G.A.tor Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 I'm always a bad judge of Chicago shows because I only can fit about 4 boxes of books that I Fedex here from Florida and I get a corner of graham crackers booth so I'm not in directory. If I send the "wrong " books that's unfortunate. I bet I had 100 books in inventory in Florida that folks asked for that didn't make the trip. But that's my model for the show, and not sure it will logistically change for me i did hear from many folks they had a good to great show. For me, Chicago is more about the people, so I will continue to come back Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post blazingbob Posted August 28, 2017 Popular Post Share Posted August 28, 2017 (edited) Unfortunately a lot of these negative posts are what eventually does cause a show to fail. Does the fact the onsite grading impact Wizard Chicago, yes it does. Do local dealers get priced out of major shows. Yes, I've seen this happen with a lot of shows that are acquired by Informa. Wizard Chicago did lose a lot of local dealers years ago. The same can be said of some of the other major shows I've done not owned by Wizard. When I get reports that there were fewer people in the room I would ask if Wizard had Artists alley in the other part of the convention center like they did last year? From speaking to some artist alley guys this setup has not exactly been warmly welcomed. And since I believe Wizard kept the same floor plan as last year I'm sure there were the same issues. Sometimes I feel that even if the Wizard admission price was low, dealers were there in droves and had everything you ever wanted somebody would be complaining about it just because they hate Wizard. I'm also wondering if there are those out there that forget the for a long time the Best shows were San Diego/Chicago. Whichever show came first was the one that dealers did the best at. You sold a lot of books at the first one and restocked your inventory at the second. Now we are spoiled because for me they are both very good shows. Guardian comics shows a post of a nice batch of keys. Frankly as a dealer I would be pretty satisfied with buying books like that. Dale says his show was very good. October posts a very strong case for need to work hard, work fast or you lose it. Pretty much what every show is when I go. The harder you work the better you do. If Wizard does fail I'm sure there will be promoter willing to step up and buy it. We know what we have right now, we don't know what we could get. From doing the UK/London show and the grumblings about the date change/different venue I see a lot of inflexibility of people. I've experienced this when doing shows on the West coast. When I was a collector I traveled for hours to go to shows. I was excited to go. Today if the show location, show date, who is there, red carpet awaits my entrance and if they can get in for free needs aren't met they stay home. When you see posts that there aren't a lot of dealers setup ask or look around at the show and see how many guys are fighting to buy books yet don't have booths. I can name a lot of weekend warriors/eBay dealers/board dealers that never buy a booth. All those empty booths could be filled by those guys if they "paid their way" into getting into the show in the first place. There is a difference in giving a badge to a good customer versus giving a exhibitor badge to a guy who if he had a booth was operating on the same cost basis as you (Me). And if those weekend warriors feel that there is no need to buy a booth maybe they should be supporting the show by buying a badge from the dealer instead of getting one for free. I see a lot of "why do I have to pay for this" in order to do business. Listing fees, cc fees, PayPal fees, internet hosting fees. The boards provide a ZERO cost selling platform yet a lot of sellers can't even knock 10% off the price. Sellers want personal payments instead of regular PayPal because it costs them money yet PayPal is a business that has a cost of doing business and is entitled to make money. Promoters are entitled to make money doing a show. Unfortunately everybody just assumes that the convention centers and unions play fair with the promoters. From speaking with the UK promoters this weekend I was very surprised how the Excel center treated them. Competitors also use every tactic imaginable to put you out of business. This all costs money and frankly I can see why a lot of promoters fail. Edited August 28, 2017 by blazingbob thehumantorch, Transplant, Larryw7 and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blazingbob Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 5 minutes ago, 1Cool said: Those Canadian buyers but be starved for keys if he can buy wall books from Chicago and still make some money. You know what they say, money talks "fill in the blank" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceman399 Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 46 minutes ago, chromium said: Someone should fix you. I'm pretty sure @Transplant fixed @seanfingh when he showed him how to bowl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Transplant Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 @blazingbob and @Dale Roberts: Great takes. WWC is still the best comic show I go to every year. Everyone's needs are different. I heard SS and sketch guys complaining about the lineup of artists and guests. I heard that attendance of non-collectors was down because of a less than stellar entertainment guestlist. But it seemed almost every dealer was having a good or better sales show for comics. I thought the comic selection was just fine. Do we all wish that small to midsize dealers, that we've never seen before, were setup there? Sure. I bought less than 4 figures of books, but that's just where my interests are at the moment and I was lazier than other years trying to find books during the first two days. But if I were looking to spend more, there was an amazing selection of GA and SA and BA books in the room. Truly. OA was lacking. Maybe they were all in London? Who knows? But WWC is still a great comic buying and selling show. And meeting up with friends from around the world at a venue that is way more comic focused, and cheaper, than my perception of SDCC, is still a win. @seanfingh is a terrible prop better. @chromium rocks Ani Difranco t-shirts like nobody's business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Transplant Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 31 minutes ago, blazingbob said: You know what they say, money talks "fill in the blank" "goes to London and deprives us of happy Bob"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blazingbob Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 Just now, Transplant said: "goes to London and deprives us of happy Bob"? John and John were there running my booth. I had almost all of my regular inventory at the show. A lot of my UK customers thought that I would not come to London. What that