What a Membership Includes
Categories and Prices
- Attending
- Supporting
- One-Day
- Kid-in-Tow
- Student
- Volunteer
- Special Events Access
Increases and Scheduling
Regarding memberships themselves, we mentioned earlier that very few complimentary ones were handed out. The few that we did give went to people outside of the usual known local costuming community who otherwise would probably not have attended. Their area of knowledge was felt special enough to warrant offering them one day or full memberships in return for an agreed-upon amount of their time to speak on panels. Speaking engagements usually totaled 2 hours. We were aware that some conventions have given comp memberships to their technical staff (indeed, even free hotel rooms) in return for the large amount of time that tech people, without pay, donate to the convention events all weekend. However, we felt that, given the uncertainty of how much money the convention would actually take in to pay more important bills, and the fact that the committee staff had paid for their own memberships and hotel rooms, we could not afford any exceptions. Fortunately for us, enough people came and volunteered anyway. We at least made every effort to be sure that these people had everything they needed to do their job, and they came through in a very professional manner.
We really hadn’t made much accommodation for those costumers who brought their children to Costume-Con. It was our feeling that if they took up a seat that could’ve otherwise been sold to an adult, then the parent must pay full price. However, we did give a few a price break to those parents who agreed that their children would not receive a membership packet, referred to as a “Junior” badge. We feel we still made the right decision regarding the expected number of children, but perhaps we could’ve at least advertised on our flyers that these “Junior” badges were available, under certain conditions.
We also had a “badge only” designation for one or two people who agree to only work the events and not attend any of the panels.
All in all, any comp memberships and other breaks had to be approved by the committee heads, so that this didn’t get out of control.
Most conventions have a graduated membership cost according to how far away their convention is in the future. A cheaper rate some two years or more in advance benefits an attendee, and the convention gets some much needed working cash. The final price break is roughly 6 months or so before the convention, with a slightly higher “at the door” price.
We delayed the last break until two months before the con.
Money will be slow to come in until the date of your convention draws closer. Having consulted with previous committee chairmen, we learned that there will be a small spurt of cash inflow during (if you sell memberships) and just after the CC prior to yours. Then, memberships will trickle in until around the last deadline. At that point, you will get a small burst of maybe 5% of your total attendance. Around 25% of the rest of the attendance will come in after that point, including those who register on-site at the convention. This is good in one respect, because it brings in more money, but it makes it tough to estimate your expenses very far in advance. It can become critical to know what you will have to pay for tech equipment and Program publications and other pre-con expenses.