Dealers Room FAQ
General Questions:
What is the Dealers Room?Where is the Dealers Room?
When is the Dealers Room open?
I really liked a particular dealer, will they be returning next year?
What is the best way to contact the Dealers Room department?
Is adult content allowed in the Dealers Room?
Why is the room so crowded and congested?
Dealer Questions:
How do I get space in the Dealers Room?If I apply for space, will I automatically get in?
How much does a table cost?
What is a Dealers Badge?
What is a Dealers Upgrade Membership?
Why isn't the cost of a membership figured into the cost of renting dealers space?
Can dealers use the hotel loading dock to unload our merchandise and bring it into the hotel?
Is there storage space for dealers?
Will there be a cart provided that dealers can use to move their merchandise in and out?
Does the convention take Paypal or Credit Cards for payment when paying for dealer space?
Can I get my space in a specific location in the room?
I put a note in my registration requesting a specific location in the room, did I get it?
Does the convention charge for electrical use?
Why can only badged attendees get into the dealers room? We want to sell to everyone.
Why are the badgers so aggressive and rude?
Does the convention provide refereshments for dealers who are stuck at their table?
Why can't I register for next year's Dealers Room at this year's convention?
If I forget to request wall space or electricity on my registration form, can I request it when I get to the convention?
What is the Dealers Room?
The Dealers Room is a room set aside at the convention for vendors to sell their merchandise. The goal is to bring in a diverse selection of merchandise that will appeal to the membership of the convention. These include jewlers, booksellers, costumers, weapons dealers and really anything you could imagine buying within the science fiction and fantasy genre. You never know what you'll find.
Where is the Dealers Room?
The Dealers Room is located in the Grand Ballroom on the second floor, just beyond CONvergence Central and the Mainstage area.
When is the Dealers Room open?
The normal operating hours of the Dealers Room are:
| Thursday: | 10am - 2pm (Setup for registered dealers only) |
| 2pm - 6pm | |
| Friday: | 10am - 6pm |
| Saturday: | 10am - 6pm |
| Sunday: | 11am - 4pm (please do not begin packing up until 3pm) |
I really liked a particular dealer, will they be returning next year?
The dealers are not chosen until about four months before the convention. The list of dealers is not posted until after the deadline for payment, so that people reading the list will not be disappointed if someone drops out in that time. Once the list is posted, you can find it on the Dealers Room page of the CONvergence website. If you would like to recommend a dealer to be chosen for next year, you can drop us an email at dealers@convergence-con.org
What is the best way to contact the Dealers Room department?
The most direct and quickest way to contact us is through email, at dealers@convergence-con.org. Email to the main convergence email address must be routed through several people, and can take as long as two to three weeks to get to us. The same is true for the voicemail system. These two are also not always reliable, due to the amount of routing that must be done. Postal mail is more reliable, but can still be slow, depending on how often we meet with the person who picks up the mail. Email received between the wednesday before the convention and the tuesday after it will be responded to as soon as we return from the convention. If you have an emergency need to contact us during that time, call the hotel and ask to be connected to the CONvergence Bridge. They will be able ot relay a message to us.
Is adult content allowed in the Dealers Room?
Yes and no. This is a family convention, if a dealer displays any adult items in plain view, they will be asked to remove them. However, some dealers keep these kinds of items at their tables out of sight or behind their tables. And they will make them available for adults who wish to see them. That is perfectly fine with us. The final determination of what constitutes an adult item is up to the Dealers Room staff and the convention Execs.
Why is the room so crowded and congested?
We are constantly trying to improve the layout and flow the room. But not knowing what the displays will look like before we layout the room makes this difficult. We also don't know which dealers will be more popular than others. So two popular dealers across from each other could clog up the aisle.
How do I get space in the Dealers Room?
If you send us your postal contact information, you will be sent an application sometime in January. Once we have received the applications back, we will choose the dealers to be in the Dealers Room for this year based on the merchandise that the merchant sells and how much space we have available. Accepted dealers will receive a registration letter and form to return with payment. Once that is returned, you will have your space.
If I apply for space, will I automatically get in?
Due to the fact that we receive more applications for space than the room will accommodate, not everyone can get in. There is no guarantee that you will be able to get in, with the exception of Guests of Honor. Even if you have had space in previous years, there is no promise that you will get space again the next year. Any dealers who apply and are not accepted are put on a waiting list. If an accepted dealer drops out, a dealer from the waiting list will be offered the space.
How much does a table cost?
This information will be provided on the initial application letter. But if you would like to know the pricing for space, please email us at dealers@convergence-con.org. We would prefer not to post the prices, because if they change from one year to the next, incorrect pricing posted here could lead to some very upset people.
What is a Dealers Badge?
