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You say you "had" to take extra time off, because you "needed" to go to Japan town, but in truth, going to JT is a luxury, not a need, and one that exists beyond the requirements of the con staff. People need to be able to afford to eat at cons (despite all the jokes, going three full days without eating in such an active atmosphere risks becoming a hospital case). People need somewhere to sleep at cons, and - from the staff's point of view - people need to be able to afford to attend the con to begin with. Moving closer to SF (and thus JT) flies directly in the face of these requirements - more expensive hotels, more expensive food, more expensive parking etc etc etc. To move to a more expensive location would disadvantage 1500+ potential attendees, and that's not something I think the staff could reasonably consider.
I appreciate that the study aids are a welcome bonus for your course, but is it fair to ask that the rest of us pay more so that you can get to them more easily? If a cheaper location can be found closer to SF, then that's fine, but I seriously doubt that's a realistic prospect, which is what the rest of us are arguing too.
If it's that important, then completely ignoring shopping online etc, could we not try working the other way round? Ask the staff to write to some of the stores in Japan town, inviting them to set up in the dealer's room - "We have a convention a few towns away with 1500 potential customers, where you can have a stall for a reasonable fee - are you interested?" I'm sure there are plenty of people at the convention who're interested in/are learning Japanese too, and who'd perhaps like "authentic" ramen bowls, sake sets, kimonos etc - perhaps it'd be profitable for all parties!
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