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I usually attend loads of comic cons, however this time I had to say no to Star Trek Europe, despite living in Birmingham I simply don't agree with how expensive these conventions have gotten, and how little you actually receive for what you pay for.

 

Its a shame people keep paying for like... a square of paper with a famous persons name on it and a few nanoseconds with them, I heard from my friend who attended that they were paying £50+ for photoshoots and they weren't allowed to speak or shake hands with the people, barely look them in the eye.

 

Is that what we've come to? Especially for Star Trek, the idealistic show where money didn't actually exist, fans having to shell out top cash for seconds of enjoyment. Reading the site and comments it seems like everything cost something, pay for a photo on the bridge, pay for talks, pay for meeting people. Its such an elitist thing when it really shouldn't be.

 

I get posting this here will probably just get taken down or banned or something for speaking ill of the event, but maybe someone might agree with me, I'm not necessarily calling anyone out on this, I just felt it was worth bringing up as to why I didn't attend.

 

 

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Autographs and photo shoots are what they are and you get what you pay for. There's never been time to chat during photo shoots and not during busier autograph signings either.

 

Yes these can be expensive events but if they weren't charged for, they wouldn't happen. I feel most of the prices here were in line with worldwide prices.

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Autographs and photo shoots are what they are and you get what you pay for. There's never been time to chat during photo shoots and not during busier autograph signings either.

Yes these can be expensive events but if they weren't charged for, they wouldn't happen. I feel most of the prices here were in line with worldwide prices.

Agreed, its always been a case getting numbers through with "big" busier guests. If a guest is quiet and you manage a cheeky little chat that's a total bonus.

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I was able to have a quick word with most of the guests I met, especially Terry Farrell, Alexander Siddig, Armin Shimmerman and Max Grodenchik - they were all very friendly and open.

 

Even the busy guests like Wil Wheaton and George Takei said "Hi" and it did feel more than a machine l.

 

With Shatner, I can understand that some people are a bit taken a back as he is very experienced and signs like a machine (barely looking up - that's what happens when you have thousands who want an autograph), however even in his bridge photoshoot this afternoon which was very busy, he seemed to acknowledge everyone both before and after the picture was taken.

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I guess it's up to that individual, everyone has a cut off point of what they'd pay up to. I've paid £95 for a two second shot with Michael J Fox, some people wouldn't pay that, but for me it was worth it. Some people go and pay an x amount for someone that I wouldn't pay to see. Showmarsters have come such a long way, the stars are getting bigger, which means the prices reflect it. My friend come along, didn't get any photo shoots or autos, it was the atmosphere she came for. Sometimes people have other things in life that they want to spend their money on, which is understandable, it is just down to that individual. I've been to a few cons now, spent a lot of money, but i have some great memories, and I'm looking forward to my next, but who knows, by that time I may have other things to spend my money on.

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Is that what we've come to? Especially for Star Trek, the idealistic show where money didn't actually exist, fans having to shell out top cash for seconds of enjoyment. Reading the site and comments it seems like everything cost something, pay for a photo on the bridge, pay for talks, pay for meeting people. Its such an elitist thing when it really shouldn't be.

 

Unfortunately the costs of flying guests over, putting them up in hotels, asking them to put in long hours where they work hard all day, especially some of the older guests, have to be recouped somehow. Bit of a catch 22 really!

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I usually attend loads of comic cons, however this time I had to say no to Star Trek Europe, despite living in Birmingham I simply don't agree with how expensive these conventions have gotten, and how little you actually receive for what you pay for.

 

Its a shame people keep paying for like... a square of paper with a famous persons name on it and a few nanoseconds with them, I heard from my friend who attended that they were paying £50+ for photoshoots and they weren't allowed to speak or shake hands with the people, barely look them in the eye.

 

Is that what we've come to? Especially for Star Trek, the idealistic show where money didn't actually exist, fans having to shell out top cash for seconds of enjoyment. Reading the site and comments it seems like everything cost something, pay for a photo on the bridge, pay for talks, pay for meeting people. Its such an elitist thing when it really shouldn't be.

