Bothered by a COnvention Policy

[Algolei]

Very few people are going to say "Hey, there's a game con in town. I don't actually want to go but I guess I'll go to the dealer's room and see what they have to offer."

Actually, that's all I ever do. I've never paid to get into any conventions in town, but I've attended several and spent my money on products sold at tables.

Of course, most of the conventions I've attended haven't been gaming cons, because they usually do charge admission.

 

[Raven Crowking]

They didn't make any money from me. I avoided it altogether. They neither made money from me nor did they ever even have the opportunity to.

Sort of like advertising. If you place an advertisment you don't automaticaly make people come to your store or product. But you have a greater chance that they will be there.

As a store owner, I would say that the con itself is one huge advertisment, as well as an excellent method of getting together with customers. They charge me? So what? I've never been in a dealer's room where I couldn't recoup my cash outlay. Admittedly, my experience here is somewhat limited currently.

As far as their charging you? Well, going to conventions as a patron (rather than as a dealer) I never had a problem with this either. Maybe it's just me, but I always made sure that I had a little extra cash, because I enjoy spending money at conventions. And, knowing people who have run conventions, as well as having volunteered at conventions, I know that these people often have, as has been pointed out, really tight budgets.

Heck, they often have to pay for the flights, housing, food, and time of celeberties. And those celeberties are an excellent advertising for the con. And that means an excellent advertising for the dealer's room, and a value-added bonus for dealers and patrons alike. If I know Jerri Ryan's attending a convention as a guest, and I'm in the dealer's room, I also know that I ought to dust off the old Playmates Seven-of-Nine figures because they are likely to sell. After all, you might be able to get Jerri to sign one.

Now, I'm not certain, Scribble, if I understand exactly what you are saying. It seems to me that you don't believe you should have to pay to get into the dealer's room because the dealers have already paid for you. As a dealer, I wouldn't subscribe to that ethic because (1) I know that the con has to make money for me to make money there next year, and (2) I knew going into the contract with the con that they were going to charge admission, which makes it very different than having a landlord suddenly decide to skim an extra $20 off people going into your storefront.

Another way of looking at it is this: Sure, in principle, I guess I'd prefer that you had the extra $12 or $20 to spend at my table. But without the revenue from badges, the cost for that table would increase by a lot more than the $12 or $20 I might make from you. On top of that, before I was in a room with people that I know are willing to spend money on the stuff they like. After all, they shelled out the cash for a badge. Now, I might as well be in a kiosk at the mall.

I don't do kiosks at the mall.


RC

 

[Raven Crowking]

Last con that came this way left me in the same way. I could not be off from work. Not possible. Made it into the venue the last hour of the last day. Looking for goods and willling to pay, had cash in hand I had saved.

Was told flat out when I showed up that I needed a badge. After I missed three days, I'm expected to pay to shop? The folks who payed got three days gaming, prizes, all manner of fun and deals. I show up when the tents are being taken down and am treated like trash? Just 'cause I've got a job?

Oddly enough, most small cons I have been to don't check badges in the last couple of hours of the last day. Maybe I'm just lucky. And I've never been to a con that didn't have a different rate for three days and one day. Never. Were you being asked to pay for three days at the end of the con? You can hardly expect the convention staff to be responsible for your missing "three days gaming, prizes, all manner of fun and deals".

Also, I suspect that you were not "treated like trash" because you've got a job, but rather you were told that there was a fee to enter the con, which you did not feel like paying.

Imagine that you showed up at Radio Shack at the end of the day and wanted a free CD because the place was closing, and you you were planning on buying a stereo. Yeah, maybe the guy at the counter would throw in a CD if he wanted to, but he certainly isn't obligated to. You wanted free admission because you were going to buy a book. Same thing. Lots of cons do it at the very, very end. Not all, though, and they aren't obligated to.

RC

 

[Keeper of Secrets]

Much as I stand behind the idea of supporting the con that wants to charge - even for the dealer's room, I can see where the 'no pay' crowd is coming from. I mean the very idea of 'paying to shop' must be somewhat distatseful.

 

[Raven Crowking]

<Shrug>

No one has to pay to shop.

If a place is large enough to support even a small convention, it's large enough to support a regular store. Shop to your heart's content. I'm sure the people who run/own the store will be grateful.

