Wizard World Philly 2015 (my first major con - review):

[mintcollector]

Hello,

 

Though active in the antiques and collectibles trade for many years, I have yet to attend a major comic book convention until now. Yesterday I had some free time and decided to bite the bullet and head to Wizard World Philly.

 

First, I want to say that I am dealing with a serious personal matter, so I apologize to anyone I met if I appeared distant or not truly in the moment. It is what it is and we cant help what happens to us only how we choose to respond (enough said on that matter). That being said, I arrived with little fanfare having driven from my house to the convention center. Driving and parking in Philly sucks and it always has. After paying the $50+ to get in and the $40 to park I was excited to see what all the fuss was about. The true highlight of my visit was being able to see both Greg Reece's booth and High Grade Comics booth. I came to look and buy and wasn't interested in the pop culture aspect of the show. That said here are my thoughts:

 

Overall I was disappointed with the show. I don't care to pay $100 to dig through bargain boxes as I am a high end CGC collector.

 

I didn't care for the pop culture aspect of the show. I understand that other people do, but I was hoping for more vintage high end toy dealers if anything. I found no high grade AFA vintage toys which surprised me.

 

The amount of dealers selling vintage video games seemed out of place. I couldn't believe how many such booths I found that were selling classic Nintendo games at very high prices.

 

I didn't like how small the show was. Remove all the booths that were selling generic posters, t-shirts, and other unrelated pop culture items and the show was truly disappointing.

 

Honestly, I most likely won't go next year, as the highlight of my trip was seeing dealers I worked with only online and seeing several people who recognized me on the floor.

 

I understand I am probably in the minority as a lot of people like these shows. I just thought it was truly overpriced for what I was looking for.

 

Just my thoughts.

 

Kind Regards,

 

mint

 

 

 

 

 

 

[marmat]

$50 for a ticket is crazy high

[mysterio]

$50 for a ticket is crazy high

 

Indeed. That is about what the four day pass should run.

[mschmidt]

$50 for a ticket is crazy high

 

Indeed. That is about what the four day pass should run.

 

[mintcollector]

$50 for a ticket is crazy high

 

Indeed. That is about what the four day pass should run.

 

This was the cost on the Wizard World Philly website for the Friday admission.

 

Were there cheaper options?

 

 

[mysterio]

$50 for a ticket is crazy high

 

Indeed. That is about what the four day pass should run.

 

This was the cost on the Wizard World Philly website for the Friday admission.

 

Were there cheaper options?

 

 

Probably not. I meant "in a perfect world" with that, not meaning to imply that you got fleeced. That is what all the large WW cons cost. It's nutty.

[mysterio]

$50 for a ticket is crazy high

 

Indeed. That is about what the four day pass should run.

 

 

Guilty.

[Couchy81]

I much prefer the smaller comic-only shows. You find as much if not more than you do at the big shows - aside from high profile dealers - but pay way less to get in and it is much more enjoyable. IMO.

[Tyraxus]

Wizard World Indy was pretty crappy and overpriced as well. There was a thread about it where most people we're complaining. It seems that the Wizard World road show experiment isn't going too well. I'm going to be avoiding any Wizard World shows that aren't Chicago from now on.

[wombat]

I went yesterday. I paid $10 to park all day. I also used a groupon to buy entry tickets (before Jason - youmechooz) hooked me up with some passes. I thought it was a really good mix of vendors and a ton of artists/celebrities. Plenty of long boxes to dig through and plenty of high end comics. My only disappointment was not finding a Vampirella #1 I have been on the hunt for. My highlight was talking with Frank Frazetta's granddaughter and buying a portfolio and some prints. I also met several board members so that was cool as well. Here are some pictures (I am terrible at taking pictures):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[namisgr]

The true highlight of my visit was being able to see both Greg Reece's booth and High Grade Comics booth.

 

 

While the comic offerings at the Philadelphia show have declined over the years, in fairness there were good dealers to be found beyond Greg and Bob, who had the great stuff they always do. Joe Vereneault (JHV Associates) has an extensive stock from gold to bronze, and had a new sweet collection at the show of late silver/early bronze in nice shape and with ow/w paper. Al Stoltz (Basement Comix) can be counted on to stock offbeat material that few other dealers have. Love him or hate him, Richie Muchin (Tomorrow's Treasures) had a bunch of raw material that was being bought by other dealers.

