Normal turnout? - Page 2 - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

Kiss My SS · 08-04-2012, 09:55 AM

How many people are there...estimated?

Elykson · 08-04-2012, 10:04 AM

Meh, sounds like sour grapes. If you're frim Chicago, you have ample opportunity to check out multiple cars with the mods you are looking for.

Run4two · 08-04-2012, 10:06 AM

A question for those who've been to all of them: Is the fest getting larger, smaller, or about the same?

ShnOmac · 08-04-2012, 10:07 AM

You can't make everyone happy all of the time..... Buuuuuut I know for a fact the Mod's and supporting cast sure as hell try!

realsquash · 08-04-2012, 10:35 AM

Here is a shot from a few minutes ago... First time using tapatalk so i hope this works.

ShnOmac · 08-04-2012, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by realsquash

Here is a shot from a few minutes ago... First time using tapatalk so i hope this works.

Nope

AutoBot Racing · 08-04-2012, 11:03 AM

The fest is more of a chance to meet people from the forum. Its aso a time when venders can show off new products.

But most of all its where you can take your car to the track and have fun.

One of the biggest things i love the fest for is that you can drive accross america.

Thanks to every mod and every vender that can make the Camaro5 forum a fest .

Also when you play you pay and thank god we have the venders there to help us out

realsquash · 08-04-2012, 12:33 PM

8.92 by the rpm trans car

AZCamaroFan · 08-04-2012, 02:32 PM

i was a bit surprised last year that it wasn't larger somehow. I was only thinking of going this year to see one or two friends.

Birm · 08-04-2012, 02:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by linc400

I guess so. Time simply didn't allow for all of that since we had to be there and back in a day, plus had a few other things we wanted to check out in Indy before we went home.

I am at car shows almost every weekend from May - October, so the comraderie, cruising, meeting people, etc. happens at all of them. In fact, I will be at a show on Sunday at a railway museum where I will pay $5 to show my car, get free museum admission, and unlimited train and trolley rides, plus will caravan up there and meet and chat with people there, and will have a great time.

I was basically just looking to check out all the stuff available for Camaros and see it in person since I am new to Camaros. I thought Camarofest would be the place to do that, but I guess not.

Quit whining, at least you had the opportunity to go.

Xedes · 08-04-2012, 02:48 PM

Hmm, I drove down for the day yesterday. I thought it was nice. Talked to a few people but not many. I liked seeing the vendors stuff in person and I enjoyed seeing mods on the car. I documented the items I liked on cars by taking pictures of them. I figure if I can't find out where they're from, I'll post the picture and other members will be able to help me out. Sorry to here you didn't enjoy yourself. Maybe your expectations were too high.

*i would've loved to seen reps from Emblem Pros there. Maybe next time.

chriSStine · 08-04-2012, 03:17 PM

This was my family's first "fest" and I just want to send out a huge thank you to all the people who went to a ton of work to make this event happen. Came from south Texas and had a blast. Also, a big thank you to all the vendors who came and all the "everyday" people who volunteered their time to make it happen. Going home with a full trunk, empty pockets

and some new friends.

MarylandSpeed · 08-04-2012, 03:57 PM

I can give my thoughts here as a vendor who has been to all three fests now.

First off, I want to thank the staff. Putting on a show in a town where most of them do not live, with 1000 plus people in attendance is not an easy task.

One thing not obvious to customers, but is a huge issue for vendors is the sheer cost of going to a show. The cost of entry is high with the rig, trailor, tents, equipment, and so forth. Even once you have that, we spend several thousand dollars to go to an out of state show like this. Costs like hotel, overtime, gas, meals, and so forth add up fast. Honesty, we have never come close to breaking even on one of these shows in terms of what we sell at the show. It is about getting your name out, and maybe people call you later.

Now we don't sell keychains, shirts, mats, and so forth. We sell bolt on performance parts for the most part. The first two years, we brought out substansial inventory of our best sellers...and took 95% home. We did a poll after we got back from the last one, and most people told us they buy our mods BEFORE events like this because they want the parts for the show. Also, we have several manufacturers of parts we sell also at the show offering discounts they normally don't, and free/discounted installs, which makes the middle man kind of pointless.

This year, we bought less stuff, and still took a lot home. For bolt on performance stuff, the reality seems to be that people just don't buy a lot of it in volume at shows. And it's not just us, I obviously look around and see what is going in the booths of the people around us. I mean who wants to stuff a catback, intake or headers in a Camaro with luggage? We were told a lot by customers that they did not have room. We looked at installs(which seems the popular way to sell both on stuff), and decided that it is just not a good idea to work on peoples cars out of state 1,000 miles from home. As a customer, I am not sure I would want a shop who I will never see again working on my car in a parking lot either. That being said, we talked to a company selling decals, and they were really busy.

Some other things to think about. This event is 1000 or so Camaro's only. On top of the vendor ally, there is drag racing, Autocross, shows, cruises, parties at the hotel, and so forth. It is very different than say Corvettes are Carlisle, which is large enough to fill up a whole fairground, and is essentially nothing but a show and swapmeet.

