Havok

With all the secrecy about the "High Altar" guest before the show, I really want to know who it is now.

There's a purpose built convention centre in Southport with it's own hotel attached to it. I'm amazed that no-one's had a convention there yet.

I fear that we are calling to deaf ears. It costs too much money to put on an event in Manchester and SM aren't willing to run a show at a loss. They appear to be sticking with their tried and tested locations (well sort of) and are not even thinking of the North West at this time. Pity. IMHO.

Wonderful, I am now a part of the tribe! Oh crap, I'm quoting C3P0.

If it's proving a problem having a signing event in Manchester then why not have a convention of some sort. New ones are being announced seemingly on a monthly basis, so why not have one in Manchester. I'd be up for a convention on the following themes (in no particular order): Dexter Buffy / Angel Chuck Firefly Lost The list isn't exhaustive..... What do you guys think?

When I started to go to conventions, back in the 80's, there weren't any guests. Just fans of the genre and if you were really lucky one or two tables selling stuff. The focus was on the sociable side of fandom. As events became more popular then the business side took over and in some respects the sociable side dwindled. (In my opinion) Events have become so widespread that costs on all sides have skyrocketed, the market has become diluted and a lot of people can and have been let down (for various reasons) a lot of the time. It's now time to re-think events, possibly scale them down and try to get the best outcome with the least expenditure. We need A) smaller, cheaper, viable venue. Guests that cover several shows to increase the potential market. C) More widespread advertising whether paid for or word of mouth. D) Don't worry about the traders. They'll go where the customers are. These are just possible solutions and I'm sure SM have already thought along similar lines. It's a tough time for events but as long as we all do our best there'll more events to come in the future.

It's a pity we couldn't of had this line up in Manchester. It would have probably sold out.....! Probably!

I'm sure the loss of money was due to a number of reasons that we can all only speculate at, myself included! I always thought the venue was too big for the event and it wasn't brilliantly advertised. It was on the net and advertised on flyers but I only stumbled across it because a friend handed me a flyer they got from another SM event. I suspect it might be advertised elsewhere but I don't recall seeing it. Running costs, venue hire, guest costs can all drain an event before it's even begun regardless of how many attendees turn up and how many autographs they buy. Hopefully SM will have a rethink about the event and come back stronger than ever.

Although I love the city, events and have been to every one, why does the North West event have to be in Manchester?

I think that SM, if they go ahead with an event in Manchester, should seriously think about downsizing the venue. I'm sure the hire of the G-Mex, Manchester Central or whatever they're calling it, cost an absolute fortune on top of other costs involved with putting on a show, so maybe a complete re-think about the whole event should be on the cards. Some of the other events, I would imagine, are more popular and profitable as they can draw more numbers from the surrounding areas. E.G. MK may benefit with a catchment area of London to the Midlands etc, but then again, every venue will be a problem to get to for lots of people. I've heard complaints (and moaned myself) about the difficulty on getting to an event and wish they could be nearer to my home town, but it's not always that easy. It's a tricky situation that SM have, especially with the amount of events they are running. I personally think that there are too many events running. Not just with SM but with other promoters. The market is thinning out and prices are getting more expensive. I started going to events in the 80's and they were far & few between. They didn't have celebrities and were cheap to attend and (to a certain extent) run. They have since grown and become the mini industry that they are today, proving with every event that you can't please all of the people all of the time.

It would be cool if they could hold an event like this in Southport. They have a brand new purpose built convention centre with a brand new, shiney hotel attached to it. Given that there's loads of people from the North West, obviously eager to attend an event like this then they could be on to a winner!

I'd like to put my name forward to help out. I've been attending conventions since the the 80's, run quite a few as well as running a sci-fi club that is now in it's 10th year. I've worked in nearly every area of conventioning and am happy to help out wherever I can. I would also like to have a chat with someone as I have a new & purpose made venue that would be brilliant for an event in the North West. Please let me know if I can help asap.

And as if by magic, the shopkeeper arrived! PING Thanks for getting back to us, even though "the loop" was getting into the realms of a lunar orbit! I'm sure that the majority of people understand the pressures you guys are under to put on these shows and the amazing efforts that you all make. The problem was the lack of communication. Hopefully you'll have some good news for us in the next few months. Maybe if you move the event to a smaller venue to cut down on costs! I'm sure you've already thought of that anyway. If you need any help then please let me know. Thanks once again for eventually getting back to us.

It's always nice to have something to look forward to. In this case a fair majority of us would have loved to have looked forward to another Collectormania in Manchester. Hence the same majority is getting more and more disgruntled at the fact that Showmasters are not keeping them up to date with information whilst they are putting out information for other events through the year. E.G. they've announced guests for the end of August, Hallowhedon even (sorry for the rhyme!) For some it will be easy to go for a quick, unplanned day out to an event. For others it does need a little preparation and advance notice, not just for booking holidays but many other reasons. Saving money up to spend, sorting child care or even bringing them along, some people like to prepare costumes and not forgetting that it's always wise to buy your tickets for planes, trains and buses in advance as they're much cheaper. There are many reasons for wanting to know in advance if an event is going to take place. And for Showmasters to apparently just ignore their customers for this event is, in business terms, quite foolish. I know from experience the effort, money and organisation that goes into these events, they aren't quickly put together. Well good one's aren't. You need to plan, book and organise in advance. Given the fact that they haven't told us anything I have to agree with Mr Donovan in expecting that this event will not go ahead. I must admit to being very tempted to to use my old contacts and do an event of my own, alas I don't have the finances that SM have. Plus no-one would come to Southport!

Enough is enough, I, along with loads of other people have been waiting long enough for ANY kind of word from Showmasters. We understand that there is a lot going on this year with the many events you're hosting and we also understand the amount of money, effort and preparation that these type of events can take. The continued input on these threads should tell you that there is at least some interest and therefore customers that would like to have answers to very valid questions. I'm sure that the majority of people would understand if this event could not take part due to financial reasons, organisational reasons or whatever reasons. Either way it would be nice to know so we could decide and plan how we are going to spend our money. I for one am unhappy, not at the fact that the event looks like it won't be happening (and I sincerely hope it is), but at the fact that we have been, imho, ignored. Apologies to SM as they normally do sterling work in keeping us all updated, informed and entertained. The last time they gave us any info in this thread was June last year Well, same as everyone else, this year my credit has been well and truly crunched so I'm making cutbacks and unless there is a Manchester event I won't be going to any more Showmasters events whether they are in Northampton, any of the Midlands events or even LFCC. I've been going to events for over 20 years and for a company this size I'm shocked at the lack of communication with the potential market in relation to this event. This is only my opinion and it saddens me to make it but there is no excuse for ignoring your customer base.