FA+
Shop
reposting a journal everyone needs to read
4 months ago
visit the link below to my new webstore Chakat Windshear's Wares to see what Japanese dojins, artwork, prints, fanzines, comics, merchandise and more that I may have listed for sale.
https://www.windshearswares.com
we can be also found auctioning at https://www.thedealersden.com/store.....ndshears-wares
https://www.windshearswares.com
we can be also found auctioning at https://www.thedealersden.com/store.....ndshears-wares
This was posted by Stablercake on bluesky. Stablercake has a shop at stablercake.etsy.com. I think that all people should read this as there is much truth behind it---being a vendor. I am one of the lucky ones to have assistants.
Convention Dealing Misconceptions: A Thread!
I think some folks don’t quite understand what we dealers do and I just wanted to clear it up a little bit! Not being antagonistic here or anything, just informative bc I think attending folks just don’t think about it!
First, when we get into a con, we pay for the table well before the con happens! It also frequently doesn’t include your reg, so tables can be 150-600$ or much more depending on many factors, including number of tables, the size/location of the con, and if you have assistants.
A big misconception actually for many dealers is that we all have assistants or even staff! I do this alone, most of my friends do this alone or maybe with their partner, all that stuff on my table I packed, drove, and set up by myself! Set up usually takes me specifically 2-3 hours, for some it’s More or less! Even some of the big booths you see are often just 1-2 people and I’ve seen folks take 6-8 hours just to set up! Dealers also come a day early in order to set up for the show and typically leave on Monday after tearing down completely on Sunday evening, but some leave Sunday!
We aren’t really there for fun! Frankly I don’t think I’d go to too many cons if I wasn’t selling (I’m not a crowds guy) and when the hall closes, I’m absolutely wiped regardless of the day. This is a bummer bc some friends I only see at cons so I’ve had to flake on fun activities just bc I can’t.
Now I stand at my table, not everyone does, but many do, and I stand the entire time (6-8 hrs) and typically don’t have anyone to take over if I’m tired! I’m the manager AND the only employee! The only times I have an “assistant” lately are if myself and a friend are sharing a A table and they can take my sales for a bit! If I have my own table or even 2 tables, then I’m SOL since I’m the one man show!
Dealers often get preferential treatment regarding hotels, most furry cons I do set aside rooms for us. This works differently for every con honestly, but if the con is In a hotel, the rooms are in that hotel, if it’s in a con center, the hotel(s) they block out for dealers vary wildly! I know there are folks don’t think we deserve that, but respectfully, I’m there to do my job and show up for the attendees and make it a fun show similar to staff!
Now I love doing cons, I know
I’m not a crowd guy but I love talking to people about my work and my process and see people enjoy what I make and feel honored when people want to take something I made home! But it is VERY exhausting! Everything you don’t see is honestly harder than the stuff you do!
We all have our totes and bags and toolboxes everything goes in, we all have to prep the product for sale (I have to edition, back, bag, and sticker price every print I make) and we all have to pack it and get it where it needs to go and it can be a lot of $$ and work! (I swear I do love my job!!)
We also talk to each other! In the community, I’m friends with mostly other dealers and artists! And this is important to note actually because often there’s a dealers only chat for each con and if someone’s being weird or doing something sketchy, we’ll all know in about 5 minutes :)
Those chats also include staff! So idk in case you were gonna be a fart to someone, you’re about to light the Great Wall braziers and now all of China will know you’re there :)
Oh I did forget, load in and out are always terrible even if the staff has made it as painless as possible just bc dragging a Subaru forester’s ass full of crap ANYWHERE is gonna be exhausting, tho the drive-by table side drop off of AC is the best :)
Quick addition, if a table has things you’re allowed to touch or flip through, please put it back the way you found it! I put them out that way on purpose!
Perhaps a quick word on how much we invest in doing cons? Besides table fees, registration, driving, and hotels, there's so much more! SIGNS, STOCK, LIGHTS, BATTERIES, CARTS, TOTES, ORGANIZERS, POS DEVICES, BAGS, ENVELOPES, STIFFENERS, ADVERTISING, SAMPLES, MAGNETS, ZIP TIES, CHANGE, BOARDS, TABLECLOTHS, ORGANIZERS, PRICE LABELERS, FREEBIES, SNACKS, SANITIZER, THE LIST GOES ON and everything, absolutely everything costs money. We lay out so much cash to do a show that its positively heartbreaking when stuff doesn't sell!
