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When will the “comic con” bubble burst?
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251 posts in this topic

4 minutes ago, jsilverjanet said:

The misconception here is that large crowds aren’t buying. I don’t believe that to be true. 

If they were buying then why are dealers dropping like flies at so many of the mega shows? WW Austin this weekend is a prime example of a show that was well attended and had lots of comic dealers 6-7 years ago and now it’s a wasteland of insurance dealers and Pop tables. What about all the empty booths at WW Chicago this year?

Edited by mysterio
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id like to chime in on wizard world...first off ITS NOT A COMIC CON!!!! its an entertainment con and because some of the entertainment is comic related there are comics. I'm not sure but i just looked at the website and they don't call themselves a comic con.

second i think reed pop who does C2E2 ( my favorite), emerald city and NYCC does it the best because they have more than half of the show with comic vendors and writers/artist and they are not entertainment focused and that is a saving grace. 

i do like the small local shows in rented out union halls or ballrooms here in near st louis we have 2-3 which are super fun! one is toy man toy show and its all comics, toys, gaming, hot wheels and a lit more. and there is another show that is all comics in a rented VFW. and another comic book show INSIDE a comic book store.

so when will the comic con bubble burst?...well I'm not Adam Schiff  but unless comic book movies stop coming out there will always be a show will, wizard world still be hear (i hope not) who cares don't go!

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I suspect just like what I see at many other shows. If you don’t buy right and price right you aren’t going to be successful. This speculating from a small buying perspective doesn’t give the entire picture

the dealers who continue to do these shows time and time again will give you a better indicator. I’d like to hear from @Dale Roberts @blazingbob @gregreece and @lhcomics (4 dealers that have a great selection and great prices) on how they view the current market

wizard itself is a different case and I view them more the exception to the rule. The reason most of their customers don’t spend as much is they are out x amount of dollars before the enter the door (ticket price,  parking etc)

i do see more buyers (flippers,wanna be dealers) and there are still plenty of good books at every show so I’m not sure why people feel that a smaller show or a comic dealer only show would be any different. People want to pay less for books. Whether that’s in a room of 10,000 or a room of 100 nothing will change that.  

Edited by jsilverjanet
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10 minutes ago, mysterio said:

If they were buying then why are dealers dropping like flies at so many of the mega shows? WW Austin this weekend is a prime example of a show that was well attended and had lots of comic dealers 6-7 years ago and now it’s a wasteland of insurance dealers and Pop tables. What about all the empty booths at WW Chicago this year?

it WWchicago go to C2E2. as to people buying sometimes its hard to buy a lot some dealers don't want to move on there asking price and are sometime very smug and above you. and thats off putting. i know dealers must be jaded by going to all the shows but thats not an excuse. but for the most part dealers are nice for example i meet and bought a few books from bedrock city at C2E2 last year and richard was AMAZING!!! i was able to talk to him like i knew him for a few years. i was looking for some EC books and he and his assistant were super nice and friendly and even let me see the books behind the booth that they didn't have out. he is why comic cons won't fail!

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5 minutes ago, jsilverjanet said:

I’m curious to those who say they don’t go to shows like Wizard ? Where do you get your books now?

 

Depends on where you live geographically. From Vancouver, BC, a collector can drive south to Seattle's Emerald City comic-con or drive/fly to Calgary Expo in AB, Canada: both shows have over 86,000 fans/collectors. The promoters of the 3 times/year local Vancouver Comic Show must be doing something right with a comic centric con that sold out of 175 x 8' dealer's tables show:

Vancouver Feb, 2018 sold out Show

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2 hours ago, 1950's war comics said:

@WoWitHurts I have noticed that many of the bigger dealers will not risk selling their good books on fleeceBay anymore and  many of those dealers stock are so huge they don't have the time to list anything more than the most popular stuff on their web sites so you have to catch them at cons

So true.

 

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2 minutes ago, aardvark88 said:

Depends on where you live geographically. From Vancouver, BC, a collector can drive south to Seattle's Emerald City comic-con or drive/fly to Calgary Expo in AB, Canada: both shows have over 86,000 fans/collectors. The promoters of the 3 times/year local Vancouver Comic Show must be doing something right with a comic centric con that sold out of 175 x 8' dealer's tables show:

Vancouver Feb, 2018 sold out Show

I heard nothing but great stuff on this show and I’m very tempted to go.

 

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1 minute ago, jsilverjanet said:

I heard nothing but great stuff on this show and I’m very tempted to go.

 

Canada..., winter...., greggy's basement..., 

What's not to like?

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The Comic Con experience has died for me about 5 years ago. When you have to spend an entire night in a line to get next years tickets for SDCC sucked. Forget about the hotel I spent 600.00 a night for a comfortable bed, think I'll sleep on a dock outside. The small shows are the best. The only show I go to now is Terry O Neils Yorba Linda show. I've had it with the crowds.

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1 hour ago, 1Cool said:

I believe the peak occurred sometime last year.  The enviable push back from the public and the dealers seems to be happening this year.  I believe the circle will start contracting and a bunch of shows will be cancelled over the next couple years especially markets like Cleveland that has Cons pretty much every weekend within a two mile drive.

I think you mean two HOUR drive.

Going to Steel City?

1 hour ago, grebal said:

^ Yup, I practically don't do cons any more for the exact reasons, but probably no way of turning back the clock on this one.

I'm running restaurants these days and pay attention to that industry in particular, and chains like Olive Garden/Applebees see their business dying off - possibly because millennials have different habits.   I don't know, but it seems cosplay is here to stay, run collectors and box divers are a dying breed, and the current con situation, pretty awful for comic collectors, is the organizers way of reinventing their product to stay in business.

It's not hard to understand why people don't like bag frozen / reheated food at restaurant prices when you can get just as good at the grocery store freezer isle now.

Edited by ygogolak
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Just now, jsilverjanet said:
4 minutes ago, lizards2 said:

Canada..., winter...., greggy's basement..., 

What's not to like?

I heard he keeps a gimp down there 

banana052.gif  You could probably be the new gimp..., action-smiley-073.gif

 

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2 minutes ago, ygogolak said:

 

It's not hard to understand why people don't like bag frozen / reheated food 

yayclouds.gif  It's essential if you want to have professional strength gas for convention floor carpet bombing! yayclouds.gif

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28 minutes ago, Raze said:

 

i do like the small local shows in rented out union halls or ballrooms here in near st louis we have 2-3 which are super fun! one is toy man toy show and its all comics, toys, gaming, hot wheels and a lit more. and there is another show that is all comics in a rented VFW. and another comic book show INSIDE a comic book store.

 

Same here in San Antonio -  last year went to two of the 'big' cons and found fewer comic dealers at each than I found at a smaller show "Eckman's" that has a few shows a year and only charges $5-7 for entry.  Don't know anything about the cost of dealers tables at these events.

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