Which Cons are you going to?

ZMan wrote:

Definitely come get me at Origins and Gen Con. I will be gaming in the evening, though I have been made Guest of Honor at Origins so I'll have some things I must do to fulfill that role.

Will do. I'd be glad to help you in the booth at Origins. I have committed some time to help FRED demo "Defenders" but I'm not sure how great a committment that will turn out to be. If we have time, we should grab dinner someplace. Since you're a foodie, I figure you've scoped out the best places to eat. (Though its hard to pass up on the market for diversity).

BGGCon is starting to look like a no go for me. That time of the year always gets busy. Still, I hear its a good time - and I love a good time.
That sucks that BGGCon is limited to one vendor. I really like thoughthammer and used to order with them all the time but more vendors means a better selection and competetive pricing. I wonder why they made that choice.

Steve"want to game right NOW!"Avery

The fact that the con sells out every year ( so far ) would lead me to believe that space is an issue. WBC didn't have vendors for several years early on due to space, and when they first had them at Hunt Valley it was borderline claustrophobic in the vendor room.

From what I understand they are moving BGG.Con to a much larger space in a year or two; perhaps then the vendor base will be widened.

Msample wrote:

The fact that the con sells out every year ( so far ) would lead me to believe that space is an issue. WBC didn't have vendors for several years early on due to space, and when they first had them at Hunt Valley it was borderline claustrophobic in the vendor room.

From what I understand they are moving BGG.Con to a much larger space in a year or two; perhaps then the vendor base will be widened.

Yeah, I think that might be exactly the case. The place was packed in like sardines last year, and this year they added 40% more tickets.

The vendors are good, but they usually all sell at full MSRP, which why wouldn't I just buy and support my FLGS instead?

The first ( and only ) Origins I ever went to was back in the early days of the Intrawebs back in 1996. Pre Boulder/Thoughthammer. But the decline of brick and mortar stores carrying wargames was already happening. As a result, the vendor room was packed and people were walking around with more stuff than they could carry.

Flash forward to today….people understandably gripe about MSRP at conventions. But unless the vendor is local ( like TH at BGG.Con or Barnes back in the AGF days at the Atlanta cons ) they have expenses as well. Booth fees, lodging, freight ( both ways in the case of stuff that doesn't sell ) . Other than hot new releases and/or boutique stuff that may be sold out in a heartbeat like some of the Essen stuff, there is no need for urgency on the part of the consumer. And then you can have situations where the consumer, more price savvy than before, will haggle to get Internet pricing from the vendor/retailer who has to sell a lot just to cover expenses.

I am not saying vendors can't survive selling at conventions….it just ain't nearly as easy as it used to be.

MWChapel wrote:

I'll be at BGG.CON this year(and with baby realities, that will be the only one).. I would like to get into an RPG or two.

I'll run some 4e, yo.

This is kind of off the reservation as far as a Con goes, but I'm planning to attend the Texas Team Tournament in Ausin come the second half of June. You have to understand that in ASL speak "Tournament" means an excuse for fans of ASL to gather, swap stories, drink beer and to play some ASL face to face. This will be the second year I've gone and I'm really looking forward to it. Last year I met some really cool guys and played all the ASL I could stand. Good times!


-Will

Sagrilarus wrote:

ZMan wrote:

I might be at BGG - they have done away with all but one vendor (from what I'm told)

That just happened to slip out while you were typing?

S.

I don't think it was a secret. If it was a secret - well, I do apologize. But I did say I "think" that is the way it is going to be but it is not definite. At this point, however, I can confirm I am not a vendor.

But I will most likely be there having a good time and eating lots of BBQ.

Zev

Octavian wrote:

MWChapel wrote:

I'll be at BGG.CON this year(and with baby realities, that will be the only one).. I would like to get into an RPG or two.

I'll run some 4e, yo.

I will play in it, fo sho...The new monk is out, and I am ready to test drive it.