I have been to two expos. My first was the LA expo which my BF drove us down there AND back the same day (8 hours one way. I have to say he's a keeper after that since he's not even into this stuff). The other was the Sac reptile expo. Both times I walked away with boas. Expos are better for after you already have your feet wet and know what you're looking at. My first snakes (and all but the two boas) were bought online. You have plenty of ads to scope out and time to check who you're buying from as well as email questions and such.
I loved the expos. It was really exciting to be around other people in the same hobby. Especially since my interaction in person with other people in the reptile hobby is pretty limited.
