There was speculation that attendance had dropped. Someone had suggested that it was the proximity of another large convention that had happened about a week or so earlier and that people were financially drained after that one. Most of us were scratching our heads wondering what was causing the lack in sales. Hopefully, will have them by my next big con which I hope is Anime Boston. I’ll still be able to get them, but it’s going to be a lot slower now and I may not have them for the start of the 2015 con season. On the other hand, I had some plans to use the AWA money for some new products for Kimchi Kawaii. On one hand, less sewing which means more time to focus on my 2d art. I guess that’s less that I have to sew for my online shop for the holidays which is sort of bittersweet. The Steamed Buns were the only ones that sold out. I’m actually coming home with a majority of my plushies, which is rare. In the end, I made about $600 LESS than SacAnime. AWA usually brings in about 20k, so I set my goal to be what I had brought in at SacAnime figuring that was more than doable considering the additional 10k people at this one. I had just done a local con about three weeks earlier (SacAnime) which has about 11-13k attendees. I was also basing things on attendance totals. I based it on last year’s sales and the fact that I had plushies with me now which have been strong sellers all summer and really helped push up my totals significantly. Some artists only sell at cons and for those of us who do sell online, well, why pay for shipping if you can get it in person?Īs I stated earlier, I had a sales goal in mind going into this one. Last day sales can really blossom as people start making those last minute purchases before leaving. Sunday, I did pretty well and this brought my AWA profit about equal to what I made in 2013. The slow sales left most of us hoping and praying for a really strong last day. I did finally manage to clear my overhead for this con (cross country flight, hotel, registration, food) late in the day on Saturday. Once again a lot of looking, not much buying. While sales picked up a bit, it was still really slow for a Saturday. Saturday everyone was hoping sales would pick up. One friend got up to roam around as she said she was about to fall asleep at her table. I don’t even think it was this slow for me at my first artist alley table (Fanime). However, Friday at AWA was abnormally slow. As a rule, first day sales are usually the lowest for the whole con as a lot of people are still in school or at work. I saw a lot of browsers, but people didn’t seem to be buying.įriday sales for me were probably some of the worst I’ve seen. However, this year not too many people seemed to be carrying ANYTHING. – and you can tell where their con budget went. Usually, you see people coming through the AA with their hands full of stuff from the dealers’ room – collectables, plush, etc. And even the dealers’ were saying their sales were low as well which is a clear indicator that it’s not just you. Many artists were posting on social media and talking in person about slow, even outright dismal sales. I guess having done 20+ cons by now, I’m pretty blessed to only now have this happen. I had set a sales goal (as I always do) and this was the first con where I didn’t make or exceed it. Sales-wise, well, that’s where this con was a bit lacking. I always enjoy doing artist alleys cause where else can you be in a room with fellow creators who understand the ins and outs of being an artist? We had our tables next to each other and also shared a hotel room. It was a lot of fun hanging out with her and meeting her friend who runs ShouYume. Sales were good in 2013 and my friend from Sweet Fancy Cuteness was going again this year so I signed up to return. I started going to AWA as I have some artist friends who do this one every year and I wanted to meet them in person. This was Kimchi Kawaii’s second year of doing Anime Weekend Atlanta (AWA). The popular Steamed Bun plush for sale at my AWA artist alley table.
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