“If its not at the Quartzsite Big Tent Show, it doesn’t exist”
We created a quick YouTube video for those of you who do not want to read. Full blog post is located under the video.
We heard the quote above numerous times when telling people we planned to attend the Quartzsite Sports, Vacation & RV Show, commonly called the “Big Tent Show”. While they were certainly correct, we just assumed they were speaking about RV products, not every consumer product known to man. It’s been almost two weeks since we attended, and we’re still not exactly sure how to describe it. We decided to break the show into two parts, the good and the bad. We like to end on a positive note, so we will start with the bad and end with the good. But first, a little history.
The show started in 1984, with 60 exhibitors and a small tent. The show currently encompasses several acres and boasts hundreds of exhibitors. The closest way I can describe it is a state fair without the carnival rides.
Consumer Junk
Most of the shows exhibitors can be found under the main “Big Tent”, but several others can be found throughout the surrounding areas in smaller tents. Before attending the show, my assumption was that it was more of a Swap Meet for RVers. The thought of RV parts and low prices danced through our heads. Reality was much different. RV parts seemed to be the rarity while consumer “As seen on TV” products were the star attraction.
We expected to see Ginsu Steak Knives and Rascal Scooters, but one thing we didn’t expect to see at the show was inflatable hot tubs. Normally we wouldn’t worry if it was just one dealer, but there were multiple dealers. Is there really competition in the inflatable hot tub for RVers market?
Honestly, if you own an RV and an inflatable hot tub, please contact us. We would love to hear the thought process you went through when purchasing one.
A MLM Pushers Dream
How many MLM (Multi-level marketing) products can a tent hold? The answer is not enough. The products actually spill out into several areas outside the show as well. The average age of someone attending the show is probably around 65. If you are hawking vitamins, beauty, or anti-aging products, the Big Tent is what would be called a “target rich environment”. It was amazing walking by booths listening to agents tell people their FDA “approval pending” shake would get rid of their wrinkles and knee pain.
Is Tie-Dye Still A Thing?
The picture below and the amount of people wearing it would prove that not only is Tie-Dye still a thing, but it’s alive and well at the Big Tent Show.
Conclusion
Overall we would estimate that 90% of products are complete junk, but the show itself is still worth experiencing. We felt it was more of a right of passage into full-time RV living, than a can’t miss yearly show specifically for RVers. The remaining 10% of the products were innovative, forward thinking, and worth your time. I will cover the good parts of the Quartzsite Big Tent Show in an upcoming post.
As always thanks for reading our posts!
