Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo C2E2 + April16-18, 2010 + McCormick Place

[Mike Bray]

It was excessively expensive to attend. Can't imagine the sales necessary to break even with these additional costs.

 

I'm gonna venture a guess here and say that the majority of the comic sellers at C2E2 probably lost money attending this show (which is probably what you're saying too).

(thumbs u

[TupennyConan]

Dale Roberts did so poorly that by Sunday he was on the phone with the Pittsburgh show buying his tables for this weekend.

 

They priced the dealers out of business.

 

Next year no dealers.

 

No dealers means reduced attendees.

 

Reduced attendees will mean reduced artists/creators.

 

Reduced artists/creators will mean reduced attendees.

 

Reduced attendees will mean negative number of dealers.

 

& so on. Or something like that.

 

The show is a dead duck.

 

Too bad because I prefer being in downtown to Rosemont as far as afterhours is concerned.

 

I really thought Reed was positioning itself to takeover the comic book convention business. The echoes from Wizard's gigantic sigh of relief can be heard down here in Florida even now.

[TupennyConan]

Also, as for Marketing 101, WTF is C2E2? That's just trying too hard to be clever. Try naming the convention something that makes sense next time.

[Ant-Man]

Reed had the chance to steal the ball away from WWC.

 

"Had" the chance.

 

Agreed. I remember hearing dealers and fans alike talking about C2E2 during the last WWC. Maybe the show was so hyped from the beginning that it could never have lived up to the expectations. While it was not bad for a first show (as an attendee), I think getting out of McCormick Place would do wonders.

[Dale Roberts]

Dale Roberts did so poorly that by Sunday he was on the phone with the Pittsburgh show buying his tables for this weekend.

 

They priced the dealers out of business.

 

Next year no dealers.

 

No dealers means reduced attendees.

 

Reduced attendees will mean reduced artists/creators.

 

Reduced artists/creators will mean reduced attendees.

 

Reduced attendees will mean negative number of dealers.

 

& so on. Or something like that.

 

The show is a dead duck.

 

Too bad because I prefer being in downtown to Rosemont as far as afterhours is concerned.

 

I really thought Reed was positioning itself to takeover the comic book convention business. The echoes from Wizard's gigantic sigh of relief can be heard down here in Florida even now.

 

 

Actually, I didn't do that poorly at all. Just poor for my expectations. I did do way below my expectations though. I was figuring minimum Wizard Chicago type numbers, but only did about half that amount.

 

 

[mschmidt]

It was excessively expensive to attend. Can't imagine the sales necessary to break even with these additional costs.

 

I'm gonna venture a guess here and say that the majority of the comic sellers at C2E2 probably lost money attending this show (which is probably what you're saying too).

(thumbs u

 

If that really was the case there'd be a lot more people complaining in this thread

 

I spoke to several dealers after the show - nobody had the sales they expected, but saying that they lost money by being there just isn't true.

[Shark]

It was excessively expensive to attend. Can't imagine the sales necessary to break even with these additional costs.

 

I'm gonna venture a guess here and say that the majority of the comic sellers at C2E2 probably lost money attending this show (which is probably what you're saying too).

(thumbs u

 

If that really was the case there'd be a lot more people complaining in this thread

 

I spoke to several dealers after the show - nobody had the sales they expected, but saying that they lost money by being there just isn't true.

 

OK then...let's do a poll. If you were a comic dealer at C2E2 and are reading this then please answer this poll:

[Dale Roberts]

Everyone that I talked to made solid money. I think everyone was a little disappointed by the lack of crowd though. Regardless of what was claimed on newsarama, there was about 15K people through the door by my estimation.

[aardvark88]

Think the C2E2 site said attendance was up to 28k ppl but that may include the dealer/retailer's and their staff plus the same person at the con 3 days in a row counts as 3 attendees. SDCC is different in that they count 128k separate people in attendance so that a collector with a 4 day pass counts as 1 attendee.

 

Still it would be hard to expect C2E2 to trump the regular Chicago Comicon in August that has had about a 35 year head start in its inaugural event.

[KolmarAvenue]

Was the show perfect? No. Plenty of complaints to go around for a variety of reasons. As an attendee I could complain about:

 

1. Parking costs, $19 per day.

2. Distance from mass transit. Rosemont boasts walking distance (1/2 mile) from the blue line to the convention center. McCormick has that same distance from the parking garage to the convention floor.

