Selling at Anime Cons

[AuraAntiqueCo]

Has anyone sold any of their items at Anime Conventions?? I'm dedicating my summer to attempting this. Has anyone done this before?? Do you have any tips or ideas for selling at Cons??

I was also thinking that if there are a lot of us doing craft shows or selling at cons, we could have some kind of team banner or something to put on booths or tables to direct customers to the team in addition to our individual shops. Perhaps there could be some kind of incentive offered for displaying the banner??

What are your thoughts on both subjects?? :)))))


-Hillary

[Former_Member]

I just finished talking to my boyfriend about this last night because we've been seeing signs up for the Portland and Seattle cons.

I think business cards, flyers, a banner, or anything like that to direct people to the team would be a great idea.

An incentive would be a good too, though I'm not quite sure right off how to arrange that.

-If AdSense on the blog ends up making much of anything, we could use that $ to pay for signs/cards for the person attending the con. Thus far it's made a whopping $1.59 though so I wouldn't count on it helping us anytime too soon.

-If individual shops wanted to occasionally offer a small favor or trinket occasionally that would be something, but that's not a reliable incentive at all.

-Another idea I think would be worthwhile would be if any members were willing to send a couple items to the anime con with whoever's going. I'm not sure if this would be inappropriate because it's hard to trust people you haven't met in person not to keep your items or take forever mailing them back, or maybe the person selling things only wants to sell their own things, but I think if a few people sent some small/light items to sell that the booth you're selling at might attract more people because of a wider selection. Maybe shops participating in the booth could help pay for the team banner/flyers.

-Another idea, also based on making a group effort, I was thinking about combing through team members if I decide to sell at a booth somewhere and finding out who's in Portland or Seattle and if they would be interested in working with me. That way, there's no shipping and less risk involved. It would just be a way to have someone help you out a bit.

Last thing: Does anyone remember that Discussion about Team Grants? Perhaps not--it got no comments.
http://www.etsy.com/teams/7004/super-kawaii-pop/discuss/6757854/page/1/

If I'm remembering correctly, if our Team is working hard and being successful Etsy offers grants. They could be worth looking into.

I would be willing to apply for the Etsy grant to give us start up $ for people to get booths/make signs/etc if as soon as we feel ready as a group to pursue the matter.

I will also mail items to sell at a booth, accept mailed items (and send them back if they don't sell, or pay the creator if they do), or work with someone on the West coast to attend a convention.

[thepinksamurai]

Hey! I've done a few conventions over here on the east coast and they've been wonderful. Otakon, in Baltimore, is one of the biggest and artist alley tables are relatively cheap (especially in comparison to the dealers room) and you can request to be next to other artists. There's also Katsucon, Nekkocon...and tons of other smaller ones.

One year, I took samples and business cards from other etsy sellers and had a corner of my table dedicated to their promotion. It worked out really well.

Be sure to have business cards/flyers with your site and have a booth that people will recognize. I always bring a bright pink table cloth and lots of signage to set myself apart. And put some thought into your booth design. If you've got things sectioned out and organized, you'll pull way more people in than if you just tossed stuff on your table.

And you've gotta be a sales person! Talk to the people. I'm usually horse after the weekend but it's so awesome to actually interact with the people who are buying your stuff!

I'm still waiting to hear about Otakon this year...it's going on the last weekend in July I think. But when I know that registration is open, I'll let everyone here know! It's kind of the best.

[AuraAntiqueCo]

@thepinksamurai Thank you so much for posting! I'm definitely going to follow your advice!! So helpful!! :))

[Former_Member]

I've never even done an ordinary craft show yet >_< (this will change in the summer though ^W^)

but it's interesting reading peoples comments on both.
I'd love to sell at an anime con, i wonder if it costs a lot, depending on each convention i guess.

good luck to all who will be! :)

[panduhmonium]

Like thepinksamurai I've also done anime cons on the east coast. I'm also waiting for Otakon to open up their Artist Alley registration, but it seems there is a new AA head this year so that is why it is a bit later than normal.

I do well at anime conventions! I want to try some regular craft shows, but haven't had any luck with that yet.