 

I get posting this here will probably just get taken down or banned or something for speaking ill of the event, but maybe someone might agree with me, I'm not necessarily calling anyone out on this, I just felt it was worth bringing up as to why I didn't attend.

 

 

It depends on your version of expensive.

I agree that this event would have been too expensive, mainly because it would have cost over £200 for 3 (£15) guests, as they were not the main ones,

but for other events if it's someone i want i would be happy to pay the price, as this is my hobby.

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Sometimes giving the guest something different to talk about seems to get you more interaction with them and obviously also being lucky enough to be there at a time when they aren't dealing with an enormous queue. This worked with both William Shatner and Christopher Lloyd for me. Having a copy of Bill's new book for him to sign led to a short chat about the book and my thoughts on it. And a mention of Jim Ignatowski got a reaction and a handshake from Christopher. It probably made a change from questions on Star Trek or BTTF.

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I appreciate the thoughts, but don't you think that by going to these events and paying for these things you're basically encouraging the organisers to charge money? Or at the very least hike their prices every year because of the demand.

 

Back in 2012 I went to DST London, I met Patrick Stewart for about £60, we were there at 8am when it opened and met him first with barely any queue. I wasn't allowed a photograph with him, I couldn't shake his hand, and I got about 15 seconds with him as he sortof mumbled hello and I was briskly pushed aside for the next person. 15 seconds! I've taken longer sneezes than that. Once I exited the queue I looked at the autograph and then at my watch, 10 minutes into the con and I had used up 80% of my budget for that day, everywhere else was super expensive with nothing free to experience (the bridge was £10, Transporter room £10, talks £20+) We mooched around trying to find something to do then decided to leave a few hours later, definitely not feeling the thrill of being at a Star Trek con.

 

Since then I've just become totally disenfranchised with the whole concept of comic cons. I usually attend the this show Birmingham con and meet people from more indie stuff or to just cosplay, which is the heart of the convention. Paying such an extreme amount of money to meet these celebrities just gets super boring fast.

 

I get the catch 22, travel and work for the celebs is difficult, and you can't charge too little as the queues would be far too long (I do know why it has gone like it has, supply and demand and all that) But maybe trying it another way would work.

 

Make more smaller cons with one guest and make them the focal point of the event, or do away with the pricing all together and offer each attendee ONE free autograph and at least a few minutes with their person of choice. Don't allow those with loads of money to buy ALL the autographs to see 10 people in one day. Its way too greedy. Just say you get to meet one celeb from the show that day (completely random) and you get a few minutes with them, that way you'll have a more memorable experience with that person (And don't moan you didn't get the big one, like Shatner, I'm sure meeting Marina Siris would be just as fun) You could always have another go next time and you might meet someone else fun. I think the trouble is now that all these events are geared with I MUST DO EVERYTHING IN ONE DAY so its an insane rush to get everything signed. Just calm down and relax, once you've been to a few cons you'll realise they're just normal people and definitely not worth like... £50 per second. (How much money must they make seriously... do they need all that money? Would be cool if they gave it to charity)

Edited by SammyStarfox
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I appreciate the thoughts, but don't you think that by going to these events and paying for these things you're basically encouraging the organisers to charge money? Or at the very least hike their prices every year because of the demand.

 

Back in 2012 I went to DST London, I met Patrick Stewart for about £60, we were there at 8am when it opened and met him first with barely any queue. I wasn't allowed a photograph with him, I couldn't shake his hand, and I got about 15 seconds with him as he sortof mumbled hello and I was briskly pushed aside for the next person. 15 seconds! I've taken longer sneezes than that. Once I exited the queue I looked at the autograph and then at my watch, 10 minutes into the con and I had used up 80% of my budget for that day, everywhere else was super expensive with nothing free to experience (the bridge was £10, Transporter room £10, talks £20+) We mooched around trying to find something to do then decided to leave a few hours later, definitely not feeling the thrill of being at a Star Trek con.

 

Since then I've just become totally disenfranchised with the whole concept of comic cons. I usually attend the this show Birmingham con and meet people from more indie stuff or to just cosplay, which is the heart of the convention. Paying such an extreme amount of money to meet these celebrities just gets super boring fast.