Convention Dealing Misconceptions: A Thread!
I think some folks don’t quite understand what we dealers do and I just wanted to clear it up a little bit! Not being antagonistic here or anything, just informative bc I think attending folks just don’t think about it!
First, when we get into a con, we pay for the table well before the con happens! It also frequently doesn’t include your reg, so tables can be 150-600$ or much more depending on many factors, including number of tables, the size/location of the con, and if you have assistants.
A big misconception actually for many dealers is that we all have assistants or even staff! I do this alone, most of my friends do this alone or maybe with their partner, all that stuff on my table I packed, drove, and set up by myself! Set up usually takes me specifically 2-3 hours, for some it’s More or less! Even some of the big booths you see are often just 1-2 people and I’ve seen folks take 6-8 hours just to set up! Dealers also come a day early in order to set up for the show and typically leave on Monday after tearing down completely on Sunday evening, but some leave Sunday!
We aren’t really there for fun! Frankly I don’t think I’d go to too many cons if I wasn’t selling (I’m not a crowds guy) and when the hall closes, I’m absolutely wiped regardless of the day. This is a bummer bc some friends I only see at cons so I’ve had to flake on fun activities just bc I can’t.
Now I stand at my table, not everyone does, but many do, and I stand the entire time (6-8 hrs) and typically don’t have anyone to take over if I’m tired! I’m the manager AND the only employee! The only times I have an “assistant” lately are if myself and a friend are sharing a A table and they can take my sales for a bit! If I have my own table or even 2 tables, then I’m SOL since I’m the one man show!
Dealers often get preferential treatment regarding hotels, most furry cons I do set aside rooms for us. This works differently for every con honestly, but if the con is In a hotel, the rooms are in that hotel, if it’s in a con center, the hotel(s) they block out for dealers vary wildly! I know there are folks don’t think we deserve that, but respectfully, I’m there to do my job and show up for the attendees and make it a fun show similar to staff!
Now I love doing cons, I know
I’m not a crowd guy but I love talking to people about my work and my process and see people enjoy what I make and feel honored when people want to take something I made home! But it is VERY exhausting! Everything you don’t see is honestly harder than the stuff you do!
We all have our totes and bags and toolboxes everything goes in, we all have to prep the product for sale (I have to edition, back, bag, and sticker price every print I make) and we all have to pack it and get it where it needs to go and it can be a lot of $$ and work! (I swear I do love my job!!)
We also talk to each other! In the community, I’m friends with mostly other dealers and artists! And this is important to note actually because often there’s a dealers only chat for each con and if someone’s being weird or doing something sketchy, we’ll all know in about 5 minutes :)
Those chats also include staff! So idk in case you were gonna be a fart to someone, you’re about to light the Great Wall braziers and now all of China will know you’re there :)
Oh I did forget, load in and out are always terrible even if the staff has made it as painless as possible just bc dragging a Subaru forester’s ass full of crap ANYWHERE is gonna be exhausting, tho the drive-by table side drop off of AC is the best :)
Quick addition, if a table has things you’re allowed to touch or flip through, please put it back the way you found it! I put them out that way on purpose!
Perhaps a quick word on how much we invest in doing cons? Besides table fees, registration, driving, and hotels, there's so much more! SIGNS, STOCK, LIGHTS, BATTERIES, CARTS, TOTES, ORGANIZERS, POS DEVICES, BAGS, ENVELOPES, STIFFENERS, ADVERTISING, SAMPLES, MAGNETS, ZIP TIES, CHANGE, BOARDS, TABLECLOTHS, ORGANIZERS, PRICE LABELERS, FREEBIES, SNACKS, SANITIZER, THE LIST GOES ON and everything, absolutely everything costs money. We lay out so much cash to do a show that its positively heartbreaking when stuff doesn't sell!
:)
I consider myself lucky, I have 5 tables this year and have 5 helpers ( actually have slots for 4 more helpers but I haven't had anyone else take me up on it).
And Anthrocon is always worth doing, even if you run yourself into the ground. The sales potential is the best in the fandom.