California Gift Show

3 years since my last review so time for an update, in some cases time is good, in this case it seems that time has not been kind to this show, the last show in Jan 2016 was the smallest ever, Cash and Carry has moved from the Kentia hall up to the main hall, this was probable done to disguise the fact that more exhibitors are leaving the show. Not sure how long this can last and it will be a shame because it was once a good show. Management needs to figure out what is causing vendors to drop out and bring them back.
One of the saving graces at the past few shows has been the parking rebate to help with getting buyers to the show, if you can keep the buyers coming then you may get some of the vendors to return.

I went to the 2015 California Gift Show Los Angeles on Friday, January 23^rd, 2015 (held Fri-​Sun ⁰¹⁄₂₃ — ⁰¹⁄₂₅) at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
The energy and attendance was quite low compared to other industry only trade shows I’ve attended in the past be it the Housewares in Chicago or the ASD in Las Vegas.
However, I sort of liked having the ability to navigate the floor nimbly without much traffic.
The wholesale section was on the top floor and the cash and carry section was on the bottom floor.
The cash & carry had a lot of retailers and you have to know your prices to identify if you’re getting wholesale, a discount or paying standard average retail or not. Regardless, it’s fun and nice to walk around.
The cash & carry mainly had jewelry, lots of inexpensive (hate to use the term «cheap») items, many as low as $ 1 per item, and typical shimmering and shiny costume bling, low cost fun fashion accessories. Then the other part had lots of «World Products» (stuff you’d find at «Cost Plus» or «Pier One»), and those were the prevailing categories here.
The wholesale section usually has a PO (purchase order) minimum in the $ 100−150+ range and/​or quantity minimum orders, and nobody for the most part were giving away samples or selling samples, which is fine. Lots of impulse gift items, fairly good selection and prices.
This show seemed good for retailers with a storefront for tourists or impulse buyers, more novelty gift and souvenir type stuff.
There wasn’t anything innovative or unique being introduced for the most part.
Parking is easy, if you’re willing to pay around $ 10 or so there’s an attached lot as well as many lots outside of the convention center. Those who reside in the LA area can take the MTA Metro public transit as well.
I’d say you can do this show fairly easily within 1 – 3 hours depending on what you’re looking for, there’s no need to go all 3 days, but pick one day (and I’d say Friday is probably the best).
I get a sense based on the reviews I’ve read and experiencing it in 2015, the show needs to revisit their approach. I can see it becoming a 1 day show or maybe 2 days, unless they start injecting new blood and a different tactical angle to how it currently exists.
They have a lot of space, so could probably expand it to include other industries/​categories.

This show is now a total waste of time and money to participate in. They charge a lot of money to put up a vendor booth here with a promise that new buyers are coming in. But the most recent show was a total flop. It is more like an air conditioned flea market where most of the buyers are buying single item stuff at wholesale prices for them selves. The legitimate buyers have stopped coming here. This used to be a huge show which took 3 days to cover and now one can go through in a few hours. So sad.

As a buyer for the past 3 years at this show, I never leave empty handed. The Kentia hall is the place to go for cash & carry and stock up on some of the most fashionable jewelry. I bring cash and run out every time, so thank goodness vendors are stepping up their game and using the Square or a credit card machine! I always discover a new vendor and I might end up blogging about them. People always comment on my jewelry I purchase and this is encouraging as I look to open an online store. There is a parking rebate of $ 10 and that is a nice perk to get you to park in the convention center. Can’t wait to go back in December, as I’ll be buying Xmas gifts there!

This show is under new management since 2013.
To promote the show, they now offer FREE parking for all buyers who register early, you will receive the parking voucher with your ID. (I really like this approach, it is like I am getting 2 bacon dog for free!)
Compare to 2011 – 2012 show, the show does get smaller; not many WOW products. It looks like the market got taken over by candles and other similar home décor. Toys vendors are so hard to find, only TY and a very few local new toy companies.
Cash& Carry floor is still packed as always. Food vendor is also very expensive on the show floor.
I did not find any item that is suitable for my nonprofit fundraising gala in Jan 2013 show, but I am excited to go back this week for the summer show. Wait for my update Unilocal review~~

This show is dead. I was a vendor in the order writing section upstairs this past January 2012, near the main aisle, one of many with jewelry. Our booth looked awesome and was in a great location. Literally, HOURS would go by without anyone walking by. Vendors just started hanging out and talking, trading product. I got 4 new accounts in 4 days and I lost $ 4000 on the show.
Half of the people who did walk by and talk to us were not legit buyers — e.g. interior designers with their friends who wanted to buy 2 – 3 pieces at wholesale prices.
Every single vendor I talked to at the show (many dozens) said this show just gets worse every year. Almost everyone took a major loss.
Please, if you are a business thinking of doing this show, stay away and save your money. Go to Dallas, Atlanta, New York, and stay for away from this one.