 

I get the catch 22, travel and work for the celebs is difficult, and you can't charge too little as the queues would be far too long (I do know why it has gone like it has, supply and demand and all that) But maybe trying it another way would work.

 

Make more smaller cons with one guest and make them the focal point of the event, or do away with the pricing all together and offer each attendee ONE free autograph and at least a few minutes with their person of choice. Don't allow those with loads of money to buy ALL the autographs to see 10 people in one day. Its way too greedy. Just say you get to meet one celeb from the show that day (completely random) and you get a few minutes with them, that way you'll have a more memorable experience with that person (And don't moan you didn't get the big one, like Shatner, I'm sure meeting Marina Siris would be just as fun) You could always have another go next time and you might meet someone else fun. I think the trouble is now that all these events are geared with I MUST DO EVERYTHING IN ONE DAY so its an insane rush to get everything signed. Just calm down and relax, once you've been to a few cons you'll realise they're just normal people and definitely not worth like... £50 per second. (How much money must they make seriously... do they need all that money? Would be cool if they gave it to charity)

 

With respect, how much money the actors make is nobody's business but theirs. They are working all weekend so why shouldn't they be paid for it ?

 

I don't agree that there's pressure to do everything in a day. They sell weekend tickets for people who want to spread things out more.

 

As to whether it's worth paying large amounts of money for a few seconds with a particular actor, that's up to the individual. To me it's not, hence I go mostly for the talks but for thousands of others it clearly is, hence the long queues for most of the guests !

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I appreciate the thoughts, but don't you think that by going to these events and paying for these things you're basically encouraging the organisers to charge money? Or at the very least hike their prices every year because of the demand.

 

Back in 2012 I went to DST London, I met Patrick Stewart for about £60, we were there at 8am when it opened and met him first with barely any queue. I wasn't allowed a photograph with him, I couldn't shake his hand, and I got about 15 seconds with him as he sortof mumbled hello and I was briskly pushed aside for the next person. 15 seconds! I've taken longer sneezes than that. Once I exited the queue I looked at the autograph and then at my watch, 10 minutes into the con and I had used up 80% of my budget for that day, everywhere else was super expensive with nothing free to experience (the bridge was £10, Transporter room £10, talks £20+) We mooched around trying to find something to do then decided to leave a few hours later, definitely not feeling the thrill of being at a Star Trek con.

 

Since then I've just become totally disenfranchised with the whole concept of comic cons. I usually attend the this show Birmingham con and meet people from more indie stuff or to just cosplay, which is the heart of the convention. Paying such an extreme amount of money to meet these celebrities just gets super boring fast.

 

I get the catch 22, travel and work for the celebs is difficult, and you can't charge too little as the queues would be far too long (I do know why it has gone like it has, supply and demand and all that) But maybe trying it another way would work.

 

Make more smaller cons with one guest and make them the focal point of the event, or do away with the pricing all together and offer each attendee ONE free autograph and at least a few minutes with their person of choice. Don't allow those with loads of money to buy ALL the autographs to see 10 people in one day. Its way too greedy. Just say you get to meet one celeb from the show that day (completely random) and you get a few minutes with them, that way you'll have a more memorable experience with that person (And don't moan you didn't get the big one, like Shatner, I'm sure meeting Marina Siris would be just as fun) You could always have another go next time and you might meet someone else fun. I think the trouble is now that all these events are geared with I MUST DO EVERYTHING IN ONE DAY so its an insane rush to get everything signed. Just calm down and relax, once you've been to a few cons you'll realise they're just normal people and definitely not worth like... £50 per second. (How much money must they make seriously... do they need all that money? Would be cool if they gave it to charity)

 

With respect, how much money the actors make is nobody's business but theirs. They are working all weekend so why shouldn't they be paid for it ?

 

I don't agree that there's pressure to do everything in a day. They sell weekend tickets for people who want to spread things out more.

 

As to whether it's worth paying large amounts of money for a few seconds with a particular actor, that's up to the individual. To me it's not, hence I go mostly for the talks but for thousands of others it clearly is, hence the long queues for most of the guests !

