Chicago 2009 looks solid....

[Jim Warfield]

I only live 120 miles from the show and I decided not to risk driving there and back, first Transworld I ever missed (before Vegas)
Other years our drive home was risky because of high, gusty winds.
I do keep my haunt open every night but with no employees except for Mr. Tuxedo, Spook house Cat .
Shoveling the backyard to clear the little maze is not worth having a burst blood vessel for me, so it gets streamlined. On the other hand, I get to delve deeper into the haunted history and make it a much more personalized tour experience.
I know so well the hardships of getting here sometimes so I really put a lot into the show to make it worth their efforts.

[hauntedhousenut]

Infoamtek

The last show in Chicago, everybody left Saturday before the snow. Sunday, and the rest of the show, the floors were pretty much empty. That is not good for the bottom line. And if vendors don't do well, they don't make product and they don't come back for more shows. As for bringing your crew, Graystone, that's still just ONE buyer, YOU! The rest (and I'm being honest here, not mean) just take up space, catalogs and vendor's time. Vendors invest too much time and money trying to make enough orders and sales at these shows to live on the rest of the year, to take a big gamble on chancy weather. I will probably go to the Houston show instead. Tell you what, Graystone, try keeping your haunt open ALL YEAR, good weather or bad, and pay all your people for every day that it's open. Also, sell your tickets for half price to anyone that asks for the wholesale price. A lot of us small vendors are just hanging on by the skin of our teeth and a bad show can be ruinous. I licensed my line of foam latex prosthetic faces to a company that's making them in China because not enough people bought them at the last Chicago show. EVERYBODY WENT HOME BECAUSE OF THE F*****G SNOW!!! So don't shoot your mouth off about things you know nothing about!

Why are you so angry?

[Haunted Illinois]

The last show in Chicago, everybody left Saturday before the snow. Sunday, and the rest of the show, the floors were pretty much empty. That is not good for the bottom line. And if vendors don't do well, they don't make product and they don't come back for more shows. As for bringing your crew, Graystone, that's still just ONE buyer, YOU! The rest (and I'm being honest here, not mean) just take up space, catalogs and vendor's time. Vendors invest too much time and money trying to make enough orders and sales at these shows to live on the rest of the year, to take a big gamble on chancy weather. I will probably go to the Houston show instead. Tell you what, Graystone, try keeping your haunt open ALL YEAR, good weather or bad, and pay all your people for every day that it's open. Also, sell your tickets for half price to anyone that asks for the wholesale price. A lot of us small vendors are just hanging on by the skin of our teeth and a bad show can be ruinous. I licensed my line of foam latex prosthetic faces to a company that's making them in China because not enough people bought them at the last Chicago show. EVERYBODY WENT HOME BECAUSE OF THE F*****G SNOW!!! So don't shoot your mouth off about things you know nothing about!

Despite what you say, I think that Brckee1 made some GREAT points.

- Transworld IS a business trip, so people in need will be there, regardless of when it is and what the weather is like outdoors.

- January is a better time for the convention than March, since it will give Haunt Vendors a few extra months to fill those orders.

- Having Transworld in January will make room for other conventions, not overlapping dates with events like MHC.

- It will be plenty warm and dry enough inside the convention center. It’s always amusing to me to see people bitch and moan about having to deal with a few days of cold weather. Are you all really that thin-skinned? LOL. This is the biggest Halloween Show around and buyers WILL be there, regardless of temperature.

And, like hauntedhousenut implied... Chill out. You don't need to go attacking people on this board just because you're sore that Transworld won't be at your back door, like it was this year.

Boycott if you want, but I’m not sure you are going to have too many followers, especially those vendors on the Midwestern part and/or Eastern half of the United States, which just happens to be where the largest concentration of Haunted Attractions seems to be.

Doesn't it make more sense to have the show closer to most of the potential buyers AND sellers? That's just common sense.

If you boycott the show, you'll probably end up hurting your own business because you'll be missing out on all those orders, but I guess that is your decision.

Again, I see why you are upset, but you don't need to go attacking people on this board, just because they don't agree with your point of view. That's just not right. Chill out!