3. Wednesday's Heroes.

4. Lack of free/included exclusives.

5. Advertised creators/artists/writers that are barely available at best to their most devoted fans. (coughChrisWarecough)

6. Dealers overpricing to compensate for high costs. No finger pointing here...or they could do this at every show.

7. McCormick Centers exclusive contract with Pepsi.

8.

9. Sun blinding towards the end of the day.

10. Lack of modern centric dealers.

 

The things I liked?

 

1. Access to creators/artists/writers.

2. Space.

3.

4. Breadth of selection (silver/bronze/golden)

5. Finally meeting some boardies.

6.

7. My personal hero, Steve Gonsalves from Ghost Hunters fame being in attendance.

8. The favorable response to my "I love Beer" t-shirt.

9. A major show in Chicago not featuring Virgil of wrestling fame.

10.

[TupennyConan]

Dale Roberts did so poorly that by Sunday he was on the phone with the Pittsburgh show buying his tables for this weekend.

 

They priced the dealers out of business.

 

Next year no dealers.

 

No dealers means reduced attendees.

 

Reduced attendees will mean reduced artists/creators.

 

Reduced artists/creators will mean reduced attendees.

 

Reduced attendees will mean negative number of dealers.

 

& so on. Or something like that.

 

The show is a dead duck.

 

Too bad because I prefer being in downtown to Rosemont as far as afterhours is concerned.

 

I really thought Reed was positioning itself to takeover the comic book convention business. The echoes from Wizard's gigantic sigh of relief can be heard down here in Florida even now.

 

 

Actually, I didn't do that poorly at all. Just poor for my expectations. I did do way below my expectations though. I was figuring minimum Wizard Chicago type numbers, but only did about half that amount.

 

 

Well that just ruined my entire post. Thanks a lot Roberts.

[VintageComics]

Just a few thoughts from what I have observed.

 

I thought the sun was great. It makes the room feel more alive and definitely a welcome change to being in a basement somewhere. As a vintage comic buyer the lighting in the room was spectacular and most welcome.

 

Really the two main factors that are consistently coming up are cost and location.

 

As far as costs go, I'm wondering what sort of concessions collectors are willing to make to save costs. The room was 1st class. It was bright, plush with red carpets over the entire room, lots of choices in food (as far as con fare goes) and lots of aisle space.

 

I understand it takes $200K+ to carpet a room like this and $40-50K to simply carpet the front entrance. The costs are astronomical to do a con. Parking in any big city is going to be a killer so I'd say $19 is not out of the norm (we pay $15 in Toronto). Finding a cheaper location may not be difficult but then you get the complaints about how cold, dark and uncomfortable the room is. The reality is that you can't have a nice room and have it cheap. Would people prefer no carpeting and a cheaper venue?

 

As far as location, it was decent...very similar feel to NYC cons in that you need a cab to get to anything...but I guess when trying to compare it to WW in Rosemont there is no comparison as the WW show is like a self contained little city in itself.

 

I definitely loved being able to take a 10 minute cab into Chicago for some night life (it's a $45 cab ride from Rosemont) but the sense of community seems to be much better in Rosemont because it's so self contained.

 

I kind of like the C2E2 ring. I thought it was original and simple which are two important factors when choosing a catchy name.

 

 

[Mike Bray]

It was excessively expensive to attend. Can't imagine the sales necessary to break even with these additional costs.

 

I'm gonna venture a guess here and say that the majority of the comic sellers at C2E2 probably lost money attending this show (which is probably what you're saying too).

(thumbs u

 

If that really was the case there'd be a lot more people complaining in this thread

 

I spoke to several dealers after the show - nobody had the sales they expected, but saying that they lost money by being there just isn't true.

I`m a small time fish in the comic ocean -- everyonce in a while I enjoy setting up at one of the larger shows -- I never expect to make a killing in sales - but I do like to make a small profit -- sadly I didnt at the show -- a large % of my sales were to fellow boardies and other dealers in attendance -- my sales to the general public were really slow and small in stature -- part of my booth was 38 boxes of bulk which I started out at .50 then down to .25 -- finally on Sunday I dropped to .10 --- every other time I`ve done this to get rid of bulk its always been successful , someone has always bought it out at some point -- alas, I still took home 24 long boxes of it-- eneough ranting from me --- oh well .......... and I`ll probably be back next year -- just not as a dealer --- I can use my $$$ more wisely by just attending, buying and having fun

[G.A.tor]

Just a few thoughts from what I have observed.

