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Posted: 11/13/2008 1:36:00 PM EDT
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Can one get tickets to the SHOT Show with a C&R License?
I know, stupid question, but I have always wanted to go to a SHOT show!!! Doc |
| To the best of my knowledge, there isn't really a limit per se so long as they're all made in the name of the FFL. SHOT might notice if a couple dozen people showed up all wearing Bob's Gun Shop tags, but on the other hand I've seen people do very nearly just that. |
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I've been going to the SHOT for 20+ years and have said that since the late 90's.
I hate to say it but there are also too many people who dont belong there that find a way in. I'm going to behave. No shit.....not a peep out of me. Just enjoying the view. 
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It doesnt take a FFL to get in. There are guys who sell carved furniture and what not SHOT would be a lot better if they cracked down on that stuff Too much junk I hate to say it but there are also too many people who dont belong there that find a way in. Been to the last three or four Will miss this one thank god. Have no desire to fly across country Will probably be at the next years unless I can talk my way out of it Quoted:
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I've been going to the SHOT for 20+ years and have said that since the late 90's.
I hate to say it but there are also too many people who dont belong there that find a way in. Thank god someone agrees with me I mean no disrespect but SHOT is not for rubberneckers. It makes it real hard for the vendors who have to sort out who to talk to. I wont even get into all the dirtbags that grab all the wholesale catalogs/price lists and use them to pressure their local FFL's for lower prices |
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agree, can't count the number of people at SHOT Show that I start talking to in our booth and mention the Company listed on their tag and right away they say something like "oh, this is just my ________'s company, I'm just here for fun."
It can make it hard to make deals with industry people if only 1/2 of them work in the industry. But I also can't blame them. If wasn't there for work, I probably would be there for fun too. |
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agree, can't count the number of people at SHOT Show that I start talking to in our booth and mention the Company listed on their tag and right away they say something like "oh, this is just my ________'s company, I'm just here for fun."
It can make it hard to make deals with industry people if only 1/2 of them work in the industry. But I also can't blame them. If wasn't there for work, I probably would be there for fun too. Quite true. I had our rep from one of the major manufacturers pull me aside in the middle of the LE section and start ranting to me about anime-drawing Japanese tourists who apparently came to SHOT to do field research for the latest anime films. The other downside of it is trying to get taken seriously by companies that don't think I'm worth talking to. I walked up to one very major manufacturer, and tried to ask a couple questions and pick up some paperwork. The first rep I spoke to basically snubbed me entirely. I felt like saying "Hey, my company has probably bought hundreds of thousands of dollars of your product, asshole, you could at least spend ten seconds talking to me." In my experience, it's been the optics companies that are the most friendly and helpful, oddly enough. From US Optics all the way down to the frigging Chinese POS makers, they've all been consistently open, informative, and eager to explain their product. Compare that to another major company (*cough*BERETTA*cough*), where I could consistently walk up to their booth and do jumping jacks without getting the attention of a single rep... |
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There are a ton of folks with various degree of affiliation to the industry walking around. Some directly involved, some indirectly involved, some who are essentially non-involved guests of those involved and some who are there because they managed to squeek by and have no affiliation at all.
Out of the later group, yeah, there are some real doozies. I remember some douche on ARFCOM, after the last show, posting pics posing with rifles in "action" poses. You could actually see company reps looking at him like they'd like to knock him the fuck out. Total douche. The Japanese anime folks I never heard of, but they'd qualify as well. There are also people who aren't getting in the way, aren't wasting the time of vendors, aren't posing for action shots and simply walking the floor checking things out. There isn't any harm in that. It's not like their pressence has excluded anyone who is affiliated....there's plenty of room. It's a matter of respect. SHOT creates the standard for admission. It weeds out the vast majority of the short-bus crowd. Some people will slip past who shouldn't necessarily be there. A small fraction of those act like idiots. A problem? Sure. A problem that threatens the fuctionality and effectiveness of the show? No. Not as far as I've seen. Quoted:
The other downside of it is trying to get taken seriously by companies that don't think I'm worth talking to. I walked up to one very major manufacturer, and tried to ask a couple questions and pick up some paperwork. The first rep I spoke to basically snubbed me entirely. I felt like saying "Hey, my company has probably bought hundreds of thousands of dollars of your product, asshole, you could at least spend ten seconds talking to me." Compare that to another major company (*cough*BERETTA*cough*), where I could consistently walk up to their booth and do jumping jacks without getting the attention of a single rep... This.....what you described above? That has to do with a lack of professionalism from the REPS THEMSELVES. I know this will come as a bit of a shock, but the industry has its share of idiots....unprofessional idiots attached to it. The guy in example (A) should have been well prepared to meet and talk with valuable partners....and he wasn't. He belonged at SHOT, and guess what? Unprofessional and unprepared to talk business with those he absolutely should have been prepared for. As for Beretta? It aint rocket science to be ready and able to talk shop with the folks there that matter. It's a matter of professional courtesy and professionalism in general. Some people have it, some don't. And some of those who don't, actually have jobs with large firearms companies. Mrketing and sales ability doesn't come naturally to folks who like things with triggers attached....or anyone else. Some folks are good at it, trained and educated in the process and standards for professionalism, and some clearly are not. You time wasn't wasted by yahoo's who shouldn't have been there, it was wasted by folks in your industry who frankly suck at their jobs. |
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That is why every rep at every booth should treat everyone with the same courtesy and respect, you can never tell who is going to bring your company that multi-million dollar deal. We are surprised by big deals that come out of nowhere at every shot show.
Word. I've been surprised in the past by competence from unlikely sources...like the 10-year-old who came in and wanted to discuss the qualitative differences between the Savage Accutrigger and a factory 700 trigger, in the context of 1000-yard shooting. The small companies tend to know this, and treat everyone equally (at least unless someone acts like an idiot). It tends to be the larger corporations, particularly the older and well-established ones, that ignore their customer base. If you're Remington, you couldn't give a shit whether you piss off an individual dealer or two, because you're still going to sell millions of dollars of product regardless-there's simply no significant financial incentive to act with decency. |
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