Shortboxed Live Sunday May 7, 2023, Silicon Valley, Santa Clara Convention Center! 2 2

[BitterOldMan]

On 5/9/2023 at 8:44 AM, Robot Man said:

I’ve been on the road and couldn’t make the show. But a buddy sent me a couple of pictures. I don’t know whose wall this was but some awsome books that I probably wouldn’t have bought anyway.

I’m probably a bit out of touch but $800. For a MM 52 in that shape with the center fold out seems a little steep to me. 

The booth with Cap 74 was next to Bedrock’s booth.  The Cap 33 was in Bunky Brian’s booth.  

[Robot Man]

One heck of a wall rack! Wonder what was in his $100. boxes…

[blackterror]

Anymore wall photos?  I believe Gator had a Detective 69 and 71 on his wall - does anybody know what grade they were? 

[Primetime]

On 5/9/2023 at 11:04 AM, blackterror said:

Anymore wall photos?  I believe Gator had a Detective 69 and 71 on his wall - does anybody know what grade they were? 

The Tec 69 was a cgc 1.5 for $5995

[manetteska]

On 5/9/2023 at 10:44 AM, Robot Man said:

I’ve been on the road and couldn’t make the show. But a buddy sent me a couple of pictures. I don’t know whose wall this was but some awsome books that I probably wouldn’t have bought anyway.

I’m probably a bit out of touch but $800. For a MM 52 in that shape with the center fold out seems a little steep to me. 

Wall book prices these days -- from coast to coast -- are...aggressive.

[gumption]

On 5/9/2023 at 8:44 AM, Robot Man said:

I’ve been on the road and couldn’t make the show. But a buddy sent me a couple of pictures. I don’t know whose wall this was but some awsome books that I probably wouldn’t have bought anyway.

I’m probably a bit out of touch but $800. For a MM 52 in that shape with the center fold out seems a little steep to me. 

I think this wall of books belonged to Amazing Heroes out of Kirkland, WA.

[blackterror]

On 5/9/2023 at 2:53 PM, Primetime said:

The Tec 69 was a cgc 1.5 for $5995

Thanks for the info 

[ExNihilo]

On 5/9/2023 at 11:56 AM, manetteska said:

Wall book prices these days -- from coast to coast -- are...aggressive.

I dunno what's changed but when I've seen the prices of wall books lately, they're all well above market.  Shop I went to over the weekend had keys on the wall that were 25% higher than eBay/Shortboxed app.  It's almost as though they expect there to be haggling so they increase the price and then the buyer haggles down to something reasonable.  There's good deals to be found rummaging through the boxes, but if you're looking for any key, it's hard to justify some of these prices.

[Primetime]

On 5/9/2023 at 1:30 PM, blackterror said:

Thanks for the info 

[shortboxed]

On 5/9/2023 at 11:04 AM, blackterror said:

Anymore wall photos?  I believe Gator had a Detective 69 and 71 on his wall - does anybody know what grade they were? 

Have some pics of the dealer booths; but nothing super close up. 

[shortboxed]

Thanks to all the boardies who came! Saw lots of familiar faces and met others for the first time. Overall it was a huge success for our first show. Quick recap:

• Nothing but comic book dealers, comic book artists, and comic-focused main stage talks.
• 22 dealers, who all seemed fairly happy with the show - a handful of them did some crazy numbers including a dealer who said it was his best show EVER in 25+ years.
• 9 artists, many of whom said this was the best and/or most fun show they've ever done, including Kelley Jones.
• 6 great main stage talks with full audiences.
• Lots of raffle prize winners including someone who walked away with a $10k Wow Comics #10 9.0 Crowely Pedigree single highest graded; the winner took a gamble and bought a lot of raffle tickets and it paid off!
• 700+ happy collectors with lots of space to move around and not bump elbows. 

A few random pics below.

Panoramic shot of the convention hall:

 

 

Edited May 10, 2023 by shortboxed
added more pics

[Primetime]

On 5/9/2023 at 5:51 PM, shortboxed said:

Thanks to all the boardies who came! Saw lots of familiar faces and met others for the first time. Overall it was a huge success for our first show. Quick recap:

• Nothing but comic book dealers, comic book artists, and comic-focused main stage talks.
• 22 dealers, who all seemed fairly happy with the show - a handful of them did some crazy numbers including a dealer who said it was his best show EVER in 25+ years.
• 9 artists, many of whom said this was the best and/or most fun show they've ever done, including Kelley Jones.
• 6 great main stage talks with full audiences.
• Lots of raffle prize winners including someone who walked away with a $10k Wow Comics #10 9.0 Crowely Pedigree single highest graded; the winner took a gamble and bought a lot of raffle tickets and it paid off!
• 700+ happy collectors with lots of space to move around and not bump elbows. 

A few random pics below.