Like thepinksamurai said try to have a recognizable booth. I tend to stick with a green color scheme because it reminds me of bamboo. Thankfully a lot of people get a kick out of the name "Panduhmonium" and they seem to remember it easily.

I think people would LOVE your items Hillary. There are lots of Lolitas at cons and they would love your cute jewelry. You can also do some fanart things if you want, but it isn't necessary I don't think. I only had a few bomb-omb charms for Otakon and the rest was original art and I did very well.

I think anime conventions are worth trying, but I would say they are more of a younger crowd than maybe a typical craft show. So if that is not your target market it might not be that great...but considering this group is called Super Kawaii Pop I would like to think everyone's work in this group would do well at anime conventions. xD

Also, @thepinksamurai I'm surprised I haven't met you! I've done Otakon and Nekocon twice in the past 2 years. o_o

[panduhmonium]

Oh! And I think a sign would be good! I'm not sure about a banner, because usually at anime cons you only get a 6ft table...so there may not be enough room. I think business cards too for the team would also be worth trying.

[thepinksamurai]

@panduhmonum - I'm surprised too! I guess it's hard to get away from the booth tho...I usually just get about an hour to do a quick run through lol. I've been to Otakon 3 times in the past 4 years. I missed it last year >_< Thinking about splurging for a booth in the dealers room this year. My boyfriend and I work on a lot of stuff together, so if there's enough time to get enough inventory I think it would be a blast ^_^

Otakon is the best imo!

[AuraAntiqueCo]

Thaaaaaaaank youuuu @panduhmonium for the confidence boost!!! ^_____________^ haha!! Honestly that made me so happy!!

[Former_Member]

I've been in a few conventions here in Argentina, I just can tell it's lots of fun ^^
I would love to participate in an big con as Otakon <3 that would be great! But here anime conventions are a lot smaller than cons like Otakon.

[MikariaDrake]

I've done a ton of them and here is my advice. Have someone to cover for you so you can run to the bathroom, get lunch or just stretch your legs. Check you business licenses, you generally need one for the city that you are in and then you need your regular state license.

For merchandise, have some higher priced items and then have some low and really low items. The low items will sell really fast, but you won't make much from them, but the higher ones you only need to sell a couple to feel like you've made a profit.

[MikariaDrake]

Oh, and don't forget to have change$$!! Someone always comes with a $20 wanting to buy something for like $3. Have business cards too and it doesn't hurt to have your table be bright or colored to bring people over to you.

[Former_Member]

Hi I'm new to the team but I've sold at Otakon before and attended both Otakon and NYCC. It's enormous fun and I second the motion to have someone cover for you for b-room breaks. I did find this website very useful in outlining artist alley selling http://www.projectbluerose.com/tutorials/anime-convention-artist-alley-survival-guide/ =D

I've been thinking of selling art Otakon again but won't do it without sharing with someone as I really missed out on a lot of panels and milling around with fellow anime lovers.

[TallRabbit]

I've never sold at an anime con but I think it would be fun!

[RainyIsle]

I've sold at KumoriCon in Portland, OR. I found that a lot of con-goers are younger kids (13-18) with not a lot of disposable income to spend. I had multiple kids tell me that they had no more than $50 total spending money past food/hotel costs.

KumoriCon is a smaller con, so this may not apply to all anime conventions, but when it came to the artist's alley people were looking for cheapie little fun things, not big ticket items. Things like charm rings, keychains, badge charms, etc sold well. Unfortunately they didn't seem to care if it was well made, just if it had their favorite character on it and was CHEAP. (a little depressing!)

So I would focus on the majority of your items being under $10, and then having 2 or 3 more expensive pieces, just in case.

[Former_Member]

We've done a bunch of general anime cons in the past across the US and Canada (AX, ACen, Youmacon, Ohayocon, Anime Boston, ACross, Colossal, NYAF, Otakuthon, Anime North, FanExpo, etc.) and what I've mostly noticed is that if you have the stock (especially larger-sized items: pillows, plushies, clothing, etc.) I find it much more worthwhile to actually get a dealers' room booth. It is a larger initial investment compared to an AA table, but it really more than pays for itself.

Advantages to this are:

- Obviously tons of space to have unique displays. The dealers room typically includes for each booth at least one table, a backdrop/divider, larger walkways, plenty of storage room & a place to sit privately/comfortably with at least one helper. Also access to power bars (sometimes for a fee, sometimes free) for printers, computers, credit card readers, etc.

