I'm going to SEMA again this year... I'm not a vendor or "ïn the business", just a car hobbiest that lives in Las Vegas that has a friend that can get me in. Question - Is there any benefit to buying something at the show from one of the vendors, or are the prices the same? Any bargains? I am about to start a project to add aftermarket AC and I'm sure Vintage, Cl***ic, and Hot Rod Air will be there and was wondering if I should just collect info or actually plan on buying something. For any of you that regularly attend, let me know what you think. Also, any plans for HAMBers to meet or get together at the show?
I mean no offense and I am sure you are a nice guy but you should not even be there. It is TRADE SHOW for those that are in the industry. I do realize that there are many, many people that are there just to look around and have absolutely nothing business related to do, however that only seems to complicate things for those that are trying to network, set up dealerships, and learn about new companies and products. I can't stop you and I am not trying to deter you from attending the show but just show some respect for the people that are there to accomplish more than saving 5 bucks on an air unit.
The SEMA show is a trade only show. Manufacturers don't generally sell at the show, they are there to set up future business with other businesses and write large orders for them. I have been going since 1975 and can tell you working for a manufacturer, we are there to show our newest products to distributors and dealers, not to sell to some guy who has a buddy who can get him in. Not trying to give you any grief, it's just that we spend thousands of dollars to be there to do business with our customers and it wastes a lot of time talking to individuals when we could be solidifying deals with Summit or Keystone or Streamline or any of our other distributors. It's not that the consumer isn't important, it's just that this isn't the venue to be conducting that type of business. Understand that this is not intended to be a consumer show and very few ethical manufacturers will sell direct to you as a consumer, it's just not why they are there. I hear complaints from other manufacturers all the time about the fact that too many non industry people get in to the show and that is why SEMA tries so hard to keep them out by having the registration requirements that they do.
I have been the last two years. One year I was there as a spectator with a buddy of mine to talk to some people about a project that I was building and last year I took my truck as a feature vehicle, so I was there legit last year. Neither year did I find that anyone was selling their product. As a matter of fact I had a problem with one of the parts on my truck and went to talk to the manufacturer about it and see if they had any spares that they could lend me so my fans would work. That is when they told me they had no stock and even the ones on display were non working units that were just for display. I am going this year again with the body shop that is doing my econoline to do the networking thing with them and see some of the new products that I hope make it onto my rig. Later, Chad
SEMA has set some very high standards for member companies to get credentials. I suspect that they will raise the bar a couple of more notches to make sure that attendees are in the business and not looky-lous or tire kickers. The first SEMA show was in Dodger Stadium in the mid sixties. Before that, Noel Carpenter, publisher of SPEED & CUSTOM EQUIPMENT NEWS, put on a small show at the Disneyland Hotel. Don't mean to flame you, but the show is only for buyers, sellers and the media.
As stated before,The SEMA show is NOT a consumer-end user show.It cost the Manufacturers thousands of dollars to attend and meet their distributors,show them new products and write orders for future shipment.Unless you are planing to go into business and have many dollars to invest in opening orders from each company that you want to have in inventory,do them a favor and stay home!!!!!!!!!!!!
No problems with the LV SEMA show being for manufacturers etc. It does seem though, the handwriting is on the wall for a really big similar type show that sells to the public. Pomona and the like are far away for many of us. Nice thing about LV is, it offers other things since it's a resort town and you sure wouldn't have any trouble talking your Sweetie into going along. The perfect little vacation for two couples . . . and one big pickup....
I used to get into PRI and chat with representatives with great success. Be respectful that the people around you have legitimate business to talk, and dress like you're serious about being there. When you approach with questions, make an immediate disclaimer it's for your personal project and not related to the shop on your badge. You'll get blown off once or twice, but the vast majority are super cool about it. Before leaving ask if they have a direct sales number or can refer a preferred retailer, you just might get a business card with a request to call in 3 weeks for a discount. Hope you're needing stickers, posters, and pens!
The last time I attended the SEMA show I spent considerable time looking at equipment (I am an industry "professional") and just as the whole thing was designed to do, I ended up buying some equipment from some of the vendors. Hint........the "Tools & Equipment" area is the BEST!! Who cares about 20 or 30 manufacturers of bling-bling 24" rims, 80000 megawatt sound systems and video for you trunk. Oh.....I guess some people like that ****.
I've been the past 3 years. There are a few vendors that are set up to sell, but the vast majority are there to promote business-to-business ONLY. Be respectful, wear comfortable footwear and enjoy.
Aside from the automotive realm,many industries have trade shows geared toward promoting business to business relations and go to great means and expense to keep out "nonbusiness" people from intruding on their turf. Such as membership fees to the organization conducting the event or requiring business credentials to prove they are in the industry. All that red carpet treatment in places like Vegas is their for the benefit of the professional business or company to take advantage of and not the thrill seeker, and is frowned on by the organizations that put on the events. They probably wouldn't tell you in person, but all the companies represented there with their displays and personnel, are there to cater to the legitimate business and businessman, and those that dont fall into that category are considered "gate crashers" and not really welcome!
