No Tactical Weapons Allowed At Harrisburg Sport Show

[GrumpyBear]

By boycotting the show:
Fewer vendors equals fewer customers.

Less revenues for vendors that do not boycott equals complaints to Reed from said vendors. IMO.

I agree that they are a huge orginization and this would only have a small impact,but it's likely to get the investors attention.

[Adam-12]

Agreed. IMHO, the best protest is a deserted and empty exhibition hall.

Yes! There's a sort of "prisoner's dilemma" here, though. If I wanted a canoe, say, and I knew for sure I would be the only person to show up to their deserted and empty exhibition, I could expect to drive one HELL of a bargain for that canoe. So I would encourage everyone else to boycott, and then I would go. I couldn't buy an AR, but I could probably buy a sporter for fire-sale prices, too.

Of folks who were generally inclined to go, many will be tempted to skip because of their position on black rifles--but of those tempted to skip, many will be tempted to go because they hope to find a bargain, and a boycott actually increases their chances. So you'll have Fudds there, certainly, but you'll also have 2A supporters whose hope for a bargain cancels out their outrage about the ban.

Similarly, you can convince exhibitors to boycott--but the other exhibitors can now expect that much more of a seller's market, with the competition gone, so there's a pressure for them to show up and take advantage of it.

One of the reasons it's so damn hard to pull off a good boycott. And why boycotters need to march around with signs telling the world about their boycott--because if they stayed home, nobody might even realize there's a boycott going on. (I remember walking past clumps of boycotters to get into Sambo's, as a boy--and I remember sitting in a packed restaurant watching the boycotters marching around out front.)

[ChamberedRound]

Yes! There's a sort of "prisoner's dilemma" here, though. If I wanted a canoe, say, and I knew for sure I would be the only person to show up to their deserted and empty exhibition, I could expect to drive one HELL of a bargain for that canoe. So I would encourage everyone else to boycott, and then I would go. I couldn't buy an AR, but I could probably buy a sporter for fire-sale prices, too.

JMO, but in this charged climate I don't think that will happen. Busy or not, there's still a hysteria going on regarding guns, and the vendors know it. They might drop prices a little due to crowds, but I doubt it'll be a fire sale. I think the best anyone might see is pre-hysteria prices, which IMHO were too high to begin with. Also, remember that in this case, much of what people were going to the show to buy, namely ARs and related accessories/magazines/equipment, can't be sold anyway as per the decree. Even though this is a hunting show, the black rifle market is still where a whole lot of money is made, and what a lot of people were attending for, and now they can't buy any of it.

I see the point though, and I'm sure there will be people who might take advantage of the situation for themselves. And of course, those short-sighted individuals will be the first ones to complain when the government comes for the guns they bought, despite selling off their principles for a good deal.

[Finch00]

im surprised they haven't backed down yet

[Shodan]

I don't think I'm the first in this thread to mention it, but I wouldn't blame a small business for going. If I was an outfitter who planned the welfare of my business, employees and family around booking most of my year's hunts at one show, I'd have to think long and hard about boycotting, no matter how much of a 2A supporter I was.

[titanxdm]

im surprised they haven't backed down yet

If they didn't back down for Cabelas, I bet they won't.

[ChamberedRound]

I don't think I'm the first in this thread to mention it, but I wouldn't blame a small business for going. If I was an outfitter who planned the welfare of my business, employees and family around booking most of my year's hunts at one show, I'd have to think long and hard about boycotting, no matter how much of a 2A supporter I was.

Agreed. Although at this point I hope these smaller vendors realize that they're likely not going to do the revenue they may have projected.

[Broncitis]

Well based on that argument, we should just lie down and let the Federal Government ban our guns. I mean come on, have you looked at what the Government is made up of? Do you know how much revenue they received in 2011 or how many employees? Far more than Reed. So how could our protests against gun banning possibly make a dent with the Federal Government, right?

The point is that all of us together have far more power than either a single company or a government. So lets stop talking about how we just feel powerless here, and make an effort to work together as a group to sway the companies, businesses, politicians etc. who understand that we pay the bills and cast the votes, and we are very unhappy with the decision to ban firearms by anyone in a country where firearm ownership is second only to freedom of speech and religion!!

No, and you are totally missing the point.

The government is a totally different animal than a foreign based company that only has a very small part of their business based on this show and the Shot Show.

We do not vote for the Board of Directors of Reed like we do for our politicians. Reed has no interest in representing us, only their share holders. Maybe a large portion of their share holders also share the view which we oppose?

You could have a 100% boycott on this show and the Shot Show and it would still not throw Reed into dire financial straights as some have indicated or we would all like to see.

My point is, there has to be other avenues used as well, because simply having a 10-20% downturn in the show will likely not have the devastating effect on them that some think it will.

I'm totally against their decision, but am only trying to put this into some realistic context here.

Comparing our own government to a foreign based company is not a valid comparison IMO.

It might be more effective to have people protest outside (or inside?) than to just stay at home and post up on PAFOA about it.

[Broncitis]

Agreed. Although at this point I hope these smaller vendors realize that they're likely not going to do the revenue they may have projected.

Possibly, but I feel for the mom and pop outfitter from Alaska (and other similar small operations) who has already committed many thousands of dollars to attend this show, which is many cases is their bread and butter for annual bookings.

I have spoken to several like this at the show in the past who say that the ES&OS show is their greatest annual marketing expense and a lot of effort to ship in displays, staff, and make happen, but they generate a large portion of their annual sales/booking from it.

At this point Reed likely has most or all of their non-refundable money.

Like I said earlier, it is a real shit sandwich either way.

I support the boycott of vendors and attendees, but the real loosers will be some of these small businesses and I hope they voice that to Reed, before, during and after the show.

What would be great to see if if another promoter steps up and creates a new venue for all these vendors to attend next year, leaving Reed totally shut out of the US firearms and sporting market.

Again, it would not be financially devastating to them, but it would make more of a statement and point to them on how poor their decision was.

[Rebfootcav]

Another large vendor is telling Reed to stick it.

https://www.trijicon.com/na_en/commu...newID=news_116