Canadian Transformers News and Discussion Forum

[jtkv]

My thoughts are opposite to the bunch of you that are "disappointed". Of course, everyone has different expectations and entitled to their viewpoint.

I was only there for Saturday, so can't speak to the Sunday turnout.

The Good:

1) The dealer room had a good mix of Hasbro old and new, and 3P. I am not into 3P, but it is pretty cool to see the products on display. Chosen Prime had a great display booth and A3U had some nice show exclusives on offer and the KO MPP10 and Battle Damage OP. Unfortunately, I missed the oversized AOE OP at Slayback's table.

2) Lots of independent seller tables with older products lines were everywhere. So nice to see all those different eras together in one spot. There was even "home-made" items such as weapons and heads.

3) The dealer room was the busiest I have seen in the past 2 TFCons that I have manned a table at. It started at 9am and stayed busy throughout most of the day. The slow down came later at around 3pm onwards. This directly translated to more sales. Last year, it which just wasn't steadily busy all day. We just thought it was due to Peter Cullen, but it didn't improve even after he was done.
Combiner Wars was definitely popular... in particular Bruticus, and of course SkyLynx. A lot of customers did not know about Titan Returns.

4) Ladies!!! There were so many more female Transformers fans this year than last year.. Not just girlfriends/wives that tag along, but husband&wife and actual groups of female fans that are into the Transformers. It was definitely great to see the demographic expand from just "toys for boys"... Sure hope this trend continues.

5) Meeting up with board members to complete my deals that were pre-made. Definitely nice to see you all and your cute kids! It got hectic trying to meet everyone at almost the same time, but that's part of the fun!


The Bad:

1) There just wasn't as much quantity or variety in the loose items this time out. I could not find any ROTF Megatrons or AOE Op Primes. They were lots available last year. I am glad I made deals from board members beforehand, otherwise I'd not have gotten the items I wanted.

2) Some prices were HIGH! I can't believe some asking prices... wow. Example, CW SkyLynx for $50! I don't see how those vendors can sell anything... But there were also lots that were reasonably priced. There was a table blowing out MP Exhaust for $65, which went for $100 last year! So I guess it balances out.

3) I have said this before, but the venue should move around. Seems every toy con is at this hotel.. The organizers probably made a good deal with the hotel, but really, the shows should be held at different locations. They really should also offer locations in the east and central parts of the city. East to cover Durham Region, central to cover GTA. They had a show in Richmond Hill a few years ago, and that was great.


Well, that's my thoughts.
Thanks for another awesome TFCON.