What makes you decide wether or not to attend a particuler event 0

[stephenshamus12]

Golden Memories - May I suggest if you have a free weekend you attend one of our events as a pedestrian. I'll even get you free tickets. It'll be eye opening for you. 

[Golden Memories]

Thanks

I was set up at what I believe was your 1st event at Nassau Collisium, and yes, It was an eye opener 

I will be happy to take you up on your offer when  you return to the east coast 

Also to take your point, My wife freaked when she saw Kit Harrington was going to be in Chicago, So there's your new audience

BTW I am officially coining the term "Geezer-Con" 

[zosocane]

1 hour ago, Kevin Boyd said:

Certainly the audience here on the boards who cares about comic creators is interested in either (a) classic creators (artists and writers) who worked on the books of their youth or (b) hot creators working on the biggest variant covers and hottest selling back first appearance back issues that captivate the new book market.  Toss into the mix the art collectors here and there looking for originals and commissions. But back issue collectors often don't care about any guests, comics or otherwise, which is why the back issue only shows are popping up again and making a case about not going to the media shows. 

This is right.  "Comic cons" have really become pop culture cons (because their product lines are so diversified); in some cases it feels like walking into a flea market except you had to pay $30 or so to walk in.  There are certain big "comic cons" where vintage comics are still very relevant (SDCC, NYCC, WW Chicago, Heroes), but it's the smaller, focused, and grass-roots comic book 'shows' that the collector market has demanded, and have thus made a comeback these last few years.  Vintage comic book collectors probably only care about creator guests to the extent they are there to take commissions or to sign books for yellow label submissions.

[stephenshamus12]

Zoscone - Agreed. That's where it's been heading since 2016. 

[Crops068]

On 7/4/2019 at 5:48 PM, Golden Memories said:

 

 I'm a die hard capitalist , I do not deny their right To charge whatever the market will bear, I'm Just saying, Honestly, I think a little appreciation might be in order for their hardcore base, And you are correct, It is certainly a buyers choice, and they can always refuse, Brie Larson Is already sold out, and I can't imagine what Kit Harington  will be  charging.  

From what I have read Kit is charging $150 a sig.

To answer the OP's original question, I go for the fun of the experience and to let Mini-me see what it is all about.  If I stumble upon something I want and can pickup I will.  I don't generally have the time to go through boxes of books.

I don't have any collectibles that I want a celeb to sign.  If I am going to a con to get a comic signed it is for an artist/inker/writer.  If I am going to "meet' at celeb, it is for an 8x10 signed and maybe a table photo op.  There are not many out there I am interested in meeting though with quite a few already dead.

I do want to have a signed pic of each of the Star Trek Captains (Picard/Stewart, Sisko/Brooks, Janeway/Mulgrew, and Archer/Bakula - already have Kirk/Shatner and not a fan of Discovery but I would take Lorca/Isaacs also because he is a badass).  But seems they have fewer and fewer appearances.  Maybe the new Picard show will pull them out of hiding.

[Golden Memories]

Keystone, AKA reed Philly is having a Mini Star Trek reunion , Burton, Dorn, Siritis, + 

None of the Captains posted yet. Key an eye on them

https://www.keystonecomiccon.com/

[Kevin Boyd]

16 hours ago, zosocane said:

This is right.  "Comic cons" have really become pop culture cons (because their product lines are so diversified); in some cases it feels like walking into a flea market except you had to pay $30 or so to walk in.  There are certain big "comic cons" where vintage comics are still very relevant (SDCC, NYCC, WW Chicago, Heroes), but it's the smaller, focused, and grass-roots comic book 'shows' that the collector market has demanded, and have thus made a comeback these last few years.  Vintage comic book collectors probably only care about creator guests to the extent they are there to take commissions or to sign books for yellow label submissions.

I've gone to a few local comic shows, they were always around in some form and when I go I spend a fair amount of time talking to collectors and vendors about what they think of the market and conventions in general. I used to do them when I had my shop but never did particularly well with back issues and few people were interested in graphic novels and Pops sold only to the "plus ones" accompanying the adult collectors (kids, spouses, significant others), maybe things would be different now, but between the modern recent book speculation and the search for "keys", I just didn't find people were looking for what I had in my bins so it's all in storage for now. Fewer people were going to fill holes in runs unless it was bargain priced.

The vendors that do both large and small have specific reasons for doing so - casting a wider net, leads for collections, access to creators for signatures, etc. Or just to move the stuff that you usually don't find at the collectors shows like merchandise. I always found the bigger show audiences do spend money on other things than back issues and always did well with trades and hardcovers, statues, Pops, glassware, etc. As a retailer who had a shop front, I considered it part of my advertising budget as it did get people over to my shop.

While I'm too busy to exhibit at our big event, I do still pay my former staff to run a booth at the local mid-level show in March (Toronto Comicon) and the annual Christmas one-day. And we do see a lot of back issue vendors at both of those as well. But Toronto is a unique market in that the vendors still seem committed to supporting big and small. 

There are also these bargain basement events which aren't much more than glorified flea markets. I've done a few of those too, not really worth it. They don't attract collectors (maybe a few dealers looking for inventory), but families and kids. You might sell some toys or buttons, maybe the occasional book (hardcover or trade) but not worth the labor involved. 

Anyways, I do find that majority of people I talk to are interested in those A+ level guests (like Todd McFarlane, Jim Lee, Liefeld, etc.) and lots of people offer suggestions of who they want to see, and I do find that if they don't exhibit at our big event they are still coming to them as attendees.   

