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07-18-2016, 12:07 PM
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#21
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Location: calgary alberta
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Re: A little disappointed with TFCon this year
sadly,i wasn't able to make it this year,but from reading this thread it seems the biggest gripe is the overloaded amount of third party product.
I see it as it boils down to what's in the current market.
if you go to almost any toy sellers site(bbts/kool toys/amazon/etc), for official,you have either Hasbro or takara,and their meager few offerings for this year.
scroll down to the third party and blam....pages worth of aftermarket/3rd party products...
like others mentioned,it's nice to be able to see in person what you're actually buying before you buy,heck,tfcon's the only place where if you ask nicely,some makers like mmc or maketoys/fansproject will actually let you pick up and inspect certain figures....
as for side events,any suggestions are always welcomed to help make it a even bigger/better/more fun experience .
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07-18-2016, 03:16 PM
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#22
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Re: A little disappointed with TFCon this year
Quote:
Originally Posted by Robimus
I wasn't in attendance but stuff like 3rd Party panel and Flint Dille doing commentary for the audience while watching Transformers 1986 seem like really solid events.
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Yeah, I'll wait for a more general feedback thread to go into detail, but I just wanted to vouch for the panels having been *spectacular* this year.
The voice actor panels were entertaining (Mr. Corlett and Mr. Byrnes were chock full of snappy banter), with some seriously intriguing revelations and anecdotes coming out of the Dille/Gilvezan panel, in particular. I was actually going to suggest some kind of contingency plan for panels like that to go into overtime (if the guests are up for it... which Mr. Dille definitely was, in this case). As I recall, only about five people actually got to ask substantial questions.
It was also great to see the resurgence of more fan-generated panels this year. Ninjatron's panel of anime history/influences blew me away. It was like a full-on history thesis seminar-- a very thoroughly comprehensive chronology with a light sprinkling of WTF moments (I'd seen the Spider-man stuff before, thanks to Cracked, but some of those toy commercials were *bonkers*). I only caught a bit of the Eastern/Western comparison panel on Sunday, but it also seemed well-put-together.
... and yeah, the Welker panel and Dille TFTM commentary were awesome beyond belief. I mean, I'm sure everyone expected watching Mr. Welker's vocal mastery up close was going to be cool... but he definitely pulled out all the stops. And seeing Mr. Dille go through the movie scene-by-scene, and reveal all the original story ideas and the origins of particular lines was without a doubt the best 'Con event I've ever attended (having been to 3 Botcons and 4 TFCons)...
So for fans who tend to focus on the fiction, it was a dream come true. I guess for fans who are just into the toys, there weren't a lot of non-dealer-room options... should there be more kitbashing workshops? Do those still happen?
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07-18-2016, 05:01 PM
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#23
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Re: A little disappointed with TFCon this year
Quote:
Originally Posted by teruo313
My table as well as others in the aisle were comprised of mostly people just looking to sell out their own personal collections.
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Me too. I suppose I am guilty to haul in stuffs from the first two Bayverse movies again from yesteryears. :P Yes, TFCon is my way to sell out my own collections to free up spaces. I don't see there is any problem with that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by teruo313
It was really great to see Artfire's Japanese G1 figures there though. Seeing some of those figures in person was fantastic.
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That table is fantastic at least to me, too.
Yes, I have my shares of CW and what not but I did tried to bring in some older stuffs like my Energon, Galaxy Force, etc. stuffs. I have "Generation" stuffs like FoC deluxes and voyagers on my table, too. And there are dealers who offered G1 stuffs, for instance. In fact, I think the varieties of things offered are generally pretty good from enthusiast dealers like me IMHO. You can't blame big dealers for too many 3rd party, TR and Masterpieces offerings because those are what they do nowadays as a business.
As for having "dealers fatigue" I don't think there is a solution. I don't see a way the organizer can enforce with regards to the vintage(s) or varieties of things the dealers should offer other than the existing rules.
If there is any disappointment from me for this year's TFCon was the attendance. I don't have any statistics or proof but it was way less packed compare to the last few years. Also, the hotel management could be pretty mean to dealers now that it is under Hilton.
