ETERNAL CON - JULY 1 & 2, 2017 - UNIONDALE, NY 2 2

[Bird]

1 hour ago, Buzzetta said:

Radioactive by "Imagine Dragons" was released in 2012.  Time is dragging... 

I mean I already count days until retirement at 4,757 to go. 

 

 

 

[mrwoogieman]

14 hours ago, Bird said:

 

 

That's the one! 1985 - yeesh I'm old!

[Genesis Comics]

Genesis Comics and Gaming will be at Eternal Con at Booth # 186.  I'll have lot's of $2.00 boxes of new books (last 5 yrs up till 2 months ago), Frank Frazetta prints from 1979/1980, about 10 short boxes of high grade bronze, including Flash 123 and Marvel Premier 15 (if they don't sell at the show, off to CGC), Adventures into Fear 19, Marvel Spotlight 2, run of Marvel Team UP 1-60 or so (no 3 or 4), Jimmy Olsen 134,135 (2 copies), New Gods 1,2,7 (2 copies) and many more!  Will have a couple of CGC books including a CGC Signature Series Frank Frazetta Creepy in 9.6, I have 2 short boxes of mid/high grade silver including a DD 4, 7, about 25-30 Neal Adams books including a Detective 400, Avengers 4 golden record reprint, Iron Man Subby 1, etc.  

I will also have about 40-50 different boxes of Magic the Gathering (everything from Modern through present, with the exception of 9th, 10th, Lorwyn, Ravnica:City of Guilds, Future Sight, and Darksteel).  All masters boxes, as well as an almost complete set of Expedition lands (missing 4).  I will also have about 200 higher end singles ($15+), as well as some standard stuff.

I'll have some stuff to get signed as well if you are so inclined (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers comics and cards), for Helen Slater (a box of Supergirl cookies from 1983, a coloring book, and a hard cover book, all with her image), a couple of Greedo figures as well).  I'll also have some cheap Star Wars figures ($5 each or 4 for $20...1995-2000 or so).  I'll also have some LJN WWE figures as well, loose, carded, graded.

As far as CGC books go I'll have a Transformers 1 9.6 White, Henchgirl 1 9.0, Some TTA pedigrees 9.4 (Northland, Western Penn).  Also some McFarlane Hulks 9.6 from Western Penn, but not notated.  I'll also have a couple of pedigree Hulk issues.  

I have a short box of signed books, 2 short boxes of variants (1 older and 1 newer (nothing overly exciting $5-$10 books))

There will be one box of raw pedigree books, WW, Flash, Marvel Team_ up.

I'll also have a short box of signed books, some with certs some not.

There will also be a nice short box of key Valiant issues, golds, 1st appearances from the Pre-Unity days.

I will also hopefully be announcing the grand opening date as well at the event for Genesis Comics and Gaming!!  I've reached a verbal agreement on a lease in Ronkonkoma!!  I will have boxes of comics/toys/Magic cards that I will be giving away for those who "like" and "share" my social media as well as a drawing for prizes to be determined for those who sign up on my website.

If you are going to the show and are looking for anything in particular, please PM me and I will bring it if I have it!

[Genesis Comics]

Anybody from the boards going?  Or just me...

[Buzzetta]

As of now I am going just to see what the new place looks like. 

[Buzzetta]

Seriously? What is the price at the door? Ticketmaster is tacking on a $16 fee on top of the $29 ticket which is absolutely outrageous.  As a frequent concert goer I find that insane.  I just saw Dead and Company for less of a markup than a comic book show.   Someone told me that there were discounts available.  If anyone wants to pass that information along please do.  F Ticketmaster. 

Edited June 29, 2017 by Buzzetta

[Genesis Comics]

6 hours ago, Buzzetta said:

Seriously? What is the price at the door? Ticketmaster is tacking on a $16 fee on top of the $29 ticket which is absolutely outrageous.  As a frequent concert goer I find that insane.  I just saw Dead and Company for less of a markup than a comic book show.   Someone told me that there were discounts available.  If anyone wants to pass that information along please do.  F Ticketmaster. 

I believe that Applebee's has a code that can get you 20% off...

[Buzzetta]

Come up and say hi if anyone wants - I'll be wearing a NASA t shirt shorts and a "we the people" baseball cap...

Thought I was grabbing the Yankees hat but whatevs.  I'm waiting for my friend to get here as he has my ticket and the lines are already looooooooong.