 

Pro tip (I work in Philly) to avoid paying excessively for parking: Vine Street is two blocks north of the convention center on Arch, and has free 3 hour parking.

 

The show is, unfortunately, a craptastic collection of junk with a smattering of good comic sellers speckled about. In my opinion, it was a far, far better show before Wizard got its' hands on it.

[MrBedrock]

 

 

 

These two photos made me giggle. How in the world did someone come up with those prices? What was the logic in adding the .95? If you aren't rounding down the previous decimal you loose the subliminal effect. Why not just throw numbers in a hat and pick them at random?

 

For the Hulk 1 ... we know it will be north of $16K so how about $16793.74

For the TOS 39 ... $8251.01

[mintcollector]

The true highlight of my visit was being able to see both Greg Reece's booth and High Grade Comics booth.

 

 

While the comic offerings at the Philadelphia show have declined over the years, in fairness there were good dealers to be found beyond Greg and Bob, who had the great stuff they always do. Joe Vereneault (JHV Associates) has an extensive stock from gold to bronze, and had a new sweet collection at the show of late silver/early bronze in nice shape and with ow/w paper. Al Stoltz (Basement Comix) can be counted on to stock offbeat material that few other dealers have. Love him or hate him, Richie Muchin (Tomorrow's Treasures) had a bunch of raw material that was being bought by other dealers.

 

Pro tip (I work in Philly) to avoid paying excessively for parking: Vine Street is two blocks north of the convention center on Arch, and has free 3 hour parking.

 

The show is, unfortunately, a craptastic collection of junk with a smattering of good comic sellers speckled about. In my opinion, it was a far, far better show before Wizard got its' hands on it.

 

Hello,

 

I should clarify to be fair...

 

You are correct in that there were other dealers with substantially good offerings. I focused on Bob's and Greg's booths primarily because I have done a lot of Internet business with them and truly feel loyal to both dealers. I was surprised that I didn't see Metropolis there either as I have done business with them too.

 

However, if you are like me and looking for 9.2 (or higher) CGC graded keys, the offerings were quite slim. I did however see some books I am interested in, most notably at the dealers booths in question and I may want to work out deals with them via email.

 

That being said, this was a great lesson for me at least. The 'con' circuit in relation to what I was expecting truly doesn't justify the time or the expense. Just my opinion.

 

mint

[namisgr]

Try the Baltimore show in the fall before giving up on conventions. It's a terrific 'comics only' comic book show, with great panel discussions and lots of dealers of high grade.

[1Cool]

The true highlight of my visit was being able to see both Greg Reece's booth and High Grade Comics booth.

 

 

While the comic offerings at the Philadelphia show have declined over the years, in fairness there were good dealers to be found beyond Greg and Bob, who had the great stuff they always do. Joe Vereneault (JHV Associates) has an extensive stock from gold to bronze, and had a new sweet collection at the show of late silver/early bronze in nice shape and with ow/w paper. Al Stoltz (Basement Comix) can be counted on to stock offbeat material that few other dealers have. Love him or hate him, Richie Muchin (Tomorrow's Treasures) had a bunch of raw material that was being bought by other dealers.

 

Pro tip (I work in Philly) to avoid paying excessively for parking: Vine Street is two blocks north of the convention center on Arch, and has free 3 hour parking.

 

The show is, unfortunately, a craptastic collection of junk with a smattering of good comic sellers speckled about. In my opinion, it was a far, far better show before Wizard got its' hands on it.

 

Hello,

 

I should clarify to be fair...

 

You are correct in that there were other dealers with substantially good offerings. I focused on Bob's and Greg's booths primarily because I have done a lot of Internet business with them and truly feel loyal to both dealers. I was surprised that I didn't see Metropolis there either as I have done business with them too.

 

However, if you are like me and looking for 9.2 (or higher) CGC graded keys, the offerings were quite slim. I did however see some books I am interested in, most notably at the dealers booths in question and I may want to work out deals with them via email.

