Bothered by a COnvention Policy
- Thread starter Scribble
- Start date
Glyfair
Explorer
Don't forget a lot of gaming conventions actually have gaming available in the dealer's area. Demos are often run and sometimes (if there is space) some mini-tournaments. At a large convention like Origins, I could spend the entire convention gaming just in the dealer's room.
Another thing to consider is that you often get closer access to certain companies. Yes, this will vary based on the convention. At smaller conventions you'll likely only have access to local companies. However, at larger conventions you might be able to speak with Greg Stafford about Glorantha, or Monte Cook about D&D, etc. That's something many people will pay for
Another thing to consider is that you often get closer access to certain companies. Yes, this will vary based on the convention. At smaller conventions you'll likely only have access to local companies. However, at larger conventions you might be able to speak with Greg Stafford about Glorantha, or Monte Cook about D&D, etc. That's something many people will pay for
Scribble said:
Pardon, but that doesn't seem to make much sense. If they hadn't insisted that you pay for a badge to go into the dealer's room, you'd have paid for a badge?
You may prefer to make voluntary donations than pay fees, but the convention cannot afford to depend on that, in general. Allowing the public entry into one of the biggest attractions in the place in the hopes that they'd then buy a ticket doesn't work. It'd be like an amusement park putting their better roller coasters outside the main gates.
Perhaps you missed the "every dollar counts" comment I made earlier.
The Dealer's Room doesn't exist in a vacuum. It is a major attraction that's part of a larger whole. The Dealer's Room is supposed to function as part of that whole, not as an independent unit. The Dealer's Room is often a big attraction at a con, and is expected to draw people in. But the Dealer's Room would not exist without the rest of the con, so the Dealer's Room needs to help support the rest of the con.
Then you wouldn't go to the con as a dealer, and you'd make no sales at that con, and make no profit from the con, and not be seen or heard of by convention attendants. That's your choise as a businessman.
MavrickWeirdo
First Post
Scribble said:
I will say that it was alot easier to drop by (sneak into) the dealers room of cons before 9/11.
Scribble
First Post
Maybe I wasn't clear. What I meant was had I been able to stop in and look around at the dealer's room, I might have been tempted to stay and attend games at the con, and thus purchase an actual badge.
Neither. I agree with charging people to attend their con. I agree with charging the vendors to sell at their con. I DISAGREE with them charging people to visit the dealers that they've already charged to be there. In my opinion, one or the other.
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I agree with Crothian. The dealer room is part of the con, not a separate event. Trying to get into only the dealer room is no different than trying to only attend one lecture/game.
As for charging both parties (vendor and consumer), the con is providing a service to both sides. For the vendor they are arranging for a large number of potential customers to be in the same area, and the customer gets a large number of different vendors to browse. They both benefit, and so I don't think that the organization that organizes the convention and rents the building and everything is wrong to charge both sides. (Plus a small charge to the vendor ensures that only serious vendors will show up to the event.)
Finally, the convention organizers are the ones who went to the trouble of setting up the event, and so they're the ones who get to make the rules. If they don't want to bother with dealer-only badges or per-event pricing, that's their call. Speaking as someone who as organized events in the past (mostly gaming tournaments), the simpler the setup, the smoother the event will run.
As for charging both parties (vendor and consumer), the con is providing a service to both sides. For the vendor they are arranging for a large number of potential customers to be in the same area, and the customer gets a large number of different vendors to browse. They both benefit, and so I don't think that the organization that organizes the convention and rents the building and everything is wrong to charge both sides. (Plus a small charge to the vendor ensures that only serious vendors will show up to the event.)
Finally, the convention organizers are the ones who went to the trouble of setting up the event, and so they're the ones who get to make the rules. If they don't want to bother with dealer-only badges or per-event pricing, that's their call. Speaking as someone who as organized events in the past (mostly gaming tournaments), the simpler the setup, the smoother the event will run.
Scribble
First Post
True, but again like I said before.. what if one day when you went to your FLGS the landlord of the property that the store leases from steped in and said, hey... planning on checking out this store? That'll be 20 bux please...
In anycase, dissagree if you will. I'm not planning on picketing at the next con, or taking it any further then bitching about it on a message board.
I was just annoyed. 
Nightchilde-2
First Post
Scribble said:
I think you just answered your own quandry there. You may have been convinced to. Then again, you may not have been convinced to, most likely, and the con would have missed out on the money they would, definitely, had otherwise made.
Cons are generally there to make money, not throw it away...
