How much $$$ are you bringing?

Protein bars, baby! HAHH!

Actually I normally have 1 bar for Breakfast, Lunch and then some snacks throughout the day and then will eat a regular dinner, so my food expenses will be relatively cheap. I'll probably be too excited and busy at the con to think a great deal about food.

I dunno what my budget is yet. I pre-ordered a couple of the Sideshow collect-n-go items and then have been buying autograph coupons.

I might also be sportin' the plastic goods to make some purchases. Oh well.. 30th anniversaries only come around once right?

 

I HAVE ONE ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION...

CREDIT CARDS

THAT WAY YOU HAVE ALL THE MONEY YOU NEED!!! LOL

No, I am bringing just enough for a food, collectibles and incidentals. However, I will be putting it all on a credit card!!!

I would say bring alot, but you will come home with none!!!

 

Ahhh, but don't forget Amidala: "Cash is King" when dealing with the vendors in the Exhibit Hall. You can definitely swing better deals on most things when paying with good ol' greenbacks.

 

Greenbacks? What are you some racist?

LOL! jk...

 

As it gets closer to the end of May, I think I have it pretty much covered. I am counting on shuttles to get me from place to place, instead of cabs. I'm not planning to spend on collectibles, as I'm not a collector. I'm going to invest in a proper breakfast, and then see how hunger I get during the con. An empty water bottle and dried snacks will be my best friends. I've already paid for my airline ticket, and the Celebration ticket, so I just need to get my hotel paid, whenever that hits my credit card.

 

Are you serious Justin, I never knew that, thanks for the tip. However, I will try to pay with Republic Credits, but I am sure they will not be good there..way too many WATTO's...LOL

 

Well I get paid just before I fly out so I am laughing.
The exchange rate is just totally in my favour so everything I buy in the US is well just like one big 50% off sale

 

Yup, paying with cash does give you more flexibility and "haggle room" when dealing with the vendors. I saved a few bucks when I purchased some t-shirts from a vendor at C3. It's the same for any convention really - I've haggled down prices for items countless times at all of the computer trade shows that I attend.

Don't get me wrong - it's not likely that you would save tons of money by paying with cash. But a few dollars off here or there, and it adds up. Better to keep the cash in your pocket than the vendor's, right?

 

With the dealers room you have to be totally on the ball and have a rough idea what items are worth cause you can work it in your favour to pick items up for a better price.

 

It's the Dealer's room where the trouble lies...

Imagine, Freida, being surrounded by a thousand things - pictures, goodies, books, what-nots - that you never knew was out there. At C3, I found an AOTC video poster from Germany. Granted it was creased and a bit dog eared, but it was also only a few bucks! It currently resides in NY with Geo3...

Mind you, a lot of the booths often have really cool free-bees too! I still have the Scholastic magnet on my refrigerator!!

 

JediJustin, why do you get better deals when paying with cash? Wouldn't I ALSO be able to negotiate a better price even if I'm paying with a credit card? I'm just afraid that this "Cash is King" tactic are used by crooked employees and managers who aren't going to mind giving you the discount because the cash is going straight to his or her pocket (via unrecorded sales or void sales).

 

Miarama, I'm not saying you couldn't negotiate a good deal with a credit card. But your chances of getting a better deal will always increase much more when paying with cash. This holds true when buying almost anything, from a brand new car to furniture for your house.

And I'm not sure why you (or anybody for that matter) would care what "tactics" the seller is using, as long as you get a good deal on the item you are interested in purchasing. If, for example, a vendor at the CIV dealer room is selling something that I want for $50, and I negotiate his price down to $40 with cash, I am really not interested in how he records the sale or what he does with the money after it leaves my hand. As long as the product is what I want and I get a fair price, it's all good.

 

It has nothing to do with unethical business practices or anything of the like; using cash has everything to do with the fact that cash is cheaper for a vendor to deal with -- no credit card fees, nor do you have to worry about charge-backs! Miarama, obviously you've never been to a swap meet or a garage sale, where cash is indeed, king .

 

A quick question much along these lines, and I hope I don't sound like a bit of a ditz for asking it, but here we go regardless....I take it I'd still be alright at the dealers' room and the exhibit hall, the store and what have you, in forking over the usual Traveller's Cheques....which is how I'd been intending to bring down that much spending money, because it's the only way I'd feel safe and assured doing so by any means. I do presume, though, that since they are just as good as regular ol' cash, and in my experience they're looked at e-zactly the same way, well....I was fairly sure that 'twould likely be the same this time 'round. Still, forewarned is forearmed and all that (especially when it comes to a convention this size - evidently there are som elements to it I've just never come across before, like the whole idea of haggling, too - that, I guess I'll have to figure out, eh?), and so I figured it couldn't hurt to ask, just to clarify, at any rate. Tah so muchly, then, as per usual....


Dawn.

 

JediJustin, I understand why I would get a better deal if I paid with cash vs. a credit card. One reason is the burden of interest rates.

