Cons about Kumoricon 2013 (and suggestions for next year)

[CaptnPoptart]

Ho Hum...Kumoricon 2013...Honestly, It was fun, but not as fun as years past :\


And there are some cons here I'd like to speak about.


1. There was confusion about lines ESPECIALLY Day 2. My friend and I wanted to go to Christopher Sabat's autograph session, so we arrive near the place a half-hour before the even starts. maybe more! And we see no line present so we asked a staff member where the line is or where it starts. After discussing/arguing with another staff member or something, she tells us there wasnt a line made and tells us to line up by a wall. Great we're first in line. Apparently not. Another staff member goes to us and asks us what we're lined up for. When we said the autograph session, he tells us the line for it is outside. Outside. So we walk out where he told us too, and already there's this long line of people, and so we walk down it and get to the end, finally. So we were one of the last ones in line. What a shame. We were LUCKY ENOUGH TO STAND IN LINE FOR AT LEAST AN HOUR AND GET OUR AUTOGRAPHS, but because of that I missed a photoshoot I wanted to go to. So PLEASE, FOR NEXT YEAR: Keep lines organized and know where they are. You would make my con year.


2. Immediately, Day 1, there is a conflict. My friend and I pre-registered for the convention and we get in line to get our badges. Only to find out that my friend's registration info was lost or not received or something. So she's trying to call her mom and freaking the hell out and getting really stressed and angry about everything. So, after about an hour of trying to look through all her emails for the registration info, she gives up and goes into the long registration line for a few hours. Poor her


3. Also a con for me was my cosplays. I regret doing them. So very dearly. Now because of those errors I made of poorly putting them together, I'm taking cosplay so seriously now.


4. The Vendors. I got kinda lost easily in there and the line to get in I didn't know. I almost broke into there twice, with staff telling me about the line. But agreed with above, there wasnt as much that i liked and I just hope next year there's more.

[Derpyrainbowshy]

This was my first con. And on day 2 for the todd signing there was a lot of miss communication. The line was moved 5 times and the people who fallowed the 30 min rule were punished. I'm just lucky todd was willing to do a second signing because of it.  I was in tears and i wasn't the only one. and because of it todd didnt do photos. Thankfully they learned a bit from the misshape and for the chris signing there was a person with i sign and for the people who ere lined up before the 30 min he wen and stood behind them with the start here sign.

[RoriLei]

From my understanding, Kumoricon actually started in Springfield, Oregon until it got too big for their venue and they had to move to Vancouver. There was actually a rumor going around that they were going to be moving back to Portland next year, due to it possibly being big enough for the Portland Convention Center (though that turned out to be no more than a rumor). So this isn't the home turf of K-Con. Though OxFest is part of a nationwide program, making it plausible that they could rather easily move to a new location.

Even though I am an attendee to K-Con and not to OxFest, I have to ask, which do you think should have more priority? A musical event supporting people recovering from addiction that has only one day to celebrate? Or a convention full of anime geeks who have already had two full days to celebrate their love of anime? It seems self-entitled to say that we are any better or more deserving of the park than them. Especially when you look at the problem with kids throwing water at con-goers next to some of the tales of con rudeness.

In essence, I think it's okay to have whatever opinions about OxFest, but I don't think we have any more right to be there than them.

*Edit: This is a reply to some things I read on the previous page, sorry for any confusion.
I was not aware that it started in Springfield, I could not find any records of the locations of the first few cons. All I had to go off of was that a friend told me that it had apparently been in Portland a few years back. But, regardless, the point is still the same: Kumoricon did not start in Vancouver.

[superjaz]

From my understanding, Kumoricon actually started in Portland, Oregon until it got too big for their venue and they had to move to Vancouver. There was actually a rumor going around that they were going to be moving back to Portland next year, due to it possibly being big enough for the Portland Convention Center (though that turned out to be no more than a rumor). So this isn't the home turf of K-Con. Though OxFest is part of a nationwide program, making it plausible that they could rather easily move to a new location.

Even though I am an attendee to K-Con and not to OxFest, I have to ask, which do you think should have more priority? A musical event supporting people recovering from addiction that has only one day to celebrate? Or a convention full of anime geeks who have already had two full days to celebrate their love of anime? It seems self-entitled to say that we are any better or more deserving of the park than them. Especially when you look at the problem with kids throwing water at con-goers next to some of the tales of con rudeness.

