OMG WHAT?! ( Convention rant)
Okay, seriously. I can understand a new convention that's just starting up has some growing pains. Yeah, that's to be expected. But correct me if I'm wrong in feeling that this new convention just doesn't have their shit together. While I've removes names etc to keep form being terribly incriminating (and because I'm not trying to start drama over this) here's the timeline and messages. Forgive me if I'm a bit harsh in some of my comments, but I tend to be rather blunt.
August 2012: I get word of new furry convention in Missouri starting up this December. It's roughly about 4-5 hours from where I live. More than doable! Because there is very little info on the website, I decide to contact the con staff to ask some questions.
August 15th, I send the following e-mail:
Hello ___ staff,
I've been made aware of your convention in the making and being semi-local to your area (central Arkansas) I am interested in possibly attending your convention as a dealer. Your website is lacking info, so naturally I have questions.
1. Your convention is new, very very new. You have no reputation to pull from. What kind of guarantee are you offering your attendees and vendors should something happen to the convention? Naturally, my concern is thus: if I register for a dealers table and general registration and for any reason the convention does not take place, what guarantee do I have that I will receive my money back? Is there a system in place to refund all funds should the convention not occur?
2. For dealers, what kind of setup are you offering for the $60 you are charging? What size are the tables? Do they come with electrical hookups/power drops? Do you offer WIFI internet connections so dealers can use their credit card machines? What are the dealer's room policies on what is/is not allowed? None of this info is available on the website and being that you are about 4 months from your convention date, you should really have all this info out there for potential dealers.
3. Does the price of the dealer's table include memberships, and if so- how many? How do you handle table assistants?
4. There is no hotel info available on your website. Where is this convention being held? What is the hotel rate, what amenities does it have, etc? This is crucial info to know.
5. What kind of demogrpahic are you shooting for? How many attendees do you foresee attending your convention? I deal at most of the conventions within a 10 hour radius of Arkansas and I have yet to have heard about your convention. I was only told about ___ by a local Missouri fur. I would like an honest estimation of the size of your convention (how many attendees you've planned for) to truly weigh my options if the investment in dealing at your con will be worth the risk.
I understand the stresses of being a first year convention. I have worked many conventions as staff. It's not an easy feat to accomplish. But you are lacking severely in the info department, and I would love to discuss things with you. Please feel free to e-mail me back and chat about your expectations for this new con.
Thank you for your time.
August 30th, (2 weeks later) I get this reply:
Thank you for your email. I personally apologize for the delay in returning contact, however the staff member that you had contacted had mistakenly put his personal email on the website, and was locked out of it until recently. That problem has been rectified. Again, please accept my humblest apologies. For future correspondences, you may contact myself directly at this email, or speak directly with our vendor coordinator at ____.
As a first year convention, we greatly appreciate emails like yours, as they help us to provide what is needed to all who would be involved. *smile* Here is a link to our vendor and artist packet, which contains all of the information you should need: ___ If it is missing anything that you would like to know, please do let me know. Also, if you would like, I can send you a copy of our attendee expectations and demographics.
We also have just acquired a professional web designer, because though the site is updated, it is not pretty. We will have a much nicer, and more complete site, in very short order.
Might I ask which of our lovely furry friends told you about us? I would like to thank them. *smile*
Thank you again for your interest in ____, and your patience with us in our inaugural year.
Sincerely,____ Con Chair
Note: The information they sent was not helpful at all and did NOT address the issues I had with the dealer's room policy, nor did it answer my questions. At that point, I wrote off the convention as being really new, and that I'd wait and see what happened with and reconsider come the following year.
October 31st, 2012: Today, I was surprised to find this e-mail in my inbox. I also noticed it had been mass-mailed to other dealers that I know who work the same circuits I do. All the other dealers were large setups, many larger than mine, or much bigger names in the furry art world. People like Dark Natasha, Heather Bruton, Vantid, Nambroth, etc. Pay attention to the parts I've highlighted.
On behalf of _____Convention, I formally invite you to join us as a dealer/vendor this Dec.14-16th in _______Missouri. 2012 is our first year, and we expect about 700 attendees, all eager to buy your things to commemorate the occasion. Our Dealer's den is located right next to registration, and is one of the first things that attendees see when entering the convention. Tables are 8' long, and only cost $60 (one admission included with first table). Additional tables are available at a discounted rate.
Imagine all those people standing in line at registration, looking through the doors of the dealer's room, and getting excited to visit your table as soon as they get their badge. Dealer's table registration ends October 31st, 2012, and tables are going fast, so you want to purchase yours as soon as possible by visiting our website at ______.
If after reading the attached vendor packet, you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at _________.
