Golden Memories

Wizard stock is down to 14 cents, off 22% for the day On the other hand the year low is a nickle so there you go People have been writing wizards obit for at least 5 years and yet the persevere Again from a dealers perspective: With a show the size of wizard Chicago you need a balance x Number of comic dealers, x Number of Toys, x Number of other, and yes X number of aluminum siding booths They provide wizard income without competing with the comic toy people , Chicago is PACKED with comic dealers and they are by my estimate 1/3 of the room, if the whole room was nothing but comics it would probably not be a financially viable show for me And sorry to disagree with you but the Booth Price Makes a HUGE difference and it IS a game changer If the announcement was made sooner, I guarantee this years philly would have been entirely different I skipped a show this year specifically because the booth rate was $1,400 I will certainly take a chance on ANY wizard show within a few hundred miles of my house for $500 but NOT for $1,200 And I can tell you from the people I have spoken with that there is going to be a stronger comic presence at future shows Their biggest problem now is scheduling Next years philly conflicts with Heroes , Ohio= conflicts with Baltimore otherwise I would have signed on for instantly I will personally sign on ANY show with no conflict in my driving range for $500

I have been selling and buying at shows for 40 years Here are some tips If you want to Haggle with me Rule #1 : Be Polite , Do not use terms like "overpriced" and be Respectful of the Items offered Do not remove books from protective coverings without asking Rule #2 : Try to Bundle, Don't haggle on a single Hot Key. Rule 3: Don't Examine a book, and make sour faces, and rub your fingers repeatedly over tiny tear or color fleck, You can only degrade the condition . Recently I had a buyer pull that and he knocked off a color fleck Rule 4 : Do not ask to see a book unless are actually close to buying at an offer close to the asking price. Don't Handle a $500 comic If you are going to Offer $200 Rule 5 : Don't wave your money in my face, I've seen Money before, and I'm Not Impressed, Its a childish tactic Rule 6: Present a logical argument why I should knock down the price , do not use terms lake its the last day of the show whats the discount Rule 7 : BE Lucky I recently sold a $1,000 book for $750. because I had it for over a year, A year ago I would have turned down $900 Rule 8: If you can't come to terms, POLITELY thank the dealer and walk away, you can come back later or the next day and ask if they hace re-thought your offer Rule 9 : SEE RULE 1: I cannot stress this enough, Be polite, do not denigrate the condition of the book or use negative language Finally I would like to state that Its a free market, Comics are a Non-essential commodity I can charge whatever I want , Over-Market, Under-Market whatever . Don't get angry if my prices don't suit you I have had people tell me some of my prices are Insane (actual term they used) Meanwhile my best customers are other dealers . Remember You're idea of what something is worth may not be MY idea of what an item is worth irrespective of Overstreet, or gpa Good Luck and look for me In Morristown , Terrificon, Boston and Keystone

You are correct, The WW Philly show has been locked in a downward spiral for a few years, Fewer dealers mean fewer customers, and the fewer customers, the greater the likelihood the dealers that did attend will not return It has in fact gotten to the point where (as I Heard) There were almost no comic dealers this year, and they still did poorly What Wizard has done is a good step toward rebuilding the show, For the reduced table fee, More dealers will show up, leading to more attendees etc They Obviously realize there is a problem, and have taken a positive step to re-build, But they need to do more What they need to do is make sure on their website to publish an exhibitor list, and be more selective on their dates, I would certainly be doing more of their shows, but there are too many conflicts, I would have immediately booked philly for example, But again, It conflicts with heroes con

This seems to be the New Operative Norm, 1 Hot Comic related Celeberity, (JM auto =$125 +$15 authentication fee) and A group of other Comic TV and Movie guests, Including Dean Cain and Henry Winkler, .As I stated before, I do not believe that the HOT guests help the dealers, other then bringing in additional attendees which can bolster the admission take , which makes future shows possible Artist List posted as well Maybe I'm getting old, But I only saw 2 names I recognized , assuming updates will follow Looks like a good autograph show

