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After this past weekend, I got to wondering about other people's experiences in an Artist's Alley located within the Dealer's Room. The layout of AI had the AA in two rows right in the center of the DR, with dealers' aisles in front of and behind it, as well as down the sides of the room. I had a space along one of the sides, and noticed a few rather distressing tendancies shown by attendees:

-They would start to walk into the Alley, then notice that it wasn't covered with shiny dvds and statues of half-naked Rei with cat ears, and would quickly turn around and walk out.

-They would actually walk into the Alley, but pass through quickly, barely looking at anything, then go back to the Dealer's areas.

-They wouldn't even look at the Alley and possibly never knew it was there all weekend.

This was my no means what everyone did; some people did come down the aisles. But most of my sales for the weekend were to other artists, or repeat customers who hadn't been able to get my newest book at the last show; there weren't very many casual sales, and my total sales take for the weekend was less than half of my previous "worst con." (And even lower than the sales for a con with about 1/4 the attendees.)

Though it doesn't help the money matter, it did make me feel better, in a way, to hear that the other artists were experiencing the same thing; a studio on the opposite end of my row observed pretty much the same behavior that I did, and agreed with my suggestion of why: There were a lot of new attendees there who weren't quite jaded with the DR yet--they didn't realize it's the same crap at every con, and that you can usually find it cheaper from other sources. They were therefore being distracted by the shiny Eva figures and Death Note wallscrolls, and just not noticing us as a result.

So... the point of this long-winded post: Have any of the rest of you done an AA that's located inside the DR, and what was your experience with it? And if you haven't done one, do you think I may be on to something with my theory?

...and that's why I'm worried about anyone that's having to sell in the Dealer's Room at Anime Weekend Atlanta. They split up the AA so that the artists who do commissions and prints and the like sell in the AA, whereas the people who make plushies, scarves, accessories and the like have to sell in the Dealer's room. This is the first year that they're trying this and I'm worried for the people selling there because scenarios like you described are possible. I was lucky enough to get a table in the AA, but I wanted to sell some crafts too and I can't since I don't want to be set up in the Dealer's Room. neutral

OOC, what cons have their AA in the Dealer's room?

Oofa--and to think I was considering doing Anime Iowa next year too; I may have to reconsider that one. The only con I've been to that did their AA in Dealer's was Momocon.

From what I saw at this years AWA having a table in the dealers room really is a death sentence. I do buy from artist alley on occasion, but when it's inside the dealers room it's like the atmosphere is all wrong. When I do into a dealers room I'm after stuff from the dealers room. It seemed kind of awkward to me that they'd even do that, they're two different markets. =/

When it comes to heavy traffic areas, putting it in the main hall or right near an entrance seems a much better idea to me. razz But then again, we're artists. Of course we're more sensible! :O

...but if artists ran an entire convention we'd probably just wind up doodling the whole time. XD

The success of an AA table has a lot to do with traffic. I've been to a good number of cons, and I do have to say I vastly prefer NOT to be in the Dealer's Room. It really does backfire. Your table can't help but look a little shabby compared to the huge merchandise- and poster-laden dealer tables. Sometimes you'll have something similar to what can be bought at a dealer table (if you're a crafter, for instance plushies or hats) and people will complain about a price difference even though the dealer stuff is mass produced and your stuff is hand-made.
One of the other things I don't like is the dealer's room has really restricted hours. Most close by 6-7pm. I find that seperate Artist Alleys often get a rush when the dealer's room closes, since people realize there is another merchandise area to look at. I often make a good number of night sales to the dance folks.

The only time being in a separate Artist Alley section has been bad is when its been really poorly placed. Something like in a separate room nobody goes in for anything else, or at the end of a dark hall that leads to nothing interesting. The best placement is in an area that's on the way to some main events and thus gets regular walk-by traffic.

I guess it's the side room part that makes a difference?

I must say that I am grateful that the items that I sell, actually enable me to both sell as an artist and as a dealer. I sell hand-made plushies, pillows, and accessories. Last year I got a booth for my first time, not as an artist, but as a dealer. (This year I am selling as an artist at a bigger con.) I did this on purpose because I figured it would help me sell better. And my experience was the complete opposite of yours. My small con is only 2 days long. And I practically sold out of my stuff the very first day. I think it majorly had to do with what I was selling and not necessarily where I was. However, our artist alley was actually very sad. There were only maybe 4 artists. However, they did get a lot of attention from where they were. They were both, in front of the dealers hall and in front of the entrance. I am not sure how their sales were per-say, but being in the dealers hall really helped me out a lot! Though it is sad that we don't have much of an artist alley to really say that it exists at my con.