Tips and Advice for Supernatural Conventions!

ASAP is the only good answer I can give. Every con sells out differently, it’s hard to predict. Keep an eye on the gold seats still open in the shopping cart so you know when it’s getting close. I’d say soon though, they go so quickly. As for photo ops, get Jared or Jensen ops as soon as possible, Jensen’s will sell out first. The rest of the ops you can wait until the con and buy them in person. No problem!

Oh my. I just want to request that future question askers never come at me in all capitals ever again. It’s as if you’re screaming at me.

Anyways, it’ll be on the Creation site here. You can always find the page by looking at their front page and seeing the banner that says “pick up photo ops”. I don’t have a “when” for you. I lost the sheet. It’s usually a month or so after.

Nope, it’s free for every human being on the planet.

I’n so sorry this is so late. I was already in Chicago when you sent this, and I didn’t have access to tumblr the whole time. I didn’t even have time to open it until today! I hope everything went okay, but yes, you can go and come back.

It’s pretty low-lit, nearly dark! Also, you just go to the head of the line at the time the schedule appoints, or 5-10 minutes early. You guys get to go in first because you need to pick the table you’re setting your centerpiece on and enter it into the contest there. The staff will know more than me when you get there, so just ask them what time they want you to be there, just in case!

Yeah it gets pretty long! I usually try for an hour to 45 minutes early unless you want to wait in line forever.

You do need a con ticket for Friday if you want to get a photo op on Friday, including the Karaoke Kings.

Can anyone help?

I am pretty sure you don’t need a ticket. It always says free for everyone, but I would call Creation and ask.

Private auction? I’m not sure what you mean by private auction so I’ll answer as best I can. There are three kinds of auctions that are coming to mind.

1. Online auctions - Creation runs those on their own site, and a month or so before the convention they auction various meet and greets, as well as front row seats and the backstage vip pass. They go for quite a bit, all of the above, so the best idea to get is to watch other con’s auctions and save up.
2. The daily auctions at the convention. For about half an hour every day they’ll hold an auction. The items will be various autograph and memorabilia collections for various sci fi shows, especially ones Creation runs other conventions for. They can go for pretty much anything, since every item is unique and it all depends on what’s in demand. They’ll also auction limited edition SPN items like comicon totes, posters, the official magazine collections, and even their own merchandise in bulk so you can got a lot more there than in the vendor’s room - for less. The most popular things auctioned are the giant posters that decorate the halls. Those go for a pretty penny depending on the popularity of the guest!
3. The sunday morning silent auction is a little different than a typical auction. There will be various items laid out on a table in groups, and if you want to bid you sign a sheet with your bid amount. Usually they’ll auction various items just like the daily auctions. Same stuff. Again, hard to quote a range because it’s different every time.

Hope that helps.

The only thing I would say is ASAP because you’d get a better seat, and because it’s impossible to guess when it’ll sell out. Sorry I couldn’t help more, but every convention is different, even year to year!

Well there’s ebay, the facebook groups for the conventions, which would be this one in this case, or post a way for people on tumblr to get a hold of you through here or through a post tagged “chicon” are the best ways coming to mind.

It’s just once! Registration is the same as checking into a hotel - you only have to do it the one time and then you’re all set. Same wristband all weekend long.

I can give you a general idea, but be warned - I’m not sure 100%! I think tee shirts are usually $15-20, mugs are $10, unsigned 8x10s are usually $4 I think? Either $4 or $8, but I think $8 is too high and I’m remembering wrong there. The rest, I’m not sure about the prices but I think if you check out the Creation website, the prices ought to be the same online as they are in the vendors room.