# Artist Alley/Booth in a Furry Con?



## zenmaldita (Feb 11, 2019)

Hi o3o I'm attending my first furry con this June as an artist/merchant and was wondering if anyone here has any experience selling art at a Furry con.. 

Is there a particular type of merch that sells well? 

Are people more inclined to buy fanart or are they also interested in OCs / Original concepts? 

Is it true that Sanrio will sue you for making Aggretsuko merchandise?
What do you usually buy at a Furry con?
and so on!
Insights are greatly appreciated :3


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## Ashwolves5 (Feb 11, 2019)

As an art type vendor I see things like buttons, stickers, and enamel pins do well as merch. As for content, I would suggest fan art or generic species stuff.  When I do purchase things I like to get commissions more then anything else, especially badges and chibi art. For selling copyrighted material there are way around this as long as its something you created and do not use marketing towards the original copyright it is good. For example if i drew Aggretsuko in my style and was selling prints I would market it as "Screaming Animal Girl" and not Retsuko. Kind of like how Halloween costume are marketed lol.
I've been selling at cons for about nine years now, so if you have anymore questions, ask away!


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## zenmaldita (Feb 11, 2019)

I see I see o3o! I do wanna sell my prints but i suppose I'll limit it to 5 per design as to not overstock. And lol Screaming Animal Girl =)))) I'm not sure if I can get away with it so maybe I'll stay from it until I see for myself in person that other people are selling Aggretsuko during the con.



Ashwolves5 said:


> I've been selling at cons for about nine years now, so if you have anymore questions, ask away!


How long do you usually prepare?
I've never done a booth setup by myself either so any tips in displaying items would be great!


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## Ashwolves5 (Feb 11, 2019)

Its better to get less stock anyways. Its always great to sell out instead of being left with product and hole in your pocket until you really know.
As for preparation I am always preparing since it basically my full time job to be an artist/crafter. For go time I pack it up within two days before. My table set up takes about two hours once I get there but that is just me, ever one is different.

What did you have in mind for products and or commissions? Also whitmor storage cubes are great to set up on. If your at a con I will be at I can help ya out too, what con will this be?


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## zenmaldita (Feb 11, 2019)

Ashwolves5 said:


> What did you have in mind for products and or commissions? Also whitmor storage cubes are great to set up on. If your at a con I will be at I can help ya out too, what con will this be?


for products....
I'm making these intricate but generic animal heads for coasters & acrylic charms.. Im also working on some pencil cases and bookmarks but I'm not set on the designs yet QUQ;; I could make some We Bare Bears merch but I feel it's too saturated already so I'm 50-50 on that
Ill be at Furry Pinas 2019 in the Philippines :3c


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## Ashwolves5 (Feb 11, 2019)

For that type of product some riser table displays would work well.  If your on a budget you could make some like this cardboard one.
Id say go for the we bare bears, saturation isn't a bad thing, just means its what people like. and con is aways away from me, I do only us cons, darn.


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## Keefur (Feb 11, 2019)

I run a con and have also vended for many years.  Different things sell well at different times.  I have seen someone make a mint at one con selling a particular item and seen that same item flop at another con.  Competition has a lot to do with it.  Believe it or not, if you are an artist, smaller cons can be better for you because there is less competition.  If you are selling some kind of pre made goods, then the larger the con, the better, it seems.  Prints don't do super well.  I am a printer, so I know this very well.  Make just a few of each.  You can always mail a print later and charge for postage.  The stuff I vend is kind of hard to do for others.  I work with an airbrush artist sometimes making tees, hats, and bandanas.  He is a professional who does it in RL at state fairs all up and down the eastern seaboard. He is super good and super fast.  A friend and I help with production and sales.  He does the art. I also vend pre-owned collectible plushes.  You have to know what people want and spend a lot of time finding it.  In my RL I also do a lot of antiques, so I am in places where I find plushes, otherwise it wouldn't be enough money in it for me to put in the time necessary to find enough plushes to have a good enough stock to sell properly.  For art, your skills and speed dictate your money making capabilities.  Of course, you can always mail finished goods later that you couldn't finish at the con.  If you are selling something pre-made, you need to be careful you don't overstock.  If an item doesn't catch on, then you are stuck trying to recover your money.  Vendors are always trying to find that "new and exciting" item that no one else has.  It's hard to do, and when you do, someone else will probably start selling it too.

Oh... I forgot to mention that some cons don't allow "pre-made" items in an artist alley.  If you are just selling comission art, then the artist alley is best.  If you are setting up a booth for a lot of pre-made goods, then you need to go with a dealer den spot.  Most of the bigger cons are hard to get vendor spots in, so you have to be sure to sign up as soon as they open.  Some only do lottery spots, which really sucks because if you are depending on a vendor spot to make your money to attend a con, and then you don't get that spot, you are completely hosed.


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## zenmaldita (Feb 11, 2019)

Ashwolves5 said:


> For that type of product some riser table displays would work well.  If your on a budget you could make some like this cardboard one.
> Id say go for the we bare bears, saturation isn't a bad thing, just means its what people like. and con is aways away from me, I do only us cons, darn.


Thanks! That carboard stand looks really interesting xD I have a lot of cardboard here so I might give that a go



Keefur said:


> If you are selling something pre-made, you need to be careful you don't overstock. If an item doesn't catch on, then you are stuck trying to recover your money. Vendors are always trying to find that "new and exciting" item that no one else has. It's hard to do, and when you do, someone else will probably start selling it too.


Noted! I've attended cons and personally---I don't buy prints. And I've noticed that not many people buy prints either---unless it's someone super famous and you want a signed copy and all =V
So far I've got a few good ideas and I'm filtering them out so I don't overstock

For Commissions I plan to have these Commission Forms people can fill up so I can do them when I get home and email them the art afterwards. I will also have on the spot coms..they'll just be sketches or inked drawings for a cheaper price.

I also got my slot / table now and the con managers are working closely with me to make sure my first run is a-ok :3c
It's just the merch I'm missing..


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