I look forward to seeing you in December,
________Dealer's Den Coordinator
700 attendees for a first year con? Not for a tiny college town in Missouri, buddy. I've never seen a first year con draw that many people. It's personal opinion, but I think they're reaching a bit. Now see the registration cut off date. October 31st. That's TODAY, folks. TODAY! And when did I get this e-mail? That's right- TODAY. Seriously? SERIOUSLY? WTF.
I then went to check out the dealer's packet of info they included with the e-mail, and found this little gem:
"Juried: This is a juried show; an image of your booth from previous shows must be attached to the application if available. To ensure a wide variety of items for our attendees, as well as the profits for our vendors, no products other than those juried in may be sold at _____ Convention."
WHAT. Seriously, what?! This REALLY sends up warning flags for me. I have not only worked many many furry cons in the last 6 years, including some pretty big ones, but I've also worked sci-fi cons and some of the largest anime cons in this country and NOT ONE OF THEM HOLDS A JURIED SELECTION FOR THEIR VENDORS! Not one. Not A-Kon, which has over 10,000 attendees, not Anime Weekend Atlanta, which has over 12,000 attendees. I've heard of juried art shows, I know Dragon*Con does this, and I can understand it from an art show point of view. But con vendors? It pisses me off, as it reeks of favoritism. No dealer's den coordinator should have any say on how a vendor's booth looks, functions or the products they sell beyond what is illegal to be sold in each state. The vendors PAY for the space and the privilege of selling at the convention. Other than taxes and prevents prohibited sales, no convention should have any other say in the matter. None.
No, they got this response from me. Be warned, it's not pretty in places. I was angry, and I tried my best not to let it show, but I did want to let them know I was disappointed with them and their policies.
Thank you for your consideration in requesting Studio Neko-Neko to be a vendor for your convention. We would love to be a part of your events, however, due to some issues with the efforts on your staff's part, we will have to decline.
Your e-mail was timestamped as being sent on October 31st, which is your cut off date for registration for vendors. Surely you realize that this gives a potential vendor NO TIME to research your convention, nor to examine their own schedule and plan for your event if they've only just heard about it. I requested vendor information form your staff months ago and received nothing until now. So I was not able to plan anything in advance. Needless to say, I am disappointed, because according to your last-minute notice, it feels like you have little to no knowledge for what dealers have to do to plan their vendor spaces. Most of us plan a convention 6 months to a year in advance, especially when we do multiple conventions a year. Given that it's roughly 6 weeks until you convention, that's not nearly enough time to plan travel, time off from an employer, or even how to work around other scheduled events. And then there's those of us who hand-make our goods and with your convention 6 weeks away, I know that it would personally leave me little time to prepare a line of merchandise to be sold at your convention. And giving potential dealers notice of registration cut-off less than 24 hours in advance does not show a lot of professionalism on your part. I find this most disappointing and distressing. I live only 4 hours away from your convention, and I still don't have enough time to plan this event. That should tell you something.
What distresses me more is looking over your dealer's packet and finding the notice of "juried selections." The only control you as a convention should exercise over a dealer's wares and setup is making sure they are adherent to the laws of your state. Weapons, adult material, foodstuff, and pirated goods, etc. It is extremely presumptuous of you to request photos of a vendor's storefront in attempt to weed out the people you don't like. You may be doing this in an attempt to appear professional, but all you are doing is alienating people. It in the vendor's business alone to put together what works best for them. They are paying YOU for the space to sell at your convention and they alone should have a say in how their set up looks. You picking and choosing the vendors you like reeks of favoritism. I work several conventions within the furry fandom a year, both small regional cons and large national ones, and none of them place those restrictions on their vendors. I have worked national conventions outside the furry fandom at events with 10,000 plus attendees and even they don't have a say in how each vendor's space is set up. It is and should be strictly up to the vendor how their setup looks. As long as you have the "jury" stipulation in place, I will not be dealing at your convention, and will be warning others against you as well.
It's a pity, your con had such potential, especially with it being very close to home for me. But you have too many problems in your current setup. I would advise you to pay attention to feedback from vendors at other conventions, speak with other dealer coordinators. I would recommended speaking with ___, the dealer's coordinator of ___ and ___, who runs an excellent dealers den. Or ____, who runs the den for ____. Perhaps they can help you. Because while I believe you are sincerely trying, you need help.
Yeah, it's a little rude. But if these folks don't know how they're being perceived, how will it even change? Really now. I tried not to be overly rude, but I am not going to just let this slide. I would love another con close to home, but thwy've got to change some things first.
