Artists Alley Information Thread

Selling at Cons is best during the...

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[Hi no Neko]

Lookin' groovin', [Kako]. :[)

Leeegal bump!

[Taste teh Rainbowz]

Im back ;O
With 1 more question

Im going to fanime 08 and this is my first time going to a con.

1.I have no clue how to get a table there. Can anyone tell me how I reserve a table? And Im sharing one by myself.

[ColdHardBitch666]

Does anyone know if there are any other conventions in Southern California aside from ComicCon and AnimeExpo ?

[Moe SahChan]

Quote:

1.I have no clue how to get a table there. Can anyone tell me how I reserve a table? And Im sharing one by myself.

Most conventions have AA prereg on their sites. For larger cons like Fanime, they'll usually tell you on the website when they'll be opening registration a month or so beforehand so you can plan and stuff. Pre-registration is always a good thing to do, because for larger conventions, the AAs are so popular that it's probably impossible to get a table at the day of the con. I think at the convention, you can pick up a badge for the AA if you pre-registered.

Quote:

Does anyone know if there are any other conventions in Southern California aside from ComicCon and AnimeExpo ?

There's AniMagic in Lancaster, and I'm sure there are a few smaller ones... Uh... Pacific Media Expo has some anime stuff, I think. I've only heard of that one in passing, so I don't have much info on that. I think the city of LA also has a small anime festival that I've heard of... It's like the Japantown Anime Festival/Cherry Blossom Festival in San Francisco, I think.

[Taste teh Rainbowz]

P h 1 s h y

Quote:

1.I have no clue how to get a table there. Can anyone tell me how I reserve a table? And Im sharing one by myself.

Most conventions have AA prereg on their sites. For larger cons like Fanime, they'll usually tell you on the website when they'll be opening registration a month or so beforehand so you can plan and stuff. Pre-registration is always a good thing to do, because for larger conventions, the AAs are so popular that it's probably impossible to get a table at the day of the con. I think at the convention, you can pick up a badge for the AA if you pre-registered.

Thankies for the help

[Arkke]

Before I start off, I wanna say that this thread has given a TON of really useful information, and has convinced me I want to vend some wares at an Artist's Alley sometime soon. biggrin

OKay, so here's what I'm curious about--

Firstly, I'm totally artistically retarded. At least, in the traditional sense; I cannot draw or paint or do 2d art to save my life. Serious. D: Therefore, my intention was to vend some accessories and so-forth I've made. Cell phone charms are a particularly fond creation of mine. razz If I sell such things, is the art community going to shun me for not actually having any, um, talent? XD

Secondly, I'm concerned about some of the legal implications. I understand that no one really cracks down on fan art, but if a hat or something of the like is crafted after a character, can that character's name be associated with it at all? Like, just for the sale of example, I made a Cactuar hat, would I have to market it at a Cactus Monster hat to avoid the FBI party van? Or does this fly at conventions?

Also, I understand that SOME cons make you tax? Is there any regulation on taxes, or having to have a business license, or anything of the sort? I wanna be sure I can sit down, sell my wares, and not have to worry about government choppers descending on my apartment because I owe them money. :-

Lastly, I have a business per se, and I want to use my logo on some of my wares, kinda as a way to get my name out and get more people excited about my wares. Is this is bad conscience? I assumed it would be if I used an item modeled after another character, but if it's Cactus Monster rather than Cactuar, should I be in the clear?

I mostly just don't wanna break the law. XD

Thanks in advance for the help guys, and keep this thread going. biggrin

[[Kako]]

Arkke

Also, I understand that SOME cons make you tax? Is there any regulation on taxes, or having to have a business license, or anything of the sort? I wanna be sure I can sit down, sell my wares, and not have to worry about government choppers descending on my apartment because I owe them money. :-

I've never heard of a Convention requiring that you include tax. o.o; This is how it usually works:

To sell something legally, you have to get a vender's permit in your state(assuming you live in the USA. Otherwise, I don't know). If you have a vender's permit, you are required to report all sales you make to your state and are expected to pay a percentage of your profits in tax. The reason that you have to pay tax on things you buy from a store is that the store adds the tax to the item, thus passing the debt to you rather than taking it out of the money they make. Most people I've seen in AAs just sell things sans tax and pay the tax themselves, but if you wanted to I suppose you could pass the debt on to the buyer.

