My last convention booth...

[Gorn Captain]

I apologize in advance for the rant....

Just came back from a convention in The Netherland, and a massive case of the flu was just about all I got out of it.

Booth prices are skyrocketing here, you have to plunk down at least $700 for a six foot wide space. And these days, they also charge for tables and chairs (and you can't bring your own). $20 to rent a chair!

I know that times are hard, but the bartering for items is getting out of control. People want vintage items in perfect condition, and they want them at WalMart toy prices. I knew that this convention was to be my last, as I had to fight the urge to grab people by their collar and drag them over the table.
Let's give an example: I had some really mint vintage SW items in AFA grade boxes. I also had some spare empty boxes, if someone wanted to upgrade from loose to boxed. I had a Falcon box out for $40. All I got was: "For $40 I want a mint unused vehicle in a mint box, stickers unapplied."
Maybe I'm out of touch, but really? For a vintage Falcon?
Some people just hung around my booth, saying I had the finest boxes they had ever seen. You want to be polite, so you talk to them, they hang around constantly saying they'd love to buy, and that's about it. They never do.
Or: "Hello. I see that you have a MIMB X-Wing. I'm just missing one cannon. Could I possibly just buy that one piece?"
"So you want me to open up a sealed item and just get that one piece for you?"
"Yes. Can you? 10$ seems like a fair price."

And I've never seen so many grown men have a meltdown over "applied stickers". "The sticker sheet is missing! This item has no value!!!!!"

The only sane guy was the director of Collectormania Conventions. He saw my stuff, bought for $450 and left. Thank you!
As a matter of fact, I think I got most of my money from several dealers who were reasonable.

The visitors, however, they came to drink beer, eat hotdogs, and look at the celebs.

[palitoy]

Collector OCD and tire kicking rudeness is galling on both sides of the Atlantic, trust me.

We have a convention here called Fan Expo, it's expensive, brings a (probably over capacity) ton of people and I have no desire to set up at it, much less go.

My friend has done very well with it but he has a lot of $25 vintage items. His higher priced stuff doesn't seem to move.

While there is traffic, the competition for people's dollars is insane, $100 to get in, celebrities charging hundreds for their signature, new exclusives, overpriced food etc. I think vintage toys and comics get lost in the shuffle at these expos.

As a vintage buyer- The prices are often twice what they would be on Ebay. I get that the rent for a booth is probably like $2,500 but I still can't justify a $500 loose Shogun Warrior.

The last show I attended, the whole experience cost the family around $700. I had a Funko Snake Plisken to show for it.

[Gorn Captain]

Thanks, I'm relieved that I'm not imagining it all.
The way you describe it is exactly how I experienced it.

[EMCE Hammer]

This is another perfect example of why Mego Meet is so awesome. Most items on my table are under $30, and they all come with a free hug.

The majority of my sales are for avg condition, non-rare items that I practically give away. It's gotta be a tough way to make a living, and not getting any easier.

[starsky]

i no longer go to those BIG conventions for those reasons. not worth the time or the money.

[Sideshow Spock]

This is another perfect example of why Mego Meet is so awesome. Most items on my table are under $30, and they all come with a free hug.

I've heard that your hugs are so awesome, it's the hug that's $30, and the toy is free!

[Mr.Marion]

Collector OCD and tire kicking rudeness is galling on both sides of the Atlantic, trust me.

We have a convention here called Fan Expo, it's expensive, brings a (probably over capacity) ton of people and I have no desire to set up at it, much less go.

My friend has done very well with it but he has a lot of $25 vintage items. His higher priced stuff doesn't seem to move.

While there is traffic, the competition for people's dollars is insane, $100 to get in, celebrities charging hundreds for their signature, new exclusives, overpriced food etc. I think vintage toys and comics get lost in the shuffle at these expos.

As a vintage buyer- The prices are often twice what they would be on Ebay. I get that the rent for a booth is probably like $2,500 but I still can't justify a $500 loose Shogun Warrior.