I have to share my first SEMA experience. The Monday before the show started I was heading from the hotel to the show to help with setup. As I am walking towards the Convention Center, I hear something coming up behind me FAST. As I turn around, I see that there are 2 monster trucks driving down the street. One was Bigfoot and I cant remember which one was there also. They are driving down the street as though they do this every day. They get to the end of the street and they have to stop for the red light. As Bigfoot stops for the red light, the other truck pulls up into the other lane and as the light turns to green, they both blip the throttle and for an instant I thought that they were going to race. The cops who were directing traffic into the convention center, just waves them into the front parking lot so that they could setup for their displays. It was very cool to see. Also a very cool thing to see is Friday at 4:00 the show ends and all of the vendors are going to tear down the displays as fast as they can. This includes moving out all of the dispaly vehicles. If you wait outside of the Convention Center, you will see some of the nicest cars just driving down the road. These are the cars that the magazines have all done build ups on, and that the companies have spent untold thousands of dollars on. When I was there for the first time in 1994, the hottest cars were the Fastest Street Cars. These were the 8 second street cars, and I got to watch 5 or 6 or them all drive out of the SEMA show and drive down the road to wherever their trailers where at. Also I can say that I always understood when someone asked me questions about their personal cars, as I would usually take a break and I would go and talk to the people that I needed help with on my own car. BUT. Be prepared to get blown off, and do not take it personally. Be prepared that most people might give you a buisiness card, and ask that you call them in 2 weeks when they will have time to talk to you. Also, if you are not a buyer, there are some booths that wont even look at you, and they wont be handing out any freebees, and some wont talk to you. Brian
In the early 90's I worked for a company that made fibergl*** scoops, and urethane ground effects kits. Right before the show we bought a company that supplied entire bodies to racers like the NASCAR Winston West series . We decided to have a race car in the booth. The only problem was the car had to be at Mesa Marin for a race Friday night after the show. When the show closes it becomes a cluster to get out and you are not supposed to move anything until the carpet is rolled up in the isles. Well we didn't have that kind of time. When they announce the closing of the show there is always a roar from the exhibitors as they are happy another year is over. Well I added to that roar by firing up the race car and taking off down the carpet for the nearest door. It was quite a scene as a bunch of the Union guys were chasing me, along with show management to try and stop us. Out the building we went down the street and into the trailer. He made the race and there probably would have been hell to pay except the owner of the company was a past SEMA Chairman so it all kind of got swept under the rug, so to speak. It was pretty cool to see this NASCAR racer hauling out of the building.
I think the main thing is to be respectful. When I go to talk to a vendor, I make sure that they are not busy. Some of them I don't get to talk to because they are so busy all week that there really is no time for me to cut in, if you will. But I never interrupted their business for my personal questions. I just walked around trying to stay out of peoples way and snap a few pictures for reference purposes later. Later, Chad
SEMA is on/off very busy. If you are a hobbyist you want to use an appropriate amount of the exhibitor's time. There are clearly a lot of hobbyists at SEMA, ain't no big deal but don't expect some wheel company owner to talk to you for an hour.
In my opinion the exact opposite is true. The SEMA show seems more interest in inflating attendance #s than keeping the show relevant. I used to "only" have to trip over strollers and guys/gals taking pics of EVERY damn car in EVERY booth on Fridays, but now it's everyday of the show I have to deal with it. It's sad and I know a ton of (large, well known) companies that made the easy decision to back out this year. Granted, the economy was the primary reason, but with all the looky loos that have been allowed in it was an easy decision to make.
I was referring to the hoops the owners of SEMA member companies have to jump through to get credentials. Unfortunately a lot of SEMA members will add any Tom, **** or Harry to the credential list as a favor plus the $15 registration fee. Every year a lot of "my best friends" will call and ask me to add their names to the list. I won't, but others will. It has nothing to do with SEMA wanting to punch up the attendance numbers.
The above posts are correct, SEMA is a trade show, for the auto industry. While the media coverage may indicate otherwise, it is not a car show. It is the coolest place to see the new products for the next year, and that's what I use it for. The media have presented it to the public like a NSRA show, or similar, and made it seem like the public is welcome. They're not. I have, however, chatted with the reps about my own projects, after identifing that it was for my personal use. The good reps gave me the info I needed, and then gave me the name of the distributor in my area that could sell me their product. I've never had one offer to sell me the products directly, and that's the way it should be.
I am skipping SEMA this year... Last year I spent over 20K on some new tooling.. The year before I set up a bunch of my dealer accounts and put in orders for thousands of dollars in buy ins.... Gonna skip this year so I don't have to trip over Boyd wannabes in car shirts that are drunk and stupid. The big manufactures regularly had big parties for clients and buyers but now, Many have stopped because of the show crashers and economy..Jason.
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