Cleveland Wizard Con Recap Added - Almost no pictures, sorry.

[jsilverjanet]

Nope

[RCheli]

[ecfanman]

 

 

 

With respect to the side of your booth where you have 15 long boxes on top and 15 long boxes on the bottom: You won't get as many boxes on the bottom. The legs of your 2 foot wide table will be in the way at the end they are on. Also, depending where the legs for the 8 foot table are, as well as type, will result in unusable space. You will probably only get one long box on each end under that table and a maximum of 8-9 between the legs. Some leg designs eat up more space than others.

 

So under that table you will only be getting 10-11 long boxes. (Maybe you can fit 2 short boxes on the end with the 2 foot wide table.

[1Cool]

Ah, I see...

 

Are you putting dupes in the boxes?I would start pulling out those first.

 

The other thing you have to consider is this -- you're using up the majority of the space in your booth on the cheapest comics. You're hiding your good stuff on the inside of the booth, too.

 

So, you want to assign the amount of space in your booth to the amount of money you're going to make.

 

That 10 feet of display is about half of the table space. Do you suspect you're going to make half of your revenue on $1 books?

 

And lastly. you're asking people to come into your booth to look at stuff. That's not a lot of room in there. Where are you going to be?

 

I'm also not a real big fan of people being so close to my wall books.

 

I think you're trying to be too cute, too clever. If you had more than one booth, more space, I think you can work with it. As it is, though, you don't really have that option.

 

With the sheer number of people they are expecting I'm really hoping to make a lot of my profit in the $1 books (especially since those books are all profit at this point). The higher dollar books should sell but I really want to push blowing out the $1 to the Wizard crowd. The BA 12 will sell, the ASM 129 CGC 4.0 will probably sell no matter where I put it so I do like the idea of letting the higher end buyers be separated from the $1 divers. I will double check on the stability of the wall books and put up a sign saying ask before you touch a book on the wall. I'd hate for a $300 book to get dropped on the floor. I'm not as worried about security on the inside since I can control access in and out of the area with the higher dollar section.

[1Cool]

 

 

 

With respect to the side of your booth where you have 15 long boxes on top and 15 long boxes on the bottom: You won't get as many boxes on the bottom. The legs of your 2 foot wide table will be in the way at the end they are on. Also, depending where the legs for the 8 foot table are, as well as type, will result in unusable space. You will probably only get one long box on each end under that table and a maximum of 8-9 between the legs. Some leg designs eat up more space than others.

 

So under that table you will only be getting 10-11 long boxes. (Maybe you can fit 2 short boxes on the end with the 2 foot wide table.

 

Great info. Hadn't thought of that. I'd check out the specifics this weekend.

[Artboy99]

RE: the layout.

 

I assume that the convention organizer requires you to be within your 10' x 10' space?

If so you have not left space to account for the thickness of your wall display. Base measurements need to be included, and it will push any tables in front of it away.

 

just fyi

 

Not to sure what type of wall you are using.

[FlyingDonut]

How many people will be staffing your booth? With that much merchandise, you're running a huge theft risk if there's only one person in the booth - you simply will not be able to watch everything.

 

Also with that much merchandise you run the very real risk of not having enough time to deal with people who are buying small dollar amounts - someone buying 15 dollar books will take time to process that will take away from the ability to deal with real dollar buyers.

 

Get a couple of staff to only deal with the 30 dollar books and give them clear instructions - no discounting, etc etc, and you should be OK.

[aardvark88]

So your booth location is at a prime corner booth, as u posted that the right side in the main aisle? Is there a $125 premium to have a Wizard corner booth?

[jools&jim]

 

How many people will be staffing your booth? With that much merchandise, you're running a huge theft risk if there's only one person in the booth - you simply will not be able to watch everything.

 

Also with that much merchandise you run the very real risk of not having enough time to deal with people who are buying small dollar amounts - someone buying 15 dollar books will take time to process that will take away from the ability to deal with real dollar buyers.

 

Get a couple of staff to only deal with the 30 dollar books and give them clear instructions - no discounting, etc etc, and you should be OK.

 

From my perspective as a customer (and given obvious draws like stock that I'm interested in, and the whole thing not being a sloppy, slovenly mess), how a booth is set up is a good bit less important to me than how it's run.

 

Personable and attentive (but not overly so) are good; dismissive or carnival-barker hard-selling, not so much. I also agree with Dan that's it's nice in larger booths to have several people who are authorized to ring-up "routine" sales, instead of having to wait for the boss to make it happen...

 

 

 

 

[1Cool]

How many people will be staffing your booth? With that much merchandise, you're running a huge theft risk if there's only one person in the booth - you simply will not be able to watch everything.

 

Also with that much merchandise you run the very real risk of not having enough time to deal with people who are buying small dollar amounts - someone buying 15 dollar books will take time to process that will take away from the ability to deal with real dollar buyers.

 

Get a couple of staff to only deal with the 30 dollar books and give them clear instructions - no discounting, etc etc, and you should be OK.

 

I'm going to have a helper man the $1 side of the booth while I concentrate on the higher end books. My wife said she will help on Friday and my brother-in-law will help (for money) on the weekends. Good info.

[1Cool]

So your booth location is at a prime corner booth, as u posted that the right side in the main aisle? Is there a $125 premium to have a Wizard corner booth?

 

They charge a premium for the first couple rows of booths in the middle but the rest is first come first serve. I had my request in within minutes of getting the email from Wizard asking me to pick a spot.

[towards2112]

Not having time to read the whole thread, but you also need to remember that

the members here only representative of about 25 % of the buyers at a convention.

