Just five days ago, Botcon registration opened. As usual, the classes went fast, as did the loose sets and non-attendee sets, both gone within a matter of days. But here is the kicker. Within just five days, Botcon 2011 has completely sold out of Primus Package Toy sets! This makes the Botcon 2011 Transformers Animated Stunticons the fastest selling Botcon box set of all time. Read on to check out the email from Fun Publications.
Please note Protoform packages are still available, although they do not include entry into some of the events – perhaps we will see a return of the 2008 Energon package to give all the benefits of the Primus package, sans toys? Stay tuned for more information! BotCon Primus and Iacon and loose packages are now all sold out!
That’s right, it took just a little over 5 days for all of the toy packages to be gone!
If you tried to place an order before today and your order went to our incomplete file, no worries as we have pulled enough sets to cover all of the incompletes. If we have any sets left after we work the incompletes, we will put them back into inventory. We will let you know if this happens, and it won’t be for a couple of weeks. There will not be anymore Iacon (non-attending sets).
Also, we will not be keeping a waiting list.
Please note that we are in the middle of GIJoeCon in Florida so we won’t be working the incomplete files until after April 9.
We know who you are and we will follow back up with you then. Please be patient.
We still have Protoform packages available.
We look forward to seeing you in Pasadena in a couple of months!
Stay tuned for upcoming guest information!
Brian
sh002
i think it's also the other 3 3/4" military toy lines that compete with hasbro. i think one of them is bravo team. you can get large scale vehicles like a tank or helicoptor for like $30.
Motor_Master
With the current political/social landscape, people just aren't into military toys like they use to be. Transformers is riding a wave of popularity that may well end within 3 – 5 years depending on the long term success of the movie franchise (especially if there are only 3 films) and how quickly kids move on to something else. Who knows in 10 years Botcon may be the convention that barely sell out and Joecon will be breaking records.
sh002
i paid $315 instead of $385 for them but i don't think i'm a member of tfcc because i looked it up. does that mean i saved $70 and don't have to pay for membership?
rework
Well… FP's fears might be tainted by their longer tenure doing the JoeCon. I'm sure that JoeCon is nice and all, and Brian is a Joe guy – But let's face it, Botcon has much more drawing power these days. While it's been solid, Joe has not been a top toy line since the 80's heyday of the 3 3/4 line.
Not to pick on Joe – I like GIJoe toys – but it would be pretty hard to dispute that Transformers are the far more popular line in the current market.
G.B. Blackrock
I'll concede that point. Still not sure it tips the scales, but who am I to say for sure, anyway?
Bogatan
Maybe the 1000 or so Primus attendees are in a different level of buyers but the other 2000-5000 walk ins are likely very much the people who would be at the other show if they happened to live on the east cost. The non primus registrants I imagine are a bit of mix, but will also include family members with zero interest in TFs too.
G.B. Blackrock
I was thinking about that possibility, but that half isn't going to be looking for the same stuff that a BotCon attendee is, even accounting for their "interest in Transformers" because it's likely to be a rather different level of interest. I think BotCon still wins, and wins handily, by these numbers.
Yeah…
Bogatan
Well it would depend on a few things. If you have to transport your entire stock 3000 miles versus a local trip. If its close enough you and staff may not even need to stay at a hotel.
Then theres how much the other show costs compared to Botcon.
And the bit that might factor into FP not giving out attendance numbers is that say 5000 transformers specific fans attend Botcon but 15000 people attend a general sci fi show but they can expect at least a half to have at least some interest in transformers.
Since stores like BBTS don't just do Transformers then other shows maybe are more tempting. I'd a bit surprised to find this was a serious issue, bu FP have always come across a little paranoid about some things for lack of better term.
Sidecutter
Regarding dealer maps – an example that came to mind for me is people who want to deal with a person or company again after the show. I've done this myself, and back before FunPub took over, it was very convenient. Many dealers don't have signage or cards available, so if I wanted to know who I had purchased something from so I could see what else they might have, or who to contact about an issue with a purchase, I would go reference the map, since I could usually recall where they had been in the room. At worst, this let me narrow it down to 2-3 possible dealers. I think this ability alone is enough to justify the maps, personally.
brr-icy
they asked a canadian member last year for it when he ordered p/cp:
Has anyone sent a fax to TFCC of their Credit Card/photo ID for the P/CP order? – Cybertron.CA – Canadian Transformers News and Discussion
G.B. Blackrock
An interesting argument, but I'd think that BotCon's Transformer-specific strengths vs. any other convention should (should, but obviously it doesn't) easily trump those fears for FP.
rework
This is something I never noticed that anyone had an issue with…
But speaking as someone who's set up as every BC since Rochester, I can see where competition could sway dealers away from BC.
