LSARSWAL Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 What about having a show with either no or even a few guests? This should evidently be cheaper to organise, may make entry cheaper which could result in more people coming in. I appreciate that this may not be the most popular suggestion however I am sure the majority would rather have a show with few or no guests, than no show at all. I consider the shows main aim is for people who collect miscellaneous Collectables, not just autographs. Many dealers need these shows for their livelihood, which must be important in these poor financial times. Please let me know what you think Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicky Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 (edited) Many dealers have their own stores, online or on the street. I rarely buy from them anyway, I usually buy from other respected and known etailers who have a return/refund exchange policy. Edited May 18, 2009 by nicky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeyking Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 I appreciate that this may not be the most popular suggestion however I am sure the majority would rather have a show with few or no guests, than no show at all. i agree Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 (edited) If the dealers were to sell stuff you couldnt pick up in say Forbidden Planet or HMV id say yes please but there havent been many dealers at the past few shows selling anything you cant pick up there. At the last few shows there were no decent trading cards stalls or stills stalls selling anything other than the usual suspects.The dvds were overpriced with stuff you can pick up in Fopp for £3 going for in some cases x5 the price. Even the majority of Sideshow 12" figures that were for sale for £20+ you can pick up for a tenner in Modelzone. Maybe all the good stuff has been snapped up but i didnt spend zip on the stalls last show i went to whereas i spent over £200 the year before. Im all for a show selling memorabillia but give us a show that doest have the majority of stalls selling NU WHO toys because its very disheartening to turn up at a show ready to spend £200+ and all you can see is that bleedin gold packaging. Edited May 18, 2009 by Phantom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psychosis Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 The majority of people don't go to the shows to buy things. The majority of people go to the shows for autographs and photoshoots and talks, and happen to buy things to kill time while they're there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators DavidB Posted May 18, 2009 Moderators Share Posted May 18, 2009 (edited) Honestly, what with the cost of a venue etc, I don't think it'd be worth just having a dealer-only show. If people weren't drawn in enough by the guests, even less people will bother with the event if there's none. Dealer prices aren't THAT competitive to make it worth travelling god knows how far. It would likely only draw in locals. Edited May 18, 2009 by DavidB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor Who Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 To be honest, If there were no guests I might not attend. I might but I certainly wouldn't be rushing out to definitely get there as it's the guests I look forward to meeting the most. Money is also probably gained the most from the autographs and photoshoots so it might not work out for showmasters too well either. It's a good idea though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sazzra Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 If people aren't going to travel to Manchester for guests, I really can't imagine anyone doing so for a bunch of dealer stalls. If I were going to travel just to buy stuff, I'd go to London where at least you've got choice of stores in different areas. Something like that may work in the centre in MK with passing trade, but not in a specific, need-to-travel-to-get-there venue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 (edited) Ill admit there are only ever usually 3 people max im interested in at shows if im lucky and in the past ive used Showmasters events more for the dealers side but like the dissapearing unique little memorabillia shops you got in every city so too are the unique memorabillia stalls.Those days are gone. It just wouldnt work nowadays.We have a show every now and then in Manc that does ok but thats more for the comics and card guys.If they had a smallish comic and card heavy only show maybe thatd work. The current stalls are no longer good enough to hold a big event on their own in my opinion. It appears looking at the forum one of the ways to guarantee Manchester bringing in money next year is by getting someone from antiseptic teen girl sensation TWILIGHT to do a signing. Thats if Twilight is still popular next year. Edited May 18, 2009 by Phantom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfy_sah Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 there is already a show dedicated to memrobillia and there is another show that barely has any guests. the former is not worth going to with the reasoning that I don't spend a tonne of money and hours on traveling and £15 entry fee just to get in and spend yet more money on merchandise that is now basically the same dealers selling the same stuff at every show out there! True, I used to get a fair amount of stuff from dealers when I first started attending shows back in 2003; everything was new and shiney and wasn't all 8x10s, prints, trading cards and autos-which is what it seems to be now used to get action figures and film memrobillia you just couldn't pick up at the Entertainer, Toys R US, online/ebay or anywhere other than the shows, but as people have said, it's not like that any more as with the latter show, go to that because it's in such a central place and I don't normally pay to get in and it's usually to just see my friends who are going certainly not getting any autos this time, unless people ask me to get them on their behalf anyways, don't understand why people would pay to get in to a show in Manchester just for dealers when they won't come for actors, talks, photos and autographs also, to be fair, £10 early bird and £5 standard entry is more than competetive! as