Speaking as an experienced Vendor, I have heard this same argument too many times . here's what I can tell you from my own experience . Have Lots of Big name celebrity talent May bring many new people into the arena, However the Mistake is somehow believing that these new people are somehow going to magically be transformed into comic collectors, That just does not happen. Firstly if the come for the celebrities they've already got a significant expense just in the admission and auto/photo . Secondly Collectors comics are expensive, yes, they may cruise the dealers room and maybe buy some toys, or a few 1$ comics for the kids BUT that in no way will translate into enough sales to make up for the inflated booth Fee I have to pay in order to subsidize the Guarentees these people get. Secondly They draw tons of money out of the room without boosting sales More often then not they bring their own photos and items to sign, and the signing costs are significant I Know I've Posted this before, But I will say it again, One of the worst shows I ever did was Ace long island which had one the best guest lists, Half the Justice league , Including Gadot and Cavill , People spent so much money on autos and so much time waiting in line for them, that the few who blundered into the dealers room were broke and mostly killing time From a sales Standpoint my 2 best shows this year by far, were east coast , and heroes Con, Neither had any big Name celeberaties But Lots of creator talent I also did Big Apple with Shatner, and my sales were terrible, People who came to see Shatner Did not then turn around and spend $$ on comics (at least not from me) I don't care if 50,000 people come in the door to get Ms Marvel's autograph, and My booth price is $1,400, I'd rather do a show with NO Hollywood people where 8,000 people show up who actually buy comics and my booth price is closer to $800

https://www.terrificon.com/ Perez, Steranko, Claremont, Gulacy, Cho, Wolfman, Jae Lee, Ordway, Hildebrandt, Starlin, Lim, Chaykin, Staton, Grell, Texiera Bagely and about 30 others, Plus Billy Dee Williams and Val Kilmer , But I care more about the comic guests My 4th year and This show gets better every year Also Free Parking, and an Awesome casino Buffet

Guest and exhibitor list posted for Ohio Damn, I would love to do this show but its the same weekend as Baltimore

Six weeks until Terrificon, The Comic creator list is Amazing !!! Check it out, Of course I will be setting up there is well I BUY LOW TO MID GRADE GOLD AND SILVER Send the higrade stuff to cgc and bring the rest to me! https://www.terrificon.com/

Unfortunately Its not just C2e2 , You are correct, the shows are far enough apart and different enough in character so that both could be viable You also have Ace AND Comic revolution in the mix now, Meaning 4 Large shows in Chicago in a six month period, 3 of them in the Stephans center , Ace has already Announced Brie Larson 4 months out. Attendees and dealers have to make choices The majority of Dealers and Attendees are not going to all 4, which means dealers such as myself need to make choices , Even though there are now 4 shows in Chicago, WW is still charging the booth rate as though it was 10 years ago and their Chicago show was a must attend major event . Its not, Its still a good show, BUT Too many other options for dealers and a fragmented fan base That's why I started this post, Cutting the attendance ticket to $60 for 4 days, was a good strategy and a Necessary one. Cutting the Booth rates was a good strategy and a necessary one. They are adapting to changing circumstances. Now they NEED to cut the booth rate for Chicago as well, which I suspect they will be doing after this year, that will re-invigorate the show and give it a fresh start. As far as this year, The dealers Steak dinner Get together has been cancelled, THAT should be a Huge red flag right there Again I am not a Wizard acolyte nor do I have any particular grudge against them. I look at things strictly from a business perspective from that standpoint their new policy was an excellent decision. You Know the old saying "Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is the definition of Insanity" Well WW has acknowledged that their old formula had to change , and they did.

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As far as wizard demanding payment It has been a standard practice of theirs that when booth placement begins, that only dealers who are paid in full will be placed. which makes sense. This is not new, that's been the way it works for every show for as long as I've been doing their shows. Keep in mind, I am no fan of WW the booth price escalation has kept me from trying a lot of their new shows. Look at philly, should be a MAJOR show, but there are FAR fewer dealers then there should be who cares what movie people show up?, great, 2,000 more non comic people show up, and 2,000 comic buyers don't bother, because who wants to pay $50 a ticket for 20 comic dealers ! And yes having a super celebrity in does draw crowds but NOT comic buyers I did the Ace comicon in NY 2 years ago with Godot, Cavill and many others, and it was a massacre for every dealer there You could have played Hockey in the aisles on Saturday afternoon As a vendor who is doing 12 Larger shows this this year, My calculations are thus: Focus on Big Names + Inflated Booth prices and High Ticket prices to pay for those big Names = Less comic Vendors which Leads to Less comic attendees locked i in a downward , Spiral which wizard is QUITE CORRECTLY trying to remedy. Reasonable booth fees + Focus on comic Guests (IE East Coast, Terrificon, Heroes con, etc) = HUGE attendance and A vigerous marketplace. Maybe its Just me But I am so sick of paying 4 figure booth fees , only to have crowds of people walk by with their children Giggling at comic prices, and going Hey Look at that ! Captain Marvel has a comic Book Whooda thunked it . ALL My best shows this year without exception Had Lower booth prices and focus on COMIC guests without some Movie anchor Look for me in Morristown this week !

