Rose City Con. questions

RussellLissau

If you've exhibited at the Rose City Con in Portland, I have some questions.

Is it an all ages crowd or exclusively adults?
Is it a crowd that leans toward the indie books or mainstream Big Two stuff?
What were your sales like, compared to other cons?

I'm packing inventory and can't decide how much to bring of what.

Jimmie_Robinson

Tough one.

I went last year. It was the convention's second or third year running, but it was the first time the convention was located in the city's main convention center (prior to that it was in hotel venues).

I'd say the event skews a bit toward the family side, but not by much. I did see a lot of kids there. The con even had a pet adoption booth in the artist area. Nothing makes little kids squeal more than puppies and kittens. The animal handlers would walk around in the aisles holding the pets. VERY friendly in that way.

But there were plenty of adults looking for stuff just like any regular convention, so a lot of the standards were very well accepted (DC and Marvel characters).

As for sales, I did okay, HOWEVER, Brandon Seifert should chime in here. Portland is his backyard and he was set up in the artist alley area, whereas I was set up in the retailer area (by way of a weird snafu).

The retailer area was brisk. I had people show up, but finding me among the cosplayers and retailers was kind of a surprise for some folks. The good thing was that I didn't have to compete with other artists, the bad thing was I had to compete with pop culture merchandise.

Also keep in mind that my table was comped, so I didn't have to clear $450 to get into the black. I drove to the show so all I had to cover was gas and hotel (which was across the street).

I had Bomb Queen hardbacks $20 each. Five weapons trades $15 each. Evil & Malice trades $10 each.
Bomb Queen is clearly for adults, the other two are geared for all-ages.

Bomb Queen won the weekend with a clear majority, so that might help you gauge some consumer metrics. Just keep in mind my location.

Overall / combined... Off the top of my head I didn't do that well. I clear over $900, close to 1K (but I didn't have to clear my table fee). The hotel was very cheap (since we booked early and used the convention rate), so knock off about $260. So while I did make some money I didn't clear a huge amount $700+.

But as I noted there were a number of factors involved.

The artist alley area (from my limited view) looked busy with traffic, but you'd need Brandon to post here about his experience over there.

RussellLissau

@Jimmie_Robinson, you are the man. What great analysis.

Being that it's portland, I wasn't planning to bring much for the younger crowd (which for me would be Reading With Pictures and Aw Yeah Comics). I was thinking to pack heavier on Kagemono and Omega Comics, being that they're indie B&W trades. I'm going to add some more of the kid stuff.

The organizer said they had 18K attendance last year and that they're expecting 25K this year. That's a nice-sized show for two days, a little smaller than ACen. I'm preparing to bring:
Kagemono: 10 copies
Survival: 20 copies
Batman Allies: 5 copies
OCP trade: 5 copies
OCP issue 3: 5 copies
Aw Yeah Comics: 10 copies
RWP vol. 1: 5 copies
RWP vol2 (the new one): 10 copies

Plus sketch cards and a binder of sketches/prints. RWPv2 sold tremendously well at WWC this weekend (30 copies for me, about 20 for Trevor), but they're freaking heavy and large, so I can't pack too many in my luggage.

marvinmann

I shouldn't be surprised if RWP continues to do well. Sounds like rose City is sufficiently family friendly and its a handsome package. But of course, weight is a real concern. Perhaps, skip a change of underwear?

RussellLissau

I expect it will do well.
Of the 59 copies I purchased, I have 29 left for sale. This will be the last con of the year where I'll sell it -- unless I bring a few to Las Vegas for the one-day show I'm doing at the Clark County Library. The rest I'll save for 2015.

JasonAQuest

I shouldn't be surprised if RWP continues to do well. Sounds like rose City is sufficiently family friendly and its a handsome package. But of course, weight is a real concern. Perhaps, skip a change of underwear?

They sell underwear in Portland. So don't pack clothes, or anything else you can buy after you get there. Sell enough books and you'll have room to pack the new clothes on the trip back.

I'm almost serious.

_Beth_Wagner_

I ended up doing just that when I was at the Zine Syposium in July.

Okay....I'm not going to lie...it was a bit of an excuse to do some south of the border shopping.

RussellLissau

Based on @Jimmie_Robinson's comment above and other insights, I'm changing inventory to:
Kagemono: 10 copies
Survival: 20 copies
Batman Allies: 5 10 copies
OCP trade: 5 copies
OCP issue 3: 5 copies (I can save them for a local show)
Aw Yeah Comics: 10 copies 20 copies
RWP vol. 1: 5 copies (And I may still eliminate these for weight concerns)
RWP vol2 (the new one): 10 copies

EricPalicki

Have you considered media mailing a box of books to Brandon (or someone else local) and picking them up when you get into the city? 

RussellLissau

Great idea