF free for public admission for the past two years but unfortunately we've actually lost money both times because between the venue, food trucks, electricians, parking ramp and security, the costs are very high... especially in a historic venue with a cash bar and 5+ employees (among 10+ volunteers). As someone who's been putting on swaps here in Buffalo for 8 years, I take a lot of pride in bringing big-name vendors to the area and can assure you all that nobody tries to exude a "chop-shop" mentality. As a matter of fact, the average cost of a frag at this event is below $50. If you're looking for deals, hold out until the last hour and you'd be surprised how affordable some quality corals can get. If you want to be the first in line to get that limited edition coral, we've setup an option to do that too (via VIP Entry). NO ONE is excluded.

We welcome EVERYONE at QCFF with open-arms and I would appreciate a bit more support from URS in doing so. This event is the result of a lot of time/labor that we do simply to give back to the local reefing community. Thank you!

 

[Johnny C]

Johnny C how do I go about obtaining the VIP passes?

We aren't doing pre-sale passes, there will be two lines formed outside prior to the event with a doorman who will be selling VIP bracelets. See you then!

 

[block head]

I stand by my posts . I went ,spent several hundred dollars. there was stuff I enjoyed. shop from Ohio? reasonable out of state vendor. amber aka oceansparidise or whatever phil calls his business was represented. the guy might be boy scout these days. he robbed a bunch of URS MEMBERS. nobody cheated me. I don't have an axe to grind. $30 at the food truck . dropped cash at the bar. (Cokes) not really the time or place for alcohol. I didn't care for the loud music or pushing. To be fair ,I didn't stay till the end. running an event like this is difficult. the entry fee / commercial vibe plays a large part in my decision not to attend this year. good luck ; I'm sure plenty will pay to play.

 

[dreaminmel]

I think the beauty of this is that different people enjoy different things. Some actually enjoy it and have no problem paying $5 to get in.

And it's completely ok if others prefer the more old school style as those still happen as well.

I'm personally looking forward to going for the first time this year and checking it out as I haven't been out that way for a frag swap since one hosted at ARC years ago. Who knows, maybe I'll feel the same afterwards but if so I'll just know not to go next year.

I've only ever had one axe to grind in this hobby and I dug it in, dropped it, and walked away. Phil has never personally cheated me and I'm actually pretty proud of what he and Justin have done with their business as they just had their 1st year anniversary of which a few said would never happen. My little class clown adopted brother has grown and moved past the old mentalities from over a decade ago. We don't all have to agree or like everything but every aspect of this hobby has it's place. Each shop has it's strong points and each member does as well.

Nutshell: I'm looking forward to this, Johnny! Thanks for all your efforts!

 

[webslinger]

It's not the $ it's the principle of the matter. I sent a few $100 each the last 2 years there. Charging an entry fee to go buy something just doesn't make sense. The cost should be put onto the vendors, it's not like the have trouble getting vendors to attend. Just a money grab, puts a bad taste in my mouth. I'll be skipping it this year.