Putting your logo and the url of your website on items that you sell is usually really well received, actually. :3 It helps people track you down later on. Even if it's fanart, you're the one who made it and deserve credit.

Nobody's going to look down on you for a lack of drawing talent. razz It sounds like you have plenty of non-drawing talent, though, so don't put yourself down. razz

[Raven Grimme]

Been meaning to do this for a while...

Part A- Getting the table:
1. How many months in advance do conventions usually release tables, in your experience?
Depends entirely on the con. But check the websites and releases regularly and book early - some cons raise the prices of the tables after a certain period
2. How much does a table usually cost?
Here in Aus, it again depends on the con. Doujicon charges pretty much nothing since it's a small creator focused con, whilst supanova and armageddon are in the range of 2-300 dollars for a decent amount of table space.
3. How quickly are the tables reserved?
Depends on the con. Just don't d**k around, and make sure you book it early. Just because you got it easy the previous year doesn't mean it'll be that way the next.
4. What complications should one be prepared for?
People stealing your tables, people stealing your chairs, people trying to nudge in on your space, people getting tables mixed up, organizers not making clear maps, loosing your table amongst other people, expecting the table to be bigger than it is, and the list goes on xD
5. Anything else?
Don't back down. If someone tries to take space or tell you that you only paid for x amount of space, stand up for yourself. Some people at cons can be real jerks.
Optional: What skill level would you suggest entering the AA at? If possible, please provide examples.
Hmm, this one is tricky. Generally if you are an artist and you DON'T have a comic to sell, make sure you're pretty darn good, because your art has to stand alone. If you are an artist and you have a comic, don't set yourself up to be shot down. Look around at other comics and publications - are you in their ball park? Self publications do need to meet standards; remember that you are trying to be successful with your art here. There really are no set examples as to the quality of art you should have, but if you're not sure, it's probably better to check out the artists that are going first, and seeing if you compare. If you don't, make sure you bring a thick skin if you do decide to go.

Part B- Preparing to sell:
1. What sort of merchandise would you advise selling?
Anything small and cheap. Badges, Stickers, Bookmarks and perhaps small prints. Anything under $5 has a good chance. Also, consider doing what myself and several others did recently and sell $2 sketches of people. It may not sound like a good idea, but if you're new and having trouble getting people to buy it's great. We probably did around 100 of these between two people. Do the math folks, it keeps you busy and allows you to sell other stuff which people look at whilst they're getting drawn.
2. What sort of merchandise would you advise against selling? Anything over 10-15 dollars. Especially if you're just starting. You get the odd collector who will pay more, but really, people go to cons to buy lots of cheap s**t and a couple of books or fan merchandise. Why would they buy a $20 picture from someone not all that famous?
3. What sort of stuff sells best?
Badges seem to be the biggest hit as far as i am aware, especially if you do fanart.
4. Where would you suggest going to get things printed?
Local if you can. It minimizes the chances of thing ******** up (the Red vs Blue team recently had a huge blow dealt in Australia when all their merchandise went missing in transit). Also, get on good terms with your printer and try and get discounts for larger orders. You can save a lot of trouble if your printer likes you.
5. If printing at home, what preparations should one make?
Have several new ink cartridges, paper reams, lots of staples, enough laminate if you're doing that yourself too. Lots of anything you might need, or at least have access to more.
6. How far in advance should one have one's merchandise finished? If you're traveling, probably a week at least. Merch is one thing you really don't want to stress about. If not, a few days before can be fine.
7. Anything else?
When you print, do small amount at a time if you can. Some printers don't like large orders from drop ins or require prior notice. Make sure you don't leave ALL your printing for the day before.Try and have at least half printed two weeks before said con to be safe.

Also - sometimes you find that you only know one printer - look around. Compare quality. I found a new printer down the road from my old one which is so superior it's not funny - whether you sell well or not can often depend on the quality of your print.

Keep records of what sells and what doesn't. This helps for future planning.

Always print at 300dpi if you can. If you use Open Canvas make sure you resave at 300dpi, because for some reason my OC (the free version) autosaves at 72 dpi, which is bad.

