Wizard World St. Louis Comic Con, May 22-24, 2015

[mysterio]

I can't add anything other than "it really sucked". Very depressing. I know they've put dates up for next year, but they'd be foolish unless they are revamping the con head to toe and going out of their way to get quality exhibitors back.

 

It was a comic book show........without comic books. I made mention of it when I was dropping books off for submission and the guy said, "............ugh, yeah". Just a disaster on so many levels.

 

There were more booths selling homeopathic medicine, pain relief, LASIK, and weight loss products than there were comic books. There was even a booth selling custom shower enclosures. A really surreal experience.

 

I actually hope they just cancel and stay away. I even felt for the people there for things other than comics. They thought it sucked too, based in the handful I spoke with.

 

If Wizard has already rebooked that means they are making money with the show as-is. I wouldn't expect any major revamps at this point. Annual shows can get away with that, because even someone who is disappointed his year will probably give the show another shot next year as their disappointment fades from memory and is replaced by anticipation. Wizard also isn't worried about which vendors buy tables, only that they sell. Money from custom shower dealers spends just like anyone else's, and WW has decided they don't need to court comic dealers despite what they name their shows. As has been discussed here before, the casual congoer these days probably isn't too concerned about buying comics, and if they are they're probably happy to hit $1-5 boxes to pick up a few books. There is a broad swath of small local dealers who can fill that niche.

 

This illustrates why it is key to support the dealers and shows you like to attend and shop. Talk to the dealers you like, and even if you don't buy make sure you tell them you're glad to see them so they form a positive impression of the show and crowds to want to come back. Or, better yet, spend money with them so their bottom line makes them want to set up next year. With these Wizard shows it seems that one, Chicago, is excellent for comics, with others that are good (NO has always been good for dealers, for example, and I heard good things about Tulsa). Still others started out as great shows for books and have been mismanaged into sucking (I'm looking at you Austin). Each show will have its own "personality" when it comes to dealers, and we can nurture that by spending with the dealers that do set up.

 

Sorry for the ramblings while I enjoy my first coffee of the day.

[MCMiles]

It sucked.

[Transplant]

As has been discussed here before, the casual congoer these days probably isn't too concerned about buying comics, and if they are they're probably happy to hit $1-5 boxes to pick up a few books. There is a broad swath of small local dealers who can fill that niche.

I'm not aware of a lot of local guys that want to set up at $800-$1000 for a table.

[G.A.tor]

Such glowing reviews of the show

[mysterio]

As has been discussed here before, the casual congoer these days probably isn't too concerned about buying comics, and if they are they're probably happy to hit $1-5 boxes to pick up a few books. There is a broad swath of small local dealers who can fill that niche.

I'm not aware of a lot of local guys that want to set up at $800-$1000 for a table.

 

That's why I went with "can" and not "would". If WW dropped their table prices to even $800 I think more small time local dealers could do the show. $1000 is painful, and a threshold most wouldn't cross for most WW shows. And if national level dealers need to pull 5x expenses out of a show it doesn't usually pay to haul dollar boxes 1,000 miles. A local guy has lower expenses up front that could make a dollar box setup work with $750-800 table fees, especially with a corner booth. We're not big dealers by any stretch, but my brother can pull in $3000-3500 over a weekend with a single corner booth selling dollar books and a wall of mostly $20-100 books. We are generally happy enough with those as expenses aren't bad.

[makeminemego]

I can't add anything other than "it really sucked". Very depressing. I know they've put dates up for next year, but they'd be foolish unless they are revamping the con head to toe and going out of their way to get quality exhibitors back.

 

It was a comic book show........without comic books. I made mention of it when I was dropping books off for submission and the guy said, "............ugh, yeah". Just a disaster on so many levels.

 

There were more booths selling homeopathic medicine, pain relief, LASIK, and weight loss products than there were comic books. There was even a booth selling custom shower enclosures. A really surreal experience.

 

I actually hope they just cancel and stay away. I even felt for the people there for things other than comics. They thought it sucked too, based in the handful I spoke with.

 

If Wizard has already rebooked that means they are making money with the show as-is. I wouldn't expect any major revamps at this point. Annual shows can get away with that, because even someone who is disappointed his year will probably give the show another shot next year as their disappointment fades from memory and is replaced by anticipation. Wizard also isn't worried about which vendors buy tables, only that they sell. Money from custom shower dealers spends just like anyone else's, and WW has decided they don't need to court comic dealers despite what they name their shows. As has been discussed here before, the casual congoer these days probably isn't too concerned about buying comics, and if they are they're probably happy to hit $1-5 boxes to pick up a few books. There is a broad swath of small local dealers who can fill that niche.