In addition to the new price drop, Wizard has announced that all sellers who reserved at the higher rate, would receive a retroactive credit so they will pay the new lower rate, If they applied that to Chicago the cost would be immense, especially as this is their most expensive show as far as booth cost

Cutting admission prices works and I don't consider $60 for the show admission on sale, I consider it CORRECT 40-50$ dollars for a days admission locks out a lot of people . Its the frog in the pot theory' these prices have been creeping up so long no one noticed until it seemed like $120 for a 4 day pass was "Normal" For way too long it seemed that the operative theory is that dealers will pay whatever they are charged as they have no choice, Booth prices increases have far exceeded inflation and are now taken as a given (Exceptions noted and appreciated) That's why I call this a game changer , Someone actually knows what the Laffer curve is, and made a great choice The next logical step is to take a long hard look and see if bringing in all this expensive "Star" talent is worth it Return to Sanity! Credit where credit is due , Wizard has taken a chance, and made a substantive and VERY LONG OVERDUE CHANGE

Wizard world has made some major policy changes, LONG OVERDUE and very welcome I have posted Many times that Booth inflation is hurting shows, If anyone but me has noticed, the shows where the booths are under $1000 seem to be better comic shows (with some exceptions) While the shows where the booth price go north of $1,000 tend to have fewer comic dealers, and the comic buyers are fading away Speaking personally there are some shows I wanted to do, but the booth prices just made it too hard to make it profitable Wizard world has announced a fantastic return to tradition 1) Booth prices with the exception of Chicago are now $500 2) Placement is first pay , 1st choice, 3) No more premium placement for extra fees, 4) no more discounts for multiple shows For those of you who are not dealers that's more then a 50% price cut So what does this Mean 1) A lot more comic dealers both 1st timers and long timers are going to sign on which is going to mean a revitialization of a lot of shows with new and returning dealers 2) HOPEFULLY SOME OF THE EVENT ORGANIZERS WILL NOTE AND START TO FOLLOW SUIT . put simply, High booth prices force comic dealers to make hard choices , and result in fewer comic dealers which lead to diminishing attendance GOOD FOR WW ! outstanding strategy change

Golden memories will be at the Garden State comic fest with some Awesome golden age and more! Including 5 boxes of $5 bronze about half of which are uncirculated from the former owner of a candy store 6 Boxes of Golden age Packed with Fawcett, Fiction House and more Many Scarce Golden age war books which rarely appear outside of Auction Houses 8 Boxes of my famous $5 gold and silver including , Westerns, Disney, Harvey, Archie and More Come see me at booth 124, in the heroes room straight through the front door

At a good price too $60 for a 4 day pass is the lowest I have seen any of the major shows still odd with the guests though

Looking pretty good, and the ticket sales are also now live

Thanks ! A few from the wall have been sold, But I have added some more as well come see me Golden memories booth 2104

@mysterio Of course you are correct, I only postulated the theory in point one as an alternative to to the seemingly more likely point 2. Having a convention in 6 weeks In a major city (Pittsburgh) only a few hours away from philly , with no guest list, No artist list, no exhibitor list, and no way to buy a ticket, to me at best is absurd. and at worst indicative of a serious problem . I would actually have liked to do that show, as it is on an open weekend for me but was waiting for some sort of idea where the show was going , Coming from NY Its 5 days away from the house, plus hotel etc, etc, I can't do that based on what I am seeing on the website @Monster's Lair Comics Thanks for posting , You have highlighted the problem , WW Chicago has been on a slow decline (sales wise) YTY , partially due to c2e2 and convention overload, and partially due to dealer attrition (my best sales are to other dealers) Keep in mind I am not posting here because of any animosity toward wizard, They have always treated me well and been fair with me, I love the Chicago and Philly shows and will continue to do them, However its come to the point where if its a conflict such as this year where WW Chicago conflicts with reed Philly , I had to make a business decision and miss Chicago., which I would not have done 5 years ago . I just think as @mysterio said both exhibitors and attendees have LIMITED $$$$ and WW does not seem like they realise they in a battle for those $$$$ I truly hope someone from WW is following these posts, There is a maxim in business, That a customer who complains is actually doing you a favor , because for every one who complains there are 20 who just leave, the ones who complain, help you find your problems and fix them