 

I thought the sun was great. It makes the room feel more alive and definitely a welcome change to being in a basement somewhere. As a vintage comic buyer the lighting in the room was spectacular and most welcome.

 

Really the two main factors that are consistently coming up are cost and location.

 

As far as costs go, I'm wondering what sort of concessions collectors are willing to make to save costs. The room was 1st class. It was bright, plush with red carpets over the entire room, lots of choices in food (as far as con fare goes) and lots of aisle space.

 

I understand it takes $200K+ to carpet a room like this and $40-50K to simply carpet the front entrance. The costs are astronomical to do a con. Parking in any big city is going to be a killer so I'd say $19 is not out of the norm (we pay $15 in Toronto). Finding a cheaper location may not be difficult but then you get the complaints about how cold, dark and uncomfortable the room is. The reality is that you can't have a nice room and have it cheap. Would people prefer no carpeting and a cheaper venue?

 

As far as location, it was decent...very similar feel to NYC cons in that you need a cab to get to anything...but I guess when trying to compare it to WW in Rosemont there is no comparison as the WW show is like a self contained little city in itself.

 

I definitely loved being able to take a 10 minute cab into Chicago for some night life (it's a $45 cab ride from Rosemont) but the sense of community seems to be much better in Rosemont because it's so self contained.

 

I kind of like the C2E2 ring. I thought it was original and simple which are two important factors when choosing a catchy name.

 

sounds like the union labor was a major issue too... 200K to carpet that room...that is rediculous (could be done for 1/4 of that, with contract labor)...

seems to me a change in venue will be the only way for the show to not just make it, but become successful?

[Pirate]

They missed artist alley and the back area where the major signings were. Cold hard concrete.

[VintageComics]

sounds like the union labor was a major issue too... 200K to carpet that room...that is rediculous (could be done for 1/4 of that, with contract labor)...

seems to me a change in venue will be the only way for the show to not just make it, but become successful?

 

I should have clarified that the prices I got were regarding a different venue, and a different promoter but similar in size so I just extrapolated and made the assumption that it was similar for all con rooms of this size.

 

Still, it's a lot of dough, and you have to sell a lot of tickets to cover $100K-$250K in carpet alone. Think about it. almost $1/4 MIL for carpets. Wow.

 

I've also heard it costs as much as $45 for each booth to have a garbage at some venues. Reed simply had someone walking around all weekend picking up trash off the floor (because garbage cans were scarce)

Each table you open costs you money (hence some dealers didn't use all their tables).

 

I don't set up at shows but some of these prices and routines were really an eye opener.

 

Yes, the unions do kill the shows. The promoters get hit up with all kinds of fees after the show in the 5 and 6 figure range.

 

They promoted this show very heavily and I can only think that Reed themselves did not make a lot of money at this show.

[VintageComics]

They missed artist alley and the back area where the major signings were. Cold hard concrete.

 

As I mentioned I didn't even wander into that area once so I completely missed that.

 

 

[jonjesper]

be great for someone to compile all this information and contact Reed with it. If someone needs an email address let me know (not just a customer service rep).

 

Lots of great information, and IMO, Reed 'handled' the show better than Wizard has in the past few years. Not to say they could not improve, and I would not be suprised to see them reevaluate and make changes for the better, unlike Wizard, who continues to use the same procedures each and every year with no tweaks...

 

Just a thought...

[seanfingh]

 

From a functionality perspective, I thought the set up was great. It would have been nice to have the CGC booth nearer to artist's alley, but that is pretty minor. They need to figure out how to make it better for exhibitors, though. Without happy and successful exhibitors there will be no show. As much as I loved being downtown, maybe the 'burbs are better for keeping costs down and getting more dough into exhibitor pockets.

[TheWatcher]

10. Lack of modern centric dealers

 

I came across a few of them Everything from short boxes filled with common stuff to HTF independent & obscure titles