I had a couple of issues with the venue, but they were all on this side of inconvenience, rather than anything major. In fact, up until a couple of weeks ago, I was assuming it would be back at the Fairmont again this year and was still looking forward to signing up (when?) to sell.
Everything pretty much goes back to one gripe: not that swap meet was at the Fairmont, but that it wasn't at the SJCC. I wasn't concerned so much about the foot traffic on Day 0. I figured not nearly as many people at there Thursday night as there would be on Friday, after the con officially starts. Plus, the people who are there don't have a lot to do once they get their badges, unless they want to explore downtown San Jose, which isn't exactly a whole lot on a week night and even more so if you're under 21. And it seemed like most people buying didn't have much trouble making their way over.
I was staying at the Hilton last year, so I parked under the hotel. They've got a fairly small lot, so I wasn't going to give up my spot to drive the three or four blocks to the Fairmont. In doing that, though, I had to lug everything I had all the way through the convention center, across the light rail tracks, and down the street to the hotel. The same would hold true for those staying at one of the other hotels further from the con, but at least there is plenty of additional parking both at and around the SJCC. The same thing isn't nearly as true for the Fairmont.
I'd say most people participating knew by that point that swap meet was going to be held at the Fairmont, but once you got to the hotel, there was still some confusion as to where you were actually supposed to go. When I got there, there was a sign pointing one way, but the hallway was being blocked off by hotel staff. I didn't see any roamers or other staff in the lobby to direct people where to go. Once I actually got to the right floor, we wound up on the exact opposite side of the hotel from where we were supposed to line up. Then there was the whole SNAFU with the power at the SJCC, which was completely out of the control of con staff, but there were two groups of people I saw completely out of breath as they were running down the hall to the end of the line: those who still weren't aware of the move for whatever reason, and those who were stuck in line waiting for their badges and were delayed in getting over. Power issues aside, it would have been much less of a hassle for most con-goers if it wasn't outside of the convention center.
Some people might point out that the Clockwork Academy was also held at a different location. Well, I didn't go, which I completely understand was my own choice, but still. And in reading these boards last year, it seems like there was also a lot of confusion as to where things were and what time they were going on. At least if something is moved to a different room at the SJCC, at worst you're walking from one end of the hall to the other.
Then there was the fact that everyone was processed in one room on Thursday night, only to be shuffled off to a different room before they could actually start setting up. Then it was a similar process on Friday night, except there was an additional room where other sellers were posted, which I only found out about after my buddy took a break from selling stuff to make a round of buying. Once you left the rooms, you had to get in a queue to get back in (again, understandable and expected given the room sizes, the number of people there, and making sure people adhere to the one-entrance/one-exit set up,) but both of the lines wound up running through the same relatively narrow hallway and you couldn't tell which line was going to which room.
I completely agree that the last time swap meet was held in the same room as all the gaming stuff it was way too crowded. It was a fire/safety hazard, it was uncomfortable to people looking around, it was a hassle for gamers who might have been sitting with their backs to the meet; in general there were just too many people in too small a space. Except, why did it have to be in the same room as gaming? Or at the very least, why did so much space have to be dedicated to empty tables? The two trends I've noticed over the last few years is that swap meet has been getting more and more popular, while the number of video games and the people playing them have gone down. I'm sure the place is packed when the tournaments are running, but during the off-peak hours, like when swap meet is going on? Without exaggeration, I think the space devoted to gaming could have been decreased by half on Thursday and Friday night, and it wouldn't have had a negative impact on gamers. Heck, moving the console games ten more feet away from the wall and closer to the arcade cabinets would have made a huge difference. Maybe ask SJCC staff to get rid of a half dozen of the empty tables and chairs towards the front of the room and everyone would have been more comfortable.
Putting swap meet into its own room at the SJCC is the best possible thing that staff could do. I know it takes up a lot of space, and you'd have to find other uses for it when swap meet isn't going on, but having a multipurpose room like that makes so much sense for this con. The only other thing I could ask for is either the return of the 10x10 seller spaces, or at least not charging the same $20 for a half-size spot.
tl;dr - I am so glad that swap meet is moving back to the SJCC this year. Having the meet share an entire room with other events that aren't going on at the same time is probably the best possible solution. Didn't mean for this to turn into such a long rant, but hey, Sen asked.
And finally I do want to echo what others said last year and applaud con ops and staff for allowing people to get in to swap meet without a badge because of the power outage. Most people were upset because they either had to wait in line for a long time, in some cases for nothing, and/or because they'd have to come back and do it over on Friday. At least with that one decision most attendees were able to end Day 0 on a positive note.
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Topic: Swap Meet Questions (Read 24814 times)