 

This illustrates why it is key to support the dealers and shows you like to attend and shop. Talk to the dealers you like, and even if you don't buy make sure you tell them you're glad to see them so they form a positive impression of the show and crowds to want to come back. Or, better yet, spend money with them so their bottom line makes them want to set up next year. With these Wizard shows it seems that one, Chicago, is excellent for comics, with others that are good (NO has always been good for dealers, for example, and I heard good things about Tulsa). Still others started out as great shows for books and have been mismanaged into sucking (I'm looking at you Austin). Each show will have its own "personality" when it comes to dealers, and we can nurture that by spending with the dealers that do set up.

 

Sorry for the ramblings while I enjoy my first coffee of the day.

 

I totally agree with what you're saying, but Wizard has severely mismanaged this show, through horrible scheduling if nothing else. With regards to folks buying $1-5 books, there wasn't even a decent selection of that.....and as far as decent local dealers who can fill the void of large national dealers....they weren't there either. I know they released the list of exhibitors much later this year than in the past, which was a dead giveaway that no dealers with name recognition were setting up. Maybe they called vendors who have set up at other conventions in the past (pain relief, custom shower, homeopathic medicine) to help fill floor space to a reduced rate. I'm just guessing at that though. Although it wouldn't surprise me.

 

If Wizard wants the con to thrive, they have to do their part by offering a scheduled date that doesn't conflict with bigger cons. If you don't do that, its hard to execute the "spend your money with the dealers you like" (which I totally agree with, in theory) since they're nowhere to be found on the floor.

 

Having spoken to a few people who attended for reasons other than comics, they weren't happy either, so I would look for the cosplay/gaming/t-shirt crowd to dwindle as well.

 

After I saw the list of exhibitors, I knew the only reason I was going was to have Romero sign a Dawn of the Dead poster. But it was MUCH worse than I anticipated.

 

Without a return of quality regional dealers, I can't see myself returning to the con, personally. But I don't blame those dealers if they stay away due to a bigger convention being scheduled at the same time, or if the reputation of the STL con is so bad that they stay away.

 

Maybe your right though, that this show is destined to be the anti-Baltimore, and Wizard is ok with that as long as they are selling tickets.

[revat]

I feel like wizard is taking these few years to research which cities can support cons and to get their name out there and to crush all other local cons, even if they take a loss. I think at some point they'll take all their data and consolidate into bigger, better cons, in the highest performing markets. So for now, its about research and minimizing losses.

[Gary Strange]

It sucked.

 

+1 Very disappointing, even for a $23 Living Social ticket. Wanted George Romero to sign my Creepshow poster, then saw the $50 charge and laughed.

[gregreece]

If Wizard has already rebooked that means they are making money with the show as-is. I wouldn't expect any major revamps at this point. Annual shows can get away with that, because even someone who is disappointed his year will probably give the show another shot next year as their disappointment fades from memory and is replaced by anticipation. Wizard also isn't worried about which vendors buy tables, only that they sell. Money from custom shower dealers spends just like anyone else's, and WW has decided they don't need to court comic dealers despite what they name their shows. As has been discussed here before, the casual congoer these days probably isn't too concerned about buying comics, and if they are they're probably happy to hit $1-5 boxes to pick up a few books. There is a broad swath of small local dealers who can fill that niche.

 

+1 (especially bolded part). Wizard, like every other company, is in business to max out gross profit. I get it. That said, I take a more long term approach to growing my business but then again I am not publicly traded and therefore don't have the "make that quarter pressure". As of now they don't appear to care if it's State Farm, Verizon, gutter cleaners, or window salesman. How well this will play out long term will be interesting to watch but it is tough to sit by and watch this be called a "Comic Con". I have long maintained promoters should care very much who sets up as while there is room for some diverse product (it should at least be mildly related), a consumer should feel total immersion while in the dealer room. This is why SDCC, Reed's NY shows, etc are so successful in my opinion. I set up 2 years ago in St. Louis and the reviews I see of this years show are fairly representative of what I saw then.

[makeminemego]

In terms of WW, I've only been to their cons in Chicago, STL, and LA back when they had one, so many people on here have much more experience than I do.

 

This beat anything I've ever seen in @25 years of convention going. I can't say there were literally no comic books there, but I feel pretty comfortable saying it figuratively.

 

But yes, I agree, it'll be interesting to see how this works out for WW next year of they are in fact coming back.

[grunter]

There's no question. It was dire.

 

Near $60 a person for Saturday? Cripes. There wasn't even 2 hours worth of material in the dealer's room to wade through.

 

It's sad when First Aid Comics has the best booth at the con.

 

Enough Funko / Pop! "collectible" tchotchke garbage to choke a horse though. Who buys that awful ?