TigerDirect Tech Bash

I took my son for his 12^th birthday and became mom of the century.
We loved the give aways and got an incredible intro into the near future of technology.
It was well organized and I hope to go again.

I hate submitting a bad review, but I felt the 2015 tech bash was not nearly as good as previous years. It’s like the negative aspects were magnified and the positive aspects no longer existed. Negatives: crowds and costly parking. Positives: good promotional freebies in previous years and sampling of local restaurants for a quick dinner. The best year was when it was at the Moore building. It really got me interested in tech gifts for the holidays and I had a lot of fun with my family.

This was my fourth year of attending the Tech Bash. I’ve always enjoyed it and have encouraged people to go. A lot of times the really good stuff is gone by the time they let the free ticket holders in so this year I figured I get the Early Access ticket to get in early and the coupon off your next purchase at TigerDirect would offset the price anyway.
So what went went wrong? Right off the bat was the ordering process — the tickets were done through Evenbrite, but the confirmation only had an «Add to Passbook» option, so I couldn’t get the ticket in the Tech Bash app or Evenbrite, which I already had. I had to install Passbook, which I use for nothing.
Parking was supposed to be included in my ticket. What wasn’t included was the
Add the crazy $ 10 charge for parking in the Marlins Park garages and the deal is even sourer.
The «VIP» entrance was nowhere near the VIP garage (the regular entrance was right there) and there was no signage to direct us to that entrance. So everyone had to trek around to the other side of the stadium through bushes to get in.
I found out that «early access» doesn’t mean first access as there were hundreds of people who had been there all day. So I still missed a lot of the really good stuff and I’m pretty sure it was smaller this year. I also agree with the comments about a large focus on gaming and not on a broader spectrum of tech. The center area of the first floor was only a gaming center.
So, what took me so long to post a comment about it? The final straw (insult?) was that when I tried to use the coupon, well before the expiration, which could only be used in the Flager store in Miami, they refused to honor it because the store was closing. So now I’m down $ 30 for an event that should be free. I find it REALLY hard to believe that no one knew that the store for the coupon they were handing out wasn’t closing a month later. So for those reasons, I don’t think I’ll be attending or recommending this event any longer.

Quite possibly my expectations were totally different from what reality was going to be. The tech bash felt that it was not for the everyday man wanting to check out technology. In fact if you weren’t looking for a home security system or wishing to play with the 3d game there was no reason to be there.

I will try to be as unbiased and friendly about this review as possible but it will still come off as sounding hard and wrong; so apologies up front. The past few years we have attended the Tiger Direct Bash have been great. We would show up to a long line that moved in quickly and we would immediately be rewarded with goodies and a lot of fun. That spirit seemed to have dwindled dramatically this past week at the 2015 installment as the allure was not there and the «tech» in tech bash was heavily amped up.
Understanding this is a «tech» event, in years past it was something for everyone and now it seems as though it is geared exclusively to the gaming community and all others left out. Sure, Microsoft has laptops and tablets and there are drone toys and such, but the overall «tech» side of things was just not there as we had seen in years past. Both on and off the ground level I might add were vendors galore but showcasing the «wrong» items in my opinion. Add the crazy $ 10 charge for parking in the Marlins Park garages and the deal is even sourer. Sorry, but this will be my last Tech Bash I feel.

I’ve been coming to these for the past three years, and it’s an inspirational hour or so for a techie like me! At the risk of sounding extremely politically incorrect, it’s like letting some ladies run around in the warehouse full of Loubotin and Micheal Kors :-)
There are various displays set up in both the playing field and concessions concourse of Marlins Stadium, and the sales reps are willing to display and talk about their products. Some of my favorites were Dell’s Rugged Laptop display — a Dodge Charger squad car tricked out with the latest in law enforcement technology such as a License Plate recognition camera — sitting on the laptops, and AEE’s drone that doesn’t need a remote. You wear a watch with a transmitter and it will follow you around — it’s perfect for Urban Exploration adventures. I also won a phone holder for my car!
Thanks to Cassie and Unilocal,I won an early entrance pass and scored a tin of UnilocalMints!
I didn’t try any of the food, but a lot of the concession stands with classic stadium food were open.

Is it my imagination, or was TechBash2015 much smaller than 2014? I mean in terms of the number of vendors not the crazy crowd. It was still packed with people. It’s a free event after all. If it’s free, they will come… and push you to grab a pair of cheap sunglasses.
We were hoping to get in on the latest and greatest in new technology. Particularly home automation. But there seemed to be more of an emphasis on gaming. Absolutely not our cup of tea. Some of the vendors were slightly inaccessible due to folks either lining up to get free stuff or play something. While at the same time blocking other vendors tables.
Last year, there was free food. This year, Marlin’s Park concessions was open. I guess Miami folks and free food don’t really play nice together. Last year, there were many more giveaways and raffles as well. We did buy a few things at the TigerDirect booth at a great price though.
Not quite sure if we will give it another shot next year. It definitely was not even worth the $ 10 that we paid for parking this year.

Glad to have found this event via Unilocal!Great free event in the area and I love technology! I was hoping for more gadgets as opposed to all the video games and simulations. Was hoping for more TV and computer deals considering Tiger Direct but overall it was fun night out!

Had a great time tonight at the Tiger Direct Tech Bash. My first and hopefully not my last event. Thrilled that Michelle posted the event and Cassie advised us about the optional early entry tickets. If not for Unilocal,I wouldn’t have known this event was going on.
What a treat. Arrived early, instruction were perfect regarding the parking. Loved walking on to the show area, second or third base? I think? Everyone was friendly from the beginning to the end.
Electronics…my weakness! Got a chance to check out all the vendor before it really got slammed. Scored special deals from Tiger Direct too. A win win in my book. Had a great night! Would highly recommend next years event!