Hell, No, Creations Cons -- We Won't Go!
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| Title: | Hell, No, Creations Cons -- We Won't Go! |
| Creator: | Jon Lane |
| Date(s): | July 1991 |
| Medium: | |
| Fandom: | Star Trek |
| Topic: | |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Hell, No, Creations Cons -- We Won't Go! is a 1992 essay by "Captain Jon Lane, Exec for the USS Avenger out of the Starfleet Region Seven." It was originally printed in Tricorder Readings #28, that club's newsletter, July 22, 1991. The essay was photocopied and reprinted in The Destroyer #9 in early 1992.
The title of the essay may also be "The Problem With... ©reation."
The essay's main points were the owners of Creation Con requiring large fees from fan dealers and other financial hurdles, Creation Con's dealmaking with celebrities so that the stars would no longer appear at fan-run cons, and for there to be a boycott of Creation Con to save the entire existence of fan-run cons.
Excerpts
Creation has finally gone too far!
Creation Conventions suck. This is my opinion, and many of you may not share it, although I know that a good-sized number of you do. The following editorial, however, is not concerned with the quality (or lack thereof] of Creation cons. No. this concerns a letter that Creation recently sent to its dealers that I just had the displeasure of reading. It concerns the fact that Creation Conventions, Inc., this snotty, obnoxious convention company from Long Island, has finally crossed the line of business ethics, stabbing in the back the very people who made then rise to success possible in the first place. (Can you guys tell that I'm mad, yet?)
Essentially, Creation Conventions, Inc. has "...recently signed a licensing agreement with Paramount Pictures for their properties STAR TREK. STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION, the five STAR TREK Feature Films, the upcoming STAR TREK 6, and the 25th Anniversary of STAR TREK." This might sound impressive (apparently, they spent more than $250.000 on this contract), but it spells financial doom for the various dealers who sell STAR TREK merchandise at conventions, and here's why... The dealers will now have to buy most of their TREK merchandise wholesale directly from Creation. In other words, every time you go to a Creation con, you'll see the exact same TREK merchandise on each table, except that on the Creation table, the stuff will be just a little bit cheaper. The dealers, who already pay exorbitant prices to Creation just for table space at cons, will have to pay Creation even more, only to be undersold by those same suppliers.
The letter goes on to say that Creation feels '...that if tha market is furnished with licensed meichandise then there is no excuse to seek unlicensed sources for these same goods. We, along with tha other licensees, feel that we can supply the field to its full capabilities." Bull hokey! Now, some of you might be saying, "Good, I'm sick of those dealers ripping me of! They deserve whatever they get." Now don't be too hasty, here, guys. In fact, some of those dealers are themselves STARFLEET members (like Joe Kindle of the Konkordium), and most make their livelihood driving from con to con selling their stuff. Their prices are usually fairly reasonable (some even offer STARFLEET members a special discount}, considering that the money they make at cons pays for their food and rents.
Others of you (or maybe the same ones) might be thinking. "Well, at least all the stuff will be legal now. I hate to think we'd be buying unlicensed merchandise." Well, you're all reading a piece of unlicensed merchandise right now. You're part of an unlicensed fan club. Chances are, most of your STAR TREK T-shirts are unlicensed. For some dealers, anywhere from 25%-100% of their merchandise is unlicensed (like the book "Ships of the Star Fleet"), the Blooper Reel videotape, original artwork, all the fanzines, and much, much more. We'll never see this merchandise at Creation Con again. And if Creation has its way, not at any other con either. I quoteth again, "Please be aware of the fact that our intent is to protect our licenses not only at our events but at all events.' (I can just see Creation people walking into the Shore Leave Dealers Room with a court order. Oh, I shudder to even imagine it!
By the way, that's not all the crap they're pulling Creation is also now seeking Exclusive Contracts with the STAR TREK stars so that they can do only Creation Cons. Marina "Deanna Troi" Sirtis has just signed one. You'll not see her at a non-Creation Con anymore. Now don't blame Marina; the contract if vary attractive: tons of money, and she only has to do a certain number of cons a year, and she can choose which cons and when. Looks great for the stars, but Craation shouldn't even be suggesting it! Yeah, it makes for good business—it's the ethics that stink. STAR TREK is an ideal for many, something to strive for. Creation is just out for money, and it's starting to look real obvious. And I, for one. don't like feeling that my love of STAR TREK is baing used to make a greedy business even richer.
What can be done?
I can't tall any of you what to do about this, nor will I. But I will tell you that I personally I'm through with Creation Cons. Call it a boycott, call it whatever you will. I am not giving them another penny of my money!
And lot's face it, it's not a, hard decision to make—at least not for me. Their cons are awful. They usually offer no alternative programming to the main Ballroom and Video Room (and you can only walk around the Dealers Room 50 to 60 times before you start getting real bored), their tickets ara way overpriced (and they have the gall to charge extra fox 'preferred seating'), their big guests ara almost completely inaccessible when they're not on stage (at cons like Shore Leave and I-CON, the stars are often seen strolling the Dealers Rooms or in separate, smaller panels), and the convention patrons (us) are usually treated like cattle by Creation personnel.
What I would lika (nay, love) to see is a complete STARFLEET boycott of Creation Cons. Already, many ships in Region Seven ara planning to cease dealing with Creation at all. No more recruitment tables; no more working security at cons where volunteers stand on duty from 9:00am till 7:00pm. And many of the dealers are considering not doing Creation cons either, and certainly not ordering; 'licensed merchandise" from them.
Creation wants to be "the only game in town." If Creation could eliminate the fan-run con, they would. And they're trying through their new "exclusive contracts." STAR TREK conventions started with the fans, and the fan-run cons are still (almost every time) the best. Unfortunately, with the high prices in and around Naw York City, few of these wonderful fan-run cons are held in the Tri-State area, and people around here haven't had a chance to truly experience cons that aren't "cold" Creation Cons.