How I shop an expo/show/whatever

[Royal Hijinx]

Answering another thread gave me the idea to start this one. An expo can be a bit overwhelming, so having a game plan can help a ton. This is how I do it, but I want to hear input from you guys too!


I start with a budget and a short list of what I want/need well before the expo. I will haunt KS and Fauna and jot down average prices. An educated shopper is a smart shopper. Plus this helps keep focus.


I get the the expo EARLY, as in try to be first in line early.


Once inside, I will start at the opposite side I see other folks going to and cruise every table with ball pythons. I do not stop to look at ANYTHING other than ball pythons. (insert other species if that is your mission)

After a quick first loop, I will have narrowed it down to a few. I will then systematically go look at those few again and make a decision.


I will then chat with the breeder/haggle a bit, and if everything checks out, buy the animal. All this takes about 30 min at a medium sized expo (I move fast )


Now, I can relax and enjoy the rest of the expo, chat with friends at their booth, etc... I got a awesome animal and I am a happy camper! I may buy more that day, but I can rest assured I jumped first on the best quality stuff for my price range and breeding/pet needs.


How do the rest of you do it? I would imagine some of you are much more free form, or know you are going to a certain breeder. Also, some like to shop the deal later in the expo.

So, let's hear it!

[Daybreaker]

Me and my bf are pretty casual about expos. I usually have a (long) list of what I'm looking for but when we get there we'll take our time looking at all the vendors and all the animals (we go on the first day and arrive about an hour or so after it opens). After looking at everything I'll go back to the animals I was interested in for a closer look and decide if I'll purchase. I've never haggled at shows: the animals I've gotten have been under or at market price so I never felt the need to haggle with the seller. After buying or not buying anything then I like to go back to everyone and take pics of whatever to enjoy later and to share here

I've recently had a bad experience with sick snakes from a vendor I got from the last expo we went to so I'm not sure how I feel about buying more expo animals; I'll need to see how I feel when the next Phx Expo comes up in November.

[Capray]

I just look at errthing and I suppose if something stands out I would look more closeley. I haven't been snake shopping more than once, but next time I do that's probably how it would play out. Also I'm not in a big emergency for only ball pythons...hm


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[Mike41793]

Thats exactly how I do it when I'm looking for something specific lol.

Usually I'm not hunting something specific though so I'll walk through the expo twice pretty casually and if I see anything that causes me to go look at it a third time ill consider buying it. Sometimes the snake will be gone by then, which isn't really a bad thing bc i really don't NEED to be buying more at this point haha.

[liv]

I'm not very serious in my expo shopping at all. I know what I'm looking for (ball, leo, scorpion, boa) but everything else about it is up in the air. It's more fun that way I try and get there right when it opens (or within an hour or so), and then just do a million laps of the tables, chatting to my friends at their tables (talking to people is THE reason I like expos... it's the only real-life snake talk I ever get).. if something catches my eye that I can afford and I keep going back to it, I'll seriously consider buying it. I really go to these things for fun and rats, so I just spend a few hours enjoying the scene and seeing what's there.

[Annarose15]

I don't make many animal purchases at shows, but I do pre-buy and then pick up there, especially from vendors that I know. It saves on shipping and helps guarantee that I'm getting the animal I want, not just the only/best one available. I have definitely made some impulse buys, usually with the "help" of friends, but those were animals that stood out that weren't part of the original plan.

[OctagonGecko729]

We do the same thing as Jinx except in the past it has been for Uroplatus and Nephrurus. However we do keep our eye open for species that you normally don't see at expos (cyrtodactylus, paroedura masobe, etc) while looking for the already rare Uroplatus and Nephrurus. We have only done two expos since we started ball pythons. We used the same approach with the BPs but honestly the prices and quality on the net were much better and no one had the combos we were looking for anyway. All of the purchases this year were also pretty sizeable amounts of cash that we needed to run payment plans for, theres no way I could've dumped the amount of cash we spent on our male in one go at an expo.

[HypoLyf]

I've made one BP purchase at a show, but I had already seen photos of the girl and knew I was going to snag her ahead of time.

With that said, some of the things I do on occasion include the following (you'll notice a few of them are also a part of your playbook Jinx ):

1) Haunt KS and Fauna for a price range: This is helpful for budgeting purposes and haggling.

2) Get there early: Jostling for position annoys me, so if I can avoid the crowds, I will. I also don't like the idea of hearing the following from a breeder: "We actually sold an animal like that 10 minutes ago. She was absolutely gorgeous too!" In short, the early bird gets the worm.

3) Review the list of vendors: I like to look at who is going so that I may check out their website, facebook page, and so on to see their current projects. I tend to give priority to people who have projects that can be incorporated into what I'm working with.

4) Have a list of animal(s) that I would seriously consider purchasing: I have a list made out with maybe 3 potential combos that I am looking for. With those in mind, I make one complete round at the expo looking for those specific animals. This helps me stay focused so I don't get sidetracked staring at an animal that may be cool to look at, but isn't exactly what I'm looking for. If I don't find those specific animals after the first trip around the expo, I tend to revert to supplies and staring mode, meaning I purchase feeders, hides, flexwatt, thermostats, etc. and go table to table once again, but take a little more time to interact with the breeders and take photos.

With all of that said, most of the time I wing it since I'm usually there just to talk with friends and check out the cool animals.

[Kaorte]

If I am looking for something very specific, I contact breeders outside of shows to see what their pairings are for the season.

Shopping at shows for me is just looking for the bests example of specific genes I am looking for. Price doesn't concern me too much because almost every breeder is willing to negotiate. I'd rather pay a little more for a spectacular morph than settle on a decent looking one for less money.

Also, I try to look at everything at the show. I don't skip over many tables. I like to see everything the show has to offer. I spend most of my time looking at ball pythons, so I enjoy seeing all the other animals out there

The Tinley Park show is so crowded I have a hard time making it to all the tables in two days. Its nuts.

[4theSNAKElady]

OMG that is the VERY same way I shop at shows! lol However, I do have a "maybe" part of my list, that are just possible purchases if I see a stellar example of that animal or a really good deal on one. And I usually have a list of specific supplies I need/want too. And also, at EVERY show, I bring my own carry containers that are lined woth soft bedding that has been treated the night before with PAM ...prevents any unwanted hitchhikers