However when I bought my current car, I did not buy it with cash but financed through my bank. I paid below invoice for it because I researched how the auto industry set their prices. Needless to say because of how I negotiated, the car dealer knew that I was familiar with their business and closed the sale in 30 minutes (I also spent 30 minutes online with him). He did not want to waste more time with me because he realized he could at least make some money by selling it for my price than letting the car sit there for a couple more days with no buyers. Of course it wasn't all a piece of cake. I put hours of research about the auto selling industry. I also went to 2 dealerships before that and didn't have any luck.

JJ, my point really is that my leverage when negotiating the price of a brand new car doesn't increase if I pay for it with cash versus financing. At the end paying with cash does not involve interest rates so that's one reason why I would get a better deal. Not many people have that much cash on hand though.

I don't mind getting deals, as long as the seller isn't a thief. If I pay for something, I'd like to think that the owner of the store is getting the money and recording a legitimate sale, NOT the thief behind the counter selling you an item in a non-legitimate manner (whether if it's a store owner avoiding taxes/royalty fees or an employee pocketing the money through many tactics.)

I only care so much because I've had employees who've stolen. About a year ago 2 employees who were in cahoots with each other managed to steal an estimated $11,000 in a period of 8 months through a variety of tactics. The high food cost percentages told me money was slipping away...into somebody's pockets. That meant reasonable raises couldn't be granted to the honest employees because of the 3% of sales the thieves were able to keep for themselves each week, not to mention that the security of my job was threatened due to the out of whack food costs.

Anyway, for the first time at a Celebration I am going to haggle with the vendors at CIV. All the ?30th Anniversary? products are going to be too hard to resist. JediJustin, I will take your advice and take cash with me to the vendors room even though I?m not comfortable with carrying too much cash. Come to think of it, this thread is quite dangerous because we are telling strangers how much money we will have in our pockets and where we are staying, LOL. I CHANGED MY MIND. I AM NOT CARRYING ANY CASH AND I AM STAYING AT A HOTEL FAR AWAY FROM THE CONVENTION.

Thanks for the reply JJ and I will let you know if it works.

VK- You are right. I?ve never been to a swap meet and have never haggled prices at a garage sale. So I can?t wait to do this with the vendors at CIV.

 

Dealers will prefer cash over anything else because there's an increase in fradulent money orders and traveler's checks.

If you can cash in your checks for bills at a bank near the convention center, I'd recommend that.

 

I have to agree. It's either cash or a credit card - even though travelers checks are "the same as cash," there is some resistance to using them. Never forget that your hotel will cash a check for you - at least they will, if you staying at an upscale hotel. Motels won't. I'd recommend that, and just keep it close to hand.

 

I know one thing for sure I will pay for my hotel room as soon as I check in cause I cannot trust myself to go the whole time I am there with that money laying around. I am ok for internet access as my phone and psp use wireless connection so will not cost me anything.

 

Hmmmmmm....see, now, that's interesting, because when I visited Chicago not quite a couple years ago, initially I thought that I'd have to switch my Traveller's Cheques for just good old-fashioned cash at the bank....yet when I dropped by one such place, they reassured me that I'd be good just stickin' with the cheques, so I guess that was one instance where 'twas okay and perfectly do-able....but from what you're saying, though, in *this* particular instance - just sticking with solid, regular ol' cash will likely get me into less trouble that way....less mess, no fuss and all that. Hopefully. With any luck. I *had* suspected, though - had at least an inkling or a sense of general wondering....ment, if you will - that maybe with a convention this huge, and in L.A. to boot, well....very likely it could be a different procedure there, and from what you're saying I guess it will be, so.... *shrugs* ....cash it very likely is, then.

Ah well, 'tis no great biggie, I suppose....though do you know if I stand the chance of getting zinged with any sort of transaction fee for doing so, exchanging the cheques for just straightforward cash? I'm hoping that nothing like that would be involved....because, hey, I wouldn't be bringin' down the cash just to have it snatched from me via transaction fees, or however it all works....argh, curses! Or, well, put it this way....if I do, alack-and-alas, have to resign myself to such a thing, even a minor transaction fee or whatever, well - where's the cheapest place to do it, and by that I simply mean....where would I expect to *not* get zinged some insane fee for the privilege? Just tryin' to plan ahead here....much as I can at this point, anyway....and hey, trust me, it'd just be nice to have at least something more solidly confirmed right now....even a slight load off my mind is a load nonetheless, because....*eeek*....


Dawn.

 

I just checked my bank here in the uk and I get charged 1.5% of the amount I take out at machines in the US and anywhere else and a minimum transaction fee of £2 (around $4) with the maximum being £4.50 (around $9)

 

Do any of the smaller dealers even have credit card access at cons?

 

You can always cash travelers checks at your hotel.

 

Some will, some won't. It all depends on the dealer. Its been my experience that many dealers at a con will call a credit card order into their store and do it that way.