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Keystone Comic Con Philly Sept. 16-18 2018
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Started by Larryw7,

42 posts in this topic

Larryw7

Larryw7

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I'm curious to see how it does today. I got some great books and deals yesterday, so to my eyes it was great. It was nice to see a decent selection of dealers. Special shot out to Blazing Bob and Superworld Ted, two of the nicest, most gracious guys in the business. Also to a fellow whose name I forgot to get who was keeping me laughing with a constant barrage of out of context comic panels. Also great to see The Resurrection and Foolkiller, along with Pat's buddy Anthony. Except for my aching feet and decrepit old bones, I had a good time.

P.S.  The Corned Beef Special and some great chocolate chip cookies from the Reading Terminal Market made for a delicious breakfast.

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Larryw7

Larryw7

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I went Friday, it was pretty dead. But a few dealers seemed to have a decent amount of customers at their table pretty frequently. I'd love to hear some reports from dealers who were at the show so we can get their perspective.

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Skyz

Skyz

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Show was a disaster for the dealers I talked too,None of them will be returning next year..Isle's were empty on saturday.Not enough promotion,too close to baltimore and nycc.Guest list wasn't great.

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comicjack

comicjack

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1 minute ago, Skyz said:

Show was a disaster for the dealers I talked too,None of them will be returning next year..Isle's were empty on saturday.Not enough promotion,too close to baltimore and nycc.Guest list wasn't great.

I agree timing is everything just to close to those major shows and only so much money 

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cms1

cms1

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2 hours ago, comicjack said:

I agree timing is everything just to close to those major shows and only so much money 

Main reason I did not go.  I am saving up for NYCC.  This show would be better off in the winter time when there is not much going on in the area,

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blazingbob

blazingbob

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Before the piling on begins and the bad word of mouth goes lets put this show into perspective.

It was the FIRST one.  

Reed took the date from the convention center to get their foot in the door.

They are NOT that stupid to make a decision to directly compete with two major shows in 3 weeks.  

Their goal is to get this show into a May/June Time slot.  That takes time.

If you are thinking about doing this show as a dealer your business model better lean heavy towards dealer to dealer sales the first couple of years.

If you business model relies on heavy traffic maybe you need to look and see where the show dates fall and if there are major shows anywhere in the region that may impact your business model.

C2E2 took a few years before it became larger then Wizard Chicago.  

The philly market has lost a lot of comic promoters over the years,  collectors just don't start running back just because a new promoter shows up.  

I made more money at this show then the Wizard Philly show I did last year.  I won't do Wizard Philly again.  

If Reed doesn't schedule this show on the same weekend as another show I will do it again.  I fully expect that Reed will get this show into the right time slot.  When that time comes they will strongly promote the show.  For this years show why would you promote a show when your flagship show is 3 weeks away?  

There were definitely issues with commercial vehicle load-in and load outs.  Lots of angry dealers who drove that type of vehicle.  Because this is a new show the convention center plays a little harder with the show then with a established show.  While that would have been nice to know as a dealer you should be careful with what type of vehicle you drive to certain shows.  If there is one weakness in Reed shows it is their loadouts.  Consistently one of the worst when it comes to getting out.

Customer attendance was not good. 

Show date one week after labor day and when the kids go back to school and back to college doesn't exactly put people in the "Lets buy comics mode".  Traditionally this is one of the slowest months of the year for me selling wise.  I had VERY LOW expectations for this show based on it being a first show and the time of the year.  

If you came into the show thinking that this was going to be NY Comicon or C2E2 your expectations were too high.  

It will take some time to build this show.    

 

Edited by blazingbob
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mysterio

mysterio

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11 minutes ago, RCheli said:

Next year it's August 23-25. If they're trying to get to spring (and I think that's a good idea), they're not doing it fast enough. (WW Philly next year is June 13-16.)

 

Same weekend as WW Chicago. lol

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RCheli

RCheli

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To be fair, there are a limited number of open spaces at these convention centers. Something happens nearly every weekend. 

I would love to see something happen in March. I know there's a chance of winter weather, but with climate change, how much snow will there be any more, amirite?

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mysterio

mysterio

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16 minutes ago, RCheli said:

To be fair, there are a limited number of open spaces at these convention centers. Something happens nearly every weekend. 

I would love to see something happen in March. I know there's a chance of winter weather, but with climate change, how much snow will there be any more, amirite?

This is certainly true. But if their aim is to grow as a comic show, and they clearly attracted some heavy hitter dealers this time around, how does stacking up against WW Chicago help them?

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blazingbob

blazingbob

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31 minutes ago, RCheli said:

To be fair, there are a limited number of open spaces at these convention centers. Something happens nearly every weekend. 

I would love to see something happen in March. I know there's a chance of winter weather, but with climate change, how much snow will there be any more, amirite?

Great Eastern used to run Feb/march Philly shows.  Two blizzards didn't exactly go over very well as far as selling and attendance goes.  Would not recommend a Philly show in that timeslot.

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blazingbob

blazingbob

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14 minutes ago, mysterio said:

This is certainly true. But if their aim is to grow as a comic show, and they clearly attracted some heavy hitter dealers this time around, how does stacking up against WW Chicago help them?

They will lose a lot of the national dealers if this date stands.  Not sure I would recommend somebody doing "both".  

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