Hello! I saw that you were at Otakon AA last year. I just got my acceptance email for Otakon 2023, but I've never done AA at a con before and have no idea what kind of stock I should bring for a con of this size. What stock quantities do you recommend? I'm only planning on printing 5-10 designs at most, in varying sizes. I also won't likely be bringing anything fancier than stickers. Thank you so much for your time! I really appreciate it <3
Congratulations on getting in to Otakon!
I often get asked about starting out at conventions, and I recommend to people to start with small, local shows: generally, the cost of tables is significantly less, and it gives you some practice as well as a good idea of what sells. Otakon, however, is the exact opposite of a small, local con.
Even having done conventions for over 20 years I am still occasionally surprised by what might sell - sometimes it's an older series that no one else has, or a group of friends might all want something.
For myself, I have a huge portfolio of work, so dome images I may only bring two or three, but other images I may bring 10 or more. Generally, fanart sells better than original art. Also, smaller, less expensive items sell better than large items (a number of people also no longer buy prints, theyre out of wall space!) Popular series like genshin can be a good bet, BUT if everyone has genshin merchandise then your stuff needs to really stand out.
Also there is some math. What is the price of the table and your other costs versus what is the profit you make from your items? How many total items at each price would you need to sell to make up your cost? Take the price of your table and divide it by the profit, and that's how many items you need to sell, so bring at least that many.
Of course this gets more complicated as prices change depending on if you order in bulk, and when you have items with different profits, and unseen costs like credit card processing fees and bags and business cards or other freebies.
Also, do you have other conventions you'll be attending after otakon? If so, then leftovers can just be used at the next show.
Hope that helped at least a little, and good luck!