2012 Dealer Registration to begin November 22!
We will begin accepting applications for Dealer Tables for Anthrocon 2012 at 6:00 PM EST on Tuesday, November 22, 2011. A link will be activated on our Dealers' Room Information page at that time (you may need to refresh your browser. Dealers, please be certain to read the Dealer Information Packet and note some important changes, such as new locations of tables with access to electrical power, updated rules, and most importantly, the sheer colossal size of the room. We are stretching the aisles from 15 to 20-22 feet all around. With the whole of Hall B available to us, we are confident that we have all of the room that we will ever conceivably need!
A mail-in application is available for those who do not wish to use the online registration system. That application must be postmarked no earlier than November 22, and will be processed according to its postmark date.
It looks to me that PRIMARILY the difference is not in number of Dealers, but rather the amount of space available PER Dealer, and BETWEEN Dealers.
When I looked at the map again, I wondered if that was the case.
Kage's covered most of it. Ww can't increase space any further without moving things over into Hall C and giving all of Hall B to the dealers. It's nto as dramatic of a growth as it looks, given that we've got more, but shorter and wider, aisles. If it looks like more growth than the actual modest increase, then we did the layout exactly how we'd hoped.
I'm going to go off on a long tangent here, directed more to everyone than to you. Bear with me.
It is, in many ways, a balancing act. We want dealers to make money; but we also want those dealers who want to be able to get a table to get a table. We make a fairly small amount of revenue off dealer tables, but it does help sell cover the costs of the space.
And Anthrocon does cost money. For everyone.
There are those dealers who are sweating bullets over ever penny, because this is their main source of income for the summer; there are those dealers who just want to cover their costs, there are those who really don't care about the money, because it's a social convention for them first and foremost. (The latter group tends to gravitate towards Artist's Alley over the Dealer's Room.) Anthrocon, like all furry cons, tries to keep this a very "For the fans, by the fans, of the fans" convention. Dealers have insisted the fursuit parade runs through the Dealer's Room so that they can see it, whether or not it gets in the way of business.
What I'm trying to get at is that, while we want our dealers to be able to profit... we're not San Diego Comic Con. We're not the Pittsburgh HomeExpo. We're a furry convention, where the line between attendees and dealers is the thinnest of any convention type. That's why every dealer membership includes full convention attendance; and we frequently hear dealers talk about "All the stuff they miss while in the Dealer's Room". We hope you'll make the money you want, and we are keeping that ratio of dealer-to-attendee balanced, as Kage mentioned.
Even as we've spent ten years being the largest furry convention, one that makes for an impact of millions of dollars, we don't want to forget who we are. We're a bunch of furry fans, getting together and sharing a cool experience, that means more than just the money involved.
So! I understand your justifiable concerns. We've all got bills to pay, and we think we've planned well for 2012 so that overall convention growth and Dealer's Room growth will be well-balanced, and you'll make your profits.
But remember you don't have to make oodles of cash to have an excellent Anthrocon.
Anthrocon has always strived for an attendee-to-dealer ratio of about 20. The number of dealers is roughly equal (within a few percent) to the number of tables.
Last year the ratio was about 23.6 attendees per dealer. We had 190 tables representing 186 dealers..
This year, if we hit our anticipated attendance, we should have a ratio of about 21-22 attendees per dealer.
Does this concern you?
" With the whole of (Hall B ) available to us, we are confident that we have all of the room that we will ever conceivably need! "
Odd that phrase sounds strangely familar. I`m getting a sense of deja vu all over again. 
As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: (And I have to confess that although I knew the quote, I had to Google the quote to properly attribute it.) But as Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: "Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door."
I.E. if you have something that Furs want to buy. We WILL buy it! Whatever the ratio. That is what is referred to as Capitalism.
Me? (Shameless but unpaid plug alert!) As soon as the dealers den opens, I make a beeline for The Dragon's Lair to see if they have any new otter or skunk plushies. And I then go to Furplanet to see if there is anything new by my favorite furry webcomic artist David Hopkins. But after that...? It's whatever catches my eye.
Soggy
At Anthrocon, if you build a better mousetrap, somebody will just build a better mouse...
...and then if said mousetrap is big enough, all the fursuiters will proceed to play with it, and use it to launch things across the hall... and the mouse will get away unharmed on the elevator they just called, while dozens of furries are distracted in front of the elevator, and will miss it... twice...