[Buzzetta]

And headed out - curious to see what people thought.  Line of the day goes to my friend... points at this guy and goes "Check it out... it's David Lee Roth."

[1Cool]

VIP!!

[TheRealVenom]

I heard this was terrible... the organizers didn't set up a place for the attending artists and most got stuck having to set up in a hallway

[Buzzetta]

Curious to see what others thought before I share my own. 

[Bird]

it doesn't appear anyone else went? That parking thing really put me off although I likely would not have ventured out from NJ anyway.

[Buzzetta]

Just now, Bird said:

it doesn't appear anyone else went? That parking thing really put me off although I likely would not have ventured out from NJ anyway.

Parking was $5 at the gate.  However, once you left you could not come back in to the lot even if the driver was wearing a wrist band.  We wanted to go to lunch and were intending on coming back but after we heard this from the parking agent, we shrugged and said, "Guess we are not coming back."

[My young Padawan]

On ‎6‎/‎22‎/‎2017 at 10:41 AM, mrwoogieman said:

Reminds me of that dumb song from the 90s. Radioactive!

I thought that the Gene Simmons solo album song "Radioactive" was released back in 1978.  Oh well.  My son and I both enjoyed Eternal Con today.  I look forward to attending again next year.

[Ted_L]

I live on Long Island, but didn't go because I heard it wasn't well organized last year and also I had a bad experience when attending a concert at the new Nassau Coliseum.  I'm a bit spoiled from New York Comic Con, which is well run, particularly if you like to see comic artists.  Maybe I'll attempt to go next year if someone has something positive to say

[jason4]

So how'd it go? 

[Buzzetta]

"Have I outgrown this stuff, or am I becoming more of a cynical or discerning buyer?"

Now to be fair: My friend pointed out that we get pro / press passes for NYCC for all four days so we might be jaded toward this show for that reason. 

I attended the very first show at the Cradle of Aviation a few years ago.  While it wasn't NYCC it showed promise and it gave me enough hope that this show would be able to pull it together.   I went the next year and it still resembled a garage sale of sorts and I swore it was not worth my time and I had not returned since.

The Good

1. I loved the physical climate of the show.  The show runners had the air conditioning pumping.  As anyone who has had the misfortune of standing next to a cosplayer in full fur or gear at NYCC can tell you, "I wish these people weren't sweating." The show runners made sure of that with sweet, crisp, and clean air conditioning.
2. Absolute Comics and Statues: There was one dealer who every year seems to clean up at this show and at NYCBM.  Absolute Comics and Statues seems to bring a wide assortment of graded and raw books of all ages and prices.  They are always busy, and at least whenever I see them they are always attentive.  They don't know me from a stranger in the crowd so this is not a plug.  This is something that I have noticed over the last few years between NYCBM and Eternal Con. Good for them.
3. Funko Pops.  If you are into them, then they were all over the place.  I like the little buggers and have about twenty of them placed around the house and my desk at work.  If you were into them, these were well represented.  
4. Nice to see the Japanese Toy Vendors make the show.  I would have liked to pick up some a MP Transformers or Third Party thing but what I saw was a positive start. 
5. Interesting NEW stuff.  The one odd thing I bought was a parody pint glass.  I have only one superhero pint glass.  I keep all of the odd ones or cool ones that I have purchased or liberated over the years in my kitchen hutch.  (Down the Hatch, Obscure Blue Point or Heartland Brewery)  I added a Star Wars parody glass.  It says "Guinness" in the brewery style lettering across the top and has a Picture of Sir Alec as Obi Wan and in small words it says, "Obi Wan Kenobi."  TAKE MY MONEY !  There were a few niche vendors that definitely had some stuff going on.  That had my interest as these were things that I did not know existed. 

