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Does anyone have any idea when the location will be revealed? I realized that while being fun , Botcon can get pretty pricey. I live in Texas and Botcon still tore a hole in my pocket.


Primus package about 400.00
Hotel - about 200.00
Food - 50.00
Booze - Don't even get me started

Dealer room - 150.00 ( at least)

So I wanted to find a way to cut costs. This was my first botcon, and I want to attend another. However, its the price that gets me. I feel like I gotta start doing stupid plate sales to get me where I want to go .

This is my plan.
A. Book in advance - going with Cheap(er) motels
B. Food - don't eat alot (starve); or go with dollar burgers-and deal with diarreah
C. Booze - buy my own and don't go for hotel bar or meetups- that or hang out with hobos
D. Dealer room - try not to give in to the high price japanese stuff.
E. Airplane - if its close enough, drive
F. Days-off work - make sure I've accumulated enough paid time off.
G. Start a botcon fund!
H. Bring 1 extra person?

Damn, this is my most expensive Hobby! Please, share experiences and advice !

Oh ,

I was also thinking of starting a petition for the TFclub to STOP making foam boxes.

They stated that they are spending a great deal of money on these boxes.


I don't care about boxes; the artwork looks good, but that should go with the lithograph


By eliminating boxes, we can cut costs for our primus package by atleast 40 or 50 i'm guessing. Or can someone correct me on that?

However, we can still leave boxes optional as a seperate " buy" ; just have them in limited quantities.

Is this crazy? Because I have the impression that most of us don't care for having a box if we're gonna be dishing out so much cash for some exclusives.

I wish botcon 2013 wil be in florida or georgia, that way I can actually attend it.

While most of the time I'd argue that this brand is aimed at kids and we do not matter as a consumer group (yeah, Hasbro DOES listen, I know), Botcon is a fanwank-thing. It really would not be organised if not for us.

That means Hasbro and Funpub and godknowswhoelse cater to the fans on those days. There of course is no golden rule for what fans individually want, so they offer a wide variety of thing we like as a group. So what is nonsense or garbage to you, could be my treasure. For instance, I'd keep my box of exclusives and would not give three poops for a lithograph.

If you want to keep Botcon cheap... Don't buy their stuff. Especially if you are going to throw out what you're paying for.

So your arguing that because its for fans we shoudn't complain about the pricing?

So that would mean that, as a fan, I should be have tons of money to throw at toys? If I wanted to go to botcon next year ( which I do ) . I would end up having to spend somewhere near 800 or more. That's like a month and a half's rent without utilities.


I've been a fan since 84 and even after college, I live paycheck to paycheck. So are tons of other fans that I know share a similiar situation. Some of which, wish they had gone to botcon.

All I'm asking is to cut prices a bit. If there's no big demand on boxes, and that will make things a bit more affordable, then why not take them out. 50.00 can make all the difference in someone wanting to go attend Botcon.

All in all. Transformers is an expensive hobby ( we know that ) , so why make it more expensive? It would benefit both Hasbro and the fans if costs were considered.

Actually, I did think of a few things that might shave the costs for next year.

For motels: As soon as you find out where the next BotCon is, book early. Sometimes when there is going to be a big event in town the hotels fill up. This allows you enough time to search out a good motel and compare prices. It also eliminates last minute rushing, when you'll be tempted to take just any hotel availible even if it's steep.

For flight: If you look on Travelocity and some other sites, the earlier you book a plane the cheaper it is. The prices rise the closer to the date you are intending to fly. So book early.

Food: Buy ahead of time and bring it with you. Buy things you can eat without needing to heat up or keep cold, so that way you can take them along in the car without having to buy stuff along the way. Plus you won't have to worry about it spoiling and making you sick, especially if you are going to be on the road awhile.

Booze: As you said, that stuff you'll have to bring yourself or you will end up blowing a ton of cash buying it.

As a side note, before you book a hotel, ask them if they have trouble with bedbugs. Those critters have been returning in full force and you can accidently bring them home with you if you stay in a place infested with them. They won't give you a disease, but you definately won't like having them in your place.

metalogan wrote:So your arguing that because its for fans we shoudn't complain about the pricing?

So that would mean that, as a fan, I should be have tons of money to throw at toys? If I wanted to go to botcon next year ( which I do ) . I would end up having to spend somewhere near 800 or more. That's like a month and a half's rent without utilities.

I didn't say things have to be expensive because they're geared towards fans. Any argument that comes from that conclusion is faulty by means of misconstruction.

I said that it's useless to spend money on something which you're going to throw away. If you don't have the money,don't buy it. You're not entitled to a rebate because you like a brand.

Yeah, y'get what you pay for. If exclusives and a weekend of fun and collecting with masses of fellow TF nerds isn't worth the money you put into it, don't bother going.

says a guy who doesn't think it's worth it anyway...

Ways to cut costs:

- Buy an extra Primus package or extra box set, and flip it after the 'con. It could pay for both packages if you do it right. Of course, this doesn't help with the up front cost.

- If you can drive, see if that will be cheaper than a plane.

- Room with someone at the hotel, if you can.

- Don't drink so much. Easier said than done.

- If you're worried about spending in the dealer room - don't go in. Go in once and look and don't go back. Also easier said than done.

- Find a grocery store and get some food for quick meals. If no fridge in the hotel get a cheap styrofoam cooler and use the hotel ice machine - then you can keep some bread and lunch meat and eat cheap.

This year in Dallas was my first BotCon and yes it was pretty pricey.

I drove about 6 hrs which cost me about $140 in gas, but that was half the price of flying there.

I think staying at the convention hotel is a must if only for the convenience. To make things cheaper, room with multiple people. If you are willing to take an air matress and crash on the floor (probably not an option if you fly) and can get 4 to 5 people to a room, then you could probably stay for $30-$40 a night.

Spend less in the dealer room. My dealer room budget was pretty non existant and I was only able to spend $40 this year but I didn't come to buy Transformers (I've got ebay and our fine sponsors for that), I came for the experience and to meet people from the board here.

I know this may sound foreign to some people but you can attend meet ups and socialize without drinking and still have fun.