But, then, that's not really what this is about, is it? The "no pay" crowd wants to shop at the dealer's room without paying. The convention brought new and interesting things to town, which would not otherwise be available, and they do not wish to support the convention for providing that service.

Very different, IMHO.


RC

 

[Rasyr]

As MGibster pointed out, the Dealer's Room does not exist in a vacuum. The convention folks are paying for ALL the rooms that they use, and to them everything is part of the convention.

You go up to them and say "I only want to go to the Dealer's Room, can you let me in for free". What they hear is "Let me attend your convention for free". Please consider that...

Look at it this way....

What does the Dealer get in exchange for paying the convention? Simple, He gets free advertising (i.e. that advertising done for the convention itself), and he gets a much higher flow-through of customer traffic viewing his merchandise over a short span of time. This means that over the course of 3 days, were the dealer might see about 50 people in his store, he actually gets 500, 1000, 5000 or more viewing his merchandise and possibly purchasing from him.

What does the patron get out of the Dealer's room? They get multiple dealers in a SINGLE location. This often means that they can end up getting a better deal than going to their normal retailer, or that they might find some product that their normal retailer does not normally carry. This is a service that the convention provides.

As you can see, both the dealer and the attendee both benefit from conventions. If a person asks a convention to let them into the Dealer's room for free, they are asking that convention to provide that "service" to them for free. A service that the convention had to pay for (room rentals, advertising, etc..).

It doesn't really matter when you show up to the convention, the point still stands. By asking a convention to let you in for free (and it does not matter if it is just the dealer's room), you are asking them to give you (for free) a service that they had to shell out money to provide in the first place.

 

[Buttercup]

I understand the mechanics involved and their reasonings. I just disagree with them.

You do know that conventions exist to make money, yes? Even conventions run by nonprofit professional organizations charge something to enter the dealer's room/exhibit hall.

 

[spectre72]

I just wanted to comment on this thread since I was one of the people who ran and organized a convention in the NorthEast for several years (convention is still going, but I had to resign due to time and money constraints).

Note - No LFGS or game store in the picture because there aren't many in the area (especially ones who want the time and expense involved).

A few people have commented that they don't like to be charged to visit the dealers room.

Well for a small convention, especially a new one, it is almost a necessity.

For all of the years where I was participating in the organization of the convention each of the coordinators shelled out HUNDREDS (some of them thousands) of dollars of there own money to run the convention and provide fun and entertainment for other gamers in the NorthEast.

So each dealer pays $150 for a table, well I hate to tell you that money only covers a small part of the cost. You have the expense of the location. And what about insurance for the convention? And you need a special rider on the insurance if you are going to run LARPS. Want to run a L5R swords tournament, where will the moey for that come from??

I know it will probably surprise people, but from my experience many conventions LOSE money, some of them lose incredible amounts.

When you are done the people running the thing are lucky if they haven't lost a couple of thousand dollars. If this is a store then they can write it off as a business expense, but if it is a group of individuals then it comes out of there personal bank accounts.

Add to this the difficulty of controlling access to the rest of the convention if you let people into the dealer room for free (most registration is at the front of the con with minimal staff to check badges once you get past there).

So if you want to take the view that the convention is trying to double charge that is fine, but remember that without those fees the convention may not last very many years.

I talked with one of the people I worked with on the convention and he told me that after 6 years the organizers finally think they will break even on this years convention.

Hope that adds some clarity to the issue.

If you still think it is unfair then at least you know the other side of the problem.

-Scott

 

[Storm Raven]

What possible motive does the con have for allowing you to shop on the cheap?

One possible reason: allowing easier access allows dealers to reach more customers, and make more sales. As a result, more dealers might desire to pay for space at the Con, or might be willing to pay a higher price for space at the Con.

 

[Raven Crowking]

One possible reason: allowing easier access allows dealers to reach more customers, and make more sales. As a result, more dealers might desire to pay for space at the Con, or might be willing to pay a higher price for space at the Con.

As a dealer, I disagree.

The reasons are twofold:

(1) The Con provides dedicated customers, not just anyone wandering in off the street. I would rather have one dedicated customer than a dozen browsers. And, believe me, those browsers can put off that dedicated customer. In a storefront, sure. At a convention, no.

(2) The Con has to succeed in order to be there next year. I am not so foolish as to want an extra $20 this year so that I can pay double next year, or have no Con to deal in next year. No thank you.

RC