If you are going to a big Camaro drag race/autocross, odds are, all your performance stuff is done already before the show. The vendor ally had a lot of foot traffic during vendor hour, but as soon as the autocross and drag racing started, you could almost see tumbleweeds blow by. Like Friday afternoon I think we talked to 3 people the last 3 hours. Basically with the way Camaro5fest is now, there are so many other things going on, that the vendor alley is more of a side thing to the other stuff going on. This has been true all throw shows.

So again...as a vendor, you obviously have to think about this when deciding whether to come, or how much the bring. We intend to keep coming to the show of course, however we will likely go more towards displaying stuff, and shipping it to you for free from our warehouse, vs. setting up rows of tables with stuff we hope to sell there. I really hope this does not come across as negative..just want to be realistic with people so they understand why there is not row upon row of parts to chose from.

linc400 · 08-04-2012, 05:32 PM

Interesting comments from MarylandSpeed.

As I have said, I am at car shows almost every weekend during the summer, plus several big shows a year such as Hershey, Auburn, or Iola. Vendors there have all the same expenses as they do for Camarofest, and most go back year after year and make a profit there. Some vendors have been going for 20 or 30 years, and wouldn't think of missing it. I'm usually not looking for much at those shows and usually still come home with something. At Camarofest, I was expecting to be looking at and buying all kinds of stuff and came home with very little.

I guess the big difference is that people go to those shows looking to buy stuff, whereas at Camarofest, people go there to show off what they have already bought and installed. This is kind of a surpirse to me. I have no problem buying things online, but I like to know what I am buying first, and at least see it in person before I drop large amounts of cash.

My car is an unmodded V6 daily driver. So I had no real interest in racing and losing to the highly modded V8's, or showing it at a show where the main focus is going to be how you have modded it. I met a few interesting people there. but apparently this is not the type of show I am used to, so I will treat it as a been there, done that event.

Again, interesting to see it from the vendors point of view.

For those that simply had snide or sarcastic comments, I guess it was no loss not meeting you in person.

In any case, I'm headed off for a show I know I will enjoy on Sunday.

08-04-2012, 10:04 AM	#16
Elykson Custom One Off Drives: 2010 Chicago Blackhawks Edition #1 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Madhouse on Madison Posts: 1,190	Meh, sounds like sour grapes. If you're frim Chicago, you have ample opportunity to check out multiple cars with the mods you are looking for. __________________ Vararam Intake/SLP Loud Mouth II/BBK LT HFC/Magnaflow x-pipe/Pfadt Springs/Black Ice-olator/FE3 suspension/VMAX TB/RX catch can/Trifecta Tune http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=129416

08-04-2012, 10:35 AM	#19
realsquash Drives: Four Door Camaro Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: SE WI Posts: 189	Here is a shot from a few minutes ago... First time using tapatalk so i hope this works. __________________ Squash Performance LLC 2010+ Camaro 800 LPH fuel systems

08-04-2012, 12:33 PM	#22
realsquash Drives: Four Door Camaro Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: SE WI Posts: 189	8.92 by the rpm trans car __________________ Squash Performance LLC 2010+ Camaro 800 LPH fuel systems

08-04-2012, 09:55 AM	#15
Kiss My SS Account Suspended Drives: 2012 Camaro 1SS/RS Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Naples, Florida Posts: 481	How many people are there...estimated?

08-04-2012, 10:06 AM	#17
Run4two Drives: 2012 Camaro 2SS Transformer Edition Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Temecula, Ca Posts: 451	A question for those who've been to all of them: Is the fest getting larger, smaller, or about the same?

08-04-2012, 10:07 AM	#18
ShnOmac Drives: 2006 Silverado SS, 2009 G8 GT Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: PNW Posts: 13,313	You can't make everyone happy all of the time..... Buuuuuut I know for a fact the Mod's and supporting cast sure as hell try!

08-04-2012, 11:03 AM	#21
AutoBot Racing V8 Drives: ss Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Modesto California Posts: 70	The fest is more of a chance to meet people from the forum. Its aso a time when venders can show off new products. But most of all its where you can take your car to the track and have fun. One of the biggest things i love the fest for is that you can drive accross america. Thanks to every mod and every vender that can make the Camaro5 forum a fest . Also when you play you pay and thank god we have the venders there to help us out

08-04-2012, 02:32 PM	#23
AZCamaroFan Camaro6 2016-2018 Drives: sometimes Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Phoenix Posts: 18,450	i was a bit surprised last year that it wasn't larger somehow. I was only thinking of going this year to see one or two friends.

08-04-2012, 02:48 PM	#25
Xedes Drives: 2011 Black RS/SS Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Indiana Posts: 1,030	Hmm, I drove down for the day yesterday. I thought it was nice. Talked to a few people but not many. I liked seeing the vendors stuff in person and I enjoyed seeing mods on the car. I documented the items I liked on cars by taking pictures of them. I figure if I can't find out where they're from, I'll post the picture and other members will be able to help me out. Sorry to here you didn't enjoy yourself. Maybe your expectations were too high. *i would've loved to seen reps from Emblem Pros there. Maybe next time.