The Bad

1. Pricing of Books - Please explain to me why I should buy a graded book for more money than it is sitting on eBay for? I will make a seller a reasonable offer in cash for the same book in the same grade.  I know not all 9.4's are alike but let's just say that the books were very comparable.  As one DEALER told me, after trying to negotiate a price for a book from another DEALER, "Looks like, everyone is charging the 'NY tax' in here."  I had this issue a couple of years ago the last time I went to Eternal Con.  Guy wanted $XXX for a 9.2 1st Elektra.  He literally told me, he was the only guy at the show that had the book and he was correct.  However, the 9.4 was sitting on eBay at the time for far less.  He would not budge.  So I shrugged and hit the BIN while I was at the show.   This was a representation of a lot of booths on any wall books.  I can get it cheaper on line.  Why should I spend my money here? Is it because I cannot wait?  I can wait. 
2. There were a LOT of junk tables. I see better organization of loose toys at the Bellmore Train Station Flea Markets which I can go to for free if I want to find action figures with missing arms and accessories.  I am sorry but yellowed loose and incomplete Star Wars Stormtroopers figures do not command premium prices.  There was a lot of stuff that you could tell were thrown in boxes because it was not worth listing on eBay or it just didn't sell.   
3. Lack of pricing on books.  This is the only show that I have ever gone to where dealers go unprepared.  You should not pricing books as people are asking you for them.  If you want me to put your face into my memory to avoid you at future shows, this is the way to do it.  "What are you asking for on this?" "Umm let me seeeeee, as he flips through overstreet and consults his phone."  By the time he looked up I moved on. 
4. Honorable mention of "bad" was the guy that had a lower grade copy of Captain America's Weird Tales 74.  If he is reading this, he knows what he did.  
5. Security to get into this place.  I had a more efficient and easier time getting into Dead and Company at Citi Field on 6/24 than I did getting into Eternal Con.  I even remarked so to the security guy and he laughed and nodded in agreement. 

The Ugly

1. What's going on in those hallways? Why are they separate from the show? Why are the artists outside? Why are the artists scattered around?  That was sheer disorganization and smacked of disrespect. 
2. What's with the really NON COMIC related stuff at Comic Shows lately?  I did not understand why Sears was at NYCC a few years ago and I do not know why Geico Insurance was at Eternal Con.  But hey, this showrunner is a friend of Carbo and NYCBM who had the Ukrainian / Russian Brides table in 2016 at the Carbo show... so who am I to judge? 

 

Additional Comments:

As my friend looked at me and said, "You really need a pic with Mick Foley that bad for $60?  He was right.  You can bump into Mick anytime you are out East at Shop Rite.  I don't necessarily know the guy personally so did I need to pay $60 to put a pic of he and I on my FB page? I passed.  I've met him for free once before. I don't need to pay to stage the pic.  As we were walking out though my friend and I realized that we have accumulated stuff over the years that we are now looking for things that only the internet can find for you or at auction for Heritage, eBay, CLink, Comic Connect or My Comic Shop will offer... AND we will find them at better prices. I have no problem with people fishing for prices... It is well known I have done that myself.  The thing is I am not charging people admission to take a look.

I did buy a $5 vintage looking two tone dark blue over blue Captain America shirt that I was happy to pick up and that pint glass.  After that, I walked out to grab lunch and see how the show would be later.  As we were leaving, the parking attendant said we could not return without paying an additional $5 reentry fee.  We shrugged and said oh well, went to the Greene Turtle Sports Bar on Hempstead Tpke and called it a day.  The Chesapeake burger was delicious.  I've lost some weight since December.  I am afraid to go back to that place as one could easily put it back on.   I am not afraid to say though, that I will not be returning to Eternal Con in the future. 

If CGC, Voldemort, Metropolis, CLink and the usual NY vendors don't want to go... why should I? 

 

Buzzetta 

[Ted_L]

Thanks for the review Buzzetta.  Sorry to hear that their security process is still a joke.  They had that issue at a concert I went to shortly after the Coliseum re-opened.  That's one of several reasons why I'm avoiding the place until they get new management.  It doesn't sound like I missed too much.  

Looking forward to NYCC in October.  The crowds can be a bit much, but they know how to run a great show!

 

 

Edited July 3, 2017 by tlatner

[Genesis Comics]

I can only give feedback as a vendor at the show so here are my 2 cents.

Overall the show went OK for me, but not as good as in past Eternal Con's.  I had done 2 of the last 3 (not last year as I had thrown out my back) and had made more money each of those times.  I don't know if it was where I was set up, or how I set up, but the traffic at my booth was a lot less than years past.  At the Cradle of Aviation I had a nice spot at the corner, next to the ATM, around the corner from the bathroom, and near where it splits into 2 other rooms, across from the stairs.  Here I was in the middle and had a 10x10 space (which was a lot smaller than I thought when I finally got there).  I decided to set up in a "U" shape with the opening in the front so people could come in, but when it was busy people would stand in front of the opening, blocking anyone that might have wanted to come in.   Multiple times I politely asked people to move.  I was there with a friend, Jason, who helps me at cons and will  help me when I open up along with  my wife and son...there was no place for us to stand without being in the way...inside no more than 1 person, maybe 2, but everywhere you stood you were blocking someone...next time I'll set up with tables in front and tables in back.