So yeah. I've removed names and such, but if you want to know the name of the con so that you can stay away from it, private message me and we can discuss things privately. I don;t want to intentionally start drama for this new con just because I don't agree with how they're doing things. I think they can do better, and I'd like to see them improve.
But look over all that again, and tell me I don't have a reason to be a little put out about it all!
August 2012: I get word of new furry convention in Missouri starting up this December. It's roughly about 4-5 hours from where I live. More than doable! Because there is very little info on the website, I decide to contact the con staff to ask some questions.
August 15th, I send the following e-mail:
Hello ___ staff,
I've been made aware of your convention in the making and being semi-local to your area (central Arkansas) I am interested in possibly attending your convention as a dealer. Your website is lacking info, so naturally I have questions.
1. Your convention is new, very very new. You have no reputation to pull from. What kind of guarantee are you offering your attendees and vendors should something happen to the convention? Naturally, my concern is thus: if I register for a dealers table and general registration and for any reason the convention does not take place, what guarantee do I have that I will receive my money back? Is there a system in place to refund all funds should the convention not occur?
2. For dealers, what kind of setup are you offering for the $60 you are charging? What size are the tables? Do they come with electrical hookups/power drops? Do you offer WIFI internet connections so dealers can use their credit card machines? What are the dealer's room policies on what is/is not allowed? None of this info is available on the website and being that you are about 4 months from your convention date, you should really have all this info out there for potential dealers.
3. Does the price of the dealer's table include memberships, and if so- how many? How do you handle table assistants?
4. There is no hotel info available on your website. Where is this convention being held? What is the hotel rate, what amenities does it have, etc? This is crucial info to know.
5. What kind of demogrpahic are you shooting for? How many attendees do you foresee attending your convention? I deal at most of the conventions within a 10 hour radius of Arkansas and I have yet to have heard about your convention. I was only told about ___ by a local Missouri fur. I would like an honest estimation of the size of your convention (how many attendees you've planned for) to truly weigh my options if the investment in dealing at your con will be worth the risk.
I understand the stresses of being a first year convention. I have worked many conventions as staff. It's not an easy feat to accomplish. But you are lacking severely in the info department, and I would love to discuss things with you. Please feel free to e-mail me back and chat about your expectations for this new con.
Thank you for your time.
August 30th, (2 weeks later) I get this reply:
Thank you for your email. I personally apologize for the delay in returning contact, however the staff member that you had contacted had mistakenly put his personal email on the website, and was locked out of it until recently. That problem has been rectified. Again, please accept my humblest apologies. For future correspondences, you may contact myself directly at this email, or speak directly with our vendor coordinator at ____.
As a first year convention, we greatly appreciate emails like yours, as they help us to provide what is needed to all who would be involved. *smile* Here is a link to our vendor and artist packet, which contains all of the information you should need: ___ If it is missing anything that you would like to know, please do let me know. Also, if you would like, I can send you a copy of our attendee expectations and demographics.
We also have just acquired a professional web designer, because though the site is updated, it is not pretty. We will have a much nicer, and more complete site, in very short order.
Might I ask which of our lovely furry friends told you about us? I would like to thank them. *smile*
Thank you again for your interest in ____, and your patience with us in our inaugural year.
Sincerely,____ Con Chair
Note: The information they sent was not helpful at all and did NOT address the issues I had with the dealer's room policy, nor did it answer my questions. At that point, I wrote off the convention as being really new, and that I'd wait and see what happened with and reconsider come the following year.
October 31st, 2012: Today, I was surprised to find this e-mail in my inbox. I also noticed it had been mass-mailed to other dealers that I know who work the same circuits I do. All the other dealers were large setups, many larger than mine, or much bigger names in the furry art world. People like Dark Natasha, Heather Bruton, Vantid, Nambroth, etc. Pay attention to the parts I've highlighted.
On behalf of _____Convention, I formally invite you to join us as a dealer/vendor this Dec.14-16th in _______Missouri. 2012 is our first year, and we expect about 700 attendees, all eager to buy your things to commemorate the occasion. Our Dealer's den is located right next to registration, and is one of the first things that attendees see when entering the convention. Tables are 8' long, and only cost $60 (one admission included with first table). Additional tables are available at a discounted rate.
Imagine all those people standing in line at registration, looking through the doors of the dealer's room, and getting excited to visit your table as soon as they get their badge. Dealer's table registration ends October 31st, 2012, and tables are going fast, so you want to purchase yours as soon as possible by visiting our website at ______.
If after reading the attached vendor packet, you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at _________.
I look forward to seeing you in December,
________Dealer's Den Coordinator
700 attendees for a first year con? Not for a tiny college town in Missouri, buddy. I've never seen a first year con draw that many people. It's personal opinion, but I think they're reaching a bit. Now see the registration cut off date. October 31st. That's TODAY, folks. TODAY! And when did I get this e-mail? That's right- TODAY. Seriously? SERIOUSLY? WTF.
