Con Review: CollegeCon 2019

Convention Name: CollegeCon 2019
Date: Sept 21, 2019
Cost: $20, 10x10
Location: Norman, OK
Grade: B


This con was another small one, being held at the University of Oklahoma. The price was great, and it was local, so I didn't have to drive very far to get to this one. That's always a plus!
This particular con I found out about, even before applications were available, so I was ready and waiting when they were out! I put in the application and paid immediately!

Check-in was pretty easy. They had sent an email to vendors in the week prior, letting us know where to go, where to park, and where to check in. There didn't seem to be many people around yet when I checked in, so it went pretty easily.
There was a parking garage for the student union attached to the building. By parking on the third floor, I can go directly into the building from the garage. This helped a LOT when unloading and reloading the car.

In the email that they had sent, they let us know that we would be located in the ballroom on the third floor. It never really clicked in my brain until I located my spot that this seems quite out of the way. Nothing else for the con was being held on the third floor, so unless you are specifically going to the vendor area, there isn't a reason for con-goers to go up there.

The booth sizes were big! They had the tall pipe and drape between the booths. I had a partial window in the back of my booth, so I had some additional light coming in, at least. Plus, since I had so much space to spread out a bit, I was able to setup both of my pegboard displays again. I love when I get to do that! It's a little more work, but I can put out more stuff!
I'm putting most of the items on the smaller pegboard up on clearance to get rid of it, so it helps to get eyes on it!

The traffic there was OK. I can't help but believe that the vendors would have done much better if we were on the first floor, and have the video game tournaments were held in the 3rd floor ballroom, instead. It seems like common sense to basically force people to walk past the vendors to improve sales, rather than stick them in a corner. It's because of the location that I rated it a B.

I found out after a few hours in, that there was also a green room for vendors to relax, and they had some mini sandwiches and drinks and donuts, as well. This was awesome. I love when they do something like this for vendors! The downside is that it was on the second floor, so it wasn't as easily accessible.

Overall, I did about half as well as I was expecting. With the booth fee being only $20, and the fact that it was local for me, I still made money, but I have been getting spoiled with these cons, lately.
Back when doing craft fairs, I would have called this a great success. As a con, though, it was just OK.

At the end, they did come around and let us know that we could start packing up about 20 minutes early, since all the events were over. They did seem genuinely interested in receiving feedback, as well, to try and improve in upcoming years. I will probably still do this event again, either way.