Torpedo Comics offers an alternative to SDCC 4 4

[HENRYSPENCER]

53 minutes ago, FSF said:

I believe the cutoff was 6/15 and now you have to go to the door to buy a ticket.  A limited amount will supposedly be available. 

Wow.  It sounds like they're expecting quite the crowd.  I would be interested in the report and photos on this one for sure.

[jmg3637]

My friend and I tried to buy tickets on 6/15  and the website  wanted us to buy out the show.  Even though we only wanted 2 tickets  it was trying to force us to pay  over 13,000

[alexgross.com]

On 6/18/2018 at 4:46 PM, FSF said:

I believe the cutoff was 6/15 and now you have to go to the door to buy a ticket.  A limited amount will supposedly be available. 

as far as i can tell, you can still buy tickets. just bought mine! looking forward to a real comics show without all the other stuff i dont care about at cons. 

 

[1950's war comics]

wished that there was an old school comics only con around my area......

[VintageComics]

On 3/25/2018 at 6:47 PM, jsilverjanet said:

many of the dealers are dealer already attending SDCC, so basically they've extended their vacation.

Or reaching customers who can't get a pass for the show or a reasonable hotel room for the city.

There are many complaints of people who want to shop at SD but can't or just won't put in the cost / effort any longer.

[VintageComics]

On 3/25/2018 at 8:10 PM, aardvark88 said:

Any ideas how far away in terms of driving time Hilton LAX is from Getty Museum in North L.A? I am making plans to attend from Canada.

In LA everything is close distance wise but far in regards to travel time.

It can take you an hour to drive 10 miles sometimes.

You can use Google maps and change your leave / start time and they generally compensate for traffic with their travel times.

[batman_fan]

Teryy put on a comic show in Denver at a hotel a little while back.  It was $10 to get in and free parking.  It was 90% comics.  I thought it was great.  Tons of material in the room, mixture of dealers from various locations.  Harley set up.  Harley has a memory that always astonishes me.  I picked up a ton of stuff, mostly raw comics from 1976.  Prices were great on this sort of material in fine to near mint.  This last weekend was the big Denver Comic con.  I didn't go, there would be less comics, $20 to park unless you park a ways away at the college and $50 per person for Sunday only.  Just not worth it.  I don't know how people did at Terry's show, but I thought it was great.

[VintageComics]

On 3/26/2018 at 4:50 PM, Robot Man said:

On 3/26/2018 at 2:54 PM, OrangeCrush said:

Some collectors may have gotten sick of the SDCC, but to use that as a general statement is REALLY pushing it considering the SDCC has sold out the last 10 years in a row. Just a few figures from the SDCC:

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/entertainment/comic-con/sd-me-con-numbers-20170715-story.html

10: Consecutive years Comic-Con has sold out.

27: Years Comic-Con has been held in the San Diego Convention Center.

30: Years since the debut of the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, now conferred annually at Comic-Con .

48: Years Comic-Con has been held in San Diego.

56: Special guests honored at this year’s Con, from Sergio Aragones (MAD magazine cartoonist) to Liz Suburbia, writer/artist of “Sacred Heart,” a graphic novel for young adults.

300: Estimated attendance at the first Con.

559: Rate, in dollars, for a deluxe king room at the Omni San Diego Hotel for July 19, Preview Night.

10,000: New vinyl folding chairs recently installed in the Convention Center.

62,922: Hotel room nights

130,000-plus: Expected attendance at this year’s Con.

208,894: In dollars, salary of Comic-Con chief operating officer John Rogers in 2014 (the most recent reported year)

2,980,000: In dollars, annual tax revenues

19,800,838: In dollars, total revenues for 2014 (the most recent reported year)

82,800,000: In dollars, annual spending by attendees

140,000,000: In dollars, the current Comic-Con’s estimated economic impact.

Based on those figures, it looks like the SDCC is doing just fine to me. There will always be people that cease going, just as there will always be new people that start attending the show. Based on the fact that the show has sold out the last 10 years running and the annual spending by attendees is equal to roughly $82,800,000....well, I just don't see what your seeing at all. If anything, the biggest changes we have seen with the SDCC is the fact that its become just as big of a show for a lot of other collectibles like statues, toys, figure's, etc, than comics. And I personally consider this a good thing as its turned the show into one massive show for pop culture collectibles in general as opposed to just comics. Considering I collect from many of those genre's of collectibles, I consider that a good thing. I have been to 3 of the last 5 SDCC"s and had an absolute blast at each one. For people who truly love comics and comic related merchandise, there is no other show llke the SDCC. 