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07-18-2016, 06:44 PM
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#24
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Re: A little disappointed with TFCon this year
Quote:
Originally Posted by QuadESL63
If there is any disappointment from me for this year's TFCon was the attendance. I don't have any statistics or proof but it was way less packed compare to the last few years. Also, the hotel management could be pretty mean to dealers now that it is under Hilton.
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The dealer room did thin out more during the afternoon compared to last year I felt. One thing I noticed that certainly hurt my booth compared to previous years was the Frank Welker panel. Normally the last hour you get a little rush of people looking to pick up an item they said they would come back for, or people looking to get a last minute deal. Because the panel was at 5pm, the dealer room was dead for that hour.
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07-18-2016, 07:06 PM
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#25
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Re: A little disappointed with TFCon this year
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scrapmaker
^ If you have ideas for panels or events, you could maybe post them for the organizers to see and consider. If you have time to volunteer, that would help them put those events on as well.
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We ( as in a few of us every year) have suggested this many times but every year they ignore the suggestions and do their own thing.
The Attendance was pretty sad. I read an article stating there was over 3000 attendees but the area where the con was held said it could only hold about 300 people before it became a fire hazard. I did not see 3000 people at any given time of day. It was only busy in the morning and that was it.
I think it is because the con doesnt have the interest of keeping their attendance at the con. Most just when for the early admission, got their stuff then waited to see Frank or another VA before leaving.
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07-19-2016, 12:55 AM
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#26
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Re: A little disappointed with TFCon dealer room this year
True, the 3P stuff was a bit much but the only real disappointing thing this year was that my photo with Welker came out kind of bad (he's caught mid-face and so looks like he's having a stroke).
Quote:
the autograph prices did not match what was on the website at all.
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How so? Dan was $20 and Flint was free, both as listed on the site.
Quote:
I was also disappointed in the female transformer fans (I am female) at how they lacked in a sense of humour and understanding of the nature of the comic that was provided. I found it hilarious.
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Please elaborate because this does sound hilarious.
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07-19-2016, 01:02 AM
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#27
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Re: A little disappointed with TFCon dealer room this year
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gumby
Please elaborate because this does sound hilarious.
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The comic was taking the mickey out of some of the other conventions - such as anime north where some females dress in rather risque type costumes. Which is never seen at tfcon. Some feminists were upset about it. The comics that come with the TFcon entry usually have a sort of "off colour" type of humour.
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07-19-2016, 01:24 AM
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#28
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Re: A little disappointed with TFCon this year
Quote:
Originally Posted by Swalloweddark
We ( as in a few of us every year) have suggested this many times but every year they ignore the suggestions and do their own thing.
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I think I can pretty safely say that all the suggestions TFcon gets are considered. For instance Dylan's(Ninjatron's) panel was straight out of the post Con suggestions from last year. And it looks like there were three or four such attendee run panels this year.
Something not getting implemented is not the same as being as it being ignored. There is only so much room to fit in events, and only so much staff to go around.
I'm sure TFcon, based on past experience, is trying to organize programming that will be of the most interest to the most attendees.
Also, based on experience, I feel like there is no way fire regulations would say the size of space TFcon operates with can only hold 300 people. Events I've run in Manitoba, with maybe 1/10 of the space TFcon has, have a 300 person capacity. TFcon would be much, much higher than that.
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07-19-2016, 11:05 AM
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#29
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Re: A little disappointed with TFCon dealer room this year
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.
Last edited by jtkv; 07-19-2016 at 11:08 AM.
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07-19-2016, 11:35 AM
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#30
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Re: A little disappointed with TFCon dealer room this year
Was my first tfcon so nothing to compare it too. But i felt there were a few dealers inside that had more than just 3p. I went to the show expecting alot of mp and 3p and thats what was there. Hard to move retail figures at that kind of show because people are looking for the rarities. I found the tables in the hallways had alot of older stuff at great prices . Teruo313 had a great table, with alot of good stuff. I got all the stuff i was hoping for and more. In the am dealers room was busy as the day went on it thinned out. It was a typical show, some dealers had some amazing deals and others not so much. Some prices were fair and could be bargained with. Others had ridiculous prices on certain items as no one else there had it. Example was the ko os grimlock, one dealer had it and wanted $230 which is nuts. But thats how the cookie crumbles.
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