Tell me about SHOT Show

[bluto77]

I had this posted in the general discussion board, but only had one view in the first hour...which was me. Seems like this would be a better place for it. Please let me know if it is not appropriate for this board.


I've recently become the 50% owner of a small gun store in Houston, and I'm planning on attending my first SHOT show in January. (also getting the store geared up to become a SnipersHide vendor!) Looking at the website, I see plenty of things I want to attend, specifically SHOT Show University on the Monday before the show actually starts. I want to learn and soak up as much information about the industry as I possibly can, and it looked like there were going to be plenty of good speakers that day. I plan on catching other speakers throughout the week as well. My goal is to meet all of our vendors/wholesalers/distributors/etc and educate myself as much as possible. Since I'm going to get there Monday morning though, I'm not sure that I'll be staying the entire week. My tentative plan is to be there Mon, Tues, Wed, and leave Thursday morning to come home. My questions to the veteran SHOT show attendees:

How many days does it take to see everything?

What am I missing out on by leaving on Thursday morning?

Are there industry events each night too?

When do companies that are introducing new items typically formally "unveil" them, if you will? (or is the new stuff just placed at their booth and you stop by and ohhh and ahh?)

What are some do's and don'ts?

What should I be sure not to miss?

Any and all additional advice on things I'm not asking will be appreciated.


Thanks in advance, and I'm looking forward to having a great time! Just looking though all of the information for the show, making travel plans, etc is getting me extra pumped up to spend even more time revitalizing the store's business model.

If this is posted in the wrong forum, please direct me to a more appropriate one and I will move the thread.

 

[RWSGunsmithing]

Here is what I can advise.

If you hit it hard and you don't stop to BS a lot can do it in a day and half. It usually takes me 2 days to see the whole thing. This gives me a little time to BS with vendors I deal with on a weekly basis. The third day I will hit a few vendors I'm interested in, want do more research on or just want to BS with some more.

Bring good walking shoes!

Bring copies of your FFL, business cards and anything else that pertains to your business. Because some places won't give you a dealer price list unless you do. A few suppressor places did that to me last year.

Not much help on the industry events as most of the time they don't pertain to what I do.

Go to NSSF's website and plan your route or at least find the vendors you are most interest in. There's a few places that I make a B-line for as soon as it opens up so I can get my order in before any one else.

HAVE FUN!!! I look forward to every year.

 

[bluto77]

That was another thing I was wondering about. Are all the vendors taking orders there? I'm assuming on their newly released items.

So I should have copies of our FFL, SOT, business cards, and what about some kind of proof of funds for orders/letter from bank with credit line/etc? Would it be a good idea to contact vendors I think we'll be ordering from well prior to the show and getting a 30 day credit line or whatever it is that particular vendor does set up with them in advance? (that may be a dumb question, but that's why i'm going....to start eliminating the dumb questions...one by one)

Thanks for the reply btw!

 

[RWSGunsmithing]

Some will allow to make orders there. That's really dependent on the company.

I will say it's not like a "gun show" where you actually buy the product there and take it home.

Also be on the look out and even ask about special offers or incentives.

 

[Papa Zero Three]

I'll re-itterate what has been said a bit. Have a plan and a list of all the vendors/people you want to see. If it requires a sit down meeting, schedule it now with the vendor/person so you are on their schedule/calendar. It also helps you set up your day and work around the day if you have hard times/meetings with people as it is really easy to get side tracked/pulled in another direction while you are there.

Get a floorplan map and find all your vendor's booths and high light/circle them so you know what floor they are on and what other booths are close to them that you might want to stop at. Otherwise you will end up walking up and down stairs all day when you could have knocked out a lot of business while on one level.

See the vendors/people that are the priority on your list first as its common to have to go back to a booth because the person you want to talk to isn't there at the moment. Its easy to move on and never get back around to that booth /person once you are in the thick of things on the floor.

Please don't be one of those people pulling a milk crate around on a luggage dolly to throw all your books and swag into. The isles are crowded as it is with people and these people only make it harder to navigate through the crowds IMO. Which leads me to the next thing, take an empty back pack/day pack to carry stuff you pick up from booths and to carry a bottle of water and a snack as you will find it easy to forget to eat and drink at times. Having to go to one of the food locations or leave the floor to eat at the casino restaurants eats into your day/time and if the crowds are heavy, can take 20-30 minutes just to get where you want to be.

Take more business cards than you expect to hand out and have them on you in your back pack. Have a pouch/pocket to collect all the business cards you collect, so they are all in one spot. Try to only put the ones you really want or are important to you in the pocket, it helps later on when you are going through them or are looking for a specific one.All the other ones throw into the main compartment of the backpack along with the brochures/magazines.

Take comfortable walking shoes and clothes, you will be on your feet all day and walking a lot if you are there on a mission. And of course, have fun.

 

[FN in MT]

Mr. Snyder has given you some good advice already. Cards and some FFL's...GOOD idea.