Part C- At the Con:
1. How early should one arrive to be sure of reserving a good table? Here in Aus we are allocated our tables prior, so there's no chance of just walking in and just setting up wherever you want. So i don't think there's a problem as far as we're concerned.
2. When setting up one's table, what sort of layout would you suggest?
Stuff you want to sell most up the front. Have stands for comics. Have price stickers on everything and bright colours. Try to set up so that you can easily fix things up that get moved, and prepare for people to pick things up. If you have original art, get a folder you can put plastic sleeves in so you're not constantly worrying if you have the right art in a limited number of sleeves. Keep most of your merch off the table - one badge each on display and a for sale price sign is best. Having more up there often invites thieves.
3. There are some pretty bratty congoers out there. How would you suggest dealing with assholes?
Smile, clench your a** and wait for them to get bored and leave. Never insult con goers within hearing - they might be around the corner considering whether to buy your stuff.

Case in Point - i had this real creepy dude...who i thought was a girl...bugging me for a lot one day. My partner beside me made some veiled insulting jokes (the guy kept hanging around and WOULDN'T LEAVE, thus the jokes) and he left. The next day he was back, but definitely not friendly, bought the art he'd reserved and left. He will probably never buy again. Whatever you might think about the people, do not make statements of political, sexual or discriminatory natures, because this narrows those who will like you and buy from you.

4. Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. What issues should one be prepared for when running a table at the Artists alley?
Lack of change, lack of business, lost stock, lost food, lost everything, headaches, assholes, everything you can imagine. Just try and cover your bases as best you can and don't stress about things you can't fix.
5. Anything else? Don't stress. Ever. It does not make anything easier and just gives incurable headaches.

[Raven Grimme]

(my post was apparently too big, so there might be a couple lol)

EXTRA!

Clothing.

A lot of people don't consider this, but it's REALLY important. If you're cosplaying something skimpy, make sure you are going somewhere with heating of some sort. If it doesn't have that, bring another outfit in case of freezing our a** off.

Example: I was at a con in Melbourne. The weather in melby is a b***h which can go from like 0 degrees to 35 over a weekend period. I went down with one light jacket and some jeans. I ended up spending a lot of money on a scarf, gloves, and other clothing because it was so damn cold. If it's going to be hot there's not so much of a problem, but make sure you check it out.

Take two pairs of extra socks, underwear such. My partner only took one pair of socks; after 4 days we put the shoes and socks in the hotel fridge to try and stop the smell.

Traveling.

If you are crossing state/country borders, make sure you check the laws concerning this very carefully. If you're flying, double check your bags and equipment. Take no spray deodorants or large amounts of cosmetics, as these are confiscated in many places and it can be awkward without them (i ended up smelling of man for 4 days because of this mistake). Don't try and sneak anything through customs. It's just not worth it. If you must, arrange with people at the con or anyone you know in the place you're going to to borrow scissors or other stuff customs don't like. If you're flying over a country border, don't for the love of god take food. Just don't do it.

If you are driving, observe the food rule and make sure you only take what you need. Make sure you calculate enough money for fuel and have between 2-500 dollars extra in case of breakdown or higher fuel prices. Make sure you have a good spare tire. Take lots of different CDs or tapes. Drive with more than one person and take turns. Arriving late isn't that much of an issue; arriving dead because you fell asleep at the wheel might be inconvenient.

The Place.

Know where you're going and the kind of people who are there. Try and either travel with a group, especially if you have merchandise, or arrange to have friends or fellow vendors to meet up with. Know the public transport and get a map. Maps are absolutely essential. Find the place the con is at least the day before to avoid getting totally lost. Plan for travel times in and out of the convention and if you're alone or not familiar with the city you're in don't stay out late; it's better to sleep anyway.

Set Up.

If you can, set take a sheet or something and set up your stall (minus your money) the day before.This way you can play around with display and the space you have with relatively little stress, and it gets your stock there. Investing in a large plastic tub to hold everything for transport is a good idea, since it's also hard to just walk away with without being spotted.

If you can't get there the day before or get lost (like we did...several times) make sure you get up damn early the day of the con. Getting up at 6 meant that we were all set up, had coffee and were stress free when the doors opened - the guy who got up at 8 was rather late, panicked and had a hard time in peak hour traffic.