[mindtumor]

The last show in Chicago, everybody left Saturday before the snow. Sunday, and the rest of the show, the floors were pretty much empty. That is not good for the bottom line. And if vendors don't do well, they don't make product and they don't come back for more shows. As for bringing your crew, Graystone, that's still just ONE buyer, YOU! The rest (and I'm being honest here, not mean) just take up space, catalogs and vendor's time. Vendors invest too much time and money trying to make enough orders and sales at these shows to live on the rest of the year, to take a big gamble on chancy weather. I will probably go to the Houston show instead. Tell you what, Graystone, try keeping your haunt open ALL YEAR, good weather or bad, and pay all your people for every day that it's open. Also, sell your tickets for half price to anyone that asks for the wholesale price. A lot of us small vendors are just hanging on by the skin of our teeth and a bad show can be ruinous. I licensed my line of foam latex prosthetic faces to a company that's making them in China because not enough people bought them at the last Chicago show. EVERYBODY WENT HOME BECAUSE OF THE F*****G SNOW!!! So don't shoot your mouth off about things you know nothing about!

Wow, that was a little harsh. I don't think he meant any offense I think he was trying to reassure you but whatever. In my opinion though almost all of us haunt owners are going to be at the show no matter where it is, we may get delayed but we will be there. I am sorry to hear your last experience in Rosemont was bad. How do all of the other vendors feel about this move?

[Infoamtek]

If buyers will come to the show in any weather, then where were they that February? The real facts point out that buyers won't come. January is too chancy to risk the kind of monies spent.

The ONLY reason TransWorld moved the show to Chicago in January is to steal the thunder of the Halloween & Party Expo that had announced a January show in Houston. Not because of haunters. The haunters are just a small part of the show.

I was not attacking anyone, I was pointing out facts about being a vendor using an example. Talk about thin-skinned.

[graystone]

Is it just me....

or does this guy come off as crying because of lack of sales? And as far as my crew taking up space you could not be more WRONG that space helps me decide on what I am going you buy. True I write the check. but its their input that makes that decision for me. So call anyones crew extra space and they will tell you your dead wrong. Also my crew does not let their badges be scaned at booths because all the catalogs come to me and my address already. So we always make sure not to get more catalogs from a vendor because we do know they cost. Lets have it in your city that way when there is a earthquake,fogg,hurricane, or any other weather related event you can scream everyone left because of the f****g earthquake ect . You are really to me anyway coming off as crying because of lack of sales at a show. Do you sell online, at other shows ect? Do you do well on the net and at other shows? If your answer is yes then hell you really dont need TransWorld anyway you already have a solid outlet. If your answer is no then maybe you need to step back and look at your product. Maybe people are not buying because the product you offer is not that hot. Not judging but dont blame the weather, or someones crew or Transworld or any other excuse for poor sales. Your answer just might be YOU. Also we dont give wholesale prices we do retail prices with out patrons so if you dont like to wholesale then just retail. Look not being ugly but just go to Houston and be done with it just because Chicago is not convenient for you dont go but trust me good or bad TransWorld started a trend and people will go and not to be ugly but with your attatude I doubt they or we will miss your booth. Oh yes one other thing I might add and I sure is hell will not miss all the damn Mexicans and illegals putting cards in my face for hiv/std infected anal wart toating whore s for 30 bucks in my face. Give me Chicago and the Crown with good clean friends and fun and a cup of hot chocolate! can I get an Amen!

[Gore Galore]

sorry John,
It did sound pretty harsh.

But Shane sometimes you certainly lack, shall we say, finesse.
Calling John "This Guy" is pretty rude. This guy is one of the forerunners of this entire market. I have been around for 10 years but John has been around longer. He created some of the first online projects that many people copied and still use today. And that is only the beginning. He is pretty upset the show is in January, and all the vendors are.
Without sales we go out of business and you have no one to do business with.

Transworld is killing our potential to make a living. I don't think many people realize how important Transworld is to some of our businesses.

I can honestly mathmatically determine Gore Galore's entire year by what we do at Transworld. I have been using the same calculation for 10 years and it works every time.

As far as Transworld in January. How is this for Harsh. That is just plain stupid.
They are completely SCREWING the haunt vendors. Did you like our booth this year. Did you like all the NEW product we had and what all the other vendors had. Having the tradeshow in Jan will guarantee we will only have 1/3 of the new product we all brought in 2008.
That is my main issue with it. Then we have the unpredictable weather. We drive in with a 24' box truck so if there is snow or most likely ice on the ground it could get complicated.

Honestly, I wasn't too worried about Vegas. I was pretty sure it would turn out well. I knew we would meet new people, and there were more qualified buyers versus crew. And there were fewer vendors so you had fewer vendors to choose from, so those vendors that were there did well.