tells me is that it is important that you come to a show if you want long term relationships with your customers. That they are as important to you as you are to them. So what if I have a bad show. Conventions should not be one time selling events. They should be an opportunity for you to sell that customer books over the entire year until you see them again next year. And no I did not have a bad London show. Did very well over here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guardian Comics Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 32 minutes ago, 1Cool said: Those Canadian buyers but be starved for keys if he can buy wall books from Chicago and still make some money. When I can still offer them to my Canadian customers at GPA, without the hassle of customs or shipping, they have expressed to me clearly that this is what they want. I'll keep doing it as long as I possibly can. Jim CKinTO, mysterio and Chillax23 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Transplant Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 1 minute ago, blazingbob said: John and John were there running my booth. I had almost all of my regular inventory at the show. A lot of my UK customers thought that I would not come to London. What that tells me is that it is important that you come to a show if you want long term relationships with your customers. That they are as important to you as you are to them. So what if I have a bad show. Conventions should not be one time selling events. They should be an opportunity for you to sell that customer books over the entire year until you see them again next year. And no I did not have a bad London show. Did very well over here. John and John were great. Just missed you, you old coot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blazingbob Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 I missed you to. I like doing Wizard Chicago because it is one of the few shows where you can actually hang out at the Hyatt with people. While Reed Chicago is a great show the fact that we are downtown causes everybody to disperse into the big city. The UK show this year was in the Islington part of London which had a lot of great restaurants, pubs, shops, pastry shops all within walking distance. Fall out the front door and choices and more choices covering all kinds of budgets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeypost Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 1 hour ago, Transplant said: @blazingbob and @Dale Roberts: Great takes. WWC is still the best comic show I go to every year. Everyone's needs are different. I heard SS and sketch guys complaining about the lineup of artists and guests. I heard that attendance of non-collectors was down because of a less than stellar entertainment guestlist. But it seemed almost every dealer was having a good or better sales show for comics. I thought the comic selection was just fine. Do we all wish that small to midsize dealers, that we've never seen before, were setup there? Sure. I bought less than 4 figures of books, but that's just where my interests are at the moment and I was lazier than other years trying to find books during the first two days. But if I were looking to spend more, there was an amazing selection of GA and SA and BA books in the room. Truly. OA was lacking. Maybe they were all in London? Who knows? But WWC is still a great comic buying and selling show. And meeting up with friends from around the world at a venue that is way more comic focused, and cheaper, than my perception of SDCC, is still a win. @seanfingh is a terrible prop better. @chromium rocks Ani Difranco t-shirts like nobody's business. You were at the show? Timmay 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Cool Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 1 hour ago, Guardian Comics said: When I can still offer them to my Canadian customers at GPA, without the hassle of customs or shipping, they have expressed to me clearly that this is what they want. I'll keep doing it as long as I possibly can. Jim Don't blame you one bit. Glad to hear keys are selling so strong up above the border. I bought up a ton of low/mid grade low demand Silver-Age books for 1/3 guide awhile ago because I had a buyer who wanted to fill runs for 50-60% of guide. Making customers happy is the name of the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheWatcher Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 14 minutes ago, joeypost said: You were at the show? He was there from Thursday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timmay Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 2 hours ago, Transplant said: I bought less than 4 figures of books, but that's just where my interests are at the moment and I was lazier than other years trying to find books during the first two days. You mean hungover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Transplant Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 1 hour ago, Timmay said: You mean hungover. Potato, potahto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Transplant Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 2 hours ago, TheWatcher said: 2 hours ago, joeypost said: You were at the show? He was there from Thursday Wednesday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeypost Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 1 hour ago, Transplant said: Wednesday. I guess I missed the real venue...most of the buyers were at the Casino all week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsilverjanet Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 I hope my post wasn't taken as a negative, I was just making an observation that I saw less dealers at the show vs the year before. I still spent about the same amount of money as other years and probably could have spent more if i had not been offered some other books locally the day before the show started. greggy and TheWatcher 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Transplant Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 31 minutes ago, joeypost said: I guess I missed the real venue...most of the buyers were at the Casino all week. That's where the smart dumb money was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCMiles Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 6 hours ago, blazingbob said: I missed you to. I like doing Wizard Chicago because it is one of the few shows where you can actually hang out at the Hyatt with people. While Reed Chicago is a great show the fact that we are downtown causes everybody to disperse into the big city. The UK show this year was in the Islington part of London which had a lot of great restaurants, pubs, shops, pastry shops all within walking distance. Fall out the front door and choices and more choices covering all kinds of budgets. I call BS. Tranny gets a free exhibitor wristband, you can't like him enough to miss him. Plus, he's just kind of boring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
