Yaoi-Con 2008 | A Celebration of Male Beauty & Passion in Anime & Manga

As stated in the rules of bidding on items in the art show:
Art Show Sales
Buyers may bid on any piece (aside from those marked Not For Sale (NFS) or already sold by quick sale) until the close of the Art Show room on Sunday. Three (3) bids will send a piece to live auction. Any piece with fewer than three (3) bids will be sold for the highest bid price.


I bid on 6 items, 2 with the buy it now price. At (And After) the end of the show at 2 pm I was the only bidder on the remaining 4 items.

After I left at 2:10 pm the 4 items were taken to the live auction and opened to bidding disregarding the above rules! As it happens only one of the art pieces was sold out from under me. But it was an original and therefore irreplaceable.

Also, the charity auction was held before the advertised time. All because they "didn't have enough art in the auction."

In conclusion: I did not go to live auction because I thought they would observe their own rules. And I missed any chance to buy the charity items (of which there were two I particularly wanted).

All in all this has been an inferior con. Right now I don't expect to attend again (unless they have a guest that I just have to see.) It isn't worth the hours of waiting in lines for every event. Even with the new "get the ticket" early plan it takes 1 -2 hours in line to get to the popular events.

I don't know about you, but we waited less than 30 mins in an actual line to get tickets for cosplay. Of course, we were also out there an hour ahead of time to hang out in the courtyard, but that was lunch time anyways. And it did take them a little while to set up, but I honestly don't think they expected that many people to be hanging out there beforehand. It's only the first year they've done the ticketing thing for the big events, there's bound to be some bumps. They'll be better next year. As for actually getting IN to cosplay, we showed up 30 mins beforehand like the schedule said and as soon as 6pm rolled around they started letting people in. That seemed to go smoothly to me, as the room filled up fast and things got underway quickly.

I can't say anything about the Art Auction, as I didn't participate ($90, even while I'm sure it's worth it, is still FAR too much for me) but I think the ticketing for a first time went well. It's sure as hell beats Fanime's 2 hour wait in line for Cosplay to get a good seat.

....worked great!

I arived to the courtyard late, and the line for the Bishi auction was almost to the hotel main doors. Yet, even with that, not only did I get a seat in the auction, but I was able to get into the AMV contest and the Cosplay contest too. The whole process took about 15 to 20 minutes to get the tickets. Contrasted with last year's multi-hour wait and only being able to see two events, I'll take the new system anyday.

The actual seating for each individual event was flawless. It was very fast for all events, and even though I had a high number for the auction (475), I still got a good seat with good views.

I can see you being mad about the art situation if it played out as you said, but please don't rant about the seating...that whole process rocked! Even for those of us who were at the back of the line.

QUOTE:
Also, the charity auction was held before the advertised time. All because they "didn't have enough art in the auction."

I believe the Art Auction issues are still being investigated but I can assure you the charity auction actually started probably twenty minutes to half an hour /late/, not early. It was advertised to start at 3:00 and started well after that because of numbering the items and waiting for the emcee and someone to handle the money. I came into the Art Auction around 2:50-2:55 in time for the last 2 or 3 pieces to be auctioned off, so I'm certain of the timing.

QUOTE:

QUOTE:
Also, the charity auction was held before the advertised time. All because they "didn't have enough art in the auction."

I believe the Art Auction issues are still being investigated but I can assure you the charity auction actually started probably twenty minutes to half an hour /late/, not early. It was advertised to start at 3:00 and started well after that because of numbering the items and waiting for the emcee and someone to handle the money. I came into the Art Auction around 2:50-2:55 in time for the last 2 or 3 pieces to be auctioned off, so I'm certain of the timing.

I think you mean 3:50-3:55. The Art Auction did start late, at about 3:30 PM because the free raffle was going on just outside in the Convene lobby area. I was trying to watch both at the same time. The Auction was neat, but I think it would have helped if the emcee would have stated whether credit cards were accepted during the auction itself for any latecomers. I realize she was trying to go a little fast, because of the time. I asked some of the people watching by the doors but they didn't know for sure. I'd have bid on a few items if I knew for sure...

QUOTE:

After I left at 2:10 pm the 4 items were taken to the live auction and opened to bidding disregarding the above rules! As it happens only one of the art pieces was sold out from under me. But it was an original and therefore irreplaceable.

The YaoiCon staff have graciously connected with the artist to try to get me an equivalent piece. I appreciate their committment to make the best of the situation.

I apologize to everyone that was bothered by my need to vent. I can only say that I became a