Well, it finally happened, I got to attend my first convention as a vendor.
And I finally understand what all the hub-bub is about. There’s a visceral energy at even a small con and it’s worth discussing.
Greetings fellow wargamers, this is Caleb with White Metal Games and I attended my first show as a dealer recently.
A little backstory is in order . . . for the first few years we were in business, White Metal Games was exclusively an Ebay marketeer. FINALLY we launcher our homepage and had a formal way to interact with clients through our website. So we started taking orders for custom commissions.
That means before you even turn a profit at one of these show you need to sell a few thousand bucks worth of stuff! So for those reasons alone I was turned off to the idea of doing a con.
However . . . in my town of Raleigh there is a little local con called Southern Front. By little I mean it’s safe to say less than a 500 people came through the con all weekend. There were a dozen or so vendors, mostly locals like myself. The organizer is the owner of a local game shop and a friend. When I realize the cost to attend as a vendor was less than the price of a tank of gas and it was local, I figured this would be a good chance to get my feet wet and dip my toes into the pool that is being a dealer at a Con.
So what I can I tell you and why is it worth giving Cons a second thought as a vendor?
Firstly, this con was a very positive environment. What do I mean by that? Well, when I post an army to sell online I get tons of low blows, crappy offers. If I post an article to my blog, I often get negative feedback peppered in with the positive. It’s the nature of the beast and I accepted it a long time ago. I ask for it, invite it, each time I hit the PUBLISH button. Trolls welcome.
However, unlike the faceless ranks of the internet haters and tough guys, cons are personal. You are talking to people up close, looking them in the eye, shaking hands, etc. You’re sitting next to them in the vendor area, you’re eating with them, drinking with them, smoking with them, and playing games together.
“Have a good show.” That was the first thing the Con organizer said to me. The thankless positivity riddled through that comment was so astounding it gave me pause. How often do we simply hear something positive without judgement online these days? It’s getting more and more rare.
I introduced myself to my fellow co-vendors. I didn’t know if it was intentional or not, but the organizer put me right in the middle of the action. I was between several other painters like myself and a used game vendor. Rather than competing with each other, I found myself talking to them, laughing with them, sharing tips and techniques.
If I had been put in a corner booth, I might have never met all these amazing people.
One such person was Phillip from Outland of Pennsylvania, a miniature painter focused primarily on historical miniatures in white metal, and in particular 15mm figures. Historicals are an area I have yet to delve into, but at Southern Front historicals are what sold! Time and time again Phillip or other historical miniature dealers made sales while I just sat there, smiling. After a few hours of this I started asking him questions. What he charges, how historical miniatures work.
Through Phillip, I met Chris of Sash and Saber, who is a freelance artist that works with Old Glory miniatures. Chris does his own sculpting and started out just like me . . . doing gap filling, then gradually tackling smaller sculpting projects until finally he now does sculpting full time.
I was definitely the odd man out this weekend, but not unwelcome. I’ve just got to realize their is room to expand my business into an area I’ve never considered before, but definitely will now.
I also met a local game store owner that I’d been exchanging emails with for some time. The owner, Brian, has his own hobby shop in neighboring Cary. Putting a name to face completely changed the dynamic of our relationship. In fact the only sales I made all weekend were to Brian’s assistant, Markus, who bought a daemon prince off of me. I was so happy to make a sale I gave him a custom transfigured daemon lord with slug tail for free for his Nurgle army. Death to the False Emperor, Markus!
It was also nice to be able to talk to other painters about a problem I’ve been growing increasingly aware of the past few years . . .the Death of the Miniature Painting industry. Or at least what appears to be the death from my POV.
A few years ago I had ZERO marketing tools, no Facebook, no twitter, etc, and I had tons of sales. Now my sales are half of what they were a few years ago and I’m everywhere. I’m like the wind.
So what gives? Well, a few things, prices are up, jobs are down . . .but that is the story for another article.
What was important was that I was able to discuss this trend with other fellow hobbyists and they tended to agree. So I wasn’t crazy. Or so the voices in my headed keep assuring me.
I was also approached by a rep from Wargames Factory, you know, the guys that build those amazing Dreamforge Leviathans, about helping him out with a project. He also gave me some product just to be nice. He encouraged me to paint it up and send him some pics to share on their FB page.
Vendors have a secret code at these things. They gave each other free products, special prices, favors, etc. because they’re (or should I say we) all in this together.
But it’s not all about selling at these things. In fact, I didn’t really make a sale all weekend. However, what I did do was meet a lot of people: locals that need armies painted, and need figures built.
Custom model that I’ve been ridiculed for online before (and undoubtedly will again, such as this guy) found a new purpose on my table to draw people in. Folks would approach my booth and simply say “Nice Model”. And it made me feel good, which is rare in this business. Most of the time haters rule the day when it comes to comments. So to just have people being nice for no reason other than just to be nice was a welcome change.
I had a lot of time this weekend to speak with other pro’s that used to do what I do, years ago, and got out of it. They had helpful tips, hint, advice and they imparted me with this knowledge simply out of a sense to pass on what they had learned. Which is a lesson unto itself.
In a final display of community, the organizers of the event presented a special award to a local game store owner who’s store recently went under. This person accepted the award graciously, though you could see the mixture of feelings written on their face. This selfless gesture imparted in me a sense of such brotherhood that I was taken aback.
Now for the first time ever I understand when tournament players say that the #1 reason they go to tournaments is to see their friends I FINALLY get what they are saying and why they mean it when they say it!
Also, unlike the internet where there are literally hundreds of miniature painters out there trying to compete with each other, at this con, there were only a few. And even though I didn’t make a sale, I did feel like I made an impact. I met some valuable people, forged a few new bonds, banged out a few project quotes, even hired a new painter. Overall, a good use of my money and time.
So, reasons to go to a con as a vendor:
Positive environment (so far . . . I’m sure that won’t always be the case)
Fun
Meeting new people that could turn into new business
Seeing lots of cool stuff (games, boards, figures, etc)
Reasons NOT to go:
Cost
Other obligations (life stuff)
What do you guys think? Is it worth attending a con as a vendor, despite the costs? Share your horror stories and moments of brotherhood with us all. And more than anything else . . .
PUT YOUR MINIS WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS!!!
Happy Wargaming,
Caleb, White Metal Games
About the Author: Caleb Dillon