Take two table cloths/sheets if you can. White or black are both good ideas, although i prefer black as it makes white things (like paper!) stand out on the table. If you have a large table take more cloths. Also have one to cover your stuff for the night. If possible also take some safety pins to pin it down for a little extra comfort (people notice people struggling with safety pins xD)

Also, the type of wall you get depends on the con - always ask first. Here in Australia we seem to use a lot of felt backed walls - the little velcro spots you can buy from the newsagents are beautiful for this. They come off stuff reasonably easily, especially if it's laminated.

Your Pricing.

You might think you're worth a million bucks. Think again. Generally margins should be kept reasonable. Usually here in Aus bookmarks and badges sell at around $2, A3 laminated prints at $10-20, etc. Basically work out your production cost and add between $2 and $15 depending on the item. The best way is not to have concrete prices but to look and ask around at the con. If person A and B are equal in talent and merchandise, but person A sells for $2 less, chances are they will make more money.

Always take each con as an experiment. Try new prices, new merch. If selling prints for $15 didn't work, try $10. There are never concrete prices for anything, no matter what it is.

[Raven Grimme]

For some reason i have a bunch more info but it won't post, so yeh, i'll reserve this for when i figure that out.

Food.

I can not overemphasize the importance of food and water. NEVER drink softdrink at a con without having water as well. Dehydration hits you worse than hunger in a lot of ways. If you can, bring a small packed lunch or scout takeaway places in the area. Most cons have food, but no one wants to pay $6 for a service station sandwich. Not eating and drinking can lead to hunger, illness, headaches, queasiness, low performance, lower performance the next day and other really bad stuff. Eat and drink people.

Money.

Consider realistically how much you can spend on things. If you're traveling, weigh up travel costs and time, as well as transporting your goods if you have a lot. Calculate your printing costs. Ask your printers for quotes if you can. Calculate realistic food costs. Lunch money should be around $10 a day depending where you are. That's just lunch, not breakfast and dinner. You can get cheaper, but don't rely on cheap food being everywhere.

Calculate transport fares in the place the con is if you're using public transport. Try and LOOK UP public transport and figure out routes and bus/train/tram/ferry routes and numbers and COSTS before you go. Don't get on anything without paying; getting a fine will hurt you more when you need all the money you can get.

Go to a nearby bank the day before and get change. Don't get lots of 50s and 20s; depending on your merch you will probably use 5 and 10 dollar notes more. Don't price anything with stupid numbers on the end; if something costs $4.45 and you have no 5 cent pieces, you're in trouble, because a lot of people will demand change. Try and keep things to either note or coin values if you can.

Also add at least $100 contingency money. DO NOT ALLOCATE MONEY TO SPEND AT THE CON. If you have money left over out of this 100 dollar contingency, you can spend it on the last day of the con. This way you make sure everything major is out of the way and you have less chance of accidentally blowing needed money on stuff.

When at the con, probably the worst thing you can do is have a cash box or money tin, even if it has a lock and key. This is an obvious target for thieves and is easily enough opened with the right tools. As stupid as it sounds, either keep everything in a wallet specifically for con money on your person or get a bum bag. Never leave your money unattended.

Also - book your accommodation well in advance and have money on hand in case something happens and so and so who was letting you stay can't have you.

AND! TAKE BUSINESS CARDS TO HAND OUT! I CAN NOT COUNT THE NUMBER OF TIMES I'VE BEEN ASKED FOR ONE! This doesn't cost much at all - if you want to be really cheap (like me) just go buy some 160gsm or thereabouts card (costs like 20-30 cents) and arrange your card design in a word document. Print, cut out, and you're done. Simple.

[Papprikatan]

YAY

[Papprikatan]

I really like it here. This thread is nice and helpful.

[jungleguu]

Arkke

Also, I understand that SOME cons make you tax? Is there any regulation on taxes, or having to have a business license, or anything of the sort? I wanna be sure I can sit down, sell my wares, and not have to worry about government choppers descending on my apartment because I owe them money.

Some conventions do require that you register for a seller's permit and pay tax (e.g., Anime Expo, Fanime, A-kon, Otakon). This is based on the state in which the convention is conducted.

For the most part, you pay taxes back to the state after the conventoin. (You will file forms with the state that discloses how much you made and then the accompanying tax booklet lets you know what you should pay.)

There may be some conventions that require payment through one cashier and that add the sales tax there.

IT's best usually to look at the webpages conventions you are interested in as most put up this information in advance of registration.

The rule about paying tax for conventions that are in states that apply taxes holds true regardless of whether you are a resident of that state or not.