Expectations, Vinyl Toy Network, And Paying Dues

We're back from Pasadena, and my second foray with the Vinyl Toy Network show. It seemed like there were more tables than last year, not to mention the people waiting in the convention hall and in a long line that snaked down the block. Awesome! I knew that these folks weren't waiting for me specifically, but it looked like a lot of potential target-market customers, and Christmas was right around the corner. Except... I forgot about a couple of things. Primarily, this guy:

Apparently, Joe Ledbetter's Ringo Bear had an exclusive, only-one-hundred-made Toxic green version (through 3D Retro) available only at the VTN show. The first hundred guests got goody bags, and half of them got tickets reserving a Ringo for that guest, Willy-Wonka-style. If I remember correctly, it cost eighty dollars (a mid-range designer toy price), but it might not leave much left in terms of a collector's spending budget.

The other thing that I forgot was that the dealers' room - even though it was bigger than last year - is still pretty small. There's no other events like panel discussions or screenings, so once folks are done shopping... they're going to leave. A few designers - Frank Kozik, Joe himself, Bwana Spoons, Dan Goodsell, and Cameron Tiede - were there to sign their work and do sketches, but again, even if you got everyone's autograph, that's not going to keep you there all that long.

So. The room exploded with people at ten o'clock! Most of them came in, sat down, and feverishly dug through their bags. They lined up for the Ringo Bear and they lined up again to get it signed. After that, they browsed for about thirty minutes - an hour, tops.

And then they left. An hour or two into a seven and a half hour show, ninety percent of the crowd was gone.

I drew a lot of free sketches during the surge to keep people at the table, but we only sold five toys all day. I was as sick as a dog - I'd caught a bad cold a day or two before - and I was not a happy camper. I don't blame the show, and I don't blame Joe - he made a cool toy, and people were dying for it. I hope to be in that place myself someday! But I let my expectations run away with me, and it bit me in the butt, big time.

Ironically, the only toy that I bought was one of Joe's - it's my favorite of his work so far, the Kaiju For Grown-Ups' Gamorita from Wonderwall. Super-cool looking, and a bargain at $65.00!

Well, better luck next time...

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Photos by doc18 and VinylMadness. A special thanks to Bwana Spoons and Dan "Mr. Toast" Goodsell for their words of encouragement and support during the show!