What is your biggest selling item at cons - comics, badges, prints?

[AdrenalineShots]

And why do you think they sell the most? And are they economical i.e. do you make something on them when you sell them?

Thank you!

[Kura]

Back when I did cons around here badges sell the best and bring in the most profit for me.

[AdrenalineShots]

Ah that's interesting! Any particular why that would be do you think? What did you charge for them?

[Kura]

I charged very cheep for them (this was a while ago when the dollar in my country was doing better so I would probably have to charge more if I sold them now), usually less than most people. 1.50 each or 1.00 each if you bought more than 10. People would buy them by the handfuls of 10, 15, 20 or more.

Prints I sold for 5$ each (10$ for poster prints), and they would usually only sell 1 or 2 at a time.

The reason why they sell better is probably because they can be treated as accessories. Attached to clothing, bags or lanyards easily and switched out just as easily. Prints, especially poster prints, require wall space, and lots of people are pretty limited in that.

[masoneasley]

Prints (11x17) for me. I sell mine for $10, and make $9.20 in profit. Fan art prints sell the best by far. They're also a great way to get attention to my table where I can sell my original work and comics.

[aszabla]

Comics definitely. I do the occasional con and didn't have printed books until this past year, so I mostly sold prints and did okaaaay. Then last year I finally got to sell some of my comics and PHEW DANG they sold out and then the last day at the con I had nothing to sell lol and aaaa it was crazy. Since I get my books from my publisher at a discounted rate to sell it worked out pretty well and I made a decent profit. Definitely interested in trying more cons selling comics now that I have em!

[Pandastrophic]

I think prints and especially smaller ones like A5 prints sell really well every comiccon for me.

[Shanny8]

Comics. I sell more comics than prints. I thin the thing for me is that I dont A) have a large variety of prints( I have 4 diff posters) or B) they might be looking for something a little more dynamic or different. I'm trying to up my print game this year, got 2 new pieces finished, and gonna try to get 2 more done before the next show I do in August.

[AnnaLandin]

Comics, for certain.

I've got postcard-prints, bookmarks, badges and acrylic charms, as well as comics/artbooks, and the comics are definitely the big sellers.

It should be noted, though, that I usually table at indie/small-press cons, where the con-goers are specifically there FOR comics. I've only tabled at bigger pop-culture cons a few times, and have had generally negative experiences; people didn't buy much of ANYTHING, regardless of how many different kinds of trinkets I brought with me.

[revisionstudios]

My comics are always the #1 seller, no matter the con! If the comic isn't doing well usually I'm not doing well. =v=; and I bring fanart prints and buttons with me, too.

Even considering my highest turnout with prints, I sell 3 times the amount of comics. (At my highest for a weekend, total prints sold were 55, and total comic issues was 168, just to illustrate the divide)

Prints are going to have the highest profit margin because people are paying for the art, not the printing. Your next most profitable is going to be trade paperbacks, followed by things like charms/keychains, comic issues, bookmarks, badges, and buttons. That isn't to say you shouldn't stock those lower ticket items, you just have to sell more of them to make up your costs. Some people make bank on buttons alone!

Just remember that when selling at a con, low quantities of a large variety of items is key. You want to be able to draw in a lot of different people. Start with only 10-15 of each item (prints and other merch), unless you're SURE it'll sell. Maybe 50-100 of a comic if you're just starting out and only plan to do a couple cons.

[jennula]

Last year, I think my comics sold the best regardless if it was an indie comic con or a more pop culture/RPG/board game centric con. Which I have mixed feelings about, but mostly positive ;D I mean, I want to sell my other stuff too, but I'm the happiest if they read my comic, of course =)

When I started to do cons again in 2015, I had a tiny batch of fan art stuff as well and while they sold okay at more pop culture cons, I still think my comics sell better, which I'm really happy about =) For this year I'll for sure ditch my fan art stuff and just go with my SPEJS related art =)

[purrlpankras]

I went to a con not long ago and the most popular thing was badges and stickers.