 

 

Well said. Yes these events are now expensive and we all wish they weren't I'm sure. I've paid out a fair amount of money for auto's at Showmasters events, most recently when I got more than 1 from BC at Sherlocked and have bought a diamond pass at the last LFCC. I am not rich, however I save all year so that I have money put by specifically for events like this so that if something I really want comes up I can pay for it.

 

Showmasters are very good at actually keeping the price down in comparison to what other companies charge. Conventions exist that fulfil your requirements as it is more the setting for that system - you pay your ticket price and get photo's and an auto from the guest included. However, LFCC and the like are classed as signing events not conventions, even Destination and Sherlocked aren't classed as straight conventions because of the way they are run, a combination of convention and signing event. I don't really see an event with only 1 or 2 guests there a being financially viable as how many people would go? How many people would be willing to travel to the event, pay for hotels ect for only 1 guest. Not too many I'd say.

 

With the amount of people attending these events now it is unfortunately inevitable. The only way to get time with the guests is either keep trying for a quiet moment, charge higher prices to limit the number of people attending or as you say have a much smaller event with smaller guests.

 

I don't see that it can be any other way, guest prices are largely dictated by the fee that the guest wants and whether they accept a flat fee for the whole weekend or charge for each activity they take part of.

 

Anyway ramble over.

Edited by Raylenth
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Photos and autos are what they are. But I do agree they should have had more things to do other than that. I went to one free talk, was a complete waste of time as I could hear very little of it. You couldn't even kill time going round the dealers, as there were only about 10 of them!

 

My 2 biggest gripes with the event were, not enough guests (Particularly big name guests). And that packages got priority before they even allowed VT's to be used. I have No 12 for George on Sunday, but no VT's were allowed to join the queue until after 2pm. The crew member was almost apologetic when handing them out past 200, as they he saying George only got to 170 on Saturday.

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Like others have said here "expensive" is a relative term but in defence of SM who seem to always be accused of pulling prices out of the air remember this. The guests get paid a fee. This is work for them however friendly and relaxed they seem they are all professionals and quite rightly have been paid to be there. Some guests could even be said to be professional con attenders doing very little acting work and attending cons somewhere almost every weekend. It is the guests that decide what fee they expect and SM that decide whether to pay them. My brother-in-law is an actor and personally knows a few actors who attend various cons and I think a few attendees would be genuinely astonished at the figures involved. The higher they are the more SM have to charge for pics and autographs. It's simple economics. Supply and demand.

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I look at it from the point of these being a one in a lifetime opportunity to met certain cast members especially from the Original Series. Yes some of the shoots were expensive but I spaced paying over several months so the it wasn't a direct hit in paying for them all at the same time. These photo's and a quick chat with the stars at when signing have given me special memories that will last a life time.

 

My only gripe was the fact that I couldn't get an upgrade on photo shoots. I would of loved to of been able to have one done with Gates and Marina but in the end I had to settle for separate shoots instead

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I love doing conventions and I expect these things to cost money (except for talks, I absolutely refuse to pay for talks), my worry is that they're gradually becoming more and more expensive. I wonder how long it'll take before autographs or photoshoots just aren't affordable any more. I respect Showmasters a lot for trying to keep the price down, but even they have to adjust to the fees.

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I thought the ticket prices were very affordable.

 

 

£26 - Saturday entry ticket

(Included free talks, free exhibitions, free access to see the guests signing away, spacious hall room, very close food outlets, and free wash room facilities.)

 

 

£26 - Shatner's World Tier 6

(I could see him clearly and heard almost every word.)

 

 

£11 - DS9 talk

(I queued up over an hour before it began, and got a great seat. For £11 it was fantastic value.)

 

 

£15 - Guest autographs

(Most of them were £15 - £20 and you got to meet them and engage in personal conversations with them and shake their hands or even hug them. I spent hundreds to see the Queen appear at the palace balcony and others had spent thousands, and sometimes the crowds are so big you can't see her at all as you are so far back in the crowd, and this can be said for many celebrity events. So there I was meeting the guests in person, and we're talking to each other so friendly, shaking hands and giving us hugs. The experience is so memorable. Spending £15 - £20 to have direct contact is fantastic. I think Shatner's autograph was around £50 but I can understand his importance in the show. At DSTL 2012 I only got a glimpse of William Shatner in the distance because there was so much security and there were many dividers and wall partitions put in place. The great thing at this convention was, there were no dividers so you could see the guests very easily signing away and appearing on the bridge photo shoots. I saw Shatner so often that I rarely used my camera at all because I had grown accustom to seeing him and the guests so freely about the hall. If there was one downside it was that it made 'the moment' of seeing them less special because we got to see them so often about the place.)

