Sunday, January 11, 2009

$3.00 Cotton Candy! (From Jim Cole)


IMG_8961, originally uploaded by bucklesw1.

Posted by Buckles at 1/11/2009 09:31:00 AM

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

If you bought $50 worth of concessions at the building the tax by itself would be about $3. I think the disappointment about the current generation of the Ringling show is that it just doesn't measure up against ITSELF of prior years and it is a stretch to call it The Greatest Show on Earth.
Do they just bring in new people and tell them to think up ideas without letting the new people review all those television specials of years past.
As the saying goes, "Ringling thinks they have to re-invent the wheel." It is not just the showfolks that see the difference, just listen to the general public, they notice the downslide and they grumble, too. As a neighbor said to me, "What happened to the circus this year?"

11 January, 2009 09:56
Big Al said...

What No Hat?

11 January, 2009 10:01
Anonymous said...

Several thoughts...a few years back we were at a RBBB performance and sat in front of a mom and dad and two children about 7 or 8 years old. They bought the kids food and souvenirs (light ups). I to said to the dad, "May I ask you what you paid for the "toys". He said they were about $18.00 apiece. I said, "Whew!" pretty expensive. He said, "Yeah, but we expected something like that, and the kids are happy. We figured out that for the four of them to see the show, etc. it cost mom and dad over $200.00.

Another note, anyone who has ever looked through a Rhode Island Novelty catalog knows what markups are like...hey, the show doesn't stay on the road solely because ticket sales are good.

Go to a major league ball game and see what you pay for a hot dog and a coke...at today's current prices you could almost fill up your gas tank for same.

Lastly, I say give credit to whomever is trying to keep up with today's public as far as what they want to see. A few years ago we saw a "big show" which featured a lion act, about 10 I think. The cats did very little...Gunther, Wade, and others would never have presented such an "act". After the show we saw a friend who regularly takes his two kids to the circus. We asked him what they thought, what acts they all liked. One of their first comments was along the lines of..."and the lion act, wow(!) that guy going into the cage with all those lions". Even though next to no tricks were done they were still impressed.

Really lastly, I'm still pretty much amazed at the, I assume not recorded, oh's and ah's from the audience when an elephant does a head stand.

I don't like the changes either; I've been going to the circus for a long time, but if they have to change things to keep the circus alive and well...well, so beit. At least us older folks have great memories and videos and photos and we can talk and remember with each other.

As the man said many year's ago, "Damn everything, but the Circus"

PS By the way, I haven't bought floss in years and only buy bottled water out of desperation.

11 January, 2009 12:28
Anonymous said...

Opening Thursday in Orlando -- ZZZ

TICKET PRICES:
$85.00 (Circus Celebrity)
$60.00 (Front Row)
$40.00 (VIP)
$25.00
$16.00

There are 3 price points for the best seats, years ago the best seats were 1 price point. Why have a BIG show that plays to the back row, thereby needing a BIG show for visibility when you can create 1 seat at $60, instead of 4 seats at $15. You can cut-down the show (an understatement) because the people in the BEST seats think they have seen a BIG show.
To bring this argument further down the pike, it is obvious that the $60 ticket holders are more affluent than the $15 ticket holders, concluding that the concession money will be higher closer to the floor. The absence of $15 tickets and their meager concession purchases do not warrant a 3 Ring Ringling.
I'll be in the $40's and bring a telescopic lens.

I would bring the Zingmaster out for a drink but since he is only 20 he would need phony ID to pass for 21.

11 January, 2009 12:52
Anonymous said...

Regarding the Rhode Island Novelty catalog, RIN is a jobber who buys from the manufacturer in China.
The jobber sells to the shows and the shows sell to the public.
However, Feld acts as their own jobber and buys direct from China, thereby eliminating the US jobber
Feld buys, acts as a jobber (profit #1) and then sells to the public (profit #2)
Irvin Feld didn't buy a circus with a concession department attached, he bought a concession business that happened to have a circus.

11 January, 2009 13:08
Anonymous said...

Wasn't that me???

11 January, 2009 14:12
Anonymous said...

To Toys R Us: well put. You win today's prize, a light up super sensational circus sabre (batteries included) that was NOT made in China. Hang on to your prize; it's already worth big bucks and will get bigger and bigger.
Anybody want to buy a (empty)mint condition 1950's RBBB peanut bag?

11 January, 2009 16:59
Anonymous said...

If you have ever looked at the discarded cartons from RBBB concessions, has anyone ever noticed that they come form I&K Trading Corporation? Does this not suggest something? I and K traiding (a wholy owned subsiderary of Feld Entertainment) sells its products to Sells Floto (a wholly owned subsidarary of Feld Entertainemnt) who then pays RBBC, Ice Show, etc. a percentage of the proffits which then go to Feld Entertainment. So I manufacture a product, seel it to myself at a proffit, then sell it to the public at a proffit with a cut to me and how much is the total mark up? Guess that Boston College MBA paid off.
Warren

11 January, 2009 23:59
Anonymous said...

Warren,
You are correct, I wasn't sure about the I/K deal, but your confirmation is 100 per cent on the money.
Lest we forget that SELLS FLOTO has two train cars full of stock plus send regular deliveries to all the shows via semi from their warehouse in Jessup, Maryland.
Two train cars full of merchandise. How many train cars does 11 elephant use?

12 January, 2009 07:32
Anonymous said...

I went to the "Show" last night
(5:00) Popcorn was $8...I thought it was a Fair deal...

12 January, 2009 09:49

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