Comic Con: A Vendor’s Eye View
Image Source: Southeast Missourian
This past weekend, I attended my first comic convention, but not as a guest. My sister has a leather crafting business called LLSF Leather Goods, so I attended Cape Comic Con as a vendor to help her sell.
We arrived a few hours early on Friday and unpacked the cars. We set up the walls and draped a tablecloth over our stand. After the initial setup, we laid out all our wares and waited for the convention to start. My sister had handcrafted wallets, journals, phone pins, handbags, hair pins, and fox tails for sale.
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Image Source: Original Photo
The event got off to a slow start, so my sister and I took turns wandering around the convention to check out the other booths. There were various comic artists, and vendors selling Funko Pops, Squishmallows, and Japanese candy. One vendor had a sizable display of Lego minifigs. Among the most unique vendors were a Villainous Grounds coffee shop and a Cakes Reanimated bakery. We were right next to a Dungeons & Dragons vendor selling dragon egg dice cups and custom-made tables.
Another booth that caught my eye was Foam Forgeries, a vendor who made convention-safe weapons out of foam. Among his wares were a few Master swords and an Oblivion keyblade. I had a chance to hold the keyblade on the second day and realized how awkward of a weapon it would be in battle.
The Con featured the cast of RWBY and the actress who played the Yellow Power Ranger. They even had a Ford Mustang decorated with images of the RWBY characters while a projector played scenes from the anime on the car’s windows.
Image Source: Comically Inclined
On the second day there was a costume contest, so it was a little more entertaining to work the booth. My 8-month-old nephew was with us during some of the con and my sister had him dressed up in a Batman onesie. He loved seeing all the costumes and even wanted to go to some of the characters. The cosplay was impressive, but limited. One cosplayer had a dual costume with Link and Dark Link from the Legend of Zelda series. Several Batmans could be seen wandering around, along with Superman and a pair of X-Men.
The final day was a much slower one; there were a only few costumes here and there, but it was interesting from a vendor perspective. Several people had already spent their money, but others seemed determined to buy something on the last day of the con.
Image Source: Original Photo
All in all, it was an exhausting three days. The hours were long, and as a vendor, I wasn’t able to attend the panels or the ongoing Smash tournament. From my seat behind the vendor booth, the experience was more like a parade of costumed fans. My sister received several compliments on her work; a pair of vendors even claimed that our booth was the best-smelling one at the Con! It definitely helped that we had some of the most unique goods for sale.
I spent most of the weekend watching the booth or watching my nephew, but I was able to wander around the con a few times each day. Other vendors also took the opportunity to explore and made sure to stop by our booth. The overall atmosphere was that the sales were better than the previous year, but several vendors were conflicted about whether to return. Judging from the long line to sign up, however, it’s a safe bet that most of them reserved a booth for the following year.
It was great to see fans come together through their love of entertainment media. Even those that didn’t dress up sported their favorite series on t-shirts and handbags. The event was fun but, but personally a little disappointing; I felt like I missed out on most of the Con, but at the same time, I felt like I was stealing a peek behind-the-scenes.
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Source: Cape Events