Hey people. Listen, I'm probably gonna be trying to go to the TFcon in the DC area, given I'm short on cash and would love to take a chance to experience at least one convention I'm aware of, so do you guys who are more experienced than me have any advice for when I go? Like, spending advice, pitfalls to avoid, general dos and don'ts?

 

I second this as another first timer.

 

I've only been to two TFCons at this point so I'm no expert at all. I can tell you, at least, what I've found out thus far. Here's a few things off the top of my head:

1. Make a budget, stick to the budget. This is harder (at least, for me) than it sounds. You'll be in a room literally full of the things you spend your time reading about / studying / watching youtube vids on (G1, third party, etc..) and it can be easy to just walk through and grab all of the cool stuff you want and blow the budget in about 10 min.

2. Budget continued - do you like exclusives? Me too. Plan to grab one (if you can afford to do so) at around $120. Just put that money aside and wait to see the exclusive reveals that tend to happen between a month - two weeks out from the convention (and sometimes on the day of). Don't see one you like? Bonus for you, that's $120 back into your budget.

3. Price wiggleage. Don't be afraid to try and haggle, especially with some of the smaller vendors. If you are buying multiples or think something may be priced a bit too high, don't be afraid to ask the vendor if they can move the price any for you. The worst they can do is say 'no'. Two addendums to this - 1. don't low-ball them as they would like to make a few bucks for their efforts, 2. Prices can become more negotiable late on Sunday as certain vendors are trying to make last minute sales.

4. Artist Commissions. I enjoy commissioning art ahead of time and picking it up at the convention from my favorite TF artists. If this is something you'd be interested in, here's my approach. Approximately two months prior to the convention, follow the artist you intend to buy a commission from on twitter (if you don't already) and set twitter to alert you when they tweet. Eventually they will likely tweet that they've opened commissions up for the convention and you can contact them and work out the details. This is a good approach as most artists have limited spots open and tend to fill up quickly once word gets out.

5. TFCon schedule is posted just before the show. Be sure to download copy to your phone / bookmark the page / or print it out to have handy and try to plan for some panels that interest you. The third-party panel is usually popular. To get an idea of what they might have, you can look at the schedule they already have posted for the previous convention (probably TFcon LA as of this posting).

6. The best part of the convention for me is meeting up with folks that I usually only every interact with online. I've made dozens of new friends in the community and it is an absolute blast hanging out with them or catching a drink at the bar. This isn't really a tip or trick, just an observation.

I'm sure there's more but this is a good start. Remember, I'm not claiming to be an expert by any means, I just know what worked for me. Hope this helps!

 

Thanks for the advice. So, how many here are planning to go?

 

This will be my first TF con in general. Wish I could of gone to botcon before it closed. Very excited and only 30 mins away!

 

Same for Me! Have they announced the address yet?

 

TFCON DC will be at the Hyatt Regency Reston 1800 Presidents Street in Reston, Virginia 20190.

 

That is a nice start! I attended the event two years ago, in the same location, as my first TFcon, so I’m no expert either. Somethings I’ll add are:

#7?) there are also going to be people there that open up their hotel rooms for selling/trading during periods of time in the evening after the convention’s official events for the day conclude. Some might be smaller vendors that had tables in the dealers’ room, and some might not have had tables. So, consider the exploration of what might be offered there as part of what you budget for.

#8?) There will also be people in attendance that might have a few items (half dozen or so) to sell or trade. Think on the scale & variety of what you might see in postings within the BST thread here.

Fortunately for 7 & 8 above, there will be (or at least there was last year) a bulletin board   (I know, some may be too young to know what that is, but suffice it to say that it’s an ancestor to the ‘message boards’ you’re used to seeing on your phone or computer  ) in an easily findable place (by registration table or lobby) where people can physically post, tape or even possibly thumbtack a note with their room and times they’ll be selling, or a listing of their bots for sale, with their price and a cell phone to text them for coordinating time & place to make the deal/exchange.

I live about an hour drive away, so I commuted each day that weekend; but was sensitive to the unavailability of those that had restrictions (e.g. timeframes for when they could get food, either due to restaurants or dinner plans already set by groups they were hanging out with). Nonetheless, I made deals in dealer rooms, the lobby, hotel rooms and even while waiting in line for the early Saturday morning opening of dealer room.