In all due respect you are missing the whole point of this thread. We are talking about buying vintage comics. Serious comic buyers are dropping like flies.

Correct.

The show selling out is entirely what is annoying the average collector or attendee.

99% (exaggeration, I know but you get what I mean) of the people buying tickets don't buy / collect comics and this is why dealers are dropping out or reducing booth sizes.

 

[FSF]

4 minutes ago, VintageComics said:

Correct.

The show selling out is entirely what is annoying the average collector or attendee.

99% (exaggeration, I know but you get what I mean) of the people buying tickets don't buy / collect comics and this is why dealers are dropping out or reducing booth sizes.

 

VC, not that I'm trying to drag out a debate from another thread, but this is what I don't get about the things you post sometimes that seem to me entirely contradictory to one another.  I DO get what you mean. If 99%, or even 90% or 75% of the people going to a place like Comic Con "don't buy / collect comics", you're making MY point about the obliviousness of the wider public who truly don't have any clue, nor care anything about comics.

[Robot Man]

1 hour ago, VintageComics said:

In LA everything is close distance wise but far in regards to travel time.

It can take you an hour to drive 10 miles sometimes.

You can use Google maps and change your leave / start time and they generally compensate for traffic with their travel times.

From the Getty to the airport on a Sunday morning would take probably 15-20 minutes tops. 

[Robot Man]

1 hour ago, VintageComics said:

Or reaching customers who can't get a pass for the show or a reasonable hotel room for the city.

There are many complaints of people who want to shop at SD but can't or just won't put in the cost / effort any longer.

Lots of LA collectors here that don't go to SDCC. Lots of buzz about this show locally. It should be VERY well attended. 

[VintageComics]

4 hours ago, FSF said:

4 hours ago, VintageComics said:

Correct.

The show selling out is entirely what is annoying the average collector or attendee.

99% (exaggeration, I know but you get what I mean) of the people buying tickets don't buy / collect comics and this is why dealers are dropping out or reducing booth sizes.

 

VC, not that I'm trying to drag out a debate from another thread, but this is what I don't get about the things you post sometimes that seem to me entirely contradictory to one another.  I DO get what you mean. If 99%, or even 90% or 75% of the people going to a place like Comic Con "don't buy / collect comics", you're making MY point about the obliviousness of the wider public who truly don't have any clue, nor care anything about comics.

You're mixing your apples and oranges again.

San Diego sells out tickets to pop culture fans of which the majority are likely not comic collectors.

That doesn't mean the general public doesn't understand that collectibles are worth money.

[mycomicshop]

5 hours ago, VintageComics said:

You're mixing your apples and oranges again.

San Diego sells out tickets to pop culture fans of which the majority are likely not comic collectors.

That doesn't mean the general public doesn't understand that collectibles are worth money.

They may not spend much on comics while they're caught up in cosplay and Hall H lines, but you can be sure those hordes of San Diego con-goers are going straight back to classic cars, stamps, and Elvis memorabilia once they get back home. Truly front of mind categories.

[blazingbob]

46 minutes ago, mycomicshop said:

They may not spend much on comics while they're caught up in cosplay and Hall H lines, but you can be sure those hordes of San Diego con-goers are going straight back to classic cars, stamps, and Elvis memorabilia once they get back home. Truly front of mind categories.

I thought it was corn dogs and root beer?  Oh wait if they are from California it would be fish taco's and flavored water.

Edited June 20, 2018 by blazingbob

[SilverSniper]

I don't see how this would be an alternative to SDCC in any way. Most people who attend SDCC don't do so to buy comic books... but more book focused shows the better.

[Robot Man]

1 hour ago, SilverSniper said:

I don't see how this would be an alternative to SDCC in any way. Most people who attend SDCC don't do so to buy comic books... but more book focused shows the better.