[Golden Memories]

 

 Big Comic Shows are to sell Big Books  The Big 6 are where the serious buyers go looking for the Better books 

And where the dealers go looking to fill customer wants. 

 The "NEWER" shows such as East Coast and Terrificon"  Have not hti the MUST attends yet, But Both are close 

   Both are Extremelly comic Oriented and draw great crowds and a little of everything sells 

 Local shows, around here are Mainly to sell $1 books  with the occasional serious buyer 

as stephenshamus12 said,  the Entertainment  / Autograph shows are for selling Merchandise or Graphic Novels 

 and are not targeted at the serious collector and therefore the Dealers with higher value books,  tend to stay away 

They Hybrids such as Boston Seem to have a good Mix and are HI energy shows 

Of course then there's REED  c2e2 , NY Comicon and keystone this year has Onsite from cgc so that should be a HUGE draw 

of course C2e2 and NY comicon are Major shows, and NY is as close to San Diego as you can get on the east coast 

 My schedule choice  is Based on Booth Price, Other expenses, Artist List, Entertainment  Guests, Admission Charge, Exhibitor list, Past experience and willingness to Gamble. 

 

 

[sagekilz]

For me, personally, it depends solely on where it's located and the expenses involved.  99% of the time my daughter and wife want to come with me so as a family we have to factor in the total cost to attend anything, let alone a 'con.  That said, we usually just bite the bullet and make a weekend out of it; my daughter has a great time and my wife always buys things she says she doesn't really need. 

[Unstoppablejayd]

Being outside of NYC my choice in cons is very diverse... I love the little JP shows that happen every month for comic buying and have become good friends with many of the normal attendees and dealers. On the bigger shows (ones that have a more significant cost to attend) the first thing I look at is the artist list, because if that list is good the dealers will come. I also seem to enjoy the mid size shows better- I think East Coast and Terrificon have both been mentioned ( very sad I can not make terrificon this year) those are a couple of my favorites, Also Big Apple Con Garden State and the Growing Suffolk Art show. The Mega Shows are cool and I have enjoyed Both NYCC and C2E2 but they are very cost prohibitive to just attend (the GF likes to come) and I find because of the massive crowds... at least for me from what I want to get out of a con the time spent in lines for creators and CGC mitigate the fun of the show. I flew out to C2E2 to wind up spending most of my "comic money" with @bedrockcomics who I already new and shopped with via the forum and Anthony's Comic Art which I usually wind up at his warehouse here a couple times a month!

[Krismusic]

I think Stephen and Kevin have the right idea and have said it right about conventions that the best ones have a mixture of both as the ones with big media attract more people and even if those people aren't serious collectors they still spend money on things and some become involved in comics.

Most attendees that have cash to buy books have significant others that attend but they would only want to come if there is something interesting or cool to see or experience such as meeting a celebrity and they usually have a great time. I think that's the most important thing having a great time and experience as well as catering the all versions of comic culture be it in funkos, pins, cosplay, guest, celebrities etc... it opens up the market to newer people joining and being a buyer only never a seller I see more buyers joining in than before and have many experiences of people who know nothing about comics joining in the cons having a fun time and actually picking up a book. yeah they might not be spending $100's of dollars but they might get hooked and keep coming back for more.

I have a friend who joined me at FanExpo a few years back he asked about comics I told him a few story lines that I knew and thought were cool he spend the next day searching for books and picked a few cheap comics up, read the story and loved it had to go back and finish the storyline. Now he goes to a LCS and buys runs and reads them all he buys back issues and moderns now. All started by wanting to meet a celebrity and get a autograph and experience the fun that I had. 

[aardvark88]

On 7/10/2019 at 1:25 PM, Krishosein said:

I think that's the most important thing having a great time and experience as well as catering the all versions of comic culture be it in funkos, pins, cosplay, guest, celebrities etc... it opens up the market to newer people joining and being a buyer only never a seller I see more buyers joining in than before and have many experiences of people who know nothing about comics joining in the cons having a fun time and actually picking up a book.

I have a friend who joined me at Fan Expo a few years back he asked about comics. All started by wanting to meet a celebrity and get an autograph and experience the fun that I had. 

What % of the huge Fan Expo in Toronto is non-sports or sports card booths? 30 years ago, there were successful fusion cons of sports cards and comics together in the Vancouver, BC area. Not anymore.

[Krismusic]

1 hour ago, aardvark88 said:

What % of the huge Fan Expo in Toronto is non-sports or sports card booths? 30 years ago, there were successful fusion cons of sports cards and comics together in the Vancouver, BC area. Not anymore.

I don't see sports cards really but I do see non-sports card boxes at sellers booth such as yugi oh, pokemon, MTG, etc... 

[stephenshamus12]

Entertainment Cards (Upper Deck Marvel, Topps Star Wars), Gaming Cards (Yu Gi Oh, Pokemon), Movie Posters and other Props and replicas, as well as now Video Games (Vintage) are mainstays. And all make sense since they are the same psychographic of attendees or relatives of attendees that are likely to attend. Sports, other than WWE (more entertainment), have never mixed well. Same demographic, different psychographic. 

[Golden Memories]

The largest show in the country for Sport and Non Sport cards is the NSCC  http://nsccshow.com/

There is no fusion, but it is the best venue for a card collector