I then went to check out the dealer's packet of info they included with the e-mail, and found this little gem:
"Juried: This is a juried show; an image of your booth from previous shows must be attached to the application if available. To ensure a wide variety of items for our attendees, as well as the profits for our vendors, no products other than those juried in may be sold at _____ Convention."
WHAT. Seriously, what?! This REALLY sends up warning flags for me. I have not only worked many many furry cons in the last 6 years, including some pretty big ones, but I've also worked sci-fi cons and some of the largest anime cons in this country and NOT ONE OF THEM HOLDS A JURIED SELECTION FOR THEIR VENDORS! Not one. Not A-Kon, which has over 10,000 attendees, not Anime Weekend Atlanta, which has over 12,000 attendees. I've heard of juried art shows, I know Dragon*Con does this, and I can understand it from an art show point of view. But con vendors? It pisses me off, as it reeks of favoritism. No dealer's den coordinator should have any say on how a vendor's booth looks, functions or the products they sell beyond what is illegal to be sold in each state. The vendors PAY for the space and the privilege of selling at the convention. Other than taxes and prevents prohibited sales, no convention should have any other say in the matter. None.
No, they got this response from me. Be warned, it's not pretty in places. I was angry, and I tried my best not to let it show, but I did want to let them know I was disappointed with them and their policies.
Thank you for your consideration in requesting Studio Neko-Neko to be a vendor for your convention. We would love to be a part of your events, however, due to some issues with the efforts on your staff's part, we will have to decline.
Your e-mail was timestamped as being sent on October 31st, which is your cut off date for registration for vendors. Surely you realize that this gives a potential vendor NO TIME to research your convention, nor to examine their own schedule and plan for your event if they've only just heard about it. I requested vendor information form your staff months ago and received nothing until now. So I was not able to plan anything in advance. Needless to say, I am disappointed, because according to your last-minute notice, it feels like you have little to no knowledge for what dealers have to do to plan their vendor spaces. Most of us plan a convention 6 months to a year in advance, especially when we do multiple conventions a year. Given that it's roughly 6 weeks until you convention, that's not nearly enough time to plan travel, time off from an employer, or even how to work around other scheduled events. And then there's those of us who hand-make our goods and with your convention 6 weeks away, I know that it would personally leave me little time to prepare a line of merchandise to be sold at your convention. And giving potential dealers notice of registration cut-off less than 24 hours in advance does not show a lot of professionalism on your part. I find this most disappointing and distressing. I live only 4 hours away from your convention, and I still don't have enough time to plan this event. That should tell you something.
What distresses me more is looking over your dealer's packet and finding the notice of "juried selections." The only control you as a convention should exercise over a dealer's wares and setup is making sure they are adherent to the laws of your state. Weapons, adult material, foodstuff, and pirated goods, etc. It is extremely presumptuous of you to request photos of a vendor's storefront in attempt to weed out the people you don't like. You may be doing this in an attempt to appear professional, but all you are doing is alienating people. It in the vendor's business alone to put together what works best for them. They are paying YOU for the space to sell at your convention and they alone should have a say in how their set up looks. You picking and choosing the vendors you like reeks of favoritism. I work several conventions within the furry fandom a year, both small regional cons and large national ones, and none of them place those restrictions on their vendors. I have worked national conventions outside the furry fandom at events with 10,000 plus attendees and even they don't have a say in how each vendor's space is set up. It is and should be strictly up to the vendor how their setup looks. As long as you have the "jury" stipulation in place, I will not be dealing at your convention, and will be warning others against you as well.
It's a pity, your con had such potential, especially with it being very close to home for me. But you have too many problems in your current setup. I would advise you to pay attention to feedback from vendors at other conventions, speak with other dealer coordinators. I would recommended speaking with ___, the dealer's coordinator of ___ and ___, who runs an excellent dealers den. Or ____, who runs the den for ____. Perhaps they can help you. Because while I believe you are sincerely trying, you need help.
Yeah, it's a little rude. But if these folks don't know how they're being perceived, how will it even change? Really now. I tried not to be overly rude, but I am not going to just let this slide. I would love another con close to home, but thwy've got to change some things first.
So yeah. I've removed names and such, but if you want to know the name of the con so that you can stay away from it, private message me and we can discuss things privately. I don;t want to intentionally start drama for this new con just because I don't agree with how they're doing things. I think they can do better, and I'd like to see them improve.
But look over all that again, and tell me I don't have a reason to be a little put out about it all!