Do you want a table in a hobbyist only FRAG SWAP!?

Do you want a swap table spot?

  • Total voters
    19
  • Poll closed .
jrpark22000

jrpark22000

Premium member
After the successful first NWIMAC swap, let's start planning for the first ChicagoReefs swap.

For our first swap, I'm foremost considering a hobbyist only swap. Something similar to the swaps of old where just a bunch of hobbyists got together, had a good time and swapped frags. We can tailor the size of the venue to the amount of people wanting tables.

As for the location of the swap, it's not yet determined. Please use the vote as if a swap was within an acceptable driving range (what ever that is for you) and you'd be interested in a half table for a frag tank.

Let us know your honest thoughts. We can use this to build experience and work up to a large vendor swap with our next event.

Thanks All,
Josh
 
icedearth15324

icedearth15324

TeamCR
I wouldn't have any frags but I think starting with a hobbyist only frag swap would be awesome, but having vendors could also allow more things to take place since you could charge them more possibly. Either way I'd support one.
 
Cub21rak

Cub21rak

New member
I voted no because I'm not in the position to do frag swap selling right now. But I'd support you [MENTION=1277]jrpark22000[/MENTION]
We can chat and share thoughts to help us both in our future goals.
 
Irsug1

Irsug1

Premium member
That's a great idea Josh! Maybe some dry goods too? Like Dirk and others like lighting, etc..
 
jrpark22000

jrpark22000

Premium member
Not that much interest yet, what if we add a tentative location?

Still early in the thought process, a central location for all the burbs is the 294 corridor. The area from Oak Brook at 88 to Ohare at 90. Easy access to an expressway is a must. If any one has any ideas for a hall or facility in the area let's hear about it.
 
Cub21rak

Cub21rak

New member
With as many people here as there are I'm surprised this hasn't blown up and isn't already in the planning stages.
 
Pfisherman

Pfisherman

Member
I've never been to a frag swap, but I think having lfs vendors would be important to secure revenue on the financial end and for raffle prizes (I assume there is raffles) I have heard of speakers but I don't know that's needed with a group the size of CR. The lfs is very important to me and i feel bad to see them getting hurt by internet business. I also think its important to be able to put a real name and face along with the products for my hobby. It creates accountability and makes them strive harder than say petco, and if they want our business they need to be able to earn a higher reputation in the local area. Also i would assume most lfs owners are also hobbyists so why shouldn't they be welcome?

All that said, what is a frag swap all about? I would hope for one that is like a reef club meeting/party. That would be what I'm in for, I'd even help setup or help however if that's what's up.
 
BigKev23

BigKev23

Active member
A frag swap is basically an event where vendors or hobbiests set up small frag tanks and sell coral/fish/dry goods. We are hoping to do an event down the road with LFS vendors, but wanted to start small with a hobbiest swap first. With a hobbiest only frag swap, there is generally lower prices on items and a greater chance that you will find more variety for sale.
 
jrpark22000

jrpark22000

Premium member
Pfisherman said:
I assume there is raffles

Also i would assume most lfs owners are also hobbyists so why shouldn't they be welcome?

All that said, what is a frag swap all about? I would hope for one that is like a reef club meeting/party. That would be what I'm in for, I'd even help setup or help however if that's what's up.
Click to expand...
To add a bit to BigKev's response. With a hobbyist only swap it can be more like a club gathering. Just a low cost hall, (example elks or vfw) with tables setup for hobbyists bringing 10-20 gal tanks with the frags to sell. Preferably also having a place to hang out in the same building for socializing. With a low overhead event, it minimizes entry and table fees to crazy low prices but also minimizes the raffles. A hobbyist only event has much less advertising, logistics, hall rental hours, effort and risk.

For an event like the recent NWIMAC swap, LFS and vendors require more participants. They have more overhead. Any event with vendors needs to be large. They’ll need considerably more time, effort and planning to pull off successfully. A poorly executed large swap for our first event would be hard to overcome for future events. Let's start small, working out the problems with a hobbyist swap.

That said, a hobbyist only swap could be large. The room will be sized to the number of people wanting table space. The more people selling, the better the event will be.
 
Last edited:
jrpark22000

jrpark22000

Premium member
I'm am similar to Mai, I really don't have much to sell.

It's also an option we can setup a community table and couple tanks. I'm sure we can come up with a couple 10-20 gall tanks, power heads, heaters and frag racks. One tank can be for coral raffle donations and one or more for a community sale tank. There wouldn't be a table cost to put frags in this tank for sale, but you'd be limited to a couple frags to be fair to people who do buy a table. We'd still have to work out the logistics of such a tank, as it has the potential to cause some problems. I'm just tossing it out there as an idea.
 
Gary

Gary

Active member
[MENTION=454]maidia[/MENTION]

Buy a bigger house with a LARGE yard, host us BBQ's and get a heated tent.

k thanks :)
 
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