We spent the last couple of days at the various Cowboy Christmas shows in Las Vegas. It is amazing how difficult these places make it to find information. There is a Cowboy Marketplace at the Mandalay Bay convention center. There are ads on plenty of taxi cabs in Vegas, but not a single page on their website says a word about it.
So I'll say a word about it. Skip it. The Ariat Country Christmas at the Sands Expo Convention Center is great. There's something for everybody and some great booths. The Marketplace, however, is more of the home shopping informercial in 3D than anything truly western. Sure there are some of the herbalist quacks at other places, but they, along with the massage pillows and food-processor sales make up most of the booths at the Marketplace.
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The Marketplace
People spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to ply their ware at "The Marketplace" in Mandalay Bay during Cowboy Christmas and others say "skip it" Don't skip it. There a cowboy shops, trucks, boots, saddles, hats, and most everything else you'd find at the LV convention center and at the Sands. The statement that "massage pillows and food-processor sales make up most of the booths at the marketplace" is not true. Go there and see for yourself
I personally had a booth at
I personally had a booth at the Cowboy Marketplace. As a vendor spending the kind of money I did on this booth that was tucked off in the corner up against the horse trailers, (no traffic) was disappointing to say the least. They also had a marathon taking up parking for shoppers half of the time. As a shopper it looked to me like pretty much the same type things were for sale at the Convention Center, Sands, and Mandalay Bay. Certainly as a vendor I felt that the Cowboy Marketplace is only interested in the buck. Shame.
cowboy market place
I agree with you 150% about this show I JUST CAME FROM THERE.IT WAS AWEFUL ,unless you are looking for overpriced swarovski crystals for your saddle & bridle !
The booths were WAYYYYYYYYY over priced for the type of things i was trying to sell ($6 handmade soaps and solid lotions). The customers wouldnt even look at my stuff and their cowboy children kept putting their garbage on my racks of product . I lost $2,000 doing this show.I even had tons of thefts for the 2 days that I was there. If you are selling something that a horse can wear,eat or crap into it might be worth the big bucks.If you handmake you own non horse stuff,DONT DO THIS SHOW !!!!! I cried all the way home from it ! such a disappointment
I went to all 3 last year
I went to all 3 last year and really liked the Cowboy Marketplace. The roper booth got away with about $500 out of my wallet alone. They are all great
cowboy marketplace mandalay bay
All I can say is this show should not accept vendors not selling horse stuff just to fill the booths.They will feel cheated in the end,just like i did !
I was there 2 days and it was so pathetic I had to leave to keep from slashing my own wrists.The other non horse vendors looked they they were ready to do the same. I did not see ANY VENDOR that was selling non horse stuff selling anything.....EVER. And it makes me sad that the show organizers would do such a thing for a buck.They could have been patient and probably filled the booth spaces with horse only vendors,but took the wide road that leads to distruction instead,and that wrecks the show in the future for everyone. It seems to be whats happening in 99% of the big shows in our country.Organizers raking in the bucks ,while true artists get the short end of the stick. Our honesty and sense of character is what made this a great country and i am afraid for the sake of greed that we have lost that so some can get rich.Perhaps thats the saddest thing of all produced in this cowboy market place show.
Vendor selection
I completely agree. I don't know who arranges these shows, but I think they'd do well to select vendors more carefully. It's clear to see how many people were upset and disappointed by the show, and that never leads to good press about an event like this.
As a vendor you have to watch out for yourself
I'm a vendor too and I have been to the gift shows during the NFR as a tourist only, not in official capacity :) I agree, the booth spaces are pretty spendy. And I can understand the disappointment felt after a crappy show, I've been there too. And I agree, some show organizers are all about getting those booth fees paid and they really don't care who pays them. As a result, I research each new event myself to see if I'll fit in. I really appreciate the organizers who are truely concerned with how I will do at their show and try to be as accomodating to me as possible.
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