I had 2 goals for the Eternal Con:

1) Make $$

2) Advertise we were opening soon

Both could have been better...$$ was under what I had wanted to make, and I dropped the ball on some advertising opportunities and the venue itself gave me some issues there as well that I'll get into later.

The "load in" was pretty easy, pull your car up to the ramp, you get checked in, and you could pull right next to your booth and unload, they gave you 15 minutes to unload, then you could go park and come back in.  You could set up 7-7 on Friday, so it was good as people came at different times...leaving, however, was an entirely different story...

Day 1 of the con, 8-3 was the best sales time for me.  After 3:00 on Saturday my sales were $60... I moved a few books to dealers (which constituted 60% of my sales for the weekend).  Sold a few keys early.  Buught 2 ASM 300's for a GREAT price from another dealer (One was 9.4ish and the other 9.0/9.2), and immediately flippped them to another dealer for a  profit.    The $2.00 books (modern's) did not move...maybe sold 20-30?...I lowered the price to $1 day 2 and sold a bunch more, maybe 100+ but not as much as I had thought.  I put together some sets, but only sold 1...the last few cons I attended I sold a lot more.  I brought some nice condition LJN's and moved 2 or 3.  CGC books I sold 0 but didn't have a great selection, unless you really liked the Hulk, lol.  Other dealers I spoke to said CGC books were slow movers for them as well...in my experience, people were just looking for raw high grade on the keys. I had a few boxes of copper/modern decent books and they just sat there.  Maybe I had them priced to high?    There were lot's of really low ball offers on books...more so than in the past.  In the first hour of the show I had someone offer me 25% of my asking price  on an Avengers 4 GRR (higher grade).  I had a decent selection of Magic Cards and did some sales on those as well...maybe $300...no big cards, but lot's of 8-15 dollar cards.  I also had 35 or so boxes of MTG which didn't move other than a couple of packs of Morningtide and Shadowmoor that I sold (I didn't anticipate moving these, it's not really a MTG show, but I wanted to advertise what I am going to have in the store).

Day 2 started slow and ended slower...it seemed the only people in my row making any $$ were the people with the lego figures....couldn't even see them as they were 2 deep almost all day.  Sunday is kids costume day so it makes sense that they would do well.  Sales were low, didn't sell anything the first 2 hours on Sunday....not a lot of people there early, or at least not in my area...got busier around 12 but died out almost entirely by 3.  

Some of the positives from the show:

Met a lot of other dealers, talked about the opening of my location and made a lot of contacts for wholesale products.  Spoke to Billy Tucci about coming for the grand opening as long as it doesn't interfere with his vacation lol.  I picked up a bunch of the lego figures to try out in the store to see how they do.  I spoke with a few artists about coming possibly coming in (I'd like to have someone different in once a month - Artist, etc).  Met silver and bronze (boardie) and checked out the awesome display of toon tumblers!!  Don't know if any other boardies came by.  Met Helen Slater (Supergirl - original from the movies) and had her sign a Supergirl Coloring book and a box of Supergirl cookies from 1983.  She was very nice and spoke with me a my wife for a while.  My son got to meet Greedo (he loves getting Star Wars autographs) and they spoke at length, his favorite part of the show.  Met Carbonaro, who bought a Flash 123 from me.  We spoke about the opening of my new location for a bit.  This was the first time I had spoken at length with him.  Very friendly, high energy!  Later on in the day, my wife went outside to get food from the food truck to bring back in and Carbonaro saw her and bought us all lunch!!...guess I sold the comic too cheap lol.  The security staff at the Nassau Colliseum was very friendly.  Met a lot of nice people overall, customers and vendors, so for me a decent show overall sales wise....

 

Now a quick rant about something that happened to me that had never happened before.  The vendor directly in front of me saw that we sold trading card games and asked if we were interested in some Yu-Gi-Oh cards.  I asked my friend Jason to take a look and see if we wanted to purchase them, there was a book and a container that had about 50 or so packs of what looked like 20-25 cards each...I stepped away for 2 mins to pick up a print from JaCo Tartaruga (gorgeous watercolor art btw) who was 2 tables away...when I got back, there was another dealer looking through the cards that were sitting on my boxes.  He then asked how much for the cards in the container  I couldn't believe the gall to come up to someones booth while they are looking at something and trying to buy it!  I asked her how much for all and took it all.   He shot me a dirty look and stared me down for a few seconds...after I paid her he walked away without saying anything.   I just took the cards and put them under the tables...I've never had that happen before.   I would NEVER get involved in someone else's negotiation

 

Some of the opportunities for the show (from a vendors point of view):

1st off, I realize it's the first time the show is run in a new location, so I understood there would be some hiccups.  Here is a list, from the dealers prospective, of things that could have been better.

