Becoming a Vendor. With the current availability of venue space combined with the incredible growth and success of the Fair, we often find ourselves booked out months prior to the event opening. Therefore, for the ongoing sustainability of the Geelong Comic & Toy Fair and with an aim toward proper representation and balance, we can no longer operate as ‘first in best dressed’. For our vendors to have a good, successful day there first needs to be a Fair. For there to be a Fair, we need customers. We aim to cater for the needs of the customer and that means meeting the considerations and expectations of our patrons. Some factors we consider: Balance – It is called a comic and toy Fair and we will try for a healthy representation of both, but also want to have a mixed, diverse availability of stock including Trading Cards, Funko pops, other collectables and arts & crafts. We want customers to be able to have the opportunity to purchase from a good range of different stock. Retail vs Private Collector – This is a tricky balance. We pride ourselves on being able to promote and champion small businesses but also know the value of the unique and rare specialty items private collectors bring to these Fairs which brings genuine excitement to collectors and hobbyists. We want to have an element of the ‘unknown’ vendor coming with a lucky dip of stock to be a constant element of the Fair. Local vs outside of Geelong – It is important to us as a proudly Geelong event that we incorporate some percentage of Geelong people. But on the other end of the scale want our locals to have access to stock and products that are not necessarily easy to access. We’ll look to strike an appropriate balance. Presentation – It is exciting for our customers to come into our venue and see tables and shelves full of stock, colourful banners and posters and pride and passion in vendor presentation. We will give some consideration to the effort and energy vendors put into these occasions as it not only helps themselves but the broader Fair. However we still see value and the simple comfort pleasures in scrummaging through boxes and trays of comics and toys looking for that diamond in the rough. It isn’t a high priority, but vendor representation is a factor. Turnover – We may get to a point, soon, we’re we will look to introduce as policy a turnover of vendors (potentially 20% to 25%) of new vendors to give our customers a fresh face and fresh voice, and a different range of products to pick over. The Fair isn’t just about what customers can pick up on the day, but the potential to establish a new customer over time. We want our customers to be able to build that network over time. What about loyalty? – Yes, this is absolutely a factor. We didn’t get here by ourselves, we are very grateful for those vendors who took an early chance on a regional start up and helped with promotion, advice and encouragement. It’s these types of relationships we hold and value dearly and we would hope there would be an understanding that there is a greater good of long-term sustainability when it is their turn to step aside for the odd event. Why not just get a bigger venue? – Theres a few reasons for this. Firstly, larger venues in this region that would be fit for purpose are few and far between. We want to consider the location and remain accessible to customers new and frequent. Also, there needs to be measured, organic growth. More vendors will dilute the amount potential customer sales per vendor and a successful day isn’t as big a reward as other Fairs and events and the motivation to travel, particularly regionally, could wane for some vendors. But we do have our eye on growth, and we believe a larger space is inevitable. Why not put up prices? – Ideally, we wouldn’t do this. We feel the cost per table is quite competitive and we want to make coming to Geelong as attractive a proposition for vendors as possible. However, if any plans for sustainability and improvement require larger budgets, we would have to factor this into table prices. FLOOR PLAN POLICY We try to accommodate any requests, but juggling all preferences and keeping a good balanced spread of different stock for sale is like planning table seating at a wedding dinner. It’s not easy to please everybody, but we try! We release the floor plan 2 or 3 days prior to the event to allow for any late cancellations and avoid any request for change. Once the floor plan is sent it is considered locked unless there are extenuating circumstances involved.
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