WA state swap

[P4Angels]

[Ron Sower]

Thanks Aron!   

I'm looking forward to this one!

[Mugwump]

Your post is blank, Aron.....unless signed in to 'Fishbox'.....

[Ron Sower]

It was a decent swap as compared with the last 5 we've had. One or our LFS guys, Cory McElroy did a lot of promoting, and so did Aron. Steady traffic all the time until about 2:30. Attendees numbered between 75 -85 based on those we had sign in, although, in a group of 3 or 4 maybe only one would sign in.

My main personal goal was to acquire some cherry shrimp. I'd pre-ordered them and they came in fine and are doing well in one small tank I'm dedicating to them.

The second goal was to pick up some angels from Aron for a real estate agent colleague who called me asking if I had any Koi's to sell her. I told her about the swap coming up but she was going to be out of town. So I told her to work out the deal with Aron and I'd pick them up for her and she can pick them up tonight. So the deal was for 5 koi's and Aron sent me back with 9 for her! What a Mensch!

This whole idea about having a swap meet in the South Sound Area (Basically a 45-90 minute drive from downtown Seattle) came about because the local aquarium club, with 300+ members, was having meetings and auctions mostly in the city of Seattle and on Tuesday nights, making it hard for a lot of South Sound hobbyists to get to the meetings through rush hour traffic and staying until 10:30 pm on a worknight/schoolnight. Plus, there was no time at the meetings to visit and chat with friends about our hobby. Eventually, after we started the swaps, and some of the other club directors attended them, they started the monthly club meetings an hour earlier for the social aspect! But it's still not the same.  Aron was a big part of the beginning of this and he and Lori have continued to be vendors and a big part of supporting and promoting the events.

This swap thing was never meant to be a money maker for me from collecting the table fees. I just wanted to get a group together to swap, sell, buy and chat about their hobby interests they have. And it is working out that way. So far, I've managed to rent enough tables and collect enough money to pay the room rent at the Eagles Club where we've held it the last 3 times. Occasionally, Cory and I have kicked in an extra $5-$15 to cover the shortages due to people not showing up after registering for a table. (I don't collect money ahead of time...only after they've set up their tables).

Afterwards, Cory, Aron & I chatted about how to structure these events in the future and we're okay with trying some new things. I feel that with the 3 of us working together, this event may take on an exponential growth pattern now. That excites me!

[wsantia1]

It sounds like it was a very nice swap.  I wish you guys a lot of success with your swap.

[Mugwump]

Swap's are kicks...once the word gets spread around they can really grow fast....sounds like it's getting going now...remember that the summer period can be an off period for many casual hobbyists, it's the spring and fall when interest begins to peak anew.....have fun...that's the important part.....