I am starting my business and decided to go big and join the January 2012 Gift Show. It cost a lot of money but I was told about the multitude of buyers showing up and placing orders, looking for local entrepreneurs, etc, etc,. Well, it was a bust! I did not get a single order, people came, touched and kept going, lots of people without any kind of badges, and to make it better, there was a «cash and carry» show downstairs competing with our exhibit. No one person in charge of the show from LA came around but one representative from Chicago took the time to talk to us and shake hands. I got the feeling once we did pay and set up our booths we became invisible. Four days of anguish and a complete waste of time and money. I got the feeling that this particular show will cease to exist soon and so it became a non-​issue. I am so disappointed and sad, also quite discouraged; I just needed one order to make me happy, not even that. Shame on you.

This paeon to consumerism takes place twice a year, in July and January, and is an international venue for exhibitors, buyers, sellers and various and sundry others who converge here to engage in that age old human endeavor; Trade. Buying and Selling. In this case, it is gifts. Acre of gifts, of all varieties, everything you could imagine and not imagine, the mundane, the original, the very stuff of our lives, it is all here. And then some!
As I walked past row after row of jewelry, silver jewelry, gold jewelry, diamond jewelry, semi precious stone jewelry, plastic jewelry, string jewelry and then on to row after row of dolls, stuffed dolls, plastic dolls, cotton dolls, paper dolls, wood dolls, animated dolls and then row after row of cards, greeting cards, blank cards, funny cards, condolence cards, silly cards, scented cards, talking cards, blinking cards and then row after row of row after row of gifts and more gifts, I found myself thinking of this great planet Earth and how she is just there for the picking, to be plumbed and mined for our endless, insatiable desire to be entertained, to not be bored, so that our fear of not having would go away, maybe, for one more day.
I worked for a former friend here a few times over the years, as well as at the NY and SF version. She had learned to make books in Italy the old fashioned way, hand made, out of leather and wood and algae based paper, blank pages to be filled with thoughts, photographs, memories. Right place right time, as the saying goes, her creations were original at the time, an ancient art brought to the New World with her own inimitable artistic flourishes. They took off like wildfire and in a few short years could be seen everywhere. And as such could be copied, a lot. As the years progressed, you started to see versions of her ideas everywhere, sometimes high end like hers were, or decidedly low end, hastily imitated, boring, but cheap, oh so cheap. Made in China, India, Pakistan, Vietnam, the global market knows one thing only; if it sells, make it, cheaper, faster, copyright be damned. Someone will buy it. The market becomes saturated, the weak fall by the wayside, the tough march on, creativity and originality of no consequence. Trade, that is what counts. Trade.
Today, as I trudged down the endless rows, I saw a few bastard offspring of this book saga. Hardly enough to mention, just a few booths here and there. She has long ceased to market her brand here or in this way. But in true Hegelian fashion, the idea had collapsed into itself and was now so common as to be redundant. In fact, of the three or four book stalls I saw, two were separated by only an aisle and were so identical in design as to be almost indistinguishable. I asked one of the merchants where his product was made. Rajasthan, was the answer. I then went to the other purveyor of «original» books and mentioned that his competitor down the aisle was selling an almost identical commodity. Ah yes, he said with nary a pause, very similar. I walked away without asking him where his were made. Clearly just a country road away.
And so the drumbeat of trade marches on. No critic of it here (wink, wink), just reporting the facts. The quantity of offerings are vast, but the variety limited. How many times can you re-​invent the wheel, after all? Well, you can have a round wheel, a smooth wheel, a fat wheel a thin wheel a black wheel a rubber wheel a wood wheel a chocolate wheel a…
As always, there are a few bright stars in the coal black of burned out ideas. There is the occasional beautifully original jewelry, some uniquely conceived kitchen wares, eco friendly towels made from bamboo fiber and last but not least a rare non-​profit. Called the
, Spinning Potential Into Resource And Love, this is a non-​Profit humanitarian organization doing their work in Nepal & Vietnam. One of the products they manufacture are baskets and place mats made of recycled plastics. Very inspiring, they have a website which I will plug for them, unasked. Besides these gift ideas, they also recycle traditional fabrics into beautiful belts, tablecloths and other forms.
So, once in a while, out of the numbing machine, a glimmer of humanity springs forth. As I observe the few entrepreneurs here who try to offer something unique to the market, I wish them much fortitude and success. The market will do everything in its power to consume them. I am honestly surprised as to the very small amount of products that are «green» or «eco friendly». Judging from this purest of markets, the vast majority of manufacturers and consumers, buyers and sellers, are still a long way behind in the transition that we most surely need, to become sustainable citizens on this shrinking home of ours, the Third Rock from the Sun.
note: This event is held at the LA Convention Center; address here for the permanent office.