In essence, I think it's okay to have whatever opinions about OxFest, but I don't think we have any more right to be there than them.

Not sure which post/poster you are responding to, or just in general but with "which do you think?" sounds like you are referring to a specific post. 

If in general-
Personally the complaints I have heard about Oxfest are not because they are in recovery, but because of their current behavior towards k-con attendees. I am sure people have opinions/experinces with Oxfest that are good but as this is the complaint thread, its understandable the opinions about Oxfest as an event are not going to be the best.
I have witnessed and heard rumors of rudeness and violence regarding both sides, no one is arguing both groups have rude people, that point is moot.   Cuz lets face it!
Whenever there is con or there are 2 events going on in the same space there is going to be friction, random examples:
year 2 there was another convention going on during k-con and attendees there were ripping up the elevator limit signs because they "didn't have to follow it", and then add VERY drunk family reunion people and some scared-of-cosplayers-so-better-pull-fire-alarm-happy people you've got some "good" times...
or year 4, one word weddings!... no we don't need main events....I guess...
Or down town double tree! Which I actually liked this event space a lot, tho no one broke into my car during con...

The fact Oxfest "only has only one day to celebrate" has nothing to do with K-con, and everything to do with their own event planners.

As I said before, the rights belong to city of Vancouver, (who rented the park to oxfest giving them the right to use it this year ) so the choice to who has priority to the area belongs to Vancouver and what is best for them in the ever-changing economy.

The subject matter of the event being held doesn't weigh in on that as they have to decide what is better for Vancouver, which includes other factors that are more important. I will point out that the city of Vancouver and all the local businesses are very happy Kumoricon is there, as it is a big event that brings a lot of money to the area that they wouldn't have otherwise.
If K-con attendees want to talk about raising money to rent the park to avoid that friction, that's their right and makes sense as attendees want the best Kumoricon the can get.
As said before that point might also be moot as who knows Oxfest may already have rented the event for next year.

*Not that it matters but actually K-con started in Springfield OR, and I have a couple of Salem and Eugene friends who would have been happy if it stayed in the area but with growth means moving around, and finding new places to fit  There was talk years back of the convention center, when there were going to build a big hotel near it which sadly didn't happen due to the economy*

[Washougal_Otaku]

From my understanding, Kumoricon actually started in Portland, Oregon until it got too big for their venue and they had to move to Vancouver. There was actually a rumor going around that they were going to be moving back to Portland next year, due to it possibly being big enough for the Portland Convention Center (though that turned out to be no more than a rumor). So this isn't the home turf of K-Con. Though OxFest is part of a nationwide program, making it plausible that they could rather easily move to a new location.

Even though I am an attendee to K-Con and not to OxFest, I have to ask, which do you think should have more priority? A musical event supporting people recovering from addiction that has only one day to celebrate? Or a convention full of anime geeks who have already had two full days to celebrate their love of anime? It seems self-entitled to say that we are any better or more deserving of the park than them. Especially when you look at the problem with kids throwing water at con-goers next to some of the tales of con rudeness.

In essence, I think it's okay to have whatever opinions about OxFest, but I don't think we have any more right to be there than them.

Point one - It actually started in Springfield.


Point two - A basic rule to go by when it comes to talk about next year is this: don't listen to it.  It's usually based on someone's hopes and absolutely no facts.


Point three - Regarding the park, they have the money and the want to rent out the park; we don't.  Our money and wants go towards the hotels.  Also, OxFest gets the jump on renting out the space before we get to, plus they've been there longer than we have.  Also, I think recovering from dangerous addictions is a MUCH greater reason than finding joy in cartoons and video games.

[Sven]

4) I understand that the slightly anime dating game 18+ gets too raunchy but it would have been nice to at least have another one because it was really fun and the line was clearly drawn which made it more comfortable. I would love to see more interactive panels like that. That being said, I also would like to suggest that 18+ should not mean we have to go all out disgusting and frightening. The line should still be drawn at R-rated, not X-rated.

I personally have never noticed that the slightly anime dating game 18+ get much, if any, more raunchy. Maybe more swearing, but as they make very clear: Innuendo is funny, Vulgarity isn't. Heck, I wouldn't mind having a second just regular slightly anime dating game without the 18+. I love it and always find myself with my face in pain from laughing and smiling so hard (something I almost never get to do)

I have never been to the 18+ one. But I was told it was cancelled for that reason.

