Best Con for Buying Actual Comic Books? 3 3

[VintageComics]

On 4/15/2019 at 10:17 AM, blazingbob said:

When there are complaints about "empty booths" from "full time buyers"

 

On 4/15/2019 at 10:34 AM, 1Cool said:

I think Roy was lamenting

It wasn't a complaint. It was just an observation I made (and one others have also reiterated countless times). There were empty booths and some international dealers and many locals have not been returning over the years.

But that has been the general pattern for many shows that have grown larger and more expensive than they used to be.

And the complaints about booth costs were comments that I had heard from smaller dealers.

Most dealers are not strong business people. Just because dealer A has an amazing show it does not mean it's an amazing show for everyone.

Rating systems for shows? Many dealers don't even organize their boxes, nevermind rate shows.

 

[kaculler]

I've been going to Wizard World Chicago every year since Wizard took over the show about 20 years ago.  For me, the show has always been very good to great in terms of comic buying.  I have no interest in panels. autographs, celebrities and so on.  I usually come home with 300 or more comics, though I expect the number to drop as my want list shrinks.  For me, the peak was in the several years after DC and Marvel pulled out of the show.  I will say that the show seems to be on the decline and that I heard from a number of dealers who indicated that last year was going to be their last show.  I think Wizard keeps raising prices for dealers.

I've asked dealers and collectors that I know about the best shows for pure comics and the results are pretty consistently HeroesCon and Baltimore, both of which have been mentioned here multiple times.  I have my ticket for HeroesCon and will attend for the first time this year.  I would have attended last year or the year before, but the dates conflicted with the end of the school year for me.  Now that I am retired, that isn't a problem.  I also plan to attend Baltimore in October this year for the first time. I almost went last fall, but had a conflict with a trip to Japan.