Contacted Tw about dressing up

[Greg Chrise]

Right Now On the list of Transworld vendors

The ONLY costume, make up related vendor seems to be Gore Galore. I'm thinking these restrictions might have stopped may of the make up vendors to be there applying things to people to wander around?

But, Transworld has had to pay attention to the culture a little bit? People get bolts glued in their heads, werewolves pee on fire plugs? But, the funny occurances Jim Warfield mentioned were outside of Haunted Attractions costume ball which I'm not sure if that is making the scene?

If you are just showing up to be interactive, with out purchasing a booth you better have some back up plans like bail money, freind(s) watching out for you, a pimp and a cell phone, some jewelry that is equivelant to bail money. There is always a curtain somewhere that has been left away from a wal a few feet that instantly becomes a mission impossible changing room. Be prepared to whip $100 in the face of anyone that gives you a hassle.

But, if you are having a booth...this is what your product is all about. Change right there in the booth like a one time demo of what it takes to get into this costume and then do your thing. Build a movable temporary curtain in a corner and get into character. Then go nuts.

Yes, transworld will get back to you.....Opps they forgot about this, don't know the territory either or don't want to say no just yet. I wouldn't think there is a casino in the convention hall, this is just going elsewhere. Plus so much of being accepted is walking arund like you own the place or are supposed to e there whether it is in the rules or not.

Frankly if you go for it and you get into a big hassle it should be grounds to completely dump the transworld people. They have manifested big hassles before and if they think it should all be displays and suits, it isn't a match to the haunted house industry. If they didn't give a crap to preserve the "culture" then it wasn't about getting haunt people better facilities, it was tellng us what we are going to do. While giving them a percentage.

Unfortunately this is why there are 5 other conventions. Haunters are generally not high rollers wandering around with prepaired pre bail and prepaid legal services or a roll of benjamins to get the point across. And we should not be forced to up the anty.

Every year is the same termoil of something different or unknown reacting to some bizarre need voiced secretly by the real vendors or the real buyers and every year it is months of bitching on here. There is always those 12 people are going to go there no matter what and place their $150,000 orders. So why are all the poor people wanting to go? The real buyers aren't coming to the smaller shows and it might be cute but, not really mandatory that the NON high rollers attend.

It certainly hasn't inspired me to wish I was a high roller. It isn't what Transworld wants, it is how prosperous our individual markets across the country are. Just because I don't buy $12,000 prop doesn't mean I'm a failure. It means my market doesn't deserve this kind of investment. Similarly perhaps Transworld in the pros and cons of things either had no control over where they could have space or intend the silliness and unprofessional side shows (in their opinion) would by default go away if that group had to spend more to get there, and couldn't afford it.

Every year I come up with the same vision. The 12 high rollers just need to form a secret society and buy crap from laptops at a Howard Johnsons like the foot ball draft program.

[Ken Spriggs]

Hmm

Sorry my post may have been posted in the wrong spot.
I could careless about people running around in costumes.....but if i am rubies trying to cut a deal for $20,000 worth of harry potter costumes....I am not going to want some guy covered in blood screwing around next to my customer that has a million dollar budget.

This is a business....we should treat it as one......if you go, the fun should be after the business...since we will be in vegas i don't think there is going to be much business either.

Look I know we all bring people who aren't the money people or the people that buy. No issue there........but some of you turn 10-20 people lose on the tradeshow floor. Do you really need that many people there?
It is a show for people to buy their wholesale products that they sell in their stores.

Just because you run a haunted house........doesn't mean you should have wholesale pricing.

The Haunted house section of this show keeps shrinking
Yes Larry is right to say if you run a business and purchase products you need to be at this show. How many of you own a store?

There are a ton of people every year that should not be allowed into the show.