Hi I'm Sven and I run the Slightly Anime Dating Game. Can I ask who told you that our 18+ game was pulled for being to raunchy? This is simply not true. The only reason we did not do one was we did not put in a request for it. The group has been very busy with our every day jobs and such and so just did not have the time to put together 2 full games of the quality we try to maintain. So we decided to just focus on our all ages game as more people have the opportunity to attend. We very much hope that next year we'll be back with not only 2 full games including our 18+ Dating game but with some all new programming for everyone as well.

[Sven]

I disagree that vulgarity isn't funny. If you can deliver something with great comedic timing, it will be hilarious. That said, adult humor isn't for everyone, and personally why I post a huge disclaimer before Cards Against Con saying that the content can get a little over-the-top and that we won't be offended if you want to turn back now.

The thing to remember is you know how comedic timing works. My "innuendo, vulgarity" speech is designed simply to make some of our contestants think for a second longer before they say something. It's also why I am often the dirtiest person on stage. I do agree we have different comedic styles and I for one am glade for it! Maybe with 4 days next year we can attend each others events a bit more instead of always running at the same time.

[GregAtlas]

I disagree that vulgarity isn't funny. If you can deliver something with great comedic timing, it will be hilarious. That said, adult humor isn't for everyone, and personally why I post a huge disclaimer before Cards Against Con saying that the content can get a little over-the-top and that we won't be offended if you want to turn back now.

The thing to remember is you know how comedic timing works. My "innuendo, vulgarity" speech is designed simply to make some of our contestants think for a second longer before they say something. It's also why I am often the dirtiest person on stage. I do agree we have different comedic styles and I for one am glade for it! Maybe with 4 days next year we can attend each others events a bit more instead of always running at the same time.

Already looking forward to it.
I hope this new schedule works out. It seems like a tiny step before moving up to the convention center. I'm still curious on what the attendance numbers have been over the past few years. This year actually felt like we did outgrow the two hotels and the park in some ways.

[DarkStar]

I'm still curious on what the attendance numbers have been over the past few years. This year actually felt like we did outgrow the two hotels and the park in some ways.

Totals from https://www.kumoricon.org/history:


2003: 422
2004: 1284
2005: 1790
2006: 2327
2007: 3133
2008: 4610
2009: 4761
2010: 4271
2011: 4182
2012: 5023
2013: ~6200


I also heard our median age is "aging" as well, but I don't have any firm statistics for that...

[wana10]

The largest con for me this year was the swag bag, and that's mainly just because it worried me about the future of kumoricon. What worried me about it? The fact that it was empty, and the fact that the staff didn't seem to care. Now I'm not saying that I deserve piles of free stuff just for showing up but there was nothing in the bag beyond the colour con guide and the b+w con guide. Years past you've had to sort through a pile of advertisements to find the guide, not this year though. Does that mean that the anime and scifi production companies, not to mention local businesses, don't think it's worth advertising at the con? That thought worries me. As for the staff not caring; when i picked up my badge the staff member said something along the lines of "head down that way to pick up your swag bag. lots of cool stuff in there" which just served to draw attention to the fact that there was nothing in there which in turn just added to the worry.


And it wasn't just the swag bag but the vendors hall as well. Last year stands like funimation had those cheesy(and yet awesome) dbz hair headbands and such whereas this year I don't even remember them having a stand. Other complaints about the lack of depth and breadth of the vendors hall have already been made so I won't expand upon that other than to say that the loss of big name vendors worries me. 


Finally the announcement that the con will once again be at the hilton/red lion. I like the location, it's not bad, but only for a year or two. This will be four years in the same place. Look at the Rose City Comic Con. Last year was their first year. They were at the Doubletree (remember that place from years ago?) They had 4100 people. This year, their second year, not only are they renting out half the convention center for a weekend, they also have a cheaper badge price, better and more numerous vendors, bigger and better guests of honour, and I can pretty much guarantee that their numbers will swamp kumoricons. In just two years. Well done to them but it adds to my feeling that kumoricon is floundering without a clear vision of where it's going.

[veraca]

Of course the Rose City Comic Con can rent out the convention space- they're predicting a large jump in attendees strictly from the fact that it's a "Comic Con". This is similar to how Emerald City Comic Con is at the convention center; Conventions with "Comic Con" get attention just from the larger ones taking place and being in the news. I don't think they really need to do a lot of PR beyond saying "hey when and where!" That said, Comic Con's tend to relate more to main-stream stuff and sci-fi things from television--- which I have nothing against--- but that is strictly not the goal of Kumori Con.

