We FT'ers are cheapskates. Yet we'll pay for Vanilla Reloads to get the miles. FTU is different because the benefit can't be quantified up front. That bothers some people, I guess.
IMHO the benefit for newbies is knowledge. People who know more going on will learn less. There are diminishing returns.
On the other hand the networking benefits exhibit increasing returns. The more you know the more you have to offer your fellow semi-experts. Then you can keep in touch and maybe get a head start on some great deals.
Yep.
Networking is the greatest benefit of any FT (or MP) DO. Not only is it pretty much the only way to crack into the 'secret' listservs and alerts, but I have made many of my best friends by visiting DOs. And in fact met both my wife AND the best man at my wedding at FT DOs. ^
Of course, this can be accomplished just as easily at a 'free' happy hour or dinner (or, um, swimming pool
) DO....@:-)^