idamahn
09-04-2006, 07:59 AM
FIRST PLEASE Read the thread before you decide that I am just wasting your time. I tend to be verbose, sorry. I am TRULY trying to be constructive here.
I am Daryl Collison.
Well, it is the Monday after. As we hopefully bask in the glow of the coins made over the weekend, and begin the deconstruction of all the boxes we brought back with us, it is again time to put our thoughts to (as Martin Sheen said at the very end of the West Wing) "tomorrow".
Tomorrow.
FIRST let me say that I am not here to stir any pots. The weekend went over without a single hitch for me. The traffic at the show was good. Obviously I heard a few complaints, but that is always expected.
Again, obviously, I spoke with MANY people who were actually surprised I was at the Hobbystar show. I told them, emphatically I might add, that I never had any real doubt that I would be at the show.
BUT, as I said, now it is time to look to tomorrow.
ALREADY there are rumors running around about what is going to happen next. If you were at the Hobbystar show, you got to read the 'application' for space at the 2007 show. In which we were informed that we are not guaranteed space for next year and a representative will call us. I of course have misgivings about this statement, but as I said, I am not here to stir the pot.
Recently there have been some 'behind the scenes' talk about what can be done to fix the situation that has so many of us still up in arms and wondering about our futures at the shows.
As I said as I stood on the loading dock speaking to another retailer, I Just want us all to be able to do shows and not worry about anything.
Well, tomorrow will tell.
Another supplier added that the situation has blame falling squarely on more than one set of shoulders. And I agree.
NOW is the time to again set a few balls in motion in an attempt to fix things before they escalate further.
I do and have always realized and understood that Hobbystar is dealing from a position of strength. That is obvious in the manner in which Aman exists and continues to run his company.
BUT Aman is not stupid. Even though I know some of you may beg to differ at times. The sheer logistics of running the Expo are literally nearly crippling. To see the amount of work that goes into putting on this show, you can see how he can be protective, overly though we all agree, of the Expo. It takes someone with some insight to get the whole thing in the air and land properly on the ground.
The strength in the marketplace of the Hobbystar Expo is not and never was in question. What we all want is for Paradise and Hobbystar to exist now. The hurdle that was put up on the 15th of July when I and 6 other retailers were contacted has now been overcome - for now. But what of tomorrow?
I hope that Aman will take stock in what he has and realize that its strengths are those of the community and its weaknesses are his and his alone. A stronger comic community is one in which we can all (yeah I know) get along.
Tomorrow? Well, I am sure that soon we will know what it holds. I hope it is a better landscape and I hope that the strengths that the community has can become the strengths that Paradise and Hobbystar can share.
If you could sit down with Peter and Kevin and Aman and James - what constuctive ideas would YOU have to make this better?
I am Daryl Collison, and I am a comic book retailer in Toronto.
I am Daryl Collison.
Well, it is the Monday after. As we hopefully bask in the glow of the coins made over the weekend, and begin the deconstruction of all the boxes we brought back with us, it is again time to put our thoughts to (as Martin Sheen said at the very end of the West Wing) "tomorrow".
Tomorrow.
FIRST let me say that I am not here to stir any pots. The weekend went over without a single hitch for me. The traffic at the show was good. Obviously I heard a few complaints, but that is always expected.
Again, obviously, I spoke with MANY people who were actually surprised I was at the Hobbystar show. I told them, emphatically I might add, that I never had any real doubt that I would be at the show.
BUT, as I said, now it is time to look to tomorrow.
ALREADY there are rumors running around about what is going to happen next. If you were at the Hobbystar show, you got to read the 'application' for space at the 2007 show. In which we were informed that we are not guaranteed space for next year and a representative will call us. I of course have misgivings about this statement, but as I said, I am not here to stir the pot.
Recently there have been some 'behind the scenes' talk about what can be done to fix the situation that has so many of us still up in arms and wondering about our futures at the shows.
As I said as I stood on the loading dock speaking to another retailer, I Just want us all to be able to do shows and not worry about anything.
Well, tomorrow will tell.
Another supplier added that the situation has blame falling squarely on more than one set of shoulders. And I agree.
NOW is the time to again set a few balls in motion in an attempt to fix things before they escalate further.
I do and have always realized and understood that Hobbystar is dealing from a position of strength. That is obvious in the manner in which Aman exists and continues to run his company.
BUT Aman is not stupid. Even though I know some of you may beg to differ at times. The sheer logistics of running the Expo are literally nearly crippling. To see the amount of work that goes into putting on this show, you can see how he can be protective, overly though we all agree, of the Expo. It takes someone with some insight to get the whole thing in the air and land properly on the ground.
The strength in the marketplace of the Hobbystar Expo is not and never was in question. What we all want is for Paradise and Hobbystar to exist now. The hurdle that was put up on the 15th of July when I and 6 other retailers were contacted has now been overcome - for now. But what of tomorrow?
I hope that Aman will take stock in what he has and realize that its strengths are those of the community and its weaknesses are his and his alone. A stronger comic community is one in which we can all (yeah I know) get along.
Tomorrow? Well, I am sure that soon we will know what it holds. I hope it is a better landscape and I hope that the strengths that the community has can become the strengths that Paradise and Hobbystar can share.
If you could sit down with Peter and Kevin and Aman and James - what constuctive ideas would YOU have to make this better?
I am Daryl Collison, and I am a comic book retailer in Toronto.