When you get space in the Dealers Room, you are given one dealers badge per table, plus one. So two tables gives you three badges. These badges only get you in and out of the Dealers Room. They will not get you in to any other convention space. They do not have names on them, so if you have different people working your table from one day to the next, they are transferable from one person to the other. Keep this badge visible at all times, because you will not be able to get back into the dealers room without it.
What is a Dealers Upgrade Membership?
Since dealers do not know for certain whether they will have space in the dealers room prior to the early registration deadline for membership registrations, we offer the chance for dealers to upgrade their dealer badges to full convention memberships at a discount. These upgraded memberships are the same as full convention memberships and will get you into any area of the convention that attendees can get. Since these are full memberships, they will have your badge name on them, and can not be passed around from one person to another. So if you have multiple people in your group who want to see the convention, you will need to purchase upgrades for each of them.
Why isn't the cost of a membership figured into the cost of renting dealers space?
Some dealers spend all their time in the Dealers Room, and do not have any time to attend the convention itself. So they do not wish to spend the money for a membership that they will never use.
Can dealers use the hotel loading dock to unload their merchandise and bring it into the hotel?
No. The loading dock is for hotel and convention deliveries. Do not use it. If you do try to use it, the dockmaster has been authorized to auction off your vehicle for charity. Use the main entrance of the hotel to load and unload.
Is there storage space for dealers?
No. We do not have any storage space for dealers to store stuff. Store things in your room, your vehicle or your dealers space (but don't crowd your fellow dealers).
Will there be a cart provided that dealers can use to move their merchandise in and out?
No. All the flatbed carts are in use during the convention by either the hotel staff or the convention staff. Either bring your own carts or use the bellman service. And please tip your bellman.
Does the convention accept Paypal or Credit Cards when paying for dealer space?
No. Like the rest of the convention, we do not accept Paypal or Credit Cards. Our profit margin in running this convention is too low to afford the fees and commissions that those services would charge.
Can I get my space in a specific location in the room?
When you send in your registration, there is a section there for notes. If you request a specific space, we will try to accomodate you. But we may not be able to accomodate all requests. For instance, not everyone can be along the wall. We will do our best to fill all the preferences.
I put a note in my registration requesting a specific location in the room, did I get it?
The Dealers Room staff does not actually determine the location of the individual dealers until we get into the room the day before the convention. So we will be unable to answer that question for dealers until they arrive to setup.
Does the convention charge for electrical use?
The convention does not. The hotel does. During the convention, the hotel will contact you about paying this charge. We do not know how much they will charge. The hotel is responsible for collecting this charge while you are there, so we/they will not come back to you for that charge after the convention, if they fail to collect it during the convention.
Why can only badged attendees get into the dealers room? We want to sell to everyone.
The dealers room is set up and run for the benefit of the paying convention membership. Just like any other convention space, we want to make sure that the people who paid their money to be there are the ones receiving the benefits of the convention. There are people who do come primarily for the dealers room, if they found they did not have to be members to get in, they wouldn't buy memberships. Our need for space and management of the room would increase (along with the cost), while our registrations income went down, meaning that we would have to make up the difference. The most likely way to offset that difference would to be to raise the costs that we charge the dealers.
Why are the badgers so aggressive and rude?
Please do keep in mind that most of our badgers are regular attendees who have volunteered their time to perform the duty. And if you flash them a dealers badge, they may not be experienced enough at the job to recognize that as a valid badge. Also, please keep in mind that these kind souls have taken a couple hours out of their convention to sit in a high traffic area and stop people and make them display their badge. The response they receive is not always pleasant, sometimes it is downright rude. So their nerves may be a bit on edge after some time in this position.
Does the convention provide refereshments for dealers who are stuck at their table?
Some dealers have requested that we provide a cooler with soft-drinks or something like that. At this time, we do not plan to provide this. The first issue would be where to put this. Space in the Dealers Room is at a premium. It could come down to one dealer not being able to get in because the space was taken up by refreshments for the other dealers.
The best course of action if you want refreshments is to bring them yourself.
Why can't I register for next year's Dealers Room at this year's convention?
The table prices for the Dealers Room is not set until around the first of the year, so we can't provide application forms prior to that when we don't know how much the costs to the dealers will be.
If I forget to request wall space or electricity on my registration form, can I request it when I get to the convention?
You can always ask, but you may not get it. All the dealers are layed out by the requests on those forms prior to your arrival. Wall space and electricity are at a premium. We will see what we can do, but can not make any promises. And please don't assume we automatically know you need these things, we do well to remember names. If we have filled all the wall space, we will be unable to provide it. Electricity may be able to be dropped into a location by the hotel engineering staff, but it will cost money to have that done.