1) Internet.  No service/very spotty service, couldn't even make a phone call (I have ATT).  The Nassau Colliseum "free" internet was in and out all day.  This posed a major problem for me (not because of CC, I only took cash at the show), but because of a missed marketing opportunity that I had planned for.  I set up 2 free boxes of items, 1 box of comic books, 1 box of MTG cards.  Each box had 100 items, for MTG is was 80 packages of bulk rares and 20 packages of good cards or prizes, in the comic box it was 100 comics with about 20 "good" comics and 80 random modern books.  I had planned on asking guests to like an share my facebook page and if they did they got to choose one of the prizes at random.   On Day 1 only 5% of the people that wanted to do it could connect.  This was unfortunate as I was hoping to connect to a lot more people on social media.  On Day 2 I collected email addresses, I will email out links to the facebook page, but it won't be as effective as it could have been unfortunately.

2) The changing of the "rules" almost every time you entered, exited the building.  Day 1 I could bring food in, Day 2 I could not...but some people could (as we were being told food could not enter, someone came in with 5 pizzas...didn't have time to argue, I had to get back down to my booth, so ate quickly outside.  Day 1 to enter the building, you put your cell phone and your keys in a box, walked though the metal detector, put your bags/cart on the side (not searched).  Day 2 every bag was opened, searched meticulously**(and the wait was ridiculous to get back in).  **I am all for security, but you need to be consistent in how you are doing it.  You can't allow people to come in relatively unsearched day 1 and expect them to be happy about waiting 20 minutes on line day 2.  Day 1 there was one line vendor/guest/VIP to get in the building, so if you left, you had to wait on line to get back in.  Day 2 was better, vendors and VIP's had a "seperate line", but took the same amount of time to get in as VIP people in front of us had bags.  

3) End of the day Sunday...what a cluster...there was only 1 way out and only 4 or 5 cars allowed in at a time to unload, so even though they told you not to break down until 5, people were breaking down at 4 so they could go the con promoters, tell them they were ready and get their car in the "line".  Vendors were still waiting to get their cars down at 7 PM.  I decided to cart my stuff up instead of waiting in the line, took just as long...it was the worst "leaving a con" experience I've ever had as a vendor.  I did not leave until about 7:30 and I was fully packed up at 5:30.  Each trip to and from car took about 20 minutes as it was a bit of a hike to the elevator and then to the car.  Couple this with the fact that after standing all day and packing up, the first thing the staff did was collect the chairs and put them away, so we all had to stand another 2 hours while waiting for cars to come down.

4) ATM machine out of order (this is the 2nd time this has happened at an Eternal Con...unaccaptable, we are there to make money and  if people can't get their money, we as vendors lose.  Guests lose out on an item they want.  I lost out on multiple sales.  Elevators and escalators were not working at different parts of the show.  Bathrooms not attended to as quickly as needed, some times clean, other times filthy (overflowing, papers on the floor, no soap in ladies room).

5) Communication was not as good as in Eternal Con's past...I'm sure most of it was due to the new venue, but having the floor plan change less than 2 weeks before the con and not being able to get a copy of the floor plan to advertise where I was going to be was a bit frustrating...I had a booth number but had no idea where that booth was.  This was due to the fire marshall making them change somethings around (not the fault of the show organizers), but frustrating nonetheless.  

I gave some feeback to John Rosas at the end of the show and will send an email and link to this thread to Frank Patz.

 

Overall it wasn't a bad experience as a vendor, but it wasn't a good one.  Most of the issues were venue related.  I much preferred the Cradle of Aviation museum as a venue and I'm not sure I'd be so excited to go back to the Colliseum if the unloading/internet issue is not addressed.   I dropped the ball on advertising as  I should have made a sign that said "New store opening soon", but I hadn't finalized the lease (not signed yet, but agreed upon) until less than a week before the show, so no time to get a sign...should have just drawn one up).  Live and learn.

There were some tables set up in the hallway, but there were a ton of artists inside as well...only saw about 10 tables outside, but there were about 50+ inside, to answer a post above, so saying that all the artists were outside was incorrect.