Question about reptile expo's

Im looking to get a snake at my local reptile expo this October and hav ea couple questions.

Are the prices at an expo more, less, or the same as a petstore or a breeder?

Do they have supplies like substrate, tanks, heaters, thermostats etc.?

Is it best to buy a snake early to get first picks, or would it be better to wait till the end of the expo and get a discounted price on unsold reptiles?

Anything else i need to know?

Thanks in advance for answering some or all my questions : )


Trevor

The prices are amazing at expos. I get a het lavender, hypo, and like 2 other things from a local breeder in austin (texas) for 15 dollars. At a local expo I went to they were selling frozen mice, some were selling tanks, and books on reptiles.

Expo prices are way better than petstores, usually better than off breeders websites cause of the convienience of the sale. You can pretty much get everything you will possibly need from a good expo and then some. I am a firm believer that when you see something you like, get it. If you snooze you lose!!!

Depends on the expo and your knowledge. Also, sometimes waiting until the show is about to be over works. People tend to drop their prices drastically towards the end of the show. Prices are far better than a local pet store and the collection of everything you can get there is AMAZING!

Prices at expos are GReat.
Ideally,
I'd say, I prefer to be at the expo the first day EARLY..
to get good deals before someone else does.
AND, to come back the end of the day the last day..
as some will drop prices to avoid taking stock home.
but that's a lil obssesive..

I went to one here 2 weeks a go and come home with a new addition to the family as well as frozen feeders. They had evrything you could need there to. I will say that if you are looking for something special you best get there early and don't wait till the last day. I also was able to make an offer on my new addition and not pay the asking price. Good deals can be had without waiting til the last day if you are in the mood to negotiate...

Even the smallest expos I've been to have always had someone selling dry goods such as enclosures and substrates, as well as at least one feeder vendor.

As for when to make the best deals...I think you'll have to work that out yourself once you see what's there. I agree with the "get there early" philosophy. Check out every table and see if there's an animal that really captures your heart. If there is, I would not hesitate to buy it because if you don't, someone else may buy it before you get a chance. You can still try to negotiate for a lower price.

But...if you just want "a snake" and are not too particular about which one it is, then waiting until the last hour or so of the show is also a very good option, because as noted, some vendors are more willing to make very good deals then in order to carry less stock home with them.

And sometimes a combination of those two strategies is good, if you consider buying more than one animal.....which....you know.....could happen...with these addictive little creatures! :P

This is a great thread, I'm going to my first reptile expo April 3rd. I soooo can't wait to bring a friend home lol.

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Originally Posted by JLC

As for when to make the best deals...I think you'll have to work that out yourself once you see what's there. I agree with the "get there early" philosophy. Check out every table and see if there's an animal that really captures your heart. If there is, I would not hesitate to buy it because if you don't, someone else may buy it before you get a chance. You can still try to negotiate for a lower price.

But...if you just want "a snake" and are not too particular about which one it is, then waiting until the last hour or so of the show is also a very good option, because as noted, some vendors are more willing to make very good deals then in order to carry less stock home with them.

And sometimes a combination of those two strategies is good, if you consider buying more than one animal.....which....you know.....could happen...with these addictive little creatures! :P

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Good point, that's what I did made the rounds early and then went straight back to the one I wanted and started asking the questions. I don't believe if I would have waited any longer I would have gotten the little guy and I was set on finding only one type that day...

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Originally Posted by LGray23

This is a great thread, I'm going to my first reptile expo April 3rd. I soooo can't wait to bring a friend home lol.

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Are you hitting the one in Manchester, NH at the Radisson Hotel?

Not to hijack the thread, but reading this just made me think of bringing that animal home that you bought..

If you were to fly to an expo, is there an easy/not too expensive way to bring the snakes back with you? Would you pack them as if to ship and then... what? Would it be like flying with a dog in cargo? Just thought about this since I was thinking of flying to Seattle this April. :/ (West coast doesn't have the most expos. Boo. :C)

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Originally Posted by TheWinWizard

Are you hitting the one in Manchester, NH at the Radisson Hotel?

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Yeah that's the one on April 3rd. I'm also going to the MA reptile expo may 21st, but the NH one is going to be much bigger. :D

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Originally Posted by LGray23

Yeah that's the one on April 3rd. I'm also going to the MA reptile expo may 21st, but the NH one is going to be much bigger. :D

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Not sure how far you are from white plains, ny but that show is April 17th and defiantly a good show to goto.

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Originally Posted by mdjudson

Not sure how far you are from white plains, ny but that show is April 17th and defiantly a good show to goto.

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I've heard it's a fantastic show! It's 3 1/3 hours away from me, without traffic lol. A little too far to travel. Even the NH show is gonna be about 1 1/2 hours for me...but well worth it I hope. :please:

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Originally Posted by Misfit

Not to hijack the thread, but reading this just made me think of bringing that animal home that you bought..

If you were to fly to an expo, is there an easy/not too expensive way to bring the snakes back with you? Would you pack them as if to ship and then... what? Would it be like flying with a dog in cargo? Just thought about this since I was thinking of flying to Seattle this April. :/ (West coast doesn't have the most expos. Boo. :C)

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You could check with the Airlines. I think that shipping them back fedex would be the most cost efficient. I use Continental for shipping puppies and have never had a problem. I'm not sure if they let you carry on reptiles as checked baggage. The movie Snakes on the Plane might of ruined that one. LOL They will let you with a dog if the carrier is small enough to fit underneath the seat in front of you. So that might be worth looking into.

They absolutely will NOT let you carry a snake on a plane the way they might let you take a dog. Sorry. Delta (and maybe Continental...not sure) will ship snakes as cargo, but I believe you have to arrange that in advance and have a known account already set up with them.

Most vendors (especially at the bigger shows) will make arrangements to ship the animal to you after the show...but of course, that will add the cost of shipping to the price of the animal. And if it's a really small show, it may just have small local vendors who aren't set up to ship.

Alright. :] I guess having the vendor ship would make the most sense. Thank you both! I'm definitely going to fly and hit up Seattle. I'm in NorCal, so as far as I've found there are only 2 expos in my state.

I do not recommend waiting for something you really want. The good deals go fast..
but sometimes at the END of it all..
people do make deals that weren't on the table to begin with.
But what I have gotten down as my personal strategy,
is getting there as early as possible the first day,
getting in and getting to every table (that has things I may be interested in) and getting a survey of everything.. and then once I know EVERYTHING that's there..
I can decide my must haves..
then go back for that.
THEN.. actually, more fully, check out other things.