So lets do a little review of Vcon for those of you thinking of taking a chance on the artist alley.
I'l going to start with the Cons so that the blog ends on a high Note.
- The venue was pretty easy for me to find because I had been there before, but some outdoor signage would have been a huge help!
- In the area where Vcon actually was there was absolutely no garbages! Turns out there were a couple small bins under the water service on each end, but there really should have been a big bin in the hallway somewhere. We had to keep going into the bathroom to throw garbage out.
- Most cons I've been to had major enforcement when it came to blocking walkways and doors for photos but the people in the booth beside us basically kept our aisle blocked off from people the entire weekend. I saw many people avoid the alley all together because of it. We also had people really blocking the way into the Vendor area getting photos of the GhostBusters. also not cool.
- We were against the wall in a new table set up and god it was cramped! we couldn't get out of our area without having to get everyone in the table beside us to move out of the way, and they have huge cameras blocking the path sometimes. We also were very close to the wall making everything awkward. If you can ever help it, get an outside table! We did talk to the host of Vcon about it, and she agreed and said maybe next time 2 tables per section. then people won't have the problem next year.
Now, onto the pros!
- The attention from the staff of Vcon was awesome. They'd come check on you now and then and see if everything was ok. That was Nice!
- Water service! There were 2 tubs of water with cups in the vendors room! a godsend! It was quite dry and I'm always thirsty!
- There was a hospitality room with food that was free (technically by donation). I never got to take advantage because every time I went up there was a technical issue! HAHA! Lot's of people did take advantage of it though, and it's a great service!
- In the end the traffic was worth the effort, and they gave us a bit of a discount for pre registering on the spot! That's nice too!
There was a fair amount of traffic on the Sunday, but a lot of people just wizz by the tables without looking down. If you're going to have a table at Vcon the best thing you can do is engage with your customers. explain your story to them and sell them on your idea. People who just stroll by without getting talked to, don't generally buy. We had to basically pitch Daqueran to everyone and the ones we pitched to, bought the new reader pack. If you're the type of person that just sits by and does nothing to engage with customers you'll do badly at Vcon. There were lots of cos players and lots of the vendors were dressed up in fantasy and medieval clothing. It was good, and in the future we're thinking that dressing up wouldn't hurt us at all.
As far as sales, what sold well was the New Reader pack, Prints (surprising!) and Charms (our ghosts, and tiks). Like I said though, we had to engage with any of the customers who were going to purchase anything. Stuff just doesn't sell itself there, and it's a very specific audience.
Come to a con like that prepared with a cash float. Everyone paid with $20 bills. I saw lots of my table mates struggling with trying to make change from their wallets.
Friday's traffic was so slow, we barely sold anything that day, until the last person of the day made it worth our while. Saturday was a bit better but not much and we were ready to give up on the con at that point but then sunday was the main traffic day. that was the spending day for sure!
I went around and collected the business cards of all the people that were in the artist Alley so I'll post a list of them all here! check them out! they're all great!
EchoesLight -Amanda Rose (my table neighbour!)
Albert Art - across the aisle neighbour!
Well that's about it. The next convention we'll be at is Vancouver Comic Con at heritage hall in Vancouver. November 13th!
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