It is if you are a vintage comic buyer. Since it is a comic board not a cosplay board, video game board or pop culture board I figured most people would understand the meaning of the title. If you "get it" and have read this thread, you will clearly see that SDCC has become irrelevant to many comic book collectors. Especially local collectors who can simply drive to the show and in many cases have done so many times. To us, this is a great alternative!

[VintageComics]

1 hour ago, Robot Man said:

3 hours ago, SilverSniper said:

I don't see how this would be an alternative to SDCC in any way. Most people who attend SDCC don't do so to buy comic books... but more book focused shows the better.

It is if you are a vintage comic buyer. Since it is a comic board not a cosplay board, video game board or pop culture board I figured most people would understand the meaning of the title. If you "get it" and have read this thread, you will clearly see that SDCC has become irrelevant to many comic book collectors. Especially local collectors who can simply drive to the show and in many cases have done so many times. To us, this is a great alternative!

Right. The Torpedo show is meant to take the show back to it's old school roots of just having a room full of vintage guys and not to replace the SD CC experience.

Just as an observer and listening to other dealers, their regular customers who have been attending SD for years have trouble getting into the show to spend money with dealers they've been buying from for years (or even decades).

The problem is exacerbated by the fact that SDCC polices badges aggressively, so the old fashioned way of just handing a customer a badge to shop for a few hours or a day can be a big problem.

I personally know of two major sellers who were reprimanded for sharing badges with customers and threatened to be kicked out of the show permanently. And these are sellers who have been pretty much lifers at the SD show.

Of course, as I said in the Heroes thread if you are organized, communicative with your customer base and have the goods, you'll do well at SD. But fighting with SDCC management to get customers into the show who want to visit your booth and spend money but can't because all the people who want to line up for 2 days to visit Hall H on a Friday shouldn't be a hurdle an exhibitor should have to deal with and that is what the Torpedo show is trying to remedy.

 

 

[jmg3637]

I have only been to SDCC  twice and while I enjoyed the spectacle I was there to buy/trade  comics.  I only went those times  as I coupled it with a family vacation.

 

I prefer a real COMIC BOOK convention like when it was back in the OLDE days at the SHRINE.  I would especially enjoy  if buying prices  were the same as back then

 

 

[Robot Man]

3 minutes ago, VintageComics said:

Right. The Torpedo show is meant to take the show back to it's old school roots of just having a room full of vintage guys and not to replace the SD CC experience.

Just as an observer and listening to other dealers, their regular customers who have been attending SD for years have trouble getting into the show to spend money with dealers they've been buying from for years (or even decades).

The problem is exacerbated by the fact that SDCC polices badges aggressively, so the old fashioned way of just handing a customer a badge to shop for a few hours or a day can be a big problem.

I personally know of two major sellers who were reprimanded for sharing badges with customers and threatened to be kicked out of the show permanently. And these are sellers who have been pretty much lifers at the SD show.

Of course, as I said in the Heroes thread if you are organized, communicative with your customer base and have the goods, you'll do well at SD. But fighting with SDCC management to get customers into the show who want to visit your booth and spend money but can't because all the people who want to line up for 2 days to visit Hall H on a Friday shouldn't be a hurdle an exhibitor should have to deal with and that is what the Torpedo show is trying to remedy.

 

 

Exactly. The title of this thread really says it all. An "alternative" NOT "replacement" for SDCC. This show is for buyers and sellers of vintage comic books. I guarantee this show will be WELL attended by real comic buyers with deep pockets that don't want to go the hassle of SDCC to deal with sellers. I really hope even more dealers show up. If they don't they will really be missing a great opportunity for sales. 

[VintageComics]

Just now, Robot Man said:

Exactly. The title of this thread really says it all. An "alternative" NOT "replacement" for SDCC. This show is for buyers and sellers of vintage comic books. I guarantee this show will be WELL attended by real comic buyers with deep pockets that don't want to go the hassle of SDCC to deal with sellers. I really hope even more dealers show up. If they don't they will really be missing a great opportunity for sales. 

I think the real question is, will the Torpedo show make SD not worthwhile to do if you get a lot of SD goers just take the LA route and forefo the SD show.

If the Torpedo show gains traction over the years, that could be a real thing and prevent people from going to SD altogether unless they are looking for the entire SD experience.