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Message: <blockquote data-quote="spectre72" data-source="post: 1789344" data-attributes="member: 18885">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</blockquote>

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