Panoramic shot of the convention hall:

 

 

Thanks Gene, BJ, and @shortboxed crew for a great event 😀

[shortboxed]

On 5/10/2023 at 12:22 AM, Primetime said:

Thanks Gene, BJ, and @shortboxed crew for a great event 😀

Thanks Ben! Glad to had a good time 

May I ask for any feedback to make next year's show even better?

[realitytrip]

Gene - I will throw in my 2 cents feedback wise.  I went with my wife.  Loved the set up.  Super easy (and free!) parking.  Since we a little late, it was a breeze to grab our badges and waltz right in to the showroom.  We really liked the setup.  So nice not to be in cramped walkways between booths.  Although I will say, if you are going to let dealers use the side of their tables for also having boxes of books to dig through, the tables need a little bit more space between them.  Very easy to get stuck on the sides of tables.

Lots of tables for sitting and/or eating.  Finding a resting spot was never difficult.  Love that.  Easy access to catered food was cool, but the food was meh.  Maybe food trucks next time?

Couple of (relatively) minor issues -

• Dealer and artist signage.  The show signage was on the front of the tables.  Guess what you can't see when there are people in front of the booth/table?  We did not love playing guess the artist/dealer.  
• Dealer variety.  First off - Great job bringing a lot of great dealers together.  I saw some books that I have never seen in person before - really cool.  Maybe try to have some more value oriented dealers as well?  Lee's Comics dollar book boxes were super popular, so I don't think I am alone in that sentiment.

We had a great time, although I could not quite find the right deal for me (spent more on entry than on actual books) and will probably go back next year.

 

[BitterOldMan]

Fantastic show put on by Gene and his crew.

The selection of dealers was equal to SDCC, without the lines and Funkos.

Price of admission included a tshirt for early ticket buyers.

Goodie bag included some cool comic books and this great fanzine, which had an interview with one of my all time favorite artist, Mark Schultz.

Photo of @Primetime@G.A.tor and me.  

 

[shortboxed]

On 5/11/2023 at 10:53 AM, realitytrip said:

Gene - I will throw in my 2 cents feedback wise.  I went with my wife.  Loved the set up.  Super easy (and free!) parking.  Since we a little late, it was a breeze to grab our badges and waltz right in to the showroom.  We really liked the setup.  So nice not to be in cramped walkways between booths.  Although I will say, if you are going to let dealers use the side of their tables for also having boxes of books to dig through, the tables need a little bit more space between them.  Very easy to get stuck on the sides of tables.

Lots of tables for sitting and/or eating.  Finding a resting spot was never difficult.  Love that.  Easy access to catered food was cool, but the food was meh.  Maybe food trucks next time?

Couple of (relatively) minor issues -

• Dealer and artist signage.  The show signage was on the front of the tables.  Guess what you can't see when there are people in front of the booth/table?  We did not love playing guess the artist/dealer.  
• Dealer variety.  First off - Great job bringing a lot of great dealers together.  I saw some books that I have never seen in person before - really cool.  Maybe try to have some more value oriented dealers as well?  Lee's Comics dollar book boxes were super popular, so I don't think I am alone in that sentiment.

We had a great time, although I could not quite find the right deal for me (spent more on entry than on actual books) and will probably go back next year.

 

This is excellent feedback, thank you for sharing!

Re: Dealer and Artist signage - noted! We've already made plans to switch to floor stand signage for dealers and artists instead of table banners, since most dealers also have their own signage above the racks. 

Re: Dealer Variety - also noted! I agree we should have more value-oriented dealers. We actually upgraded Lee's Comics booth from a single 10x10 to the biggest booth at 10x40 just so he could bring his entire inventory, including lots of dollar books. We'll include more value-oriented dealers next year while still keeping big book dealers so all collectors are covered. 

If anyone else has feedback or suggestions, please don't hesitate to share!

[shortboxed]

On 5/11/2023 at 11:01 AM, BitterOldMan said:

Fantastic show put on by Gene and his crew.

The selection of dealers was equal to SDCC, without the lines and Funkos.

Thank you! Glad you had a good time. 

Our goal was simply to put together the best dealer lineup possible and I think we did a pretty good job. 

However, it seems that it may have been at the expense of having more value-oriented dealers, so we'll make sure to have all bases covered next year. 

[Primetime]

On 5/11/2023 at 9:39 AM, shortboxed said:

Thanks Ben! Glad to had a good time 

May I ask for any feedback to make next year's show even better?

Just make sure @G.A.tor Is always there 😁🙏🏽

The vintage dealer lineup is what I came for. I was telling @BitterOldMan that I’m not sure there has been such a reasonable, deep vintage dealer set up in the SF Bay Area since Wondercon left in 2004 (?) And, when I say deep, I am talking about prime golden age material which is what I enjoy. I ran into many collectors in a small space that I may not have seen in a crowded large con. This is the advantage of such vintage collectors cons because everyone is there to collect, discuss, and enjoy the pureness of the hobby. That said, I’m easy so prime material and easy parking is all I need 🙏🏽🤙🏾

Edited May 11, 2023 by Primetime