St Paul Ice Show this weekend

[nytelyter]

This is the one major event that i have on my yearly calander. i will be the tall fat boy waiting at the door about noon. i may be bringing my dad as well but he is not sure as of yet. i know i will be seeing matt at the thorne bros booth and look forward to seeing alot of you there my fm shirt is getting plenty worn so i do not think it will be makeing its way there but i do hope that if you see me there you will stop me and say hi. as for the above asked question i dont think there will be a fm booth they have nott done so in the past but their service from their online stores and their suppliers is top notch. it always amazes me that what you order is almost at your door before you hang up the phone. but what else would you expect from a top notch site such as ours. see you at the show. ... paul

[walleyedan]

I am going to head on down. I am kind of bummed, we left our backdrop (Arctic Armor) down at the last show in Minneapolis. Had to have another printed up, quite a costly mistake. Anybody know of its whereabouts? I should have asked this question long ago. Anyway, we will have a booth near the I.D.I. booth and we will have suits. We have sold a lot in the past few days and our stock is diminishing. Remember that we now have xsmall (both red and camo) which will be the ideal gift for your children, wives, etc..

See you there,

Walleyedan

[JigginIsLife]

WOW i wish i could make it this weekend. would love to see all the booths, not to mention putting faces with the screen names. well anyways hope everyone has a good time down there.

[jigging-matt]

Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend this weekend, going with the family ( and all of the in-laws) to DisneyWorld. I do have a friend picking me up some items from the show though. I want to try to make some events so I can meet people and put names with faces.

[Hotspotter]

I'll be at the IDI booth and Thorne booth Friday, Thorne booth Sunday.

Hope to put some more names to faces!

Joel

[RK]

Hiya -

I'll likely be down there Friday with a couple other guys from The Next Bite - Esox Angler. Hope to see some of you there. Be down there with the family on Sunday.

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[Shack]

I will be working the area where the beer is sold, bright and early Saterday morning. Just joking, but you never know.

I just spoke with wife and it sounds like Saterday morning is the day my familey and I will be heading down.

Hope to see any and all F.M.ers there. It should be a great time.

[Grant Pearson]

Sandmannd and I might be heading down on Saturday. I'm going to convince the other half the let me bring the midget to the show to get him started early. Anyway, looking forward to seeing you guys at the show.

[iowaboy]

What are they talking for weather up that way on Sat. We were planing on coming up Sat. but freezing rain is suppose to be moving in Friday night into Sat.

Thanks

[Jim Hudson]

See all you FM'ers there. I'll be working at the Marine General booth.

Rob, hope to finally meet you at the show if your walking around with Dave and Jerry.

[Glockwinger]

Quote:

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as for the above asked question i dont think there will be a fm booth they have nott done so in the past but their service from their online stores and their suppliers is top notch. it always amazes me that what you order is almost at your door before you hang up the phone. but what else would you expect from a top notch site such as ours. see you at the show. ... paul

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I just got my Ice Leaders hat, and it looks great! Red and black with the Ice Leaders Logo in Red and white. I'll be wearing at the show...and hopefully in some pics of me catching fish through the ice!

[hanson]

FM won't have a booth but all you have to do is take a look around and you will find plenty of friendly faces.

A good majority of the staff here will be helping out in many of the vendors booths including Otter Outdoors, Thorne Bros, Nilsmaster, Arctic Armor, Marcum, Nature Vision, etc.

If you can find one FM Pro Staffer, they'll usually know where everyone else is spread around the show.

[Neiko]

I am going to try and head down tomorrow after work. Anyone know where the best deal is for a new auger? Me and a buddy are looking to buy one so we are hoping to save some ching.

[Lure Lightning]

Stop by the ***Lure Lightning*** booth and mention Fishing Minnesota and get $10.00 off of our HSOforum prices. It will be a great show and I will be happy to see all of the fellow FM fans there. See ya at the show.-Dan

[Matt Johnson]

Stop by the Thorne Bros booth, I'll be there all weekend. Come find me and I'll give FMer's a deal

[Fishapalooza]

It's here! The St. Paul Ice Fishing Show starts today.

Be sure to stop by our booth(321), which is right in the center of the action.

You can get your event tickets at the show, and we also have raffle tickets, shirts and hats for sale.

And while your there sign up to win a 1 pair of Fishapalooza event tickets. 1 pair each day of the show.

On top of all that, we have Fishapalooza can coolies and a few other nick-knacks we're giving out.