08-04-2012, 03:17 PM	#26
chriSStine Drives: 2011 SIM 2SS 6M Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: S. Texas Posts: 55	This was my family's first "fest" and I just want to send out a huge thank you to all the people who went to a ton of work to make this event happen. Came from south Texas and had a blast. Also, a big thank you to all the vendors who came and all the "everyday" people who volunteered their time to make it happen. Going home with a full trunk, empty pockets and some new friends.

08-04-2012, 03:57 PM	#27
MarylandSpeed Account Suspended Drives: 2012 ZL1 & 2010 2SS/RS Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Maryland Posts: 3,378	I can give my thoughts here as a vendor who has been to all three fests now. First off, I want to thank the staff. Putting on a show in a town where most of them do not live, with 1000 plus people in attendance is not an easy task. One thing not obvious to customers, but is a huge issue for vendors is the sheer cost of going to a show. The cost of entry is high with the rig, trailor, tents, equipment, and so forth. Even once you have that, we spend several thousand dollars to go to an out of state show like this. Costs like hotel, overtime, gas, meals, and so forth add up fast. Honesty, we have never come close to breaking even on one of these shows in terms of what we sell at the show. It is about getting your name out, and maybe people call you later. Now we don't sell keychains, shirts, mats, and so forth. We sell bolt on performance parts for the most part. The first two years, we brought out substansial inventory of our best sellers...and took 95% home. We did a poll after we got back from the last one, and most people told us they buy our mods BEFORE events like this because they want the parts for the show. Also, we have several manufacturers of parts we sell also at the show offering discounts they normally don't, and free/discounted installs, which makes the middle man kind of pointless. This year, we bought less stuff, and still took a lot home. For bolt on performance stuff, the reality seems to be that people just don't buy a lot of it in volume at shows. And it's not just us, I obviously look around and see what is going in the booths of the people around us. I mean who wants to stuff a catback, intake or headers in a Camaro with luggage? We were told a lot by customers that they did not have room. We looked at installs(which seems the popular way to sell both on stuff), and decided that it is just not a good idea to work on peoples cars out of state 1,000 miles from home. As a customer, I am not sure I would want a shop who I will never see again working on my car in a parking lot either. That being said, we talked to a company selling decals, and they were really busy. Some other things to think about. This event is 1000 or so Camaro's only. On top of the vendor ally, there is drag racing, Autocross, shows, cruises, parties at the hotel, and so forth. It is very different than say Corvettes are Carlisle, which is large enough to fill up a whole fairground, and is essentially nothing but a show and swapmeet. If you are going to a big Camaro drag race/autocross, odds are, all your performance stuff is done already before the show. The vendor ally had a lot of foot traffic during vendor hour, but as soon as the autocross and drag racing started, you could almost see tumbleweeds blow by. Like Friday afternoon I think we talked to 3 people the last 3 hours. Basically with the way Camaro5fest is now, there are so many other things going on, that the vendor alley is more of a side thing to the other stuff going on. This has been true all throw shows. So again...as a vendor, you obviously have to think about this when deciding whether to come, or how much the bring. We intend to keep coming to the show of course, however we will likely go more towards displaying stuff, and shipping it to you for free from our warehouse, vs. setting up rows of tables with stuff we hope to sell there. I really hope this does not come across as negative..just want to be realistic with people so they understand why there is not row upon row of parts to chose from.

08-04-2012, 05:32 PM	#28
linc400 Drives: 2012 2LT 45th anniversary convert Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Chicago Posts: 265	Interesting comments from MarylandSpeed. As I have said, I am at car shows almost every weekend during the summer, plus several big shows a year such as Hershey, Auburn, or Iola. Vendors there have all the same expenses as they do for Camarofest, and most go back year after year and make a profit there. Some vendors have been going for 20 or 30 years, and wouldn't think of missing it. I'm usually not looking for much at those shows and usually still come home with something. At Camarofest, I was expecting to be looking at and buying all kinds of stuff and came home with very little. I guess the big difference is that people go to those shows looking to buy stuff, whereas at Camarofest, people go there to show off what they have already bought and installed. This is kind of a surpirse to me. I have no problem buying things online, but I like to know what I am buying first, and at least see it in person before I drop large amounts of cash. My car is an unmodded V6 daily driver. So I had no real interest in racing and losing to the highly modded V8's, or showing it at a show where the main focus is going to be how you have modded it. I met a few interesting people there. but apparently this is not the type of show I am used to, so I will treat it as a been there, done that event. Again, interesting to see it from the vendors point of view. For those that simply had snide or sarcastic comments, I guess it was no loss not meeting you in person. In any case, I'm headed off for a show I know I will enjoy on Sunday.