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Re: [Killietalk] Box sales
Hi Rich,
First, I"d like to thank Rich.... who I think has attended each of the
last 4 NorthEast Weekends supporting our efforts in every way possible. The
auction split at NEW has been 70:30 seller/club........higher than most
offered elsewhere. Still, the small $1 bag charge at the box sale made the
box sale a much better deal for you in the example of the coeleste. However,
It was a much worse deal for UNYKA. This is what I mean about equal value
for buyer,seller AND host club. Of course we set it up that way ....so our
bad. How would you feel about a 80/20 split for BOTH the box sale and
auction? The host club then gets the same % cut regardless of which venue
(box sale or auction) you choose to sell your fish.
................Ron Schulz....UNYKA.....MAKA
On Sat, Mar 28, 2009 at 5:48 PM, RW Pierce <rwpierce at att_net> wrote:
> The reason to have box sales is to get people to come to the convention or
> show! It shouldn't need saying, but both the sellers and the buyers should
> be registered for the event and have paid the registration fee. That
> should
> be where the host club gets its cut. If the host club gets too greedy and
> tries to take a large cut (more than $1 per bag or more than 10 to 20%)
> they
> will just drive the sales "under the radar" to rooms or private deals. I
> count on box sales to raise some of the money I spend in the auction. Some
> auctions do not payout the same day of the auction so I can't count on that
> money to cover my purchases. The more I make at the box sale, the more I
> can spend at the auction.
>
> I don't think that for smaller shows the host club should monitor the box
> sale. Let people be responible for their own fish. The national
> convention
> is a different sort of beast than the smaller, more intimate settings of
> the
> regional conventions. You can't expect what works at one to work at the
> other.
>
> One concern I have with fish auctions (both specialty and general clubs) is
> that they set up a negative feedback loop for good breeders, especially in
> regards to fish that are not as productive as cichlids are, for example.
> Most clubs have gone to a 60/40 or even a 50/50 split at auctions. Call me
> greedy if you like, but this is too much! If I even bother to bag up fish
> for these auctions, it will be fish that I have too many of, or that I am
> tired of. It won't be the "good stuff". At one Northeast weekend I
> brought
> 4 pairs of Aphy. coeleste Sika Sika. I sold 3 bags in the box sale for $20
> each, which I consider to be a fair price. The host received $1 per bag,
> or
> $3 total. I put the unsold bag in the auction where it went for $9, of
> which I got around $6 and the host got $3. Excluding altruism, why would I
> ever put another pair of coeleste in an auction? You can guess how much I
> could have made on Aquabid instead. I don't mind the box sale since I
> don't
> have to ship the fish and don't to have to worry about replacing them if
> they die, plus I get the money right away. Without the box sale, there will
> be no A. coeleste at the convention from me. Among the reasons people come
> to the convention is to get the good fish that they can't get elsewhere.
> Without the box sale, everyone loses.
>
> I should mention that my home club, the Tropical Fish Society of Rhode
> island, takes a flat $3 fee for each bag of fish regardless of the sale
> price. We had a lot of nice fish come through our auction a couple of
> weeks
> ago and we still raised enough money for our modest needs. For the first
> couple of hours of the auction, it was standing room only. The downside is
> for people who bring bags that don't sell for much, but we didn't have a
> single bag of convicts either! Our philosophy is that if we encourage
> people to bring their best fish, we will get more bidders, which will
> encourage more sellers to bring fish. Funny thing is that most people
> spend
> most of what they make, and only a few breeders take home any significant
> amount of money, and only a few buyers have a significant bill at the end
> of
> the day. It ends up being a fish swap with us getting a cut of every
> transaction!
>
> One concern I have heard throughout the AKA and with box sales is that it
> is
> not a fair way to distribute fish. Friends, if you expect fairness either
> in life or in fish, you are going to be disappointed! Many of the most
> desireable fish still chance hands through the "good old boy network". If
> you are worried about your fish falling into the hands of newbies, then
> make
> private offerings to people who you trust with the fish. They are your
> fish, so you can chose how to distribute them, but if you give up control
> of
> the fish in order to make the most money, you also give up the right to say
> who gets the fish. If I have a limited number of fish, they may never make
> it to either the box sale, the auction, or Aquabid. I might still bring
> them to the convention, but they may be given to a friend for free, rather
> than being sold. And that is the real reason for going to a convention:
> to
> see old friends, perhaps make new friends and socialize with people who
> enjoy the same hobby as you do. If you are new to the killie hobby then
> accept it and try find friends, enjoy the hobby and learn as much as you
> can. If you have been in the hobby for more than a few years and the fish
> you want are not coming your way, then maybe you should look in the mirror
> for the reasons why.
>
> Rich Pierce
> North Attleboro, MA
>
>
>
>
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