I set up at Botcon because I want to go anyway – I deal as a hobby and way to cover my expenses. I really don't need to make money, just break even. But more and more of the dealers these days are professional and do this as their job. The limiting factor these days is supply rather than demand, so they need to make as much as they can on their toys, and might only have enough stock to do one major show. If a legitamate competing toy show would pop up on the East Coast this year and a dealer thought that it would be more profitable, that could be enough reason to skip Botcon. And it doesn't have to be the same weekend – One of the reasons I ruled out doing the NJ con is because (even at a month+ before) it is too close to Botcon for my taste.
G.B. Blackrock
Well, I wonder how high-profile it would be, since it would be in the "Conventions" thread instead of "News" (or, at least, it should be, once the news element of registration being up or being sold out is no longer the main topic), but sure.
Sidecutter
There's a serious difference between bashing FP and discussing legitimate issues. They are receiving credit where it is due – I've gone out of my way to make sure of that, personally, so as not to simply be "bitching", and it looks to me as if most of the others contributing to that thread of the discussion have as well. If the mods feel that we need to spin that off into a separate thread (though it grew legitimately from this thread's primary subject), I have no problem with them doing so and moving the relevant posts over. That might even be a good thing, a high-profile dedicated thread for rational discussion of the club and convention.
03Mach1
'Hey guys, look! The Botcon set has sold out so there's nothing left to argue about. Let's bash FP instead.'
xZAOx
This one, in particular, has no good reason for not being done. Other shows "stealing" your dealers? Seriously?
1. What other TF convention is stupid enough to schedule at the SAME TIME as the OFFICIAL TF convention? Them getting dealers isn't going to hurt BotCon attendance.
2. It's not SUPAR SEKRIT information. Anyone can go into the dealer room and make a list of who all is there. For the most part, it's well known anyways.
3. Even if a dealer said "I'm not going to BotCon because I'd rather go to Some-Other-Con" – that's a symptom of a different problem (being that they don't think they can make money at BotCon anymore).
There's just no good reason for not providing a dealer map. Not having it is archaic and born out of ignorant fear of a threat that doesn't exist. It just hurts attendees.
FWIW – I really don't even give a shit. I've always been able to find any dealers I'm looking for easily, and I browse everything regardless. It'd make it easier though for when you and a buddy are chatting about the dealer room, and having them trying to tell you where they saw some toy for some price, as opposed to just saying "Oh, it was at Megamus' table", and being able to grab your map and go. But the "reasons" given for not doing one piss me off, for being so full of BS.
This one, on the other hand, I can kinda understand. Humans are a fickle bunch, and love to bandwagon. If someone is "on the fence" about going, and hears "Yeah, attendance was down 10% last year", then they're more likely to not go. I think it's the whole "mob mentality" thing. If it's perceived as not popular anymore, just because they had one off year, it can start a nasty snowball with perception, when all the various sites start reporting "OMG BOTCON IS FAILING" when they show even the slightest dip.
I mean, I'm very curious, just for curiosity's sake. We do know a rough-guestimate of Primus package holders, because it can't be more than they made box sets (but we don't know what percentage was Iacon). But I'd like to know what walk-in attendance was like, if we're talking hundreds, or thousands, or several thousands, etc.
Draven
That makes sense to me; remember, they ran Joecon for years before they started doing Botcon. And as has been said many times by many people (including me a fair few times over the years) their website is woefully outdated in style and content. I wouldn't be surprised if it was just never removed from whatever template they use for their sites.
If a company ever DID expect me to fax pictures of my card to them, I would be cancelling my order and never doing business with them again. It was bad enough having to fax cc details all those years for Botcon; if they had wanted pictures of the card as well, I wouldn't have preregistered at all.
Bogatan
I didn't say I was reacting at all, but once it was pointed out to me I could see how others took it.
Edit
I can't remember doing it either. I think it might be one of those things they did a decade ago but have never gotten around to removing from their T&C or leave in just in case.
I mean it makes no sense anyway as this is in the email sent when you join telling you about ordering from the club store. By that time your a member and the card you'll use in the store is probably the one you paid your membership with.
Fair enough something I've never been asked to do elsewhere that I can remember.
Draven
I've never had to fax FP ANY pictures of ANY card I have ever used with them, and I've never had ANY order rejected or cancelled.
airfox
That has happened to me with other stores, so it's not a Fun Publications only issue.
How does BBTS and Amazon manage to accept international cards without the need of such measures, just shows how good those stores are.
I remember the first time I had to fax the front and back of my CC along with ID was to Wizzywig (remember them? They were a dealer in BC2K), and the last time I did, was to – believe it or not – DVD Empire about 3 or 4 years ago. Both times I sent the card copies with 8 to 10 numbers blocked out, 'cause like the member you quoted says, sending the number in the clear is very insecure.
I haven't had that issue with FunPub because I'm using a card from an U.S. bank.
Well, I'd say it's not that, but it is indeed an american perception that credit cards from foreign countries are inherently less secure. I'm not even sure if it's something that the store (FunPub, wizzywig, DVD Empire) are doing on their own, or if it's mandated by the e-commerce partner they're using.
-airfox