As for the location being in the same place, I don't mind too much. Nothing really bothered me other than the late night panels being over at the Red Lion. Lack of space, lack of good lighting to walk there. The convention should, if possible, look into renting more of the Hilton.

And getting something done about that 3rd Floor issue- many times when I've needed to head up the third floor, I've been stuck with the elevators. I'm capable and willing to walk up a few flights of stairs if it means not having to deal with the elevator. If there's a security issue about the stairs being open, think of the people going up to the third floor already via elevators with very little (or no) staff present to police them. Yes, walking up stairs hurts. Yes, it's a pain. But if all I have is an issue that I need the offices on the third floor, can't there be an elevator dedicated to just that and free up the third elevator to "Guests Only". The other elevator, of course, should go to Vendor's and those with the need for it (I think it's called ADA?).

[JeffT]

Totals from https://www.kumoricon.org/history:


2003: 422
2004: 1284
2005: 1790
2006: 2327
2007: 3133
2008: 4610
2009: 4761
2010: 4271
2011: 4182
2012: 5023
2013: ~6200

You have changed them from the way they are listed on that page. Adding the paid attendance number to the staff number is not the way to get a total body count. Not listed are exhibitors, artists, panelists, industry, press, guests, and free attendees (under age 6). The paid attendance number is the primary number we have consistently reported over the years.

[VampireFangs103]

The last one also has to do with the dealers hall. Me and another roomie of mine voiced this opinion to the other rommies we had but not to staff because we knew it wouldn't get us anywhere. Having a line to get into the dealers hall a whole hour after it opened was really odd and seemed like it didn't need to happen. Me and one of my roomies got there at about 10:50ish and we were prety far back in like. It was about 11:00 or later when we got in. Not a huge problem or anything, just something that I didn't expect at all, nor did I like.


I think making the dealers hall in a bigger area should fix that problem though. so next year that may be something to look into.

Honestly, as far back as I can remember, back to my first Kumoricon (2007, which was actually at the location it is now), there has always been a line to the dealers hall after it opens on day one. :/ That's why I usually wait a few hours to go down, and even then there might still be a line, but I usually get in within ten minutes. I would suggest going to the opening ceremonies (dealers hall usually opens around the time ceremonies start), and then wait an hour or two after the ceremonies before heading down to the dealers hall. I know that might not sound too appealing- I know the feeling of wanting to get down there right away and see everything available.


And unfortunately, I'm pretty sure the parking garage is the "bigger area". I'm not sure where else they'd be able to move it.

[veraca]

They have tried different areas. Since it was in the garage in '07, they've made great progress- it had terrible lighting, less fans so you couldn't breathe (it was a cooler year somewhat), and it was overall on the dark and tiny-aisle side of things. The last few years they've tried different locations between the two hotels, and it's kind of depressing to see it back in the garage- but they did what they could. I honestly think with the layout of the hotels, the only other area large enough for it would be where the Main stage is.

[reppy]

I don't really know what can be done about the dealer's hall. Even in extremely large venues, like the Oregon Convention Center, there were lines to get into the vendor's room. For safety reasons they can only allow so many people into the room at once. That's why you see a staffer clicking when each person walks by, and only allowing a certain quantity of people in. If a fire marshal came in and the room was over capacity, the convention would be in serious trouble.

[veraca]

If anything, they could try moving registration somewhere else- although anywhere inside with that many bodies will still be hot. The hotels just aren't equipped to deal with that many people in one area. They'd need a room with a large roof for the heat to rise.
But if the vendors could take up the entire garage area, that could potentially allow for more air circulation and possibly less lines.

[GregAtlas]

Where would you suggest to put registration then? The only other place I could think of that could accommodate that many people is maybe the place where card gaming was this year and even then there are traffic congestion places such as the double doors. That or have registration outside and I doubt there would be a single staff member that would put up with that kind of duty in that kind of weather.

[TalaRedWolf33]

I think we should move the Dealers hall back to the red lion, and put the AA back in that little building on the side, and use the garage for the gaming again. I dont know why people didnt like that set up before. I thought it was good.
I liked having stuff in the garage, only cuz it was closer. I did not like how hard it is for me to go back up from the garage, but that is all me and not the con lol

[GregAtlas]

The main reason to not have gaming in the basement is the fact there is no net access down there. That is fine for most (not all) of the console gaming, but for PC gaming it is not an option. The last couple years before now PC games were put in a little tiny room with only 6 machines able to fit and if I remember right they still had spotty net access. With how big the league tournament ended up being this year there will have to be a bigger solution instead of downsizing.

