Reno, NV, USA - Biggest Little Toy Convention - Nov 4th

Rebeldream

Rebeldream

Peace within chaos
Joined
Jun 7, 2005
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My daughter and I went to a “Toy Swap” in August that we had seen advertised on FB. It was held at a high school gym and hosted by a local club of Funko Pop collectors. $5 to purchase table space, free admission to the public. It was only 10am-2pm. I was hoping for ponies, she was hoping for Monster High.

The lucky duck found 4 loose dolls in excellent condition for $10 each & they were four she didn’t have in her extensive collection! But not a pony to be found with the exception of two mini equestrian girls figures MIP which I don’t collect. The whole place was Funko, Star Wars, Hot Wheels, Pokémon, and Ninja Turtles.

So I got it into my head to participate at the next one (which was scheduled for Oct 15). I figured I have a decent enough pile of G1 and G3 (and a small pile of G4/5 that I’d acquired) to set up a table and potentially meet other local collectors.

Well… the club decided to go bigger and they’ve negotiated with the GSR (Grand Sierra Resort Hotel/Casino) to use a giant ballroom and there will be 200+ tables instead of the 50 that were at the gym. Vendors are coming out of the woodwork from local and out of state and this is gonna be so huge that I’m now rather intimidated.

But anyway, if anyone lives close enough and is interested in attending, it’s still free to the public. And instead of 4hours it’s going to be an all-day event. I somehow still doubt I’ll find ponies, lol

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That looks like so much fun! I don't recall the last time I saw an event equivalent to that where I am. Closest was a videogame one, but everything was completely overpriced, even by collector prices.

I hope you're able to find some ponies anyway!
 
Oh wow that’s awesome!! I hope you still vend have great sales and that you find more pony treasures. :orangeheart:
 
So I decided to stage all my stuff to see how it works/fits on an 8x2.5’ table. It’s more stuff than I realized :rofl:

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Comments/suggestions welcome, and if you see something you want, lmk. It’s hopefully all going away in a few weeks!
 
I know id be super excited to see your table if i walked in!
 
I keep finding G4 stuff to add. Interesting how G1 is so soft and pastel compared to G4 & G3.

The G1s are massively disorganized currently while I was figuring out how to display all the small G4s.

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Hauled my stuff into the convention today and did a rough set up. We’ll finish in the morning, and it opens to the public at 9am!

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We’re against a wall which is nice and will allow us to watch the rest of the goings-on in the room. I’m going to be a tiny speck of pink in a sea of Pops, Star Wars, Hot Wheels, and Pokémon. Already had a few vendor’s kids ooh-ing and ahh-ing my table! (Arrow shows our location.)

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I'm a little surprised you would be the only table of mlp at a whole toy convention- but I'm sure at least they'll be lots of pink with Barbie. I've noticed now every con you go there are at least a few 90's slim box barbies or holiday barbies to look at. I went to the Great Ohio Toy Show this year and it was FULL of ponies. I cannot tell you how much I spent, only the lord knows that.
 
I WISH there were other ponies. :confused:

We’re set up and doors just opened!
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Our view:
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And the only other pink in the room:
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There’s not even many Barbies!
 
What in the world? How can you have a whole toy con without any my little pony or Barbara?!
 
I had a small bucket list for this experience…

Make an adult nostalgic.
Make a little girl gasp with wonder.
Meet a collector.
Meet a Brony.

All achievements unlocked! :star:
 
Kosei said:
What in the world? How can you have a whole toy con without any my little pony or Barbara?!
Click to expand...
Here's the sad truth of it. Whenever there's a toy show it's almost always exclusively boy toys. (When I say boy toy, I mean toy lines that are created with boys in mind.)

I've been to many cons, and it's extremely hard to find any toys designed with girls in mind. You find plenty of transformers, GI Joe, Star Wars, Ninja Turtles, etc. But when it comes to Care Bears, Barbie, Pony, Rainbow Brite or anything else, you're not going to find much if anything. If you do, they're burried in the bottom of a crate of miscellenous toys that the vendor has hiding under their table. Like, they bring them along but don't even make an attempt to sell them. How could anyone here possibly want a my little pony? Pffft!

