TwiCon: Just A Money Maker?
Posted by taylor blue on September 5, 2009
Visited 342 times, 1 so far today | 4 Comments
I have been wanting to go to a TwiCon for what seems like forever now. I would love to meet Kellan Lutz or Peter Facinelli probably the most out of everyone. But watching ‘a friend’ prepare to go it has me thinking. My ‘friend’ IMed me earlier asking me what I would do. Would I go to the ball that costs $85 and you don’t get to see a cast member or a breakfast where you get two minutes with the celebrity and you get breakfast for $100.
I love that something like this was put together so that just normal fans would have a chance to meet the cast when probably in normal circumstances would never happen.
But the problem I have is that the prices. I can’t believe how overpriced everything is. So here’s what my friend has paid for so far; $40 for preferred seating in the Q&A, $20 for an autograph, $40 for a picture with the cast member. And then that doesn’t count the airfare and the hotel room. And this is for only one of the cast members, so if I wanted that both with Kellan and Peter I would probably be poor.
Now these conventions are very popular and they sell out pretty fast. I just wonder why the prices are so high then? All I can think about is crazy amount of money that these people are making. I wish it was more affordable for everyone. Everyone should be able to get this amazing experience. Everyone.
Tags: Affordable, Kellan Lutz, Peter Facinelli, Prices, TwiCon
Filed Under: Celebrities
Comments (4)
And now that Summit has “officially” partnered with Creation Entertainment, I wouldn’t be surprised if the prices increase, especially for returning events in 2010 & 2011.
In addition to charging these ridiculous prices that fans are paying (and to be honest, I don’t understand how in today’s recession/economy), Creation protects themselves from refunds by saying that Guest Panels are subject to change at any given time due to work committments.
So if you paid to go see Peter & Kellan, you’d have to pay for the airfare & hotel accomodations, right? Then you have to pay for admission into the con, either for the whole weekend or maybe just the 1 day they are gonna be there (if you stike it lucky & they are there the same day; most of the time, they aren’t). Then you’re gonna pay $40 each for an autograph and $40 to $50 each for a photo op. And if you do the Prom or Breakfast.
THEN, a week or two before the con, you get news that Peter has had to cancel because of a conflict with shooting on NURSE JACKIE. Bummer, but you get your auto & photo $$ back and still have Kellan to look forward to, right? WRONG because the week OF the con, Kellan cancels because of a “work conflict.” You get that photo & auto $$ back, but you’re now still paying to go to a con to see & meet people (the replacement guests who, God Bless them, aren’t Peter or Kellan or any of the Cullens) who are probably very lovely, but who weren’t on your Dream List.
So you’ve paid this small fortune that you CANNOT get back and you’re not even meeting the 2 guys you wanna meet.
Cons are such tricky business and because of the high cost/probability for disappointment in terms of cancellations, I don’t think they are worth it. But fans continue to sell out all the stops, and as long as they do so, the prices will continue to remain jacked. It’s a shame fans don’t realize the power in their numbers cuz if they organized and DIDN’T buy tickets to attend, they could force Creation & Summit to make them more affordable. But fans are so eager to meet their favorite people, I guess they haven’t realized it.
@Agreed – You know I didnt even consider the factor of canceling, I know I would be upset if I had the hotel and airfare and they both canceled on me.
But it seems like people don’t care if the prices are so like you said because they show it will sell out regardless. It’s a no win situation.
I completely agree!! They actually had to cancel one here in Portland a couple weeks ago because of lack of ticket sales. It was like $400 for the weekend, and that didn’t count autographs, photos, or anything added on! Yes, it was a fundraiser for a local children’s hospital, but still–I was wondering how much of that went to the hospital!!! So no one here could pay the cost, so it was completely canceled at the last minute.
Now here is where it got cool! Out of the scheduled guests, which were Peter, Edi, Gil, and others….Peter was so amazing to plan a meet and greet at a local mall in order to still help out the children’s hospital!! He spent the morning with the kids and their families at the hospital and then came to the mall. In 4 hours, he raised $5,000!!!! He then matched that with his own money!!! So $10,000 was given to the hospital that day!!!That event was amazing…I was lucky enough to win a small meet and greet before hand. Peter has the biggest heart!
It’s the creators of these conventions that are stealing the fans blind! Those are not worth it! I have a friend who was all ready to meet Jackson, Ashely, and Kellan and they all canceled, and she ended up meeting others, but those were who she wanted to see!!! It’s ridiculous, and I wouldn’t waste my money. The small meet and greets are worth it, when it goes to charity. But otherwise I would never pay for a picture and an autograph!! That just seems silly to me!!
@taylor blue – It’s because I unfortunately have experience with cancellations that it’s the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about cons.
And not to take anything away from those who DID end up attending but if you look into the recent Twitour stops in Phoenix and New Jersey, you’ll see what I mentioned is what happened. Because of work conflicts, all of the “bigger name stars” ended up not attending. Which is fine but then I think if Creation had been selling the final panels they had ended up with originally, there’s no WAY as many people would’ve been paying upwards of $300 to meet/take photos with/have breakfast with the Wolf Pack of the “humans of Twilight.” People usually are paying those prices to meet a Cullen. So when all the Cullens cancel…it’s just regrettable in a lot of ways.
Not to mention a few of the Twistars now have regretable reputations among fans as being “greedy” or “money hungry” because they continue to sign up to do these cons, and lately, have had to cancel due to “work conflicts.” Only then the stars end up photographed outside of work or are rumored to be taking care of personal errands when they are supposed to be “working,” and it just…gets ugly.
But yeah, the cons continue to sell out and it’s too bad. If you ever took a look at the Supernatural cons that Creation also hosts, THOSE prices are not only gonna make your eyes fall out, but they sell out A YEAR IN ADVANCE! It’s great for fans to be so passionate but I just wish they’d take some time to think about the influence they could have re: prices.