Our product has 2 levels of pricing...doesn't matter to me or my company
who we sell to. i talk to everyone...i have also learned to weed out the real buyers

like i said ......you may not like what I say....but think about it

[Frankenhausers]

yes Ken,
By the example of the "Rubies Deal" I clearly see what you mean and I absolutely
agree with you. But on the other hand I do trust in the descretion of everybody
(maybe foolish ?!) not to interfere when pople do serious business talk. Of
cause that is only my point of view but to do so would never come into my mind.
As we all know - and you made perfectly clear- in the first case TW is about business
Cheers, Frank

[Jim Warfield]

It is all about business but I think in years past there was a definate temptation on Transworld's part to flood the floor with mere "bodies" to make the vendors feel better about what they pay for floor space.
70 years ago teenagers would be chased from a new car dealer's showroom because everyone knew they didn't have the money to buy a car...but things do change and as I remember someone's statement before on this subject, just how can one determine who is a real potential purchaser, maybe they just won the lotto last week? Grandpa died, left them everything?
Life is tricky and requires "work", of course it's always nice if somehow we can make our life and work easier....but...?

[Greg Chrise]

Now everyone shouldn't come?

Then you need to kick out all the vendors who are wanting to sell to everyone and telling everyone Transworld is a MUST SEE! Quit having seminars trying to attract people who don't know what they want to do or how elite this show is supposed to be!?!

WTF?

I mean I get it but, there seems to be a lot of mixed messages here. Those same vendors that want EVERYONE to be their customers on the spot are not wanting to go elsewhere. SO then what you have said does indeed sound like the proper sales floor proceedure then Transworld tries to enforce it, then everyone is dissapointed, then the vendors that sell to everyone say it's okay again but, there is a security guard line?

I'm not going but, everyone is enduring months of how you must go and you really shouldn't. Something isn't a match here.

[Greg Chrise]

A million dollar budget?

I'm pretty sure if there is a guy that has a million dollar budget, they aren't standing for hours on that crappy ass show floor, they have the dude's name in Tiawan and Hong Kong and are getting them to bid against each other and find that extra little slave village no one has tapped just yet. He's more worried about what cargo ship his container will get on and how long it will be held in customs.

They gave a guy in India calling them every hour on the hour.

If there were million dollar contracts just waiting, Rubies would have a blimp. Or a yacht. A show room In New York City. Not 3 card tables in Las Vegas or chicago. We're talking they are catering to the $350-$1000 buyer or they would be in Walmarts conference room, Targets, Not doing the trade show circuit.

Even Rubies wants everyone there because even that fool splattering blood all over might one day decide to buy $10,000 in inventory and be somebody.

[Jim Warfield]

The mixed message certainly! Some mixed messages end in court with a hefty jail term, some end with a marriage!
(And they wonder where mixed up kids come from?)

[Ken Spriggs]

hmm

I'm not going but, everyone is enduring months of how you must go and you really shouldn't. Something isn't a match here.

Hmm......You need to go and think this is a business.
Not a place to turn 20 actors lose on.
That is the same reason they don't let people under 18 in the show.
They think that once you turn 18 you act like an adult........obviously we know better.

Just quit complaining...it is a great show

[Greg Chrise]

I don't care what you say, I'm not marrying you.

[bodybagging]

Ken, Funny story related in a bit to your post about Rubies and a blood covered gent.

Last year at TW we were a new Vendor, we also were in the Makeup wars and also did a FX demo , I did a Multisectional Foam appliance on My minion, for one of those events. Later on his Break he and another minion decided to run down to Rubies to pick up a catalog package, Of course they wouldnt give him the time of day, OH hes just a Haunter, well long story short I ended up down there, because yes we do business with RUBIES, In fact the Multisectional Foam appliance that they were so very quick to judge my guy by was THEIR PRODUCT, Once I pointed out that little bit of information , My how they changed their song and dance, next thing you know Each and every Rubies executive was posing with My Minion, and asking for rights to use the FX pics for promotional purposes.

[Killer Katie]

phase out

Playing Devil's Advocate here.... In the world of insurance (the super exciting job that makes me $$$ so i can Hanut...ugh...) when a company doesn't want a buisness, they tend to make the prices so high nobody wants it. Could Transworld be doing something similiar? If they were trying to phase out the haunt industry portion to weed out "undesirables" ,or rather people without huge, deep pockets that just throw out money but lack the excentric nature most real haunters exhibit, wouldn't rules about no costumes and moving it away from the midwest haunt central seem to be a natural step? If that portion flops this year, it would make "smart buisness" to scale back. What do you think?

[Jim Warfield]

Ever since the 1950's The Creature From The Black Lagoon has been trying to "Scale Back".

