So, that was what it’s like to run a LEGO convention.
I’m sitting in my hotel room, having just finished up the cleanup after the Bricks by the Bay LEGO convention. It was an amazing experience! The convention itself was so much fun and great to see so many of my ideas coming to life and actually working. We had nine themes, each with its own coordinator and judging categories, keynote speech by LEGO’s EVP-Marketing Mads Nipper, contests and games, and lots of door prizes. And though there were a couple times when I got really stressed out trying to make sure everything went off without a hitch, for the most part it was a seamless experience.
The public day though, was a bit of a debacle. We had such great publicity that the turnout was tremendous. I was interviewed for television several times, and the people came out in droves. People stood in line for hours in the cold and rain and the ballroom was packed elbow-to-elbow so much that we had to stop letting people get in line at 1:30. We had a few irate people after that, but most people understood that even if they got to the head of the line, they wouldn’t be able to stay long since we had to close at 4.
For the most part though, it went pretty well. We had a lot of positive comments and those who did get in seemed to have a great time. I just have to remember to not let a few bad apples spoil the barrel.
I’ll post my pictures online soon but right now I think I just want to rest and recover…
Hey Bill,
Thought you did a great job!
Great event! Thanks for all your hard work and the rest of the crew. My wife and I had an amazing time. Looking forward to next year!
Bill, you can add, vendors hogging sets at the Scratch and Dent sale at Valley Fair Lego Store in the Ugly category. We should ban all vendors from participating in future Scratch and Dent and other club activities that will give them financial gain. While we were waiting outside to get our turn, we saw a least three vendors with multiple large stacks of LEGO sets at the register.
This was unfair for all the people who waited outside and followed the rules. If this happens next time, we are bum rushing the store and pushing LEGO employees out of the way to get in…you don’t want to see a 300lbs AFOL tackling vendors.
I wish someone had told me about it at the time. I made all the vendors sign a contract which, among other things, made them promise not to sell items purchased at discount. I suppose if they bought the sets to sell at a future event it is technically not a violation. But ultimately it’s up to the LEGO store personnel to police that. I wasn’t even there.
I agree that it’s unfair, but it’s really up to the LEGO store to define and enforce the rules of the Scratch and Dent sale. The conventions don’t run those events. I did make the vendors sign an agreement that states they won’t sell the Scratch and Dent sets at the convention, but there’s nothing keeping them from ever selling them at future conventions or from parting out the sets. Personally I would like to see the vendors only allowed to do that after all the convention attendees have had a fair chance.