Maybe not that high. The vast amount of comic collectors I personally know

do not give three hoots about slabs, but do like to collect pretty books from dealers

that are kind , considerate, and are not condescending. I love watching Mr Evans

sell a $ 5 book to a con buyer. There are one or two others that just enjoy selling.

And quite a few that can't be bothered to sell a cheap book. Why did they bring

them then ? I have always thought that the dealer is vastly more important than

the inventory. If you have the " self service " mentality, you may miss the good

stuff under the table. Dealers and buyers making conversation is a good thing.

Fan boys wanting Deadpool all the time, takes a little more smiling and a slow

positive response to break the ice. If you're not tripping over your own mess, then

you have a good booth.

[aardvark88]

Keep in mind that the bottom row of your wall rack may be blocked by short or mag boxes sitting on your tables positioned in front of your wall. This is assuming your wall is elevated on legs or stilts.

[Sqeggs]

Not having time to read the whole thread, but you also need to remember that

the members here only representative of about 25 % of the buyers at a convention.

Maybe not that high. The vast amount of comic collectors I personally know

do not give three hoots about slabs, but do like to collect pretty books from dealers

that are kind , considerate, and are not condescending. I love watching Mr Evans

sell a $ 5 book to a con buyer. There are one or two others that just enjoy selling.

And quite a few that can't be bothered to sell a cheap book. Why did they bring

them then ? I have always thought that the dealer is vastly more important than

the inventory. If you have the " self service " mentality, you may miss the good

stuff under the table. Dealers and buyers making conversation is a good thing.

Fan boys wanting Deadpool all the time, takes a little more smiling and a slow

positive response to break the ice. If you're not tripping over your own mess, then

you have a good booth.

 

He charged me $10 for the exact same book!

[the blob]

I echo the sentiment that more $1 boxes on the floor probably don't help much and they may cause a big traffic jam. mind you, bring the extra books and refill the boxes on the table continuously. that's how jscomics often does it.

 

OTOH, if it is a dead show i will look at the stuff on the floor, but I usually pick it up and put it on the table, so understand that among your more serious $1 box buyer (the fat 40-somethings with bad knees and bad body odor, but who do bring plenty of cash) those floor books are going to be taking up table space anyway, albeit only temporarily. i can't crawl around down there.

[aardvark88]

Question for the more experienced vendors:

Is it worth the extra premium (say $125) to upgrade from a non-corner 10' x 10' booth to one in a corner location of the same square footage? Do the potential extra retail sales justify the extra cost or do you just want more exposure for your corp. sign promoting your website or mail order /eBay name? Assume it is for a summer comicon that is 2.5 days long. I assume that is the average length of a decent Wizard con in the USA.

[thehumantorch]

Question for the more experienced vendors:

Is it worth the extra premium (say $125) to upgrade from a non-corner 10' x 10' booth to one in a corner location of the same square footage? Do the potential extra retail sales justify the extra cost or do you just want more exposure for your corp. sign promoting your website or mail order /eBay name? Assume it is for a summer comicon that is 2.5 days long. I assume that is the average length of a decent Wizard con in the USA.

 

I suspect it would depend on the show and your inventory. In general the better the location the better you will do and a corner booth certainly gives you better exposure.

[thehumantorch]

So your booth location is at a prime corner booth, as u posted that the right side in the main aisle? Is there a $125 premium to have a Wizard corner booth?

 

They charge a premium for the first couple rows of booths in the middle but the rest is first come first serve. I had my request in within minutes of getting the email from Wizard asking me to pick a spot.

 

Good luck with the show. Please take pics and let us know how you do/

[Marksvint]

I will say YES in all cases regarding the expense for a corner booth, as you will have 20 feet along an aisle instead of ten.

 

Regarding the layout, I've done a lot of setup within a 10 x 10 area. You do want to get your tables along the perimeter. You don't need a 4' x 4' entrance to your booth. My recommendation is to put the 8' plus 2' table along one edge. Usually these are 2 1/2' wide, leaving you with 7 1/2' for your other perpendicular side. You can set up a 6' long table (maybe pull it out about 2" from the far edge to allow for comic books to straddle the end of the table a bit so you can get 9 boxes on it). That will leave you with about 15" to 18" of width for your entrance into your back section. With the 10 feet of table, you can get 14-15 boxes on top, so your total on top is 23-24 boxes. I've been guilty of loading up the floor with boxes- I'll recommend spacing them so a buyer has room for his feet under your table (between the floor boxes)- maybe 10 floor boxes on one side and 7 on the other. I've used backboards of 4' sections, with a center section to cover the corner (which is real tricky: try to spend time designing this in your basement as one deals with double fault lines, etc)

 

The few times, I've tried to design my space to allow people to go behind, I've found then very few buyers will actually go within your space

 

Have fun

[gcstomp]

I always spring extra for the corner booth. Standard "L" set up with tables in front, full shopping area of 10' on 2 sides on outside, with full backwalls built on my back for wall books. Control limited access to squeeze in to booth for wall books.

 

$1 books on floor, it is an issue I have wrestled with for years. At a crowded show, those shoppers on floor are completely outside your field of vision, they could be bending books in half, stuffing them into a backback, or sitting down and reading. They block access to your books on tables, and further distance the wall book buyer from your booth, who will now need binoculars to read your prices on wall as he is 12 feet away from wall racks.

 

Most important thing is to be attentive and approachable. If you see someone looking at wall, invite them in, joke that you know the lights bouncing off the mylar make it impossible to see books.