AKC recording fee's

[bigoak]

Has anyone spoke with AKC about the jump in recording fee's from $.50 to $3.50.It's been awhile since I was the field trial secy,I had no idea these fee's had been raised so high.Between the price of gas,horse feed and event fee's.This could put an AKC club out of business.....vern

[original mngsp]

Vern

I have no idea what prompted them to raise the fees so much, just be assured that the extra money they are raising from this increase will be used for something really worthwhile and helpful...like maybe another National Rally Trial or something important like that

[phermes1]

The increase is absurd. And it's going up even more. Starting in 2009, it will be $3.50 for each entry, not just the first one. I think right now AKC is charging $3.50 for the 1st entry of each dog and $1.50 thereafter. Silly.

[bigoak]

We (The GSPC of WIS)have never ran an American Field trial.Would it be cheaper to run than an AKC trial and would any one come to it...vern

[dan v]

While I don't support the fees being raised, I do see why?

How many field reps? 6-8? Robbie Gulledge would have an idea.

How much $$$ in wages?

How much in travel expenses? You thinks it all "Beam me up Scotty"

I recently heard there were some 36,000 FT dogs in 2006. And numbers were down 1200 dogs in 2007, and by April of this year down another 1200. Do the math

[Dave Quindt]

Sorry Vern, but I've got to disagree with you on this one.

The $0.50 fee had been in place for decades. Not years, not a decade, but decades. The AKC fee schedule has gotten cheaper, relatively speaking, when compared to general inflation or the consumer price index. We've gotten a "cheap date" for years, and now it's catching up to us.

The AKC made their plans to update the fee schedule public in '06. This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone.

http://www.akc.org/events/event_service_fees_faq.cfm

I'm not the biggest fan of a lot of stuff that the AKC does, but we all better not hope that the AKC gets serious about running a true business or we're going to get dropped like a hot potato. What field events generate in revenues, and registrations associated with field dogs, doesn't come close to covering the expense. Even if it breaks even, the return on income is so poor to make it not worth the AKC's time. AKC field events are as cheap as they are because of the revenues generated by non-sporting activities.

JMO,
Dave

[phermes1]

The .50 cent fee has been around awhile. A few years ago, they added a $1.50 charge to the first entry of each dog in an event. I agree that the original fees were pretty low, to increase them over 100% in one fell swoop is pretty severe. And then to follow up that increase with another one nearly as large just a year later ... they can't possibly expect people to be happy about it. And along with fuel prices and the subsequent increase in judge's expenses, I think we can all expect to increase our entry fees quite a bit over the next year or so.

I couldn't begin to estimate the revenue the AKC derives from event service fees related to performance events, considering it covers pointing breeds, retrievers, earthdogs, lure coursing, herding, etc, etc. I think it's safe to say that performance events lag pretty far behind conformation shows, agility matches, obedience matches, etc in terms of revenue brought in, due to the simple fact that you can enter a LOT more dogs in a dog show over 2 days than you can in a field trial.

[AHGSP]

You two Gents paint a bleak, but very accurate picture of the revenues generated with Field Events vs. the many other venues.

Here in the Mid-Atlantic a medium sized entry for a Conformation Show will draw entries around 1200-1400 dogs in JUST one day, JUST for Conformation alone. That doesn't include Obedience, Agility, Rally, etc... that may be going on at a Show as well. A very large Pointing Breed Hunt Test might draw 60-70 dogs in all 3 levels in a day, 130-140 in a weekend Event.... Trials would probably not be too far off those numbers give or take.

Pretty easy to see which is more profitable in the AKC's eyes.

You have to pay to play and I'm afraid if we don't pay, there will be no games to play.
I don't like the additional fee's, but agree they are necessary and with the increasing cost of putting on an Event due to the increased cost of birds, renting horses, etc..., there is far less money for a Club's coffers. Add that people will start getting more and more selective of the Events they attend due to travel cost and I think we will start seeing more Clubs with smaller Events falling by the way if they don't find ways to make their Events profitable, or at the very least, break even.
AKC is already putting the paint on the wall, as evidenced by the letters received by Clubs just a month or so ago from Mr. Ljungren, which are trying to express what Club's will have to do to make it into the future. Fortunately for us in the Field, Mr. Ljungren has our best interest in mind and is trying to help the Field Events remain a healthy part of the AKC.

[bigoak]

Dave,so,I run my dog in the Open ,Amateur and the limited and the club gets to shell out $6.50.you might enjoy paying high entry fee's but at this stage of the game I don't!We started trialing in 1972 ,I never saw an AKC rep until the late 1980's.Akc is spending their money on field reps.When was the last time you were at a trial when you needed one -never...vern

[phermes1]

Just an observation... that fee increase doesn't just affect field trials and hunt tests. It affects dog shows too. If Bruce's #'s are right and the typical dog show has 1,200+ dogs per day, think of just how much more revenue the AKC will be pulling in due to this increase. Do a search on the AKC website to see just how many dog shows are held across the country every single weekend, all year round. Do the math on that one!

[AHGSP]

Paul,
Here is an Entry breakdown for a Show in Central MD the end of this month at the Charles County Fairgrounds. This IS NOT one of the larger Weekend Clusters here in the Mid-Atlantic and this breakdown is for just one day of a 4 day Cluster.....
1,354 dogs.......

http://www.infodog.com/files/htjpg.prg;shownum=557

While I don't enjoy paying for the higher fee's, I don't think it's in the Field portions of the AKC Events best interest to piss and moan about it when you consider just how quickly and economically they could sweep Field Events under the carpet and be further ahead to forget about us.

[phermes1]

Paul,
Here is an Entry breakdown for a Show in Central MD the end of this month at the Charles County Fairgrounds. This IS NOT one of the larger Weekend Clusters here in the Mid-Atlantic and this breakdown is for just one day of a 4 day Cluster.....
1,354 dogs.......

http://www.infodog.com/files/htjpg.prg;shownum=557

While I don't enjoy paying for the higher fee's, I don't think it's in the Field portions of the AKC Events best interest to piss and moan about it when you consider just how quickly and economically they could sweep Field Events under the carpet and be further ahead to forget about us.

I wasn't doubting your #'s - I didn't check 'em either, though.

I agree, regardless. Simple fact is that, no matter how big field trials and hunt tests get, they pale in comparison to the size of dog shows and the money behind them. For practically any normal weekend show, the parking lot is lined up with rig after rig after rig, nearly every one of them worth as much as my house. We're small potatoes by comparison!
Anyway - I'm also not terribly motivated to complain to the AKC primarily because I think it would be like talking to a wall.