Get going on hotel rooms ASAP too. Rooms can get expensive as it gets closer to the Show.

Try for a close by hotel if you can swing it. They will run buses from most of the popular hotels to the Show but they can be crowded in the morning and the end of the day.
We stay at the old Chinese Palace now called the Quad. Walking distance to the Show which is convenient.

Check out the site as it's your best way to PLAN your show. All sorts of FAQ's that will help you out. I've attended a few of the classes in the past. Well worth the time and effort.

+1 on the Comfy shoes and thick socks. The walking/time on your feet....near endless. Also you will be carrying all sorts of catalogs and give aways...I always bring a light weight bag with a wide, comfy shoulder strap. Makes carrying all the crap all day, easier.

I attend as a Rep from a Buddy's Shop. Years back the Owner and I used to attend. Now he goes only every other year so I take my wife now.

SHOT is a lot of fun.

Nice to be able to ask a tech question or handle the newest toy.

FN in MT

 

[bluto77]

Perfect. This is what I was looking for. I already have a room at trump plaza for mon, tues, and wed, but Im starting to think I may need to stay one more day since I will be catching a speaker or two during the day. Im glad I posted this. Didn't realize it would be so intense.

 

[Triad]

Contacting possible suppliers about terms ahead of time is a good idea. Smooths up the process. Most of the items you see for the first time at SHOT, aren't really available yet(despite what the sales people tell you). Some may give better discounts on orders placed during/at SHOT.

Dont eat seafood in the middle of the desert, unless you see the cook pull it's living body out of the tank and cook it.

Don't be that guy that slows the entire SHOT world down by pulling a Radio Flyer wagon full of flyers and crap you picked up just because it's free!!!

I've been the nine or ten times, just for reference.

 

[FN in MT]

The Friday/Saturday /Sunday after SHOT is the Vegas Antique Arms Show at the Riviera Hotel. One of the best shows in the Country. We always extend until Saturday and hit the Show on Friday. Quite an array of high end Arms and Western Art.

And as previously mentioned...DON'T be one of those fucking CART PULLERS!

 

[SScott]

Great thread, I just received my confirmation today that I'm accepted to attend.
This will be my first show and I'm trying to get a game plan together. It looks like I better leave the rubber tired wagon home.
Scott

 

[MarinePMI]

Please don't be one of those people pulling a milk crate around on a luggage dolly to throw all your books and swag into.

^^^ This.

Nothing worse than trying to get somewhere for a meeting and having three knuckle heads blocking the aisles/intersections with their friggin' carts. If possible, please don't be part of tacticool crowd walking around like tough guys; IMHO just think of SHOT as a huge business meeting. Great stuff to see if its your first time, but generally, its an event to catch up with other folks in the industry, face-to-face, that you would otherwise not see. It's always nice to reaffirm friendships (business and personal) and touch base on industry trends, developments and minutiae.

I missed last year's event, but plan to be there this year. I've been going since 2004, to give you a point of reference...

 

[AtOne]

When someone says they can see everything in 2 days realize that means walking practically non stop that whole time. To say that the SHOT Show is huge is really an understatement !
This year was my first time being there and it was overwhelming how many vendors and booths there we're and just when you thought you'd seen all of them you find another ballroom you'd missed packed full of more vendors. To give you a better idea of the size here's the specs of the convention center "3.2 million square feet of space, with 2 million square feet for exhibits" -Good walking shoes is definitely a must.

Everything said above is spot on especially about planing for what you want to see or who to talk to, its a busy show with lots to get you off track.

Have a great time and take it all in and the next year you'll have a great idea of what you want to get accomplished and see for your business !

 

[Kasey]

Papa Zero Three gave as good of advice as needed.

Except for the milk crate thing.

Okay, I have a confession, the milk crate guys unknowingly haul our trash away, serving this industry with a smile on their face!! (but ONLY when they park their cart/milk crate in front of our "passageway".)

The other thing was to stop by 20135.

There is a New Products Section where a lot of new stuff is seen, but you have to get a cavity search to enter...

 

[EarPlug]

Also get the Shot Show Mobile APP http://www.shotmobile.com/landing/

 

[bluto77]

Played blackjack with the owner of Bartlien and his wife. Really nice people. Shot show is cool thus far. Went through the shot university classes today and gained some insightful information. Tomorrow will come faster than I want it to, but glad I decided to go down to the casino. Met several other people as well.

 

[branson1369]

Late night the gym was rough this am looking forward to a long day of way cool kit

 

[bluto77]

I know many people here loathe LaRue Tactical. I own an OBR 5.56 and it shoots pretty well, so I guess I'm biased. I was looking forward to seeing their booth and finger-banging all of the LaRue rifles. Well...too bad. They didn't have one single rifle there. Just a display case with most of their same unimproved "technology" as far as scope mounts and rails are concerned. Two chicks were behind a counter serving basically no purpose. Mark LaRue was there, but I didn't talk to him.

Lots of other cool chit though. I had no idea just how big this thing would be.