Some people come to con just to game and no cell phone access is another big hindrance when you're down there hours at a time.

In addition to these problems in previous years, the lighting was absolutely horrid photos and for card game players having to read small text. There also seemed to be a lot of unused space in the basement with that kind of setup as well so it wasn't very efficient (not to mention not having sectioned off areas made the entire basement very loud because in order to hear someone you had to yell over the music games).

I did manage to talk to some of the venders last year and they described the parking garage year as their worst experience as well, partially because there was too much space and competition, thus not being profitable. This might explain why the selection was lackluster as many have claimed since businesses are not going to set up shop unless they think they will make a profit.

I wish there was an easy solution, but it doesn't sound like there is until maybe we find a new venue, which would have its own set of difficulties even if it were at the convention center.

[acton]

 I was out of it for the last couple of weeks  I  do have a few thing I felt went wrong.
 
Reg line on Saturday:  I  was there when the industry gust of honor chew out the Chairman  about  long waits for  reg and pre req, for a while  Kumoricon was doing a great job, but now I think Kumoricon is slipping back to it old bad habits; my fried had waited in line for four hours to get in. This is unacceptable. Rose City Comic Con attracts far more and had less booth  space for people  who  were buying  tickets that day and by 11:00 am  there was hardly a line, if Rose City Comic con can do it so can Kumoricon! 
 
I tried to get into the Manga Hell Panel but I was told the room was full yet there were still four rows of chairs unoccupied. Later Tod had his panel in the same room without any problem.
It seem a lot of industry panes were clustered around  Sunday.
AS for the dealer’s  den yes it was space but I wonder it’s a sign of things to come thanks to Ebay and Amazon.com 
 

[XxBelovedxSoubixX]

The biggest thing for me and the people I was with was lines. Not only were they unclear on where they were/started you would have staff sending you to different places only to have another send you back and then tell you to double up against the wall and then another would yell at everyone for doing so.
Also people would be lined up long before the 30 minutes for popular evens and they would be allowed to stay leaving people who follow the rules to be screwed over. I ended up learning the hard way that we would have to line up about an hour before an event to hope to get in because no one was going to make people abide by con rules even though it was stated several times that they would.


Which isn't any of  the staffs fault I just felt like communication between themselves and between them and people arriving for events needs to be improved. My suggestion would be to have signs with an arrow at the start of event lines/rooms and/or to have a sign which can be held given and passed down to the last person in line that says which event it is or which room it's for. (Could be a white bored). It would make it more clear to everyone at least where they are suppose to be for the event that they are wanting to attend.


The ball was an issue too. Again it was communication errors mainly between what we were allowed to wear for shoes and where the line began. I had asked staff the first day of con where and when we get the tickets and I was told to come to the info both at 7. So when I got down there at 6:55ish and there was a line of about 15-20 people in front of the info both in there dresses and such waiting for ball tickets we got in line only to be told about 5 minutes after 7 that the line was outside instead of where we were informed it was going to be and by that time it was wrapped over halfway around the building. When we got in line we were told after about 10 minutes that people were being turned away for the cosplays that they were told they could wear before and that there were only about 250 tickets that they were giving out so we gave up because there was no way we had a shot if staff is saying there is 250 tickets and there are at least 400 people in front of us and the fact that even of we somehow made it up there we might be turned away for our shoes that was previously stated would be okay.

[prussia]

I usually don't post in the 'cons agenst con' threads but there's a few things that were p big cons for me.


To start off Badges Not only did I end up having alot of trouble figuring out where the prereg line was, but also I had ALOT of trouble asking the staff where it was. Some of them just didn't seem to get it? Like I had to ask 3 different staff before I was told the prereg line was actually inside. I'd ask where the prereg line was and they'd say something along the lines of 'oh if you aren't prereg'd this is the line you go to.' which was like, gee thanks, you didn't even moderately answer my question. Thank you.
Next, when getting my actual badge they asked for my ID to (And not only my moms for some reason) and so I showed them, and tried explaining that we had registered my badge under my preferred name, and that "Dennis Arndt" was indeed my badge. However, the staff member at the computer needed to get ANOTHER staff over to try to figure this out, and we explained the situation to the 2nd staff and he basically told the first one EXACTLY WHAT WE'D SAID 5 TIMES BEFORe but for some reason they got it this time??? Which made me a bit upset because I felt like they weren't listening to us considering they needed another staff to translate our sentences into the SAME sentences jkdsfsfsd