 

 

£5 - Vendors. True there were very few of them but from what I saw the items for sale were not expensive. I was tempted to buy several things, not because I wanted them, but simply because they were going cheap and I was looking for a souvenir. I saw vintage toy figures going for just £5 and I knew I could buy some and sell them on ebay at a profit.

 

 

Overall I thought the prices were affordable and pretty much like most other conventions. For me it is a once-a-year event so I am concentrating far more on meeting the guests. The event was good, but not great. I think when we experience a past convention that was great, everything else afterwards is judged to be better or worse and is rarely judged on its own merit. I'm sure many saw the event as the best ever.

Edited by Aaron2029
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Make more smaller cons with one guest and make them the focal point of the event, or do away with the pricing all together and offer each attendee ONE free autograph and at least a few minutes with their person of choice. Don't allow those with loads of money to buy ALL the autographs to see 10 people in one day. Its way too greedy. Just say you get to meet one celeb from the show that day (completely random) and you get a few minutes with them, that way you'll have a more memorable experience with that person (And don't moan you didn't get the big one, like Shatner, I'm sure meeting Marina Siris would be just as fun) You could always have another go next time and you might meet someone else fun. I think the trouble is now that all these events are geared with I MUST DO EVERYTHING IN ONE DAY so its an insane rush to get everything signed. Just calm down and relax, once you've been to a few cons you'll realise they're just normal people and definitely not worth like... £50 per second. (How much money must they make seriously... do they need all that money? Would be cool if they gave it to charity)

 

With all due respect, sometimes it's not feasible for people to attend a con for a whole weekend and so everything does have to be done in one day. For the most part, I'm a weekend attender and I did all three days of DSTE but a couple of years back I attended LFCC for the Saturday only and it was a very hectic day for me. I had about 16 autographs and 9 photoshoots all to do before the 6 o'clock train back up to Newcastle. But I don't have loads of money and I don't think I was being greedy.

 

I wanted to meet as many of my idols who were there as I possibly could cause it's impossible to know when or if Showmasters will get them back. My family is not a rich family. We're very working class and from, what I read (and may still be), the statistically poorest region in the UK. It's always an honour to be able to do cons. I don't go out drinking at night (I'm just not a drinker) and I don't smoke like a lot of my friends so I was able to save my money for a long time to do the Saturday at LFCC. Uni was stressing me out and I wanted to meet a few celebs to wind down. I could only do the one day though as my funds would only cover the trains and the con and would not stretch to a hotel.

 

I understand what you mean by wanting people to relax and enjoy it but sometimes, just sometimes, I MUST DO EVERYTHING IN ONE DAY (as you put it) is the only option for some people. And calling people greedy for wanting 10+ autographs/photos in one day or assuming that they're made of money for being able to do that or even suggesting that Showmasters shouldn't allow it is assumptive (again, I'm a far from rich), rude (calling anyone greedy is) and unkind (suggesting someone shouldn't be allowed to meet as many people as they want when they have the money to is unfair in the extreme). I'm not calling you these things personally, I only mean to say that your particular comments in this case can be interpreted as such.

 

And one guest cons are not going to be a popular idea in any universe.

Edited by Victoria93
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Agreed. I spent 18 months saving up in the hope that this event would happen - although I work i have bills to pay like everyone else - and so that I could afford an Admiral package and get as much out of the event as possible. Also to reduce the practical challenges - I an a full-time wheelchair user and I have to manage pain & fatigue as part of that. My package/experience was brilliant and worth the planning & effort. I would recommend it. We are all fans of Trek, but for anyone to suggest that some ways of engaging with that are more valid than others is arguably inappropriate and offensive, and certainly runs counter to IDIC 🖖

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