Fortunately, our [TF] community, in
person, is much more respectful, friendly and easy going than horror stories I’ve heard of other fandoms. I say, “in person,” because I’ve seen on more than one occasion where the sensitivities can seemingly go into overload on some of these virtual conversations that take place in some threads...
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

9?) you might want to bring a large tote bag to the event, or purchase an item from one of the etailers in attendance that will give them away for free with a purchase, as most vendors (smaller?) aren’t providing bags with items you purchase & you know some of the bots we collect can come in big packages! So, after a couple of purchases it can be quite inconvenient lugging items around without something to put them in. Last year, those running the convention gave a free tote bag with registration that had the TFcon logo on it. So, I got that and a tote from the captured prey early on, which allowed me to more comfortably purchase things & walk around with little interruption. Still made multiple trips to unload purchases in my car trunk, but that was at my leisure.

#10) the event sponsors will likely also share some tips for first timers (or attendees in general) about securing your purchases, monitoring your belongings, etc.

11?) take pictures and/or videos of what you see there. There will be a number of cool looking displays with currently available figures, prototypes and ‘soon to be released’ figures. Like I said earlier on, the one in Reston, two years prior to this one had figures on display that are just now getting released!!! Lol  

12) Have fun! And be safe!!

 

I'm gonna have a brand new 3A Knight Optimus Prime with me if anyone wants to buy it off me! I ended up with 2, just want $410 for it. AMAZING figure, never even posed, just inspected.

 

What are the chances of Budiansky ever coming to a TFCon DC?

 

13) If you have not already invested in a RFID wallet or sleeve for your credit card, if you are using one for purchases, then do so BEFORE you go to the event. Especially in the dealer room it is very tight/close quarters and people will take advantage of that to use skimmers to read unshielded CCs. I personally turned in 3 people to security at the last Reston Botcon that had skimmers I saw being used. Also, if you are using a CC for purchases at the con make sure to inform the bank/cardholder services that you will be making multiple large (potentially) purchases in quick succession from multiple different vendors. There were A LOT of people out in the lobby making calls to get their CCs unfrozen due to a atypical purchases (aka fraud watch). And as such you will need to be extra careful to keep track of your card because if it gets stolen it is wide open for someone to use. If you have a bank/cardholder that offers an app for freezing your CC instantly it would be wise to have it installed before you enter the hotel. I personally have a CC that has the option to have a pin number required (not the regular 4 digit but a 6 digit that changes with each purchase, a phone app generates the code that is good for 20 seconds) when making purchases if I chose. Just a extra layer of security but not all vendors have a credit card machine that supports that function so having a amount of cash you are comfortable with for those purchases is wise.

14) If you are coming in from out of state or somewhere else in Virginia be sure to make sure you car does not have anything wrong with it aka burned out light(s), missing body parts, expired anything. The Fairfax County Police (were Reston is located) will be looking for you and will have a surplus of ticket books ready. They have license plate scanners (if you have a out of state/in-state warrant they will know in seconds or a poor driving record - you will get unwanted attention/scrutiny) and lidar so keep to the speed limit. They will camp out around the venue and snag people. They will have plain clothes officers walking around the town center and the surrounding area looking for public intoxication and disorderly individuals. I do not want to see anyone get caught up with the police as Virginia and especially Fairfax County are very unforgiving of non-locals; the book will be thrown at you. We have a massive amount of Lyft and Uber drivers so do not be afraid to use them. They know Botcon is coming and they will have extra help for the event.

 

In case you missed it: TFcon DC 2019 hotel block online

 

Already got my hotel booked, just waiting for the actual ticket sales for the con to start. Anyone else from NC going to it?

 

Tickets Now On Sale for TFcon DC 2019

 

Locked in my premium ticket. Cannot wait till October.

 

Damn it, I want to go, but it's the same weekend as Photo Plus in NYC :/

 

omg! You GUYS!!! This proves that those who Screech the loudest actually get their way.

Parents should take note. oh.  





get it? because it's the parents and manchildren screeching the loudest? lol?

 

wish tfcon came to Bay Area!

 

I hear that. There aren't nearly enough conventions in northern CA as I'd like.

 

Missed the first one because my wife was pregnant and due close to the first show so I stayed close to home. Well now I can't go to this one as my little one turns 1 on the 26th and I can't miss the first birthday.

Maybe if this show ever returns to Virginia again I can go, well depending on the weekend.