[Musings of a Game Store Owner] Going to A Convention

So I'm preparing for a convention.  It's more than just "show up and sell stuff", though. 

Delf asked: 

How do you decide what product and how much of it to take? 

There are a few ways we decide what to bring- previous year sales, knowledge of the con makeup, and educated guessing. 

We look at what we sold the year before- that's a huge tool to use for deciding product. If we take $4000 of 40K and sell $40, we know maybe that's not the wisest choice for our time and energy (which are seriously limited on this weekend). 

We also think about the type of attendees at the con and what they like to buy. TheDude and I have been attending this particular con for literally decades as individuals, so we know the crowd fairly well. We use our experience and knowledge pretty extensively to bring good stuff. 

Lastly, we make some guesses. We speculate based on what the other booths might bring (for the most part, we know them and their products very well) and what's "hot" this year. Things like Kickstarters and new releases that are on people's minds also help influence our product line. 

Are you only taking M:tG this time because of your event?

Kind of. 

The wonderful folks at WotC are kind enough to have a reliable and predictable release schedule. Pretty much once a quarter we can expect a new release of some sort from them, and the beginning of the year is almost always an expansion set for the current "block" of M:tG cards. The pre-release for these cards has fallen during the convention every year for the past 4 years, so we were pretty sure it would be during the convention this year as well. The pre-release event is a good money making event, and one we can't afford to skip. In years past, we have packed up pretty much everything to go to the con, and then while the store is closed, host the pre-release inside our almost empty store while someone else runs the convention booth. (IE TheDude runs the pre-release at the store while I am at the con holding down the fort.) 

This year, we wanted to try to make things easier on ourselves by seeing if we could hold the pre-release at the convention. After a lot of finagling and negotiating, it all worked out, and so we are having a massive event late Friday night/early Saturday morning. 

What else do you need besides merch and payment equipment? 

Point of sale (ie computer and all its needed parts).  We bring shelves/display equipment to add to the tables we buy from the con. Bags. Lots and lots of energy. A good attitude. A willingness to wait on sleeping until later. There's a lot more- pens, paper, scissors, change (no bank nearby).  Our tablet and our Square. Because we're doing the pre-release at the convention, we need all the stuff for it, too. (Product, computers to record results, prizes, etc.)

and minions. I always bring minions. 

Is there a standard to expect of con runners, or does each differ greatly in what they provide? 

Usually, you get tables and chairs and HOPE for a spot near outlets so you can run your POS machine/laptop. Our convention is very well appointed and has tables, chairs, cloth covers, water, ice, cups, outlets, friendly staff and a good understanding of what vendors need. If we need something, we ask, and the con does what it can to help us out. Other cons are not as organized, or thoughtful, or whatever. It just depends. 

The single biggest thing I worry about is every single thing working in concert so we're not across town without our credit card reader or severely lacking staff or any other many possible things that can/could happen.  Some day I'll have this down to a science. Just not today.