#this is a badge design for 2025 cons but i like it so much i wanted to post it

[meep--tm]

muuuuuWAH!!! 🌟💥💖🚪🔔

[catbatartistalley]

MAGfest 2024

MAGfest Prime 2024 | National Harbor, MD | Jan 18-21

Cost Breakdown

Overall, while a REALLY long drive, MAGfest is a very inexpensive convention for us to attend, largely due to family in the area! However, if you're staying at a nearby hotel, expect to pay a LOT.

Table: $440 (table + 2 badges)

Lodging: Both my spouse and I have family in the area, so we paid nothing to stay in DC and didn't have to fight in the ring of honor to get Gaylord spots.

Parking: About $100 total

Travel (from Indianapolis): 9 hour drive (appx $150 in gas)

Food: I don’t count food costs toward my overall expenses for the most part because I am a total foodie and definitely splurge on the local restaurants when I can. But despite being a new location, we didn’t get a good chance to explore the food here.

The Gaylord has some food stands/small restaurants in the hotel (and a little deli/marketplace area to pick up pre-made sandwiches, wraps, fruit cups, etc.) It’s definitely expensive, but there’s some nice variety if you don’t wanna leave the building. We actually brought supplies to make PBJ along with some snackies. We also had a homemade pasta day with some family we were staying with. Friday night we were so busy we actually forgot to eat and just went to bed without dinner. Then Saturday evening we went to a fancy restaurant in the Gaylord and ended up spending way more than we meant to. It was pretty good, but WAY pricier than anticipated so we probably won’t go again. We’ll be trying more places in 2025, but probably continue our PBJ tradition for lunches.

Marketplace: MAGfest is famous for the fact that its vendor hall is open 24/7 from convention start (Thur 2pm) to convention end (Sunday 3pm.) However, vendors can set their own hours and the con has security all weekend. I did very well vending from about 10-11 am to 10 pm.

Personal Review

I was floored when I got accepted into MAGfest 2024. It’s such a ‘big kid’ con and I’d only just started to reach out and attempt to do more than the same 4 conventions every year. But a friend had said “your work would do well at MAGfest. You should try applying.” So I did. And they were right.

MAGfest represented a lot of firsts for me. My first con outside of the midwest. My first coastal con. First east coast con. First time in DC. First time with my current print prices. First time hitting some record numbers.

Often times when I am at a convention, there will be points (Especially at the beginning of the day) where sales will be incredibly slow, or a whole hour will go by before I make my first sale. It felt like a good sign when two staff members purchased from me before the hall officially opened. Not a single hour went by were I didn’t make at least a handful of sales during the hours I was set up (about 10am-10pm) However, I am far too much of a baby to stay up into the wee hours of the morning in hopes of getting drunk gamer sales. I did just fine, though.

At points it would get so busy that I was kicking myself for not having purchased a second square reader at that point. I probably would have made more if both my spouse and I were able to take sales at the same time. 

On the flip side, you do not get to know your table placement until you check in at the con, so good luck trying to promote your location or organize a stamp rally.

Also, I had a corner table, which is usually awesome, but the way the tables are laid out, it effectively meant that between my two neighbors backdrops, we had NO space behind the table for our own display. I was able to prop up a single banner. Considering tables are only 6', it felt like so little. I think I’ll be a little more aggressive next time, but I wonder if I will do better with a proper backdrop vs just the banner.

We also had to haul our stuff through the hotel lobby which suuuuuucked. We arrived Thursday morning and didn’t know if there was a designated load in space, so dragging suit cases over carpet and navigating the Gaylord (which is a bit of a maze) was rough. 

Other than that, though, I loved it. Despite the travel and the size of the con, I felt very relaxed most of the weekend. Staff was nice, attendees were nice, I met a friend IRL that I’d made on Gaiaonline 20 years ago (which was WILD. ilu.) The vibes were chef kiss and people LOVED my DnD monsters. 

And dice? This was my best dice-sales convention by FAR. Prints were still my number one but dice did great! I was worried my prices were too high to appeal to people (handmade prices vs mass produced prices, etc.) I don’t think there were really other dice makers there, so it was a nice surprise!

And now for some numbers:

GROSS: >$10k

PEAK HOURS: 11am, 2-4pm fairly consistently

SLOW HOURS: 6-7pm. People are at dinner. I’d use this time to get dinner to. Sales also tapered off significantly after 9pm most nights. There was also a smaller dip around noon-1 as people got lunch, but still decent traffic. I’d recommend packing a lunch to scarf stuff down at the table.

TRANSACTIONS: 235

AVG SPEND PER VISIT: $48

CARD to CASH RATIO: 80%/20%

Note: I sell primarily prints and original illustrations with fantasy, ttrpg, and horror themes. I also sell handmade dice, coloring books, and mousepads when I have the space for them. Take this into consideration when comparing your experiences.