Convention Merch Inquiry!

[obliviousally_lj]

Possibly considering Anthrocon this year. Not the entire weekend, probably only a day (unless we end up crashing with someone - don't want to pay for a whole weekend of hotel room and all). Don't want to leave empty-handed, of course. My only real goal when going to conventions is to recoup my losses (hotel, registration). We want to go and see peoples, but we don't want to spend a crapton of time around ~furries~.

So, what's selling well at furry cons lately? I'd like to get rid of a lot of my ~stuff~ lying around - like those sketch packets I had up on Etsy forever and those originals I did with scrapbook/that are matted. I've been considering getting stickers made, but I'm not sure who does them well these days (I'm a big fan of the work Paper Forest/Printsess did for Celesse and Bara-chan). Do prints sell any better than in the past? Are people buying more trinkets?

I know commissions are the big seller, but I have no intent of doing any - outside of maybe art card sketches. If I'm feeling up for even that.

So, any artists with advice for what sells decently, let me know! Also, buyers, let me know what you like to purchase!

Comments

[keeperofdreams.livejournal.com]

If you kick my ass into gear, I will gladly create things. :P

[greenreaper.livejournal.com]

Awww. Furries are peoples too!

Have you considered arranging commissions for delivery there? That way you wouldn't need to spend your time at the con doing them.

You could also try putting a few pieces in the art show, but you might need someone to help pick up any leftover works and get them back to you later if you don't want to pay shipping.

I may not be a great sample, but random "stuff" just doesn't appeal unless I have some personal connection with the seller and care about supporting them. Sometimes random cute art in the show does, though.

[obliviousally.livejournal.com]

I'm trying to get out of doing commissions overall. I have a queue that's kind of embarrassing (meaning: many have been sitting there TOO long).

I may put some things in the art show, I know people local to Pittsburgh who would likely send them back to me, I'm sure.

I'm mainly working the cute angle. I might do some ACEO cards to have some original work to sell, but I like buying trinkets (stickers, buttons, ectera) and I have to remember that not everyone attending buys the same sort of stuff I do.

[mitsene.livejournal.com]

prints are always easy to do, but i tend to only really sell them when they're way too underpriced - i had them priced at $8/each to make a profit, but after a couple of years of not selling more than like 5 prints out of 40, i had to bump the price down to $3-4 each.
you really have to find a fine balance between something general/generic enough for people to recognize/want, but unique enough so they can't go anywhere else to get it. easier said than done @_@

[obliviousally.livejournal.com]

I'd like to do smaller prints, but I have to realize that the fandom isn't made up of people like me who like to decorate their walls with stuff like that. I think my mindset has changed and I'm mentally catering to a different audience than I'm trying to sell to. XD

When I buy stuff at cons, it's usually 'trinkets': stickers, buttons, mini prints. I tend to buy art I find appealing over murry purry stuff, but I realize this isn't the general fandom buying mentality.