The last show I attended, the whole experience cost the family around $700. I had a Funko Snake Plisken to show for it.

Boy you ain't kidding. It's not for vintage fans anymore. At comic-cons who has time to look through bins with the amount of traffic.

The autogragh signing are very pricey too but some of that is the actors you remember from your childhood have one foot in the grave.

I want to enjoy the Con boom while it lasts but I almost prefer when it was a sub-culture.

[Duncan]

I want to enjoy the Con boom while it lasts but I almost prefer when it was a sub-culture.

Yeah, I have to agree. The last big con I went to was Mid Ohio con before Wizard took over (years ago). I was able to walk right up to Sergio Aragones' table and get some quick autographs free of charge and with no line. That was a good time. Today I don't even think about the Wizard con in Columbus; just doesn't interest me.

[cjefferys]

Booth prices are skyrocketing here, you have to plunk down at least $700 for a six foot wide space. And these days, they also charge for tables and chairs (and you can't bring your own). $20 to rent a chair!

That's crazy. I guess I'm used to paying less than $50 for a table (at much smaller shows I'd imagine) and free chairs!

We have a convention here called Fan Expo, it's expensive, brings a (probably over capacity) ton of people and I have no desire to set up at it, much less go.

I used to regularly attend Fan Expo (around 10-15 years ago) but I'm done with the high prices, terrible crowds and very little vintage toys. Plus I'm at the point where I have no interest in paying the ridiculous prices "celebrities" are asking for autographs these days. The only kind of autograph I don't mind is if someone is selling their book at a show and if I buy it they will sign it for me (like I've done with folks like Christopher Lee, Bruce Campbell and Brian Heiler )

[torgospizza]

"For $40 I want a mint unused vehicle in a mint box, stickers unapplied."

That's crazy talk--a new one is more than twice that, forget about vintage.

[Blue Meanie]

It's getting worse at the Cons these days both for dealers that already have decent prices and for older convention goers that just can't relate to what the Cons are selling these days...The EXPERIENCE is all that matters these days. It's unfortunate but it's true. Been that way for the last 10 years in my eyes. What's also unfortunate is that I don't see it changing anytime soon. The cons have gone the way of the comic book industry in general has gone...none of the newer so called "collectors" care about older stuff anymore. If it's not super rare they don't want it...they'll over pay for that super rare item and then ***** and complain that they can't sell it for what they paid for it. Same goes for comics...Key issues are all that matters to new collectors. They don't want to read that run...they just want that KEY issue. Just look at the absolutely ridiculous prices of books that nobody gave a crap about years ago...Hulk 271, 1st appearance of Rocket Raccoon, basically a 50 cent to a dollar book up until the movie came out. Just saw one go for $450...really??!!??

[Gorn Captain]

As said above, cons have become an "experience event". Visitors come to just hang out. And I know, for families it's often a very expensive trip, just buying tickets to get in the convention is a lot of money. I do realize that these people don't have the extra money to actually buy higher value items.
But as a seller, and I mean "small fry" like me, selling off some collection pieces, it's no longer an option. Which is a shame, because simple collectors often bring the interesting stuff, things that haven't been available for a while, that have been gathering dust for a couple of decades. These booths are often the ones that bring little treasures, not the giant bigtime dealers that all bring tons of the same thing.

[MegoSteve]

Same goes for comics...Key issues are all that matters to new collectors. They don't want to read that run...they just want that KEY issue.

To be totally fair, though... collecting back issues these days is ridiculously impossible. There are just too many darned comics to collect now, and you can't really blame someone for going after keys. Just as an example, back in the 1980s, Amazing Spider-man was in the 200s. Now it's what, up to 700, if you can even figure out what order they go in because the numbering has started over so many times. And that's just one book! It's impossible to follow. How many Justice League of America #1s have there been now? Four or five? Keys are easier.