Hope to see you all there!

Dan

[SomethingFishy*]

I am bringing an expanded budget as I want to pick up some type of underwater camera and an electric auger, plus whatever less expensive trinkets I can't "live" without.

[slipperybob]

As soon as I get off from work today....I'm on my way.

[Chode2235]

is Friday, or Sunday the best day to go to get the deals?

[Shack]

Sunday by far, at least the Sportsman Show. They will clearance as much as possible so they have to load less. I am sure though if you go to a FM friendly booth (like ThornBro's) and tell them you are an FM'er and who you are, you are going to get a deal not matter what. But my rule of thumb is Sunday for the deals. I remember at Frankies stand last spring at Sportsman Show (on Sunday afternoon), they had a crank bait pack that you could see where they scratched out price at the end of every day on the display/sign above it. It was marked down 75 (plus)% from the first day of show. Proof in my pudding.

I plan just to get out with family and not make any major purchases this weekend, so I am going on Sat. morning (weather permitting).

[hanson]

Can I make a suggestion to everyone who is going down to the show to find the deal of a lifetime... be nice and friendly to who you are dealing with!

If you are beligerant, demanding, and forceful with who you are dealing with, I can guarantee that you will not get what you are after. If you work in sales for awhile, and work at these types of shows, you wouldn't believe the attitudes some people bring with them.

Most of the venders can only do so much- 10% off, 15% off, etc. I guarantee most places will not take a loss on an item, and the margin between retail costs and their costs is not as great as you might think. And with a lot of items having MAP pricing, a retailer can't really do too much.

The other rule of thumb is the more you buy, the better deal you are likely to get!

I just want to put the wheeling/dealing aspect of the show into perspective a little. There is an art to getting a good deal and being forceful and rude will not work.

Have fun at the show everyone!

[slipperybob]

Can I say? Trick or Treat!!!!

[Neiko]

Thanks for the great advice.

[Shack]

Quote:

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Can I make a suggestion to everyone who is going down to the show to find the deal of a lifetime... be nice and friendly to who you are dealing with!

If you are beligerant, demanding, and forceful with who you are dealing with, I can guarantee that you will not get what you are after. If you work in sales for awhile, and work at these types of shows, you wouldn't believe the attitudes some people bring with them.

Most of the venders can only do so much- 10% off, 15% off, etc. I guarantee most places will not take a loss on an item, and the margin between retail costs and their costs is not as great as you might think. And with a lot of items having MAP pricing, a retailer can't really do too much.

The other rule of thumb is the more you buy, the better deal you are likely to get!

I just want to put the wheeling/dealing aspect of the show into perspective a little. There is an art to getting a good deal and being forceful and rude will not work.

Have fun at the show everyone!

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Very well said Hanson.

Most times when going for a good deal, you will have to put some other items on the table.

Being very nice and not having a bad attitude when your offer fails is a must. I have found if a reasonable offer is made and shot down on an item I am looking at by a vender, I leave with a smile and thank you. I will come around before I leave and ask again. Your chances are much better if you left the first time on good terms.

Last spring at the Sportsman Show at a booth I can not remember name of (it was right across from Thron Bros booth), I was able to work a deal on some Diawa rods on clearance that would retail for around $35-$40 buck per rod. After B.S.ing with the guy in charge and making an offer of $10-$15 per rod (got three of them for $10 and 2 for $15), I got what I wanted but I had to buy 5 of them. He was happy and I was happy. I still feel this would have been much harder on the first day verses when i bought them on Sunday.

I am sure anything that is current or in any type of demand, you are not going to save a huge amount of money on (still $10-$30 off item if not bought at show is still a plus in my book). That being said, I think you have a very good chance at a deal if you go to the show. I like the shows for the fact of seeing the "new items" for the year, ogling at things that are way out of my budget and meeting the people. The sites and sounds are second to none.

I just got home and got the speech from wife about the weather tomorrow. I figured the weather talk was hype, but it sounds like we are getting a blast of old man winter. I will talk with her a little more and hopefully change her mind. The way my luck has been with getting to an FM gathering this year, I could see 2' falling before noon .

Good luck on all who go.

P.S.

No harm in asking for a deal, what's the worst they can do or say "NO".

[Shack]

Channel 5 just had a little glimpse of the Ice fishing Show. I looked for anyone from FM or sponsors, but did not see anyone.

I will say, the Will Craft has a very cool new feature on their rigs. I saw it in action.