Lenatalia Posted November 13, 2008 Share Posted November 13, 2008 I could afford to pay £10 for a guest encounter, or two, but I doubt they'd go for so little. The raffle is a good idea for the paupers of us, but I never win anything, so it'd be another epic fail for me. =P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clloby Posted November 13, 2008 Share Posted November 13, 2008 (edited) However this is resolved I'd like to say a couple of things. I understand people wanting the extra for free, but at the end of the day this is an "extra". It is not included in the ticket price and never was. You are not losing anything. It's just the same as ME auctioning the Saturday night meal, it's an extra not in your ticket price. You don't expect to get the meal for free! The meal is for a limited number of people and costs money to put on and therefore is a paid for extra. These Guest Encounters also cost money to put on and are for a limited number of people, so why the assumption they should be free? Furthermore, OK ME were good enough to give them free at Lockdown. This was because it was possible with the numbers to let everyone attend one. This is not possible at this event. It was a very nice gesture on their part at Lockdown. Please don't sully that generosity by now throwing that in their faces. The group shoot was given to everyone for free at Lockdown too, but is still only part of the Gold pass for every other event, that was taken as it was meant, as an act of good will on the part of ME, why are the free GEs given at Lockdown not seen the same way? I can honestly see this making ME not want to give ANYTHING free or put on any "extras" in the future in case it is thrown back in their faces. I have to agree with Lizzy on the point that these encounter things should have been announced further in advance than they were - even a few days would have been nice, just so extra money could have been arranged/saved. I did not go to either Lockdown or The Hub so have never heard of these guest encounters before, and had no idea of how these were organised. Thing is ME have opened themselves up to criticism by not being consistent in how these encounters are organised - Eclipse 2 is a very small event - admittedly larger than Lockdown, but undoubtedly smaller than The Hub - so at what attendance level therefore does ME's goodwill stop? Still think the raffle is the way to go if there is going to be a fee involved - fairer all way around. I'm sure most people wouldn't mind paying a few pounds for a raffle ticket to be in with a chance but will draw the line at paying c. £20 or so per encounter. I'm even confused about the group shots - free to Gold pass holders at Eclipse, but available to purchase for other ticket holders - no group photo at Chevron - and now apparently exclusive to Gold pass holders = this is one of ME's biggest problems lack of constency. I could afford to pay £10 for a guest encounter, or two, but I doubt they'd go for so little. The raffle is a good idea for the paupers of us, but I never win anything, so it'd be another epic fail for me. =P I never win anything either - but would pay £10 for raffle tickets for the chance - to go to even one of these things. A raffle would bring excitment to the event as well! Clare - who really would like a raffle! Edited November 13, 2008 by clloby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Bones Posted November 13, 2008 Share Posted November 13, 2008 Excuse me being stoooopid, but how can the GE be auctioned at this event when 2 of the GE will have occured BEFORE the auction!?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SerbianJanet Posted November 13, 2008 Share Posted November 13, 2008 It's not part of that auction. It's a completely different kind of auction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Bones Posted November 13, 2008 Share Posted November 13, 2008 oh...ok Told you I was being stupid. Where and when is this different kind of auction then?! (assuming that's what SM/ME were planning, I'm sure they have an idea of how it would work. I realise they are asking for input on this matter and may yet change their mind on how it works, but their original idea seemed to be an auction but there is no more known about it) I'm not too worried really as I'm not going to be shelling out any more money for extras. I feel the £88 x2 I've already paid is quite enough for what I'm getting. I can fully understand why others might be interested in these extras and that's fine, I hope they really enjoy themselves. I'm looking forward to the weekend. Eclipse 1 was BRILLIANT and I'm expecting number 2 to be just as good. One highlight I'll be looking out for will be Stuart trying to control the ever growing crowds who aren't supposed to be queueing yet.....priceless! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerraHawk Posted November 13, 2008 Share Posted November 13, 2008 Thanks, interesting idea, not sure how I'd feel about paying for the privelege of talking to someone if I'd already paid for other things. It's been done in Dr Who circles for a few years - as coffee breaks - but thats been for charity and includes a signed certificate IIRC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crippsy_99 Posted November 13, 2008 Share Posted November 13, 2008 I attend cons by many organisers, and there are often surprises ranging from minor events right up to unannounced guests. It seems to me that the majority of people here want absolutely everything detailed weeks in advance? Have a little flexibility people! Budget a little bit of spare money and go with the flow. If you don't need it, don't spend it! And you'll also admit then at other organisers cons theres a LOT more on and to do Like sunday morning, most places start talks and all that 10am-ish..here, if we've got all our autos, the day doesnt start until 2pm! Anyway, the point I was going to post about, when it comes to people spending money, everyone wants to know well in advance if they have to spend more, and with the credit crunch, people just arent flexible when it comes to spending! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyT Posted November 13, 2008 Share Posted November 13, 2008 I did not go to either Lockdown or The Hub so have never heard of these guest encounters before, and had no idea of how these were organised. Thing is ME have opened themselves up to criticism by not being consistent in how these encounters are organised - Eclipse 2 is a very small event - admittedly larger than Lockdown, but undoubtedly smaller than The Hub - so at what attendance level therefore does ME's goodwill stop? Given Too Tall has said the rooms they're using for these can hold about 25, and they have 6 scheduled, I would say that their "goodwill" (or more precisely, the ability to give everybody a freebie) ran out once there were more than about 150 attendees. OK, I think the various options that have been suggested roughly summarise as * People have to pre-register interest in advance, either ** on a general level of being interested in the concept; or ** on the specific level of being interested in a particular guest. If it's registration for specific guests, then registration can be limited to * one guest encounter only; or * as many guest encounters as you're interested in There may or may not be a procedure to prevent people winning more than one It may or may not be desirable to find a way to "register" for a chance of a double ticket, rather than a single (but surely not triples, quads, quins etc!?) As for selecting the lucky winners I suppose the options are * You get one free ticket for each guest you're registered for, and if you win you have to pay a fee * You can buy one ticket for each guest you're registered for, and no further payment is expected from winners or losers * You can buy as many tickets as you want for each guest you're registered for, and no further payment is expected from winners or losers * You can auction off places like at The Hub, where everybody pays the lowest winning bid price. Charges and discounts * Presumably if you're only going to charge the winners, then the fee might be £10 a head? £20 a head? a fiver each? (I have no idea) * If you're going to charge raffle tickets, one would expect the cost of those to be less, especially if people could buy as many as they wanted. ** Whether any charges were levied equally across all ticket ranges or discounted by ticket class(e.g raffle tickets at £4 standard, £3 silver, £2 gold, or just £3 across the board) seems rather divided. I guess the other thing is that with 300 attendees and potentially 150 spaces, you have an even chance of winning (especially if nobody can win more than once). Take out a few people who don't like the concept, a few who refuse on principle to pay anything more and perhaps a few who can't be catered to if "double tickets" aren't available, or aren't interested for other reasons and you might find that most people who register actually go to one. (Which of course leads to another question - do you restrict each encounter to say a dozen people to perhaps help the atmosphere, or make it up to 25 to maximise the number of people who can attend?) Who would be a convention organiser?! So many things to consider, and guaranteed some folks won't like any answer... Best of luck to 'em, I say! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
such_jaunt Posted November 13, 2008 Share Posted November 13, 2008 (edited) Obviously as a gold ticket holder I'd wish for us to get it for free or at a discount but I understand if we don't. I think the fairest way to do it, is to offer out raffle tickets to those who are interested (maybe different colour for each guest to make it easier for you guys, writing ticket numbers on the counterpart). DON'T charge for the raffle tickets, BUT when people win, announce the winners on stage/on a notice board. Then they all pay £10-£15 each for the encounter. That way everyone has the chance to win (so it's fair), but only the people who actually get to go to it have to pay. I've seen it done elsewhere and it works very well edit to add: for those who want to go in pairs give the option to winners of buying a second ticket if they want (so you have 12-15 winning tickets and then those can take someone with them if they want (or not if they don't) both paying the charge of course. Edited November 13, 2008 by such_jaunt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss_G Posted November 13, 2008 Share Posted November 13, 2008 I wouldn't mind knowing what the situation will be before I actually leave to make my way to Northampton. I get the feeling we probably won't know until we get there now though, as Jason is bound to be up to his eyes in arrangements and quite possibly won't get a chance to log on to read all this, let alone make a decision as to the best way to handle things. When that poor man sleeps, I don't know! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovbug Posted November 13, 2008 Share Posted November 13, 2008 (edited) Did it occur to anyone to just sell the tickets as you would for photo shoots ... divide the cost of the guest attending by the number of attendees per session *(ordinarily add a small but fair fee for profit) and there’s your price. Have a limited number of tickets per session so that over selling can't happen. To be far to those who may not arrive on Friday sell half Friday evening and the other half Saturday morning. I aprecaite there may be concern about numbers queing for these tickets but realistically I doubt this is likely. Very few people seem to be willing to pay for this (myself included) in no small part due to the guests and attendees limited interest in them, coupled with a large number of talks which will most likely cover all questions. * I do agree that this is an extra and under normal circumstances a fee probably should be charged. However, considering the circumstances surrounding this event for example a guest line up that isn't as good as last time despite being promised a bigger and better event and almost 25% of the time we have paid for the event has no activity other than one you would have to fund separately. I think that perhaps it would be a positive gesture to offer these for free/reduced fees Edited November 13, 2008 by lovbug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queen_Sindel Posted November 13, 2008 Share Posted November 13, 2008 Did it occur to anyone to just sell the tickets as you would for photo shoots ... divide the cost of the guest attending by the number of attendees per session *(ordinarily add a small but fair fee for profit) and there’s your price. And sell them at the registration desk then? Technically a good idea, but it does have one huge flaw in my eyes. It might work for this event because it is rather small and it does not really have a "madness will occur by any means" guest like John Barrowman was at The Hub. People will queue for hours and hours to make sure they get a ticket if it is a really popular guest. People will get mad, the lobby will be full.... and such incidents is just what ME are trying to avoid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovbug Posted November 13, 2008 Share Posted November 13, 2008 Did it occur to anyone to just sell the tickets as you would for photo shoots ... divide the cost of the guest attending by the number of attendees per session *(ordinarily add a small but fair fee for profit) and there’s your price. And sell them at the registration desk then? Technically a good idea, but it does have one huge flaw in my eyes. It might work for this event because it is rather small and it does not really have a "madness will occur by any means" guest like John Barrowman was at The Hub. People will queue for hours and hours to make sure they get a ticket if it is a really popular guest. People will get mad, the lobby will be full.... and such incidents is just what ME are trying to avoid. Could be sold in advance for future shows, on the website for example as photo shoots are Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyT Posted November 13, 2008 Share Posted November 13, 2008 Did it occur to anyone to just sell the tickets as you would for photo shoots ... [snip] I aprecaite there may be concern about numbers queing for these tickets but realistically I doubt this is likely. If only a third of the attendees are interested in one particular guest encounter, that's still 100 people after anything between 12 and 25 tickets. Even with the nicest attendees in the world that could still cause problems. But I'll grant that it is still an option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crippsy_99 Posted November 13, 2008 Share Posted November 13, 2008 Sell them in a secret location!! Or sell in one place for 10 mins, but then move before word got out! That way no-one can que anywhere, and will be a first come first serve situation Could be sold in advance for future shows, on the website for example as photo shoots are Would start complaints from people not at the show that they never had chance to book and just favoured the attendees at the completly seperate event. Either way, people are going to complain no matter whats decided on, as you cant please everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovbug Posted November 13, 2008 Share Posted November 13, 2008 Treasure Hunt !!!!! Sell them in a secret location!! Or sell in one place for 10 mins, but then move before word got out! That way no-one can que anywhere, and will be a first come first serve situation Could be sold in advance for future shows, on the website for example as photo shoots are Would start complaints from people not at the show that they never had chance to book and just favoured the attendees at the completly seperate event. Either way, people are going to complain no matter whats decided on, as you cant please everyone. No sure I understand your point as it wouldn't be sold at any event they would be for sale on the internet like photo shoots or tickets and no one compalins if they sell out, although I appreciate that there is a much smaller number for sale. But as you say some people will always miss out but that goes the same for photo shoots and tickets to the event etc. anything with a limited number always has the possibitilty of someone being too late to get a ticket and missing out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babbler Posted November 13, 2008 Share Posted November 13, 2008 I think that the raffle idea seems the best and fairest idea. Some people will buy lots and some people will buy 1. Everyone will have a chance to get in then. Free would be asking a bit too much - though at first I thought it would be good to have it free but as they have to pay the guests somehow... dont want SM goinbg bust! If its not a raffle I wont go as cant afford much. More interest will be gained (and perhaps more raised!) from a fair raffle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crippsy_99 Posted November 13, 2008 Share Posted November 13, 2008 No sure I understand your point as it wouldn't be sold at any event they would be for sale on the internet like photo shoots or tickets and no one compalins if they sell out, although I appreciate that there is a much smaller number for sale. For some reason I had it in my head you meant sell at an event for the next one doh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Showmasters Admin showmasters Posted November 14, 2008 Showmasters Admin Share Posted November 14, 2008 ok most of you have been cool but its a sad fact that some have had to come on here and say the same old "its all about the money " "And you'll also admit then at other organisers cons theres a LOT more on and to do Like sunday morning, most places start talks and all that 10am-ish..here, if we've got all our autos, the day doesnt start until 2pm!" come on its not helpful we are good people and do try to be fair please every one wants freedom of speech & General discussion on here but with freedom there is also respect of that freedom or there can be no freedom of speech ? think about it please i know we all here will remember this thread in the future and it will influence future discussion threads on here so we can all work together to make the events work for everyone now we have had a good think about all this and we do still think the first thoughts about this still stand the fair way for most of the fans is to auction of the Guest Encounters off this way every one will get the chance to bid on an extra activity there will be an open auction and lists will be placed on the doors to the big bar were people can place a bit if they want on each day starting from friday and it will be called out around hour before the Guest Encounters takes place one last thing i think its better to be able to offer people these Guest Encounters than not and we do our best so its fair for most of you i hope you can see this i look forward to seeing you all at Eclipse 2 jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babbler Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 I ended up going to 2 of the encounters. They were really good and only paid £5 for Alans! :) Great to have a nice 'intimate' chat with him :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvyourlife Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 I was at Alan's too and I agree it was really great value! It was a lovely gathering and he told lots of interesting stories and stuff. A really good chance to get up close - and a fair system, since everyone that bid for it got in! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenix Will Rise Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 (edited) I went to Dania's (£8), and it was fantastic, she was soo open to chatting about anything (the talks even started getting a bit Risque.. much the pleasure of the guys there ), and such a lovely person! Well worth it!! Edited November 17, 2008 by Phoenix Will Rise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snot182 Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 i put bids on Stephen and Alan after enjoying their talk on Saturday so much and didnt mind which of the 2 i went to, i was lucky enough to attend Alans. It was brilliant to listen to him chat, the way he tells stories is great and he is really funny. Met him again later and he was really concerned it wasnt very good but like i said to him, i couldve sat and listened to him for hours. id go see in onstage in London thats for sure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gandalfia Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 i put bids on Stephen and Alan after enjoying their talk on Saturday so much and didnt mind which of the 2 i went to, i was lucky enough to attend Alans. It was brilliant to listen to him chat, the way he tells stories is great and he is really funny. Met him again later and he was really concerned it wasnt very good but like i said to him, i couldve sat and listened to him for hours. id go see in onstage in London thats for sure He was hilarious! I talked about my hate for Chicago the film with him. That made me feel goooood Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kneon light Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 I went to Dania's (£8), and it was fantastic, she was soo open to chatting about anything (the talks even started getting a bit Risque.. much the pleasure of the guys there ), and such a lovely person! Well worth it!! I was one of the blokes in Dania's as well and yes I thoroughly enjoyed it (It was risque from the start as the first thing she did when we went in was lean back on her chair and one of her buttons on the front of her blouse popped open!!) She was amazing and was a really lovely person. Was in James' and Stephen's encounters too. Paid a grand total of £22 for all 3 encounters which I though was incredible value. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now