[JamBam]

TW and issues

Hi,

I agree that TW does not understand the market they expanded to accidentally. Yes, the show was originally for wholesale buyers for all those stores. First it was the Red Cross Drug, Walgreens, CVS, Kmart, Target, etc... Then, the haunters started showing up and the market kept growing so that now, even halloween has franchise stores like Halloween Express, etc. and mom and pop stores are a big part of the market. The vendors when I started going about ten years ago, were always looking down their noses at the haunters. And the haunters were many times being the overbearing guest.

Many haunt specific vendors sprang up as a result of the haunted house industry growing. They were put in to the TW show. So, now the haunters had to tread lightly and find them. It is understandable that Rubies and the other big sellers want to concentrate on the big buyers. The materials, catalogs, and show are expensive.

our haunt learned early to be polite, let the vendors know up front we were a haunt, and be considerate when asking for catalogs and info. We have had a pre-TW meeting of those in our gourp attending to let them know how to attend the show. Things like splitting into groups of three, four, or five. Only one catalog per group. And to be very selective in that as well. The first couple of years, I remember hauling home some pretty heavy bags of materials.
Our group last year totalled 18. They would call me to a certain booth when they had found something and we placed orders based on that many times. I had been there a day ahead of them, and usually was planning on the same stuff, but it got them involved and interested. We have used the TW show as a big springboard to get excitement going and ideas as well. Each year, our group has grown and so has our budget that we spent at the show. And we don't expect wholesale prices, but somewhere between wholesale and retail.

TW decided to split the Haunters to a seperate section. Great news. However, along with that came the seperate areas and very little communication to the vendors that were looking for haunters that they would need a booth in each area if they were to see the haunters and the wholesale buyers. This was because the TW people decided to limit the haunters to only the haunt section. There were many vendors that I could not get to that I am sure were very upset by this policy. TW told me that "they knew where and who I needed to see". They also had cops at the entrances to the party and halloween shows to keep the haunters out. TW also has changed management about every other year and sometimes every year. It was suggested to have the whole show open, but give each type of attendee a differant color or shaped badge. Then, teh vendors would know very quickly, who they were talking to or even as they passed the booths.

Rubies and the some of the rest have set up agreements with some of the vendors that do sell to the haunters to sell their wares. Many of therse vendors are only ordering the china containers after the show and many times dropping orders without notice. We experienced that with many of the vendors this year. And none of them notified us, we found out after contacting them to confirm shipping dates. If we hadn't called, we would have been even more upset if had it been any later. It would not have been possible to buy alternate items for our planned rooms.

It IS a convention to do business at. The seminars are almost an after-thought. The big vendors and big wholesale buyers will still find each other. In fact, I know of one halloween store franchise that has it's annual franchisee meeting just prior to the TW show and gets the store owners special vendor access prior to the show to place their orders.

The haunters have gravitated to each other as the wholesalers have. The fact that TW does not dismiss the idea of a midwest "regional" show tells me that they are unsure how this move to Vegas will be. Yes, the buyers will still be there. But, the rest of the crew like ours will now go to Columbus to MWH. It is in fact growing, and the haunt vendors will increase as well. Being in June will actually make it easier to build and maintain the crew's interest in setting up. It will make it harder to get some items if we cut out the TW show as the order process/China/delivery issue will come into play possibly.

At this point, a couple of us will still attend TW, and also Hauntcon.

WE will miss awesome "Vinnie's Beef" for lunch down River Rd though. Now we will find the brewery district instead. DARN!!!

Brett Molitor - JamBam/Huntington Jaycees Haunted Hotel

[Nicole]

As p.o.'ed as I am, I can understand why they moved the show - and like everything it has to do with $. This is a business and it all has to do with $, no matter how much we all b*tch about it.

What I want to know is - in the press release first announcing the move TW announced that it will have a "presence" back in Chicago in 2009. I am dying to know what that is... because if the show isn't all that it is cracked up to be for the haunted attraction vendors and buyers this year, I think the industry should encourage them somehow make good on that for 2009.

[Frighteners Entertainment]

If you want a Haunt Show, help support MHC.
This is the show that supports the Haunted Attraction business.
More attendees bring more vendors.
I don't think you'll find more professional and pleasant hosts than Barry, Kathy, Kelly and Neena.
Very wonderful and very accommodating to make it work.
This will be the Haunted Attraction Convention!

If you want novelties and trinkets, then you have transworld.