You are right Wizard has changed stratagies , I was at an exhibitor meeting 2 or 3 years ago , can't remember, when and they stated their goal was to have (If memory serves) 40 shows a year Now they have obviously retrenched, and I also agree about Pittsburgh That's their 1st show there and PA is a tough saturated Market, its 6 weeks away and to have NO information at all posted and to not be able to buy tickets at this point is a HUGE red flag . To me, there are only 2 explanations 1) because of the increased competition, they are holding all announcements for every show until after the previous event if so Pittsburgh should be filled next week 2) They are holding on event to event Chicago tickets are sold out so hopefully that will be a good show all around

C2E2 and WW are two different shows, which appeal to a different audiences which is why I usually do both C2E2 I Think Skews younger, and they have The major Publishers and toy guys , They Also have the A List Dealers And I agree about the parking Lot I use the outdoor lot and its over a 1/4 mile hike from the lot to the show floor , WW Definitely still Has that old timely feel, with a lot of long timers still hanging , on, It has a great easy drive to your booth setup and the stephans center is definitely more convenient The Buying remains fantastic, This has been for the last ten years My best show for buying, My only problem with both of these shows in booth inflation , Its now so expensive even for a single booth that doing both (let alone other 2 ) is tough I will continue to do both shows, which is why I am concerned about the absence of exhibitor and guest lists for 2019 Unfortunately for the 1st time in ten years, I;m Conflicted out, But I will back next year A lot of people wait to make travel plans until they see these lists, the closer to the show, the higher the hotel rates I believe someone posted they were worried if this show was going to go off Off course it will, I am sure WW already paid for the hall and collected mucho $$$$$ in booth fees and tickets A cancelation would destroy their credibility They could not cancel without folding which I doubt is going to happen

The next Show after Philly for WW is Pittsburgh There are no guests, comic or otherwise, and no exhibitor list, posted for this show either, and its just 6 weeks away WW LA which is this week has a long list of somewhat less known movie/tv people, exactly one artist, and no exhibitor list Kind of feels like something is up I hope Not, I like both the Philly and Chicago shows ,

The 4 shows were c2e2 and then Comic revolution , Ace, And Wizard, All at Rosemont And I agree The ace show is more of an autograph show, However there is no doubt they are going to bleed off some of the potential attendees for WW chicago Just as I am sure comic revolution did As far as comic people, a Large Number of them Would Love to be at show where Captain America and a half dozen more avengers are there From a dealer perspective, I did the 1st ACE show which was on Long Island, where the Had Cavill, Gadot, and a few othe Jla members Attendence was high, but it was one of the worst shows I had ever done from a sales perspective Superman and wonder woman bled so much money out of the room (If I remember correctly it was $700 for the pair of autos) that dealer room sales were universally abysmall which is exactly my point, A LOT of people I am sure are going to see the 2 shows in the same location so close together and decide they would rather be at a show with Captain marvel and who knows how many other A list comic hero guests And decide on WHICH show to attend

I agree completely, wizard Chicago is one of the best shows for buying, I always go home with my mini packed That being said if the customer base is split between 4 shows, that means It will cost me 4 times as much to see the same people, And My sales have been slowy but steadily eroding at this show since c2e2 Now add 2 more shows in the same location into the mix, and a lot of dealers myself included are going to be making hard choices . That's why I said WW really needs to get on the ball, they cant afford to have so much bleed off, they start to lose dealers This is not just me talking, unfortunately a lot of my friends are feeling this pinch also The one thing WW Chicago does have going for it is a clique of dealers, who don't seem to do any other show, that's part of the reason the buying is so good, but, they too seem to be slowly fading out

Captain marvel ! Already? That's one hell of a good start WW Philly's big draw is Deadpool's Girlfriend And a cheers re-union , Interesting, but what does that have to do with the genre? I hope they have a blockbuster surprise coming for Chicago