Okay, after a day to process my thoughts, and making a list, lemme tell you why FandomCon was the worst convention Iāve ever tabled at.
Iām not one to complain often about not doing well at conventions; sometimes theyāre small but the tables are priced accordingly, sometimes I wasnāt the right fit for the audience, sometimes there are a couple of hiccups. But this convention???
1. First and foremost: they charged me TWICE for my table. When I went hunting for who to email about how to fix this mistake, I couldn't find a single named person, just "the FandomCon Team." I emailed/ messaged them multiple times over the course of four days, with no response until told them I would be disputing the charge. Suddenly, I got a reply saying they were very sorry and would reverse the charge, but it would take seven days. This was about three weeks ago. (I already filed the dispute.)
2. The convention was advertised as being in the San Jose Convention Center, but was actually in South Hall, the smaller tent next to it. I have no problem with South Hall, I've been there plenty of times as an attendee and vendor. But that's not what was advertised, either online or in person.
3. The tie-in Foodie Fandom Night Market event was cancelled without telling the public. I get that you can't hold an outdoor event in the pouring rain, but maybe make an announcement on your socials to let people know that? Especially since...
4. There was NO FOOD. We as vendors weren't allowed to bring in food, but also there was no food in the entire convention hall, AND there was no accompanying food market either. I guess they expected us to leave our booth alone for an hour while we roamed the streets of San Jose for lunch.
5. Poor communication/organization. The vendors were told they'd get their table numbers the week of the convention, on Tuesday. Tuesday came and went, and it was the day before with still no table numbers. (With each update, we were also being asked to promote the convention, but I couldnāt tell people where I was because I didnāt know???) Finally, the day before the convention they announced the map on instagram but still had not emailed the actual vendors (at least in artist alley). We were supposed to be shown to our table when we got there, but when I arrived on Friday morning to set up, no one was there at registration at 9am, and when they eventually did arrive some ten minutes later, I had to find the table myself because they didnāt yet have someone to walk me over. Okay!
6. Attendance was not at all what they promised. We were told 10k guestsāwe were lucky if maybe 300 people came combined over the course of the three days. A friend reported she was only the fourth person in line to get a signature from one of the literal headliners of the event.
Iām very thankful to the few people who did stop by my table; I scraped just enough to barely make my table back, but a number of my fellow vendors didnāt, and many left after the second day after a lackluster two days of attendance.
Many vendors I talked to were tabling for the first time, and I hate to think that these lovely people were taken advantage of, but thatās what it feels like.
Too late I learned that FandomCon has a history of poor shows, and they apparently did not learn anything after a similarly disastrous show in 2024.
Iām adding myself to the chorus of other vendors, guests, and attendees to let anyone else know if they hear about this convention in the future (where they apparently have multiple shows planned, including in Dubai???) run the opposite direction.
areudirty
kaledo-art
baratheonpilled
prguitarman
theartofmadeline
germansingergirl
jacobvanloon
