nadatron Posted December 22, 2008 Share Posted December 22, 2008 Yeah I have to agree with the above posts, I live in Manchester but I'd still need to book time off and with a max of 3 people in my office off on any one day, summer fills up pretty fast, as I'm sure it must do for other people. Even if they give us a month, like it will definitely be in July/June whatever, its better than nothing as Id just book off every weekend in that month and await confirmation - it's easier to cancel holidays and free the day up for someone else than it is to book them when others want them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crippsy_99 Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 Tis now Jan and still no date or anything else announced. Is it even happening? All my holiday up till april 2010 MUST be booked by the end of feb, and even then thats a last come last served thing, then any outstanding days are being allocated for me, so if I dont have a date by then, thats another person who prob wont be attending.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LunaTsukino Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 I'd really like to know if there is any chance we'll ever get a date for this event. I know that Manchester's event have been going down hill since i've been going to them but i really hope this isn't the end. Alot of people i know will be very upset if there isn't going to be another Manchester event, including myself and alot of people here on the forum too. *Hopes for a date soon* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WILLOW99 Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Would be horrible if Manchester stops. I take my sister everytime (she's just started uni and only just got her own funds so couldn't attend big events). it's great family time and we've met some really great guests. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Havok Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 At this rate I might end up just doing my own event using the town's new hotel & conference centre. It depends if people fancy coming to Southport though! Sorry....... must keep the faith in CM, no matter how little they tell us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vintageSW77 Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 I visited a comic and card fair in manchester today and all the dealers were curious or in doubt as to whether this show was going ahead. So its not just the punters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nadatron Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 I visited a comic and card fair in manchester today and all the dealers were curious or in doubt as to whether this show was going ahead. So its not just the punters. Heh, at Sachas by any chance? I'm rapidly starting to believe that the small, room size fairs we get here every couple of months are all that we are going to get this year. Is there still time to book a convention area, set a date, book guests etc? If so then great, cause we've just been sorta left hanging here... If not then just please put us out of our misery and tell us that there will be no event so we can at least plan ahead for one of the others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vintageSW77 Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 Heh, at Sachas by any chance? Yeah it wasnt bad. I bought a Hammer sketch card and a couple of autographed cards. I hope thats not all we are getting in Manc this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nadatron Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 Heh, at Sachas by any chance? Yeah it wasnt bad. I bought a Hammer sketch card and a couple of autographed cards. I hope thats not all we are getting in Manc this year. There is one of those every month in summer, but yeah it would suck if its all we got becuase they are really small. Good for hard to get Troma imports though, even if they do charge you an arm and a leg for them. Wouldn't mind seeing some of the horror guys from there at a collectormania event, that is of course if we actually get one.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vintageSW77 Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 There is one of those every month in summer, but yeah it would suck if its all we got becuase they are really small. Good for hard to get Troma imports though, even if they do charge you an arm and a leg for them. Wouldn't mind seeing some of the horror guys from there at a collectormania event, that is of course if we actually get one.... Yip the guy selling the horror dvds at the back has some good stuff but he is a little steep Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petrorabbit Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 Sashas is good, only trouble with it being in such a small room is its hard to get away from the smelly people. (you know the type) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edgejedi88 Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 There are a whole load of Northerners for sure who would dearly love to see CM back in Manchester.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genegenie Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 There are a whole load of Northerners for sure who would dearly love to see CM back in Manchester.... I would i loved CM in Manchester last year i thought it was the best of all of them,Manchester is such a great city loved it!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Havok Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 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 The date for the summer Manchester show will be announced later this year. We hope you understand why we are doing this and see that it's the best way to make the event even bigger and better, and we look forward to seeing you next summer. 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LunaTsukino Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 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 The date for the summer Manchester show will be announced later this year. We hope you understand why we are doing this and see that it's the best way to make the event even bigger and better, and we look forward to seeing you next summer. 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. Kudos to you! I agree to this completely. It's almost as if they don't care, since they havn't confirmed a positive or a negative in regards to this event I'm a cosplayer trying to put together a group with friends but at this rate none of us are going to have time to even make our costumes, let alone try and reorganise it all with friends I've been going to the Manchester event since the first one and I fully understand like Havok the effort required into putting together an event, but that's no excuse for not at all considering their customers and keeping them informed of what is happening. We are at the end of febuary, spring soon, if the even is... as you say.... taking place in summer don't you think you're leaving it alittle too late to inform people who truely wish to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trialia Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 If there isn't a Manchester event this year, I probably won't be going to another con at all until 2010. I attended a certain smaller one in the south of England in February (taking a look at my fangirl-list in my signature may tell you which), and that one was expensive enough... There may be a direct train from here to MK, but have you seen the price of it? It'd cost more to get there and have a place to stay than it would to get into the con, and I simply can't afford to do that. TBH, I think SM are being very cavalier about this, and it's not fair. There are plenty of people up here who can't travel and would love to attend an event if they could, but since there is no real signing event *in* Manchester anymore, there's nothing for them. How is that even competition? There just isn't anything! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyT Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 There may be a direct train from here to MK, but have you seen the price of it? It'd cost more to get there and have a place to stay than it would to get into the con Given that the MK event is free entry, the fact that a train ticket and a hotel costs more than that is neither surprising nor difficult. To be honest, since most SM signing events are what, a tenner to get in early bird and a fiver for an ordinary ticket, that's pretty much always going to be the case. A fiver on the rail network doesn't even get you a return ticket to a town 20 miles away on many parts of the network. TBH, I think SM are being very cavalier about this, and it's not fair. There are plenty of people up here who can't travel and would love to attend an event if they could, but since there is no real signing event *in* Manchester anymore, there's nothing for them. How is that even competition? There just isn't anything! And where is the law that says that SM have to provide (somebody's definition of) "fairness" to Manchester residents? If you read Jason's post from early March you'll see that he could flip the tables and say that Manchester hasn't exactly been fair to SM. If there are "plenty of people up here who can't travel and would love to attend an event", then where were they at previous Manchester shows? Sure, it was a pain and bad form that one had to wait so long for clarification from SM over what was happening, and it's a shame that it's all still up in the air, but to start moaning about a lack of shows when those SM ones that have been there have all lost money doesn't seem overly reasonable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UserFormerlyKnownAsMondasant63 Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 The same as above can be said of the Midlands events, I live in Derby about 45 minutes away from both Birmingham and Coventry, having attended both of the Midlands shows there were surprisingly few people at either event, especially the last one where for the Sunday early bird entrants there were seven of us with pre-paid tickets and about a dozen waiting to purchase early entry on the day. I wasn't the only one left wondering where all of the locals were who'd complained about not being able to travel to the further events. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 Thing is maybe not a lot of people in Manchester and surrounding areas are as big on turning up to meet Sci Fi and Fantasy folk as elswhere.I go to Sachas every odd month and its always the same faces and the dealers are always moaning that other than the regs no one else is interested nowadays. I have a lot of friends,relatives and associates who i doubt would go to an event even though they all watch Doctor Who,Lost etc and a large part of them cant get their heads round the fact that you have to pay for autographs.HOWEVER i do think that quite a few Mancunians would turn out to see sports stars of yesteryear so maybe a Sportsmania/Collectormania show is what will work in Manchester. As for the crowds for the last show another reason it didnt have a big turn out because the word around town at a smaller show just before GMEX 3 was the guests were just not as good as previous shows.Everyone i let on to at the show was just there for a bit of shopping and totally bypassed the guests.Im half narked that the Manchester show isnt on this year as £30 spent on a train ticket to Birmingham,getting up at 7.00 am on a Sunday morning and the 5 hours combined travel is a bit of a pain when the G mex can be seen in the far distance from my window as i type BUT its a day out though isnt it and im looking forward to Autographica/CM a great deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators DavidB Posted April 12, 2009 Moderators Share Posted April 12, 2009 The problem is that it wasn't just the last show that had a low turn out or low income. Far from it. The Manchester events have never been a huge success for Showmasters, even when they had some fantastic guests there. They can't keep risking putting in high profile guests that just aren't drawing people in to spend money etc. It might just be that Manchester isn't a viable area to run a show. And talking of 'fairness', it's not really 'fair' to expect an organiser to run shows and lose mone etc just so some people can attend because it's more local. If they continued to do so, it'd be very damaging in the long run to the overall business. Clearly they'd like to, but they do have to be sensible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 (edited) And talking of 'fairness', it's not really 'fair' to expect an organiser to run shows and lose mone etc just so some people can attend because it's more local. If they continued to do so, it'd be very damaging in the long run to the overall business. Was the show with Simon Pegg a loss then? thats interesting i thought it was a good show but i guess most were there out of curiosity as it was only the second show and not there to spend. A much as id love a local show i dont mind jumping on the train as ive said before its a day out.Grab a bacon sarnie,a can of pop and a copy of Viz at the station,grab a nice seat and look forward to the day ahead. Edited April 12, 2009 by Phantom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queen_Sindel Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 That's what Jason posted in another topic, so I would say the answer to your question is yes: Manchester has always been a hard town to brake even on and we lost money at every event we ran there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators DavidB Posted April 12, 2009 Moderators Share Posted April 12, 2009 Yeah, see personally I was impressed by the few Manchester events that I went to. I thought the lineups were strong, so it was surprising to learn that they were not very successful in terms of making money. I'd honestly have no idea how to make an event in Manchester successful if they weren't with the lineups they had, so I can understand why they're cautious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 Thats interesting as in terms of the vibe,atmosphere,ques and the amount of stalls id have assumed that the 2nd Manchester show and the third with Malcolm Mcdowall and the guy from Heroes were far more succesful than the last Midlands show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darthnad Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 If they are worried about losing money at a Manchester event then I can't see how what they're doing at the moment is going to help that at all. If they do have it now, they wont really have enough time to secure good guests people will travel for, or to spread the word about the event - even having difficulty getting the locals and regulars if they leave it so late that we all have already made plans for, and spent our money on, the other events. If it is such an issue to even make their money back in Manchester then they should just openly cancel it altogether or actually plan it properly so that they might stand a chance. Otherwise it's like announcing a party the day before its on, in the middle of a whole week of parties, and then wondering why nobody can come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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