So, transworld in January is hurting the buyers and vendors because you as buyers will have much less to choose from, and we as vendors will not do as well because we have less time to build and this leads to less to choose from, ie less sales.

And speaking with the transworld reps is a waste of time. I spent alot of time with our rep to try to organize a transworld meeting place in Vegas for after hours and they only worked on it as long as I was down their throat about it. When I stopped harassing them about it, they stopped doing anything about it.


Honestly, I think all the vendors should get together a petition saying our concerns with this date, and if they don't listen I think it is time to....
You fill in the blank.

[MDKing]

Dirk, hurricane season in Florida ends in November, so I doubt there'd be any hurricanes in Orlando in mid-winter.....

Allan

[Darkangel]

With the exception to Shane, it seems like almost everyone who fiercely defends Transworld being in Chicago in January, lives nearby. There are tons of haunts in the midwest, but there are also tons of them on the east coast, and Transworld never been over here. With the east coast you can take trips to many haunts in a shorter period....Have it in Philly. In the mid Atlantic alone there are many great haunts such as

Terror Behind the Walls
Frightland
Fright Factory
Jason's Woods
Field of Screams
Bennett's Curse
Darkwood Manor in VA
Scareworld
Shocktoberfest
Scarebrothers
Bates Motel

I can go to all of these pretty quickly, and many I believe stay up all year long...
It's not always about us the haunters, the vendors need the best possible situation to survive, the industry is too small for them to be risky.

Darkangel

[MDKing]

Hey Darkangel,

I sent you an email....

Thanks,
Allan

[MDKing]

So, is it comfirmed that Rubies won't be in Chicago but instead in Houston? Do we know of any other vendors opting for the Houston show instead?

Thanks,
Allan

[Grimley]

Most people don't seem to understand that us being cold in Chicago is not the issue. The problem lies with getting in and out of Chicago because of the shitty weather. Everybody keeps repeating that bad weather can happen anywhere. Thats true but if you are heading to a city know for blizzards at the worst time of the year then yes there is a problem. If we buyers can not make the trip then the vendors wasted a lot of time and money. Look back at the weather for the past couple of years for the Chicago area in January. Not Good. I think Transworld will loose the edge this year. We will certainly be attending the Texas show. Transworld would be up in the air. Without Rubies and their crew the show will be half the size of what it is now anyway.

Another thing that was nice about the show this year was the lower attendance in Vegas. Everyone says that sales were good this year and that is great considering the lite traffic. It was a relief not having to fight with huge crews of haunters to get a look at the new products. That may be why we purchased more this year than ever before.

P.S. There are no Hurricanes in Orlando in February.

[Barry]

Honestly, I think all the vendors should get together a petition saying our concerns with this date, and if they don't listen I think it is time to....
You fill in the blank.

I think this is the proverbial "rock and a hard place" Kevin. You summed up how important Transworld is to you as a vendor as it is to many others. Others have written about the benefits of the HCP show when combined with the HauntShow. So I do not know what the "blank" would be. Here are some things to consider:

1. From what I have heard, the new show in Houston does not want haunters.

2. No other show, such as ours, would plan anything that early in the year unless Transworld went away or all of the vendors made the decision to change (and that does not seem likely).

So, I guess we continue with the status quo for now. Transworld will continue to do what is best for their business and their major clients in the HCP show.

[graystone]

Kevin...

I know I am not on your favorite persons list and you and me both know why. But just as John "This Guy" is so important to you in this industry. So is my crew or anyones crew who has imput on the haunts they work in. (I value my workers imput). John called my crew " people who just take up space" Just like John is important to you. My crew is important to me. Looks like to me you would have all of Oct ( because by then all product should be out) Nov and Dec to get new products out if you so choose. Go to Houston if you like but its no secret they dont want Haunters there and I know I own the largest costume and party shop in Alabama and I get the party/costume side and the haunt side and I am telling you THEY want me because of my stores. They do not want me for the haunt side of it. Maybe this got off subject and maybe I am the worst person here love me or hate me its no biggie. But it is what is. We are not guaranteed tomorrow much less January so why not say well I will do what I can do and hope for the best. I do that everyday I wake up.

[mindtumor]

I live close to Chicago and have no problem with the show being moved elsewhere, the question is where? Some have suggested Orlando, is that the answer? I don't know I have never been there but others have attended IAAPA so maybe someone who has attended could chime in with some details on that area. Another question is what does everyone want out of the city the show would be moved to? Do you want the best possible show for vendors and buyers? Do you want plenty of entertainment outside of the show?