Next on Panels, I didn't go to many besides the ones I was in/running. The one I went to on sunday, the panel mod left the room soon after I arrived (Which was a good 10 mins before the panel was supposed to start) Not really explaining which mic's were hooked up, or anything. If I ended up having a mic problem or somefin I'd probably have had to go outside to get them to help me fix it. I guess it's just a personal preference to have the panel mod in the room but still. I was bothered by the fact that they weren't in the room also because people were crowding in the back and standing. I know this is a fire hazard to have more people than chairs, and I don't really know how to say "hey if you can't fit in a chair you gotta leave". Finally, during the homestuck Q&A panel on saturday, the mod wasn't doing much to keep a couple random people from entering the room before it started, luckly I wasn't running that one (I was just cast) and someone else asked them to leave.


And finally. The Artist alley/Dealers hall I really didn't like that the dealers hall was down by regestration, alot of people were confused with the dealers hall line and the registration lines. I wanted to find some artwork but I had NO clue whatsoever where it was, until someone told me late on saturday that it was /in/ the dealers hall? I feel like these should be seperate. Anyways theres my cons against con.

[Nayruenthusiast]

All I have to say is the video game tournament organization is always pretty bad. I personally only experience the Brawl tourney's tight schedule that is always broken but that is only because they are given an hour to complete each pool. Oh and "Chair" isn't funny anymore we don't need it to come back next year.

[JaegerDarkness]

Oh and "Chair" isn't funny anymore we don't need it to come back next year.

*runs away crying* YOU'VE OFFENDED ME!!!!! *starts bawling*

[Prinz Eugen]

Whenever there is con or there are 2 events going on in the same space there is going to be friction, random examples...

THIS ... has been the subject of many an entertaining panel at many sorts of cons I have attended over the years. Sometimes the panel was called 'Disastercon' - tell us your worst yet funniest logistical-crashes you have fought through, etc.
Usually this happens with smaller cons which aren't big enough to fill in / wipe out all the major function spaces at a hotel, or sometimes the hotel wants just a tiny bit more income so theyr rent out the remaining space to some other group -
- and of course they don't tell each group what the other group is about...
One time we went to an SF con which filled half the hotel. The other half was a Primerica event (network marketing instuance - think Amway + State Farm, or something...) To their credit some of the shirt-and-tie sales force did try to 'prospect' the sf fans (that can take some courage,) and some of them actually bought memberships to the con!
There was a furry con in WA which shared its hotel with a meeting of Mormon Elders.
 
 
 
 

[TalaRedWolf33]

Lol was that Rainfurrest? I went there last year

[Witchaven]

OK. I've seen several people mention the Dealer's Hall.
As a Dealer myself, I want to give some feedback.
First off, many people are mentioning that they didn't see a lot of stuff they were interested in. What specific stuff were you looking for? Also, is what your looking for even available?
I saw someone mention the lack of DVDs. At both Kumoricon and recently at Aki Con, I was the only vendor carrying any DVDs/Blu Rays. The reason for this is honestly that they don't sell nearly as well as they used to, and when they do it's only if you discount them (lowering your profit margin.) I have lost track of how many times I've heard "I'll just buy it online for cheaper" or worse "I'll just download it."
One last thing, if your interested in getting something specific, feel free to let one of us Vendors know, so we can try and have it in stock for you. I don't know any Vendors who will pass up an easy sale.

[Sailor-Jeimi]

OK. I've seen several people mention the Dealer's Hall.
As a Dealer myself, I want to give some feedback.
First off, many people are mentioning that they didn't see a lot of stuff they were interested in. What specific stuff were you looking for? Also, is what your looking for even available?
I saw someone mention the lack of DVDs. At both Kumoricon and recently at Aki Con, I was the only vendor carrying any DVDs/Blu Rays. The reason for this is honestly that they don't sell nearly as well as they used to, and when they do it's only if you discount them (lowering your profit margin.) I have lost track of how many times I've heard "I'll just buy it online for cheaper" or worse "I'll just download it."
One last thing, if your interested in getting something specific, feel free to let one of us Vendors know, so we can try and have it in stock for you. I don't know any Vendors who will pass up an easy sale.