At Anthrocon, if you build a better mousetrap, somebody will just build a better mouse...
ANTHROCON: A Place for Mice of Quality.
*Charles does his weekly check on the forums* Hmm... oh. Dealer registration starts tomorrow..
o_o
WAUGHHH!!! ALREADY?! TIME! Y U NO SLOW DOWN!?!? D: *flails*
I would like to commend the person(s) who set up the online registration for dealers den. I reg'd right at 6pm and it worked flawlessly. Very fast and easy. Thanks!
Yes, yes...Thank you Giza! >^;^<
Thanks, but I stood on the shoulders of giants. 
The Dealer table purchasing was done with Ubercart, and online registration was done with some custom software I wrote, based on the awesome Drupal CMS.
Oh gosh, I totally thought dealer registration was going to take place later than November! Thankfully a little bird told me (or rather a big hawk) that dealer registration had opened so I didn't miss it!
Looking forward to this year!
What I would like to know is... when does staff registration begin?
It'll be a little while yet, but not too long. Ours has a few extra details that have to be set up for conbook blurbs, t-shirt sizing, department markers, and a few quirks of payment structure.
If you've been marked as being on staff for some department, you'll get an email when staff registration is ready to go. If you're not sure whether you're on the list to work staff this year, contact the head of your department--for instance, for art show it's petercat, and for programming it's KP--and ask. they'll be able to help you. Otherwise, just sit tight.
It's usually in mid-December. Don;t worry, we'll let you know. (There is a SUPER SECRET process that's very SECRET so we keep it a SECRET).
Don't talk to me about "secrets." >:( He didn't even tell ME. I had to buy my own badge onsite.
It's a good thing you had proper ID, too.
It's a good thing you had proper ID, too.
...And did you make him present a notarized permission form from his parents, as well? 
..I tried, but Grandma Kage smacked me upside the head and said "Of course he's mine, could anyone else raise *this* kid?".
I had to agree.
If he could, i'm sure kage would arrange the rules so that they needed a signed permission form from him.
personally i'm hoping that guy who does wax-mold cast bronze dragon statues is there again this year 
i've been eyeing his stuff for 2 years now, by gosh i'm gonna do my earnest to bring enough spare to get one ^^
Oh yes! According to AC's just-anounced dealer list, Honeck Sculpture will indeed be returning this year.
I bought two small bronze otter sculptures from him last year. A free standing sculpture and a pendant that currently hangs from my rear view mirror.
And since wax castings vary slightly, Mr. Honeck was kind enough to invite me behind his desk and let me go through his plastic bag of otters until I found the best one!
oh sweet his pieces are so expensive, but so worth it ^^ i've got a large collection of dragon statues made out of a variety of materials, but a bronze one would be new
Quote: "his pieces are so expensive, but so worth it"
True that! Of course my little sculpture and pendant only cost $20 and $25 respectfully. But this year I would like to pick up the bronze sea otter door knocker. $175... OY! Gonna have to think about that one...
But this year I would like to pick up the bronze sea otter door knocker. $175... OY! Gonna have to think about that one...
As a bauble for your collection of ottery stuff, yeah - it is quite a chunk of money, and perhaps difficult to justify such a purchase.
...But as an actual, functional door knocker - a distinctive and unique artisan-crafted item, which greets people about to enter and tells them something about the character who dwells there, before they actually cross the threshold - that is a very reasonable price! How could you possibly pass it up?
if all the doors in your house that are on the outside are made mostly of glass =/ sucks cause i would so get a bronze dragon door-knocker otherwise XD
Out of curiosity, why did the Dealer Hall get doubled for this coming year? From a vendor standpoint, it makes me very nervous. The seller to attendee ratio was pretty balanced last year and it seemed everyone did decently. As this current map stands, there are about 22 attendees(based on last year's numbers) for every table.
If each attendee spent $20-$30, that gives around $440-$660 in sales. After the cost of hotel, table, gas and food it's pretty dismal and is setting a lot of people up to not make cost, let alone profit, from what I'm hearing. From a business standpoint, it makes no sense.
I'm not trying to start any trouble here, but I know I'm not the only one concerned with this. I know most of us(especially in this economy) can't afford to go to shows that are going to flop, monetarily speaking.
If I could get some clarity on this, that would be great.
~Love, fluff and cuddly stuff~
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