Does anyone else think the Auckland Flower&Garden Show was a complete ripoff?

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neb

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#225753 4-Dec-2017 15:27

We took my mother to this on the weekend, thinking it'd be a reprise of the long-vanished Ellerslie Flower Show. Instead, it appears to be mostly a money-making scam for the organisers. First, they closed the site carpark and directed everyone to private parking a 15-20 minute walk away at $10 per car (luckily we found some street parking that was closer). Then they charged us forty dollars (plus additional Ticketek fees) per person to get in, and once we got in it was about 90% identical to the home shows that are held all over Auckland, the ones that cost a nominal ten dollars if you're unlucky enough not to get a complimentary entry pass or a two-for one ticket. What an absolute rip-off. Did anyone else feel conned like we did? Would you go again?

Sam91

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#1912767 4-Dec-2017 16:31

If you had booked online for a specific day it would’ve cost $30 per person + booking fees. If your mother is over 65 it would’ve been $28 for her. As far as the car parking goes, I believe most of the car parking was a fundraiser for local community groups. Parking was available at Morrison Funeral Directors for $5, which was a fundraiser for Lions.

mattwnz

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#1912771 4-Dec-2017 16:41

How does it compare to the previous ones they held in Auckland? Also how does it compare to the Chelsea or Australian ones? If it is a flower and garden show, then I would expect most of it would be garden displays and flower displays, and not much home stuff.

neb

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#1912795 4-Dec-2017 17:04

Sam91: If you had booked online for a specific day it would’ve cost $30 per person + booking fees. If your mother is over 65 it would’ve been $28 for her.

We couldn't plan in advance when we were going, so couldn't book in advance. In addition we assumed, since the online booking was being done by Ticketek, that the on-the-site tickets would be cheaper (in fact that anything would be cheaper, since it was Ticketek). And we did get the massive $2 discount for seniors.

Even at the online-in-advance price, it was still a massive rip-off. It was at the calibre of a generic $10 home&garden show, not the Ellerslie Flower Show.