I have theories. Maybe it's because gal toy collectors aren't as plentiful, and of those numbers it's even less that attend conventions. My friend's theory is that it's because we're more thrifty than boy toy collectors who will drop $300+ on a transformer they want like it's nothing. I can't speak for everyone, but I know I'm much more conscious of my wallet and my budget. So in that sense, toy vendors don't think it's even worth it to sell ponies and the like. We're less likely to be walking cash machines.

Anyway, it's a sad reality. I'm curious to know how your table does! I can see you getting lots of attention by being the only stand-out vendor at the show. I know I would freak out if I saw a table like that at a convention!
 
So… wow. This was SUCH an incredible experience!!

We were at the very very back wall of this HUGE room so by the time people made their way into my aisle, they had already seen rows upon rows upon rows of the same toys on repeat. Watching their faces as they rounded the corner and saw my table was my absolute favorite thing ever! The double-takes, the widening eyes, the gasps (or occasional scoffs), the smiles, the wonder, the memories just flooding out of them… it was so neat!

I had people approach with awe and reverence and others who looked like they could jump right out of their skin with excitement. I got so many compliments and thank-yous for bringing ponies. I had three little boys buy from me with full self-confidence and family support which was super super cute. I had an early-20s young woman buy G3 Twinkle Twirl and walk away with a look of such dazzled devotion, murmuring about her colors being stunning as she cradled her in her hands.

I have a bunch of stories but I’m beat and headed to bed. I’ll try to remember to retell more tomorrow.

Our table before & after:

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After I put up the sign I sold the Hot Wheels carrier. Not sure how much I made yet - that’s for tomorrow, too.
 
That's so beautiful. That's how I felt at ponycon. <3
 
Stellaluna said:
Here's the sad truth of it. Whenever there's a toy show it's almost always exclusively boy toys. (When I say boy toy, I mean toy lines that are created with boys in mind.)
Click to expand...
I totally have a disdain for boy toys for a few reasons, my biggest reason is that "girl toys" are always treated with such disrespect. As though anyone wants to dig through a bin under your booth and find a Blossom covered in pinot mold (yeah, that happened!)
 
Added up my earnings this morning and I made $650. Not bad considering the majority of what I had for sale I acquired from lot-purchases to get pieces for my personal collection anyway. (And a bunch of stuff (like the G3s) was free to me from a local mom.)

If this says anything about the tone of the event…
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I told them it needs ponies on it next year. :rolleyes:

Kinda cool aspect was that this event immediately followed the 4-day Biggest Little Furry Convention at the same location so there was some carry-over of cosplays and just immensely kind and enthusiastic people.

There were three adult sisters who visited my table who are collectors and they were THRILLED to find ponies. They mentioned they might coordinate to do the event next year so that’s good news for my potential of finding goodies! I asked them if they were here on the TP and they’d never heard of it so hopefully they’ll join up.

I had more than a few people come back a few times to pick up things they had talked themselves out of. One lady came back 4 times saying, “Maybe just one more.” each time. <3

And there was a mom & dad who completely lost their minds when they saw my table. They started grabbing things and making a pile & the mom told me, “We might wipe you out.” Then explained to me that her 13 year old daughter is autistic and loves MLP more than anything & she had a great collection until a few years ago when their house burned down and she lost everything.

:cry:

They were SO excited to see things I had that they hadn’t been able to find & replace for her yet. And even better… her birthday is next week! My heart was all kinds of warm and fuzzy. Several months ago I had found a small plush Twilight at a thrift store whose hair was butchered and ratty. I picked her up because she was only $0.25 but I didn’t know who would want to buy her. I was selling her for $1 and these parents were so freaking happy about her. I mentioned her condition and the mom said, “It’ll just make her all the more precious to my daughter!” I almost cried.
 
These are pictures from the Con’s promo team.

This shows the view when you turned that last corner to go down the last row and what people saw when they first noticed my table on the left.

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And this is a photo they took down the length of my table. The girl closest to the camera debated on her purchase for a very long time but ended up with a G1 Bride and a G3 Twinkle Twirl (I had multiple of her). Her friend in the green shirt got G3 Strawberry Reef and Baby Flower Flash. The little girl got some G4s.

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Ohhh all the stories! The photos! The happy people! This is truly so sweet, I read through all these posts with the biggest smile on my face :ponylove:
 
Wow, sounds like you had a really amazing experience! How nice! Thanks for sharing this.
 
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