 

That being said, this was a great lesson for me at least. The 'con' circuit in relation to what I was expecting truly doesn't justify the time or the expense. Just my opinion.

 

mint

 

I can definitely see why you would be disappointed with Cons due to your very limited collecting taste. High grade CGC books don't really have to be looked at in person to insure you are getting the book you want and I can't image you are ever going to be able to get a CGC 9.2 key book for less then market price at a Con. Cons are a lot of fun but also tiring, chaotic and expensive so I definitely understand why you may not like them if you can get your books online or at the ComicLink/ComicConnect/Heritage auctions at less than they are at the shows.

[Timely]

 

 

 

These two photos made me giggle. How in the world did someone come up with those prices? What was the logic in adding the .95? If you aren't rounding down the previous decimal you loose the subliminal effect. Why not just throw numbers in a hat and pick them at random?

 

For the Hulk 1 ... we know it will be north of $16K so how about $16793.74

For the TOS 39 ... $8251.01

 

 

Hey man, that's 95¢ of PURE profit we're talking about!

[Jking3437]

I have been down there all week for work, and after hearing about the last 2 years it's the reason why I'm not going

[mysterio]

The true highlight of my visit was being able to see both Greg Reece's booth and High Grade Comics booth.

 

 

While the comic offerings at the Philadelphia show have declined over the years, in fairness there were good dealers to be found beyond Greg and Bob, who had the great stuff they always do. Joe Vereneault (JHV Associates) has an extensive stock from gold to bronze, and had a new sweet collection at the show of late silver/early bronze in nice shape and with ow/w paper. Al Stoltz (Basement Comix) can be counted on to stock offbeat material that few other dealers have. Love him or hate him, Richie Muchin (Tomorrow's Treasures) had a bunch of raw material that was being bought by other dealers.

 

Pro tip (I work in Philly) to avoid paying excessively for parking: Vine Street is two blocks north of the convention center on Arch, and has free 3 hour parking.

 

The show is, unfortunately, a craptastic collection of junk with a smattering of good comic sellers speckled about. In my opinion, it was a far, far better show before Wizard got its' hands on it.

 

Hello,

 

I should clarify to be fair...

 

You are correct in that there were other dealers with substantially good offerings. I focused on Bob's and Greg's booths primarily because I have done a lot of Internet business with them and truly feel loyal to both dealers. I was surprised that I didn't see Metropolis there either as I have done business with them too.

 

However, if you are like me and looking for 9.2 (or higher) CGC graded keys, the offerings were quite slim. I did however see some books I am interested in, most notably at the dealers booths in question and I may want to work out deals with them via email.

 

That being said, this was a great lesson for me at least. The 'con' circuit in relation to what I was expecting truly doesn't justify the time or the expense. Just my opinion.

 

mint

 

I can definitely see why you would be disappointed with Cons due to your very limited collecting taste. High grade CGC books don't really have to be looked at in person to insure you are getting the book you want and I can't image you are ever going to be able to get a CGC 9.2 key book for less then market price at a Con. Cons are a lot of fun but also tiring, chaotic and expensive so I definitely understand why you may not like them if you can get your books online or at the ComicLink/ComicConnect/Heritage auctions at less than they are at the shows.

 

Sorry, but nothing could be farther from the truth. The label is far from a guarantee on eye appeal, as has been said millions of times on these very boards.

[*paull*]

This show has declined significantly each year since it started. It used to be full of vintage comic and OA dealers, but when I stopped going two years ago, there just wasn't much to see. For me, $20 for a ticket would be a reach... $50? No way. I'm not going this year.

 

Looks like the fervor for Hollywood super hero product isn't translating into interest in old books and art.

[stroszek]

I'm feeling less bad about not going this year despite it being so close. Last year I was fortunate enough to get in free thanks to a friend and I was thinking "Man, I sure would have been upset if I paid $50 for this." Where were the dealers? I had arrived at the show ready to spend some serious money, wound up only finding $75 worth of stuff I was even remotely interested in. Sounds like this year wasn't much different.