- You can set up the day before (and usually even drive your vehicle directly into the building to your spot) and your displays can remain up in relative safety for the entire weekend (since they lock the room and actually have security.) Con staff will also bend over backwards for the dealers to help them out if any incidents come up.

- Dealers generally have multiple badges included in the booth cost.

- It's way easier to acquire a place in the DR, instead of seeing the AA sell out in a minute after opening and being put on an endless waiting list.

- And the one main advantage to the DR over the AA (that people don't often realize) is that customers will mentally budget to spend more in the dealers' room than in the artist alley. There is also simply more traffic, and many of our customers have told us that they were glad we had a full DR booth since they don't normally bother to fight and push through the artist alley and wouldn't have discovered us otherwise. (This is true even when we've had a dealers' table on the border of AA, just on the other side of the walkway. It's like some kind of invisible barrier.) Additionally, people are far more incredulous that your items are handmade, and will equate a greater value to a unique piece compared to mass-produced item that 10 other dealers also have.


…However - besides the price which is a valid barrier - in order to really consider a dealers' table, you must be committed to that task of selling for the entire weekend. If you really want to cosplay, compete, see guests, go to concerts, do the convention in any other capacity at all, you need to also hire additional assistants.

[AuraAntiqueCo]

This is all REALLY useful advice!! I've been really nervous and stressed about what I'm going to sell exactly, so you guys have definitely helped me personally!!

This is none of my business really, but does it work out to be somewhat financially successful for you? Like do you usually at least break even? Or do you mostly just do it for the fun? Maybe it's just the con's I've applied to, but the table fees are getting REALLY high. That and the cost of supplies and such makes me nervous!

[MikariaDrake]

For smaller cons I will usually split a table with someone and I always break even, for larger cons where the AA is in the same room as the dealers, I make a LOT MORE than when the AA is outside of the dealer room.

[TallRabbit]

Do people at cons only want stuff with anime etc characters on? Do they buy things that are not based on a tv show/anime series/movie etc but are your own original designs?

[Former_Member]

I'm going to be selling this April 2011 in Seattle at my first AnimeCon EVER!!! Nervous, because the staff at the convention, although it's been running for over 10 years, wasn't as responsive/supportive of those new to selling there... *eep! But... I think it'll go well, and I'll letcha know how goes!

For those of you close to Seattle, come by and say HI!!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/Ladykonnyaku
http://www.sakuracon.org/


xoxoxo,

Malia aka LadyKonn

[unatuna]

Wow, this is a great post. I have thought about doing AnimeCon in the past but I have not worked up the nerve yet. I have clip on cat ears that I think would sell pretty well there. Thank you all for the advice and ideas! Maybe I will look into one in the bay area in California.

[AuraAntiqueCo]

@ Ladykonnyaku about the staff.. I'VE BEEN HAVING THE SAME EXPERIENCE!! It's a smaller con, so maybe it's just from a lack of organization...but sheesh!! Everyone's new at some point!!!!

I'm HOPING to get a table at Youmacon this fall as well (I noticed a mention in an earlier post!) seeing that I live only few miles down the road from the renaissance center. However, given my experience with two of the other cons I was hoping to participate in, I'm a little nervous about it. I've been accepted, that's not the issue, it's the lack of communication and the one to two word answers I receive in response to my confused e-mails. I just don't feel very welcome!

Anyway! I'm really glad that this post has had many contributors!! All of this advice is fabulous and extremely useful to anyone attempting to gear up for a con! Thanks and good job guys!! Keep it coming!!!

[Former_Member]

I've always wanted to sell at conventions, but I don't understand how you can make enough to cover the price of the table!! @_@ The tables at DragonCon in ATL are $500! I think my stuff would do well, but not THAT well. :(

[Former_Member]

@TallRabbit

I haven't sold at any conventions, but I have bought at a ton. I usually buy whatever is the most adorable. I usually don't end up getting anything from an anime or video game. I don't know if that helps or not, but that's just what I end up doing. :3 I always want something cute to take home with me.

[TallRabbit]

Thanks Banananuthead!