I've kinda wondered what people could honestly be looking for if not a single vender has what they want..


You guys do realize that they put out what's popular right? You aren't gonna find that super rare statue from a series no one has heard of..I should know..I've been looking everywhere for things from the Nanoha series..Never found one..Know why? It's not something that will rake in the money..They need to sell the stuff they bring to the hall..If they bring a lot of stuff that only one or 2 people will even recognize, then it's not worth trying to sell..It takes away from the many other sales they will get..Working retail for a long time, I have learned this..People would ask if we can get in that one item that only a few customers will even look at, but we couldn't do that because we would lose money..Same thing here..


Now, if you mean "they didn't have that super popular series statue" there are many reasons..There are tons of exremely popular series' out and they can't all have every single figure and statue..


As for the DVD's, I totally understand that too..My old work sold dvds of really popular movies..We would maybe sell 10 in a month..Because what's the point when they can get it free online? No one seems to want to actually pay for things anymore..A lot of people's mindsets are "I want it cheaper (or free), so you should do it because I want it that way". And I'm not kidding..I get a lot of people asking for commissoins that act that way..They say "It's a hobby so you shouldn't charge for it"..Same here..


Sorry for the rant, but I feel people need to not complain about something like that..So what if the vendors don't have a toy no one's heard of..Go to ebay if you want it that badly..

[PaladinCecil79]

I have a couple of things I wanted to bring up regarding guests and voice actor panels.

The first is one that I've brought up before and it relates to voice actors. Earlier in the year, I suggested having fliers put on chairs at VA panels giving insight on how to get into voice acting. When I found out that it would take a lot of work to put into, I came up with an alternative, which was making them myself and handing them out before the panel started. I'm working on attending Kumoricon next year and if I can make it, what I'd like to do is before at least one panel, make an announcement at the mike that I have fliers with info on getting into voice acting and pass them out to those who have their hands raised. The fliers that I use would have info from voice actors that I spoke to personally and I would only do it with both the guests and the staff's permission. Over the past several months, I've been contacting voice actors on Facebook about this idea and so far, have gotten a good amount of advice on it.
I got to do it for the first time at Aki Con last month, which both the staff and guests were okay with and it went over very well. The info featured was from the words of David Vincent, who I spoke to in a PM at Facebook and I'm currently working on getting info from more voice actors as well. And I only do it with with words I get from VAs I speak to personally who are okay with me doing it.
If the con staff is okay with this idea, I'd like to suggest that they ask the voice actors if they're okay with it and will only do so if they approve.

Another thing I wanted to bring up regards guest and autographs. Recently, I've noticed that there are more anime conventions where guests have been charging for autographs and pictures. I don't know all the details on how those cons started doing it, so I'm not sure how much control convention staffs have.
Before I mention what I'd like to suggest, I want to say that I have heard a good amount of details on why it's been happening more. I'm aware that guests have extremely busy schedules and don't get paid for the conventions they attend, so I know it's done with good intention, and I agree that they have important needs. But if it's something the Kumoricon staff will or might have to give in to, I'd like to see if it can be done in a way that caters well to both the guests and attendees.
My idea is, if any guests charge for autographs, see if it can be done where the first item is free, but anything after will have a price. There are a lot of fans that like to have multiple things signed and because of that, it'd still result in the guests making a good profit, and it'd be a little easier for the attendees to save their money, since they already spend a lot on hotel and admission.
And regarding pictures, instead of doing photo booths, just allow fans to have a picture taken at the autograph session with their own camera like before. When guests attend conventions, their schedules are already busy enough and adding a photo booth would give them even less free time than before.

Regarding autograph sessions and guest photo booths, I don't know if any of this stuff has been considered before or will have to be done, but if it does, I'd to see if that suggestion would work.

[Randomman29]

It's probably a bit late but I'm hoping this year we can have free play in Pokemon and no tournament. 
But if we do have to have one have someone that likes the game, having shouting matches indoors is not something that is a part of Pokemon. It’s why I quit playing because the organizers think it is for some reason. I do get loving Pokemon, I still do I just don’t go to tournaments because no one else seems to. I did try to do one in Eugene at Cozmic pizza but still saw they don’t care about the players.
Look at it on the map then think how one of them told a kid playing with a beach ball “Play outside” at that place. It’s not Yu-Yu Hakusho.