Show Report- Nashicon 2011

Nashicon is an anime convention here in Columbia, SC.  It's one I've been going to for a few years now, and every year it gets better.  This was our second time vending at this show.  It's put on by Club Nashi, the anime club at USC.  They've been having it on campus since it started, but I believe that next year they are planning to move it to a hotel or convention center since it's getting too big for the student center.

Specs:

March 19-20
Cost of table: $10
Juried: no
Tables/chairs provided: yes
Indoor/outdoor: indoor
Attendance: 1000
Profit: high

Pros
-This year, they reconfigured the artist alley so that it was on the first floor and right across from the dealer's room.  It took up three rooms, which they named Artist Ally, Artist Neutral, and Artist Axis.  (Hetalia!)  The positioning really helped our sales, and it helped not having to lug everything up the stairs.

-The attendance was up a few hundred from last year, and I feel that it will only continue to increase.  Lauren, the con chair, and all her staff do a great job.

-Speaking of the staff, throughout the show, they were completely accessible and helpful, even willing to watch tables if someone needed to step away.  And the con chair wasn't a ghost like at most shows; she was walking around and talking to people the whole time.

-The hours of the show were very good, and we were able to stay open as late as we wanted.  There was security, so we could leave our stuff overnight, too.

-There was a good variety of panels and activities at the convention.

-We had a lot of fan support!  It was really nice to see a lot of people from last year who met us or bought from us, and still wanted more.  That always makes us feel good.

Cons

-The artist alley had repetition:  a lot of fan art, and quite a few other plushie makers.  But without a juried show, there's no way to stop this, and it didn't really seem to affect our sales, so eh...

-The dealer's room was awful!  Barely any dealers, and the ones that were there all had the same stuff.  Not to mention about half of them packed up early.  I think that's the one thing that could seriously be worked on for this show.  What about Heroes and Dragons?  They have awesome stuff and are in town, and I see them vending at tons of shows.

-There wasn't a separate artist/dealer check in.  We were lucky and since we were carrying tons of crap, Lauren let us set up before getting our badges, but I don't think it would have been difficult to have badges on the tables, or at least a separate check in station. 

This is a con we enjoy a lot, and for us the profit has been pretty high because we have no travel costs, no hotel costs, no gas costs, and the table is so cheap.
As long as we're living in Columbia, we will keep going to this one.
I would only suggest vending if you live fairly close, as it's still a small con.  But it is a ton of fun to attend!