Event Recap - FanExpo Chicago

As I'm writing this in an airport in which my flight was canceled due to incoming storms, I'm reflecting on the ultimately disappointing weekend it was for me at FanExpo Chicago. 

The layout was much better this year than last year. In my section, every booth was equidistant from each other. That being said, I still had encroachment issues from the exhibitors around me. 

The internet situation was abysmal. I was unable to get a good enough connection in order to take credit card payments, resulting in lost sales. Thank goodness for my daughter - she was able to take the credit card payments for me, saving the rest of the weekend. It really makes me wonder if the event runners deliberately blocked internet access so we would be forced to pay their exuberant fees for the privilege of taking credit card payments. I did not have this issue at all last year.

The only positive that came out of the weekend were the people I met at my booth.

When it came to rebooking the space, the booth fee had gone up so much that it priced me right out of coming back.

The flight? American Airlines automatically rebooked us on a flight to St. Louis. The problem? My car was parked at Columbia Regional Airport, so that was a no go. We ultimately went on standby for the last flight to Columbia with a guaranteed flight the following morning. Luckily were were able to get on the standby flight, but we were stuck on the runway for over an hour due to another thunderstorm rolling through. 

So, my lovelies, this is the last time I will be an exhibitor at FanExpo Chicago. I will be on the hunt for a replacement event, but I've got some thinking to do if I want to continue to vend at these conventions. I'll know more after GalaxyCon St, Louis in October.

~R