"Old Glory not to attend Historicon 2021" Topic

Robert, well said. I agree 100%. Lancaster or King of Prussia are fine by me. Only 3 to 3.5 hours away.

I think everyone wants one of the conventions near them.

While I respect Robert's opinion, it just that and not fact. What we do know for a fact is that major figure dealers attend less and less, that internet shopping has changed things, and that attendance has wained at the cons even before the pandemic.

Trying something new is scary. Trying nothing new but shifting from site to site has risks all its own.

Does anyone know if OG is going to any conventions for the foreseeable future?

Kevin, did you send them an email or give them a call?

My guess is the July Lancaster con is next for them.

Thank you, historygamer, and I agree. I'd go as far as "analysis" for the difference between US and UK conventions, but my guess on SALUTE USA is at best an informed thoughtful guess.

My (completely unsolicited) advice is that an organization attempting such a thing should not risk an amount of money which would cripple ordinary operations in case it's a real crash and burn. HMGS (formerly East) might very well be able to afford making the attempt. Note that if they do, I'd advise a large centrally-located city, because the day tripper to weekend attendee ratio will be different too.

"My (completely unsolicited) advice is that an organization attempting such a thing should not risk an amount of money which would cripple ordinary operations in case it's a real crash and burn."

It should be self-paying since there would be no need for so many of the other things that cost HMGS so much – table rentals, staff volunteers, space for games, etc. So, completely different animal.

The idea only works if you get a very good commitment from figure sellers – especially those that no longer attend HMGS shows – and advertise it early and often. If the interest from them isn't there, then this is a dead duck.

The flip side is that if they were able to run such an event, they could perhaps offer a convention without dealers – just games and an ubber flea market – a really expanded flea market. Make that the draw (beyond games). Again, the benefit is, less space would be required (reduced costs) since you wouldn't need a facility big enough to host both games and dealers. Note too that at least some of the dealers don't attend all three cons anyway, and some expressed the idea that three shows were one too many. Also, some expressed the idea that having the shows in the same area was not great for their sales – but apparently worked for attendees. This perhaps shows a conflict between what some of the dealers want vs what is good for the gaming part of the con.

I get that HMGS is hesitant to try anything new for fear of failure. They had a business model that worked for decades. But, this isn't the 90s, and things have changed – even before the pandemic.

"The flip side is that if they were able to run such an event, they could perhaps offer a convention without dealers – just games and an ubber flea market – a really expanded flea market. Make that the draw (beyond games)."

And if it works out, going forward you can just run conventions that center around socializing, gaming and an ubber flea market.

If this idea takes off and the Salute type show you suggest bombs, then this will tell HMGS that they don't need dealers.

Then dealers can just stay home, improve their websites, expand their social media footprint, sell on Ebay and other selling platforms and boost their sales and save all the time and expense of attending conventions.

You know; like they've been doing for the past year and a half since COVID blew up.

As a vendor we personally would not be interested in changing the current convention configuration as far as 3 shows with gaming, flea market, vendors, demos, etc to split into cons with no vendors and a 1-2 day vendor con. I think you lose out on number of potential attendees to such a vendor con. We've been doing well at the three con format, even the COVID-tainted 2020 Cold Wars.

While online sales are a big deal now and we do more business online than in our stores, having the opportunity to reach buyers in person, network and make more personal connections is still vital to a growing business. Buying online has advantages but there are also those to getting product into a buyer's hands to touch and see exactly what they're getting still matters.

We're looking to attend more conventions, not fewer, including starting one of our own locally.

Forgive me, but I am not familiar with your company. What do you sell?

HG, I think he is part of a hobby store in PA.

My suggestion was really with the figure manufacturers in mind. So many used to attend, so few do now. I agree about having stuff in hand to look at, but unfortunately that has largely gone away with many of the figure vendors that used to attend HMGS cons.

This Histori'Fall'icon promises 47 vendors. The 2011 Fall In had 56. The 2011 Historicon had 61.

In this period, in addition to other issues, we lost Architects of War, RLBPS, Quartermaster, Renaissance Ink and Sgt. Major minis as vendors completely. There were others, to be sure, but these were stalwarts.

In this period, in addition to other issues, we lost Architects of War, RLBPS, Quartermaster, Renaissance Ink and Sgt. Major minis as vendors completely. There were others, to be sure, but these were stalwarts.

I'd also consider Old Glory 15s/19th Century Miniatures, and Old Guard Hobbies from WI "stalwarts" who maintained large footprints on the vendor floor.

An uber flea market--not that I wouldn't be interested--might be harder to pull off than an all-vendor show. Where would HMGS find enough poorly-lit space now that they've lost the Black Hole of Lancaster?

Somewhat more seriously, you might fiddle with times, admit non HMGS (formerly East) gamers for a small fee, and do something about loading/unloading. Make it a little cheaper and easier and the numbers should go up somewhat, but remember this really is amateur hour, and the flea marketeers have games and lectures to attend, and limited volume in their vehicles. My guess is that you'd max out at maybe half again to twice present tables, and probably never see the glory which was the first flea market at Fredericksburg. THAT, gentlemen, was a flea market.