Too many Shows at a time?

[Soundwaves]

Enjoy it while it lasts.

Bay brought on a huge influx of interest and money into tfs but it's already fading.

[xbrawn]

Another issue is the fact that there wasn't a real attraction other than Morgan at the show, afx last year had Larry Hama, rocky Johnson from wwe and a guy whose name escapes me, a transformers comics I think. I really didn't see a reason to come for the casual read: gta fan.

[Gumby]

I get what you're saying about all the shows but it's up to us, the consumer, to pick and choose what shows to attend. Besides, like someone pointed out, why should one group not have their event just because someone else did? Heck, I'd love it if the TFCon crew did MORE shows a year! Since the Joe show we had up here was run right into the ground, do a big G.I. Joe con similar to the TF one. Great cross-promotion too since they share a lot of the same voice cast.

The AFE show this past weekend was, of course, great as always. I'd actually put the low turnout to having just a single guest this time around. The WWF personality does seem to bring in the extra crowd and another voice actor/creator usually doesn't hurt either.

[Hoffman]

FanExpo and Hamilton Comic-Con are different animals. As comic conventions, they pull in a much broader attendance, and are not focused solely on toys.

Likewise, the Hamilton toy shows are quite different. They are very small in comparison, and are more frequent throughout the year. (pretty much every holiday). You also get more general collectibles, people selling sports cards, beanie babies, etc.)

The shows run out of the Mississauga Hilton, which are all run by the same team, are actually spaced out quite well throughout the year.

With a bit of experience, it's fairly easy to learn which events best suit your interests and needs. If you're all about toys, the Mississauga shows are likely all you need. You could always hit the Burlington shows if they happen to fall at a time that you're looking for something in particular. If you're really bored on a holiday, hit up the Hamilton show, admission is only a few bucks.

If you want the pageantry and excitement of the big convention, then FanExpo and Hamilton Comic-Con might be more of what you're looking for.

It absolutely will become taxing if you feel you need to make it to every show. But as mentioned, it is often a lot of the same vendors attending the shows. Pick the few that beat suit your needs, and go to those ones.

[Shockwave 75]

Originally Posted by Hoffman

With a bit of experience, it's fairly easy to learn which events best suit your interests and needs. If you're all about toys, the Mississauga shows are likely all you need. You could always hit the Burlington shows if they happen to fall at a time that you're looking for something in particular. If you're really bored on a holiday, hit up the Hamilton show, admission is only a few bucks.

If you want the pageantry and excitement of the big convention, then FanExpo and Hamilton Comic-Con might be more of what you're looking for.

Pick the few that beat suit your needs, and go to those ones.

This.

My wife and I, and our son for the first time (and last time, for a while anyways) went to AFX, mostly for her. She doesn't go to TFcon, and she didn't go to Fan Expo this year (no guest interest & frankly too expensive for both of us), but the smaller, more general toy shows suit her purposes as she's generally looking for stuff like MLP, and various other "girly" toys.

It would be great if all the con organizers could have some big summit and evenly divvy up the year between each other. And it might even alleviate some of the "convention fatigue" that does seem to happen at the end of the summer, and may in fact boost attendance for some of these smaller cons, but probably not by much.

The big cons, like TFCon and Fan Expo, draw attendees and dealers from all over the country and the US. I doubt either from Michigan or Quebec (other than Protoman) are going to drive themselves and/or their stuff all the way to Toronto just for a 1 day con.

Hell, I won't even drive to Hamilton or Burlington!

[predahank]

I wish we had more shows on the west coast. We pretty much have a small "retro and relevant" swap meet and fan expo vancouver and that's it. Winnipeg gets more shows which I find strange as far as per capita. More proactive collectors perhaps.

[Robimus]

Originally Posted by predahank

I wish we had more shows on the west coast. We pretty much have a small "retro and relevant" swap meet and fan expo vancouver and that's it. Winnipeg gets more shows which I find strange as far as per capita. More proactive collectors perhaps.

All I could offer is a suggestion to get more local people involved. For instance Fan Expo Vancouver really isn't local(despite taking place there)and I doubt it caters very much to local collectors in the Vancouver area. It is like a big travelling circus with the same T-Shirt and collectibles vendors that make a tour across Canada in every major city. I went to Fan Expo Regina last year and there was hardly a vintage collectible to be seen - lots of T-Shirts though.

If you don't currently have a toy show in Vancouver then there is oodles of room for one to be organized.

Winnipeg right now has around 8-9 collector oriented shows per year counting our big comic con, which also attracts lots local collectors and vendors.

The promoter of most of these shows started these in the Winnipeg area nearly 20 years ago and it has grown from there.

[predahank]

Originally Posted by Robimus

If you don't currently have a toy show in Vancouver then there is oodles of room for one to be organized.

Winnipeg right now has around 8-9 collector oriented shows per year counting our big comic con, which also attracts lots local collectors and vendors.

The promoter of most of these shows started these in the Winnipeg area nearly 20 years ago and it has grown from there.

I guess I'll just have to wait till someone takes the initiative. It's easy for me to sit on the sidelines and grumble about it, but pretty much my plates full.

Maybe the "retro and relevant" show here can gain some more traction and become the annual big(ish) local con that I seek.

I'll be in Winnipeg next summer so maybe the timing will work out for me to check out one your shows.