I apologize for the delay in responding. I have been dealing with a vicious case of con crud that started on Saturday of con and knocked me on my butt for a week.DocWatson wrote: ↑Sun Apr 21, 2019 6:55 pm * The appropriate staff is probably already aware of this general situation, but when I attempted to buy a con T-shirt at the merch table on Saturday evening, all sizes but small were sold out. My friend told me that a merch table staff member had told him that one of the con hotels had bought (IIRC) 200 T-shirts for their own staff, apparently without prior arrangement. While I'm certain the merch division head (or whatever the person's appropriate title is) was overjoyed to have made the sale, I'd still like a(n extra large) T-shirt, please, and for this not to occur next year (again: please). Would it be possible to sell them through this Web site?
I am the merch manager for AB. I handle the ordering and am also available at the booth during the con. I do not know who your friend spoke to, but I can assure you, no single group or entity, including the Sheraton, got or purchased 200 shirts from us. You're right. I would have been overjoyed to make that sale, and I definitely would've remembered it.
While the Sheraton did purchase some shirts for their front line staff, shirts also went to our guests and the Anime Boston volunteers. However, the vast majority of our shirts were purchased by our attendees. I am sorry you didn't get one. As I am the one in charge, I dreaded every conversation with people who were disappointed that they couldn't purchase one this year, and I had a few.
Every year, I have to make an educated guess when ordering. That guess is based on previous years sales, our estimated attendance, the possible popularity of the art, and the needs of other departments in the con. Last year, I over estimated, and had shirts left over. While that's ideal from an attendee standpoint, it's not ideal from the con's. Our budget is very tightly controlled, and shirts that don't sell are a net loss. Few people want them the following year, and selling them at a loss is hard.
So my goal is to sell out, and how I do my ordering reflects that. Obviously, I'd like to sell out at closing on Sunday, and be able to help every single person up until that time. But sometimes, that's not possible.
The shirts will not be reordered, the cost per item is too high for a small order. I have managed to keep the cost of the shirts static for the last few years by maximizing the purchase and including the staff shirts in the same print order. Web ordering is, likewise, not going to happen at this time. It's just too much to ask for my small volunteer staff of five people.
Again, I truly am sorry that you were not able to get a shirt this year. Nothing makes me happier then to see one of our shirts on an attendee years later, either at our own con or elsewhere. It's a tangible connection to a year you did attend, and I never want that to be denied to someone.