I meantioned, I'm sure another show charges £15 early entry and they are advertising a local show in Swansea at a very small venue and they want £5 just to get in to that, let alone a GIANT hall like GMEX and having 50-100 crew etc etc! surfy sah xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovbug Posted May 19, 2009 Share Posted May 19, 2009 Its good to think out of the box, but like David said, I think the main cost for SM is the venue, so having a dealers only show prob wouldn't really help. Personally i attend MAINLY for the guests, the stalls are like an addedd bonus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilvaNemesis Posted May 19, 2009 Share Posted May 19, 2009 I have to be completely honest and say that if there were no guests I definitely would not attend. The majority if not all of the stuff sold on the surrounding stalls, I can get via the internet if I really want it. The whole point of a show for me is to meet the guests in person, speak to them, get their autograph and if appropriate, get a photograph with them. If there's no guests, there's no point for me. Sometimes I don't even go if there are a few guests and I don't want to meet any of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerraHawk Posted May 19, 2009 Share Posted May 19, 2009 The last few shows I've been to I have started buying merchandise as well as autographs, there's impulse buying and postage avoidence benefits! If close I would attend without guests, I'm just not close! But you really don't need a large hall to run an event like that. Toy and antique fairs go on all year round - or at least used to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stavrosbel Posted May 19, 2009 Share Posted May 19, 2009 If people aren't going to travel to Manchester for guests, I really can't imagine anyone doing so for a bunch of dealer stalls. If I were going to travel just to buy stuff, I'd go to London where at least you've got choice of stores in different areas. Something like that may work in the centre in MK with passing trade, but not in a specific, need-to-travel-to-get-there venue. Seriously, what is up with people not being able to travel to manchester? If I can make it to LFCC in London once a year from there then most of you should have no excuse. If travel is too expensive then book a seat on a megabus coach like I do - both ways for less than a fiver! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sazzra Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 If people aren't going to travel to Manchester for guests, I really can't imagine anyone doing so for a bunch of dealer stalls. If I were going to travel just to buy stuff, I'd go to London where at least you've got choice of stores in different areas. Something like that may work in the centre in MK with passing trade, but not in a specific, need-to-travel-to-get-there venue. Seriously, what is up with people not being able to travel to manchester? If I can make it to LFCC in London once a year from there then most of you should have no excuse. If travel is too expensive then book a seat on a megabus coach like I do - both ways for less than a fiver! Bad choice of words - I meant that people haven't travelled to Manchester for the guests rather than they can't. For example, I'm perfectly able to get there (Glasgow too) but chose not to for the last one or two (can't remember) as there weren't guests I wanted to see and it wasn't worth the expense to look at some dealers' tables. And not everyone can do the Megabus thing - some of us live quite a way off the routes they have so however we work it, travel is a lot more than a fiver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howie Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 Would be like the Cup final with no teams Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerraHawk Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 If travel is too expensive then book a seat on a megabus coach like I do - both ways for less than a fiver! That depends on where you are based and where you are going to - city to major city is usually Ok, elsewhere no chance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 Im not being flippant but on the subject of a show without guests the last Eclipse show had 3 guests,1 major 2 minor and that was a wknd show. How did that work out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Showmasters Admin Too Tall Posted May 21, 2009 Showmasters Admin Share Posted May 21, 2009 (edited) Im not being flippant but on the subject of a show without guests the last Eclipse show had 3 guests,1 major 2 minor and that was a wknd show. How did that work out? But that was a weekend convention with a small 15-20 table dealers room. No one is going to pay £78 to come to see 6 dealers??!!?!?! Your comparison is a bit weak there. What is being suggested is an event with the 200+ tables like CMs. With a £5 entry fee. It's not completely out of the question. Back 6 years ago when I first started attending events, I went to CMs for the guests and to another event for the dealers. I would go there even if there were no guests for me. Because they had built up an amazing set of different and interesting dealers. 4 years later and 2 changes of ownership and it's a VERY different story. I wouldn't go if you paid me. It is possible to run an event with only dealers, but I agree it's a hard one to pull off. One, because you need to have very different dealers that are solely at that show. Two, because most people will not travel 50 miles plus just for dealers (however good they are). And we have people that travel thousands of miles for guests. Edited May 21, 2009 by Too Tall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 (edited) It wasnt a comparison i was just wondering what happens at a show with so few guests and i also didnt realise there was only 15 - 20 dealers tables. I agree with the dealers stuff not being as good as it used to be. Much like the interesting little record shops and sci fi shops you used to have scattered round every city which have disapeared so have the dealers selling interesting items. Edited May 21, 2009 by Phantom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Havok Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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