I know it's early...buuut

    Quote from KayTwo

    It's a moot point for me personally, because we aren't going, but here we are a year later with the same greedy, money-grubbing, "me-first-and-fuck-everyone-else" philosophy about how to run an event that's really just gotten too big for its britches anyway... What a crying shame. Corporate greed apparently has no limits even in the Sling community.

    I guess I am confused on the greed part. I know most places require to rent a venue, fair grounds, open space, even a few Motorcycle rally's I've been to on private property required the event sponsor to pay for the use of the grounds. At the cost of what...$40-$50 a person, a smaller show might be about 70-80 slingshots registered? So that is $4k for the high side + vendors that pay to be there. So a show like Maggie Valley that has upwards of 400 slingshots could be near $16k. So let's just average it out...5 shows. 100 Slingshot average. So give or take $25K in registrations to cover the cost of travel and fuel, organizing the event, putting together the packages that include shirts, organizing assistance from local law enforcement, securing locations to stay, and wrangling up vendors to go to these shows with no guarantee of making money... What do you think the actual net take home is for events?


    I'll say the same thing that I tell people that bitch about the price of products...if you can do it yourself and you can do it cheaper... do it.

    Actively looking for another sling...It is time...

    Quote from Br4hm4

    I guess I am confused on the greed part. I know most places require to rent a venue, fair grounds, open space, even a few Motorcycle rally's I've been to on private property required the event sponsor to pay for the use of the grounds. At the cost of what...$40-$50 a person, a smaller show might be about 70-80 slingshots registered? So that is $4k for the high side + vendors that pay to be there. So a show like Maggie Valley that has upwards of 400 slingshots could be near $16k. So let's just average it out...5 shows. 100 Slingshot average. So give or take $25K in registrations to cover the cost of travel and fuel, organizing the event, putting together the packages that include shirts, organizing assistance from local law enforcement, securing locations to stay, and wrangling up vendors to go to these shows with no guarantee of making money... What do you think the actual net take home is for events?
    I'll say the same thing that I tell people that bitch about the price of products...if you can do it yourself and you can do it cheaper... do it.

    Well, it's like this. Last year, Ivor "announced" 2-3 weeks before SSITS that he was instituting a $10/person/day walkin fee for those who hadn't registered with a Slingshot. At the time, he said it was to cover "the cost of renting the fairground." Bunch of people threw the bullshit flag, and basically said if he needed more money, it should have been factored into the cost of the registration. When you tax everyone walking in, what does that do for the general public who want to learn about the community, or for the folks who don't have a Slingshot with them, or in some cases, even for the vendors who had registered, but had extra family coming? So he retracted it.


    When he announced the dates for SSITS last fall or whenever, the very first post after his announcement was me, asking publicly if he would be instituting a similar fee this year. He quite clearly said no. Everyone was led to believe that the costs for everything needed would be factored into the registration costs.


    So now he's sold out to Slingshotsonly, and lo and behold, the extraneous fees are back. The "greed" comment comes from the perspective that if the money from the registrations isn't enough, why didn't they raise the cost of registration when they set the prices, rather than again make a late announcement in what looks like an attempt to just get more money?


    Here's some more food for though....Slingshotsonly bought out Noel Hughes a while back, and one of the first things they did was refuse to honor warranties that had been promised prior to the new ownership. There was a lot of churn over that at the time. Several people reported bad experiences, and lots of angst.


    Now he's bought out Ivor, and first thing we see is new and higher fees, counter to previous statements and promises made (again), for no apparent reason, except the obvious one, to make more money off of all of us. So, what's that....strike 2, right?


    @Br4hm4, I respect the hell out of your opinion and perspective, but I just don't agree in this case. From my perspective it appears to be a money grab. No issues with registration costs whatsoever, but don't jack the price mid-stream.


    P.S. I'll add, I may be in the minority here, and if I'm way off base, I'll shut up and go sit in the corner, but I believe that most of us came here to find a community and have stayed because of that community and camaraderie, and I see the whole SSITS evolution as turning into less about community and more about making money off of the community's back.

    Since this has been brought up again, it has been on my mind. Maybe admission fees are not the norm in the East, but out West it is a different story. Shows with vendors - Garden, Home Improvement, Car, Boat, Sewing and Crafts, RV, Bridal - those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head. Plus you get to parking, too!


    Not say right or wrong - just my 2 cents.

    I respect your input on it. And I wasn't trying to come off as an asshole. I saw the transition of Slingshot Only and was caught up in it myself. Ultimately, they did take care of things for most people and in a lot of cases they went above and beyond. I notice a lot of times that people are really quick to spread the negativity about one company or group really quickly, but hardly ever do you see praise for the things that are done right. Is it a money grab? Maybe. Having been to SSILV this year, I can tell you, the $10 fee would have probably kept a lot of the random strangers out that came by to case the place. Maybe it wouldn't have, who knows. I saw a nice mix of people that were there for fun and maybe a few that wanted to see what was easy pickings. That $10 could have been the difference between Welter's Slingshot being stolen and not. Obviously it's all speculation.


    With that being said... I know what it takes to get a show like this going. It's not cheap. It's not for everyone. It takes work. It takes a hell of a lot of time. It's the reason that Slingshot Ozarks Takeover is now a Slingshot Roadsters event. Some people are just more outgoing and want to spend time with others with a common interest and these events are the only real way of getting together. Hell, I have organized local rides and have had a nightmare of a time just trying to get more than 6 people together.


    Everyone has their reasons to like or not like how something is run, and it's not my place to condemn anyone for their opinion. I just like to make sure that people see both sides of it. Not everyone has actually done the work to know what it takes to get a show going. I don't like the fees but I can justify it.

    Actively looking for another sling...It is time...

    Quote from adventure4me

    Since this has been brought up again, it has been on my mind. Maybe admission fees are not the norm in the East, but out West it is a different story. Shows with vendors - Garden, Home Improvement, Car, Boat, Sewing and Crafts, RV, Bridal - those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head. Plus you get to parking, too!


    Not say right or wrong - just my 2 cents.

    You are absolutely correct. I went to a Home and Garden show and paid $5 for entry. I didn't buy anything, but it was still an entrance fee. I also went to a wine and chocolate show this past year and it was $40 just to go to the event and then you had to buy tickets for food and beverage items. Parking was separate since it was operated by the venue operator not the show. Just seems to be the norm with any event.

    Actively looking for another sling...It is time...

    Quote from Br4hm4

    You are absolutely correct. I went to a Home and Garden show and paid $5 for entry. I didn't buy anything, but it was still an entrance fee. I also went to a wine and chocolate show this past year and it was $40 just to go to the event and then you had to buy tickets for food and beverage items. Parking was separate since it was operated by the venue operator not the show. Just seems to be the norm with any event.

    I don't disagree with you that there is typically an entrance fee, but that is usually identified and published ahead of time, not only a couple of weeks out. For instance, if we had decided last fall to go to SSITS when we were originally told no entrance fee, K2 would have registered himself and the sling so he could do rides. I would have come with the kids for community. Fast forward to now, I would just be finding out that I would be paying an extra $30 a day just to be a part of our community. It isn't that much for one day, but a week? On top of everything else? That could very well be bordering on cost prohibitive at this point. I know that the $10 is more for single day visitors, but it affects everyone in different ways. At least give people the warning ahead of time.


    I honestly don't care since we made the decision long ago not to go (for this very reason). So I hope those that go have fun, and those that don't have fun, and everyone just has fun doing their own thing. :D

    OK - here are the facts as I know them - here is the fee schedule as posted on Slingshot Roadsters:

    As you can see there is no charge for the locals or children under 12. As said previously most all fair ground events charge an entry fee AND parking on many. I have known @ivor for long enough now to consider him a friend. He has taken the time to explain to me the reasons for the additional fees. The amount of time and expense to put on an event as large as Maggie Valley has risen exponentially every year. Put simply - attempting to put on a bigger and more enjoyable event each year costs MONEY!! This year there will be live bands plus a drive in movie. Although it is against a city ordinance to drink in the fairgrounds Event Management will not be policing this if you choose to bring in adult beverages. I also do not believe that is is corporate greed that is behind this. @ivor has run very successful businesses for many years (his first was inventing the wheel :D ) and I dare say many of us would not even consider putting in as many hours required for the rate of return he has. I believe Scott and Ivor truly are driven to put on the best event possible for us, the riders keeping cost to a minimum for a fair profit. In closing I have a final thought - can any of us really say we haven’t paid more for and enjoyed much less other events than Slingshot in the Smokies ??? I for one cannot!!

    I might not be right but I can sure sound like it

    Quote from Bill Martin

    He has taken the time to explain to me the reasons for the additional fees. The amount of time and expense to put on an event as large as Maggie Valley has risen exponentially every year. Put simply - attempting to put on a bigger and more enjoyable event each year costs MONEY!! This year there will be live bands plus a drive in movie.


    My last comment on it and then I'll STFU.


    Ok Maggie Valley is over...Now shift your focus! Come to the Highest (yes...play on words since Pot is legal in CO) Slingshot Roadster Event in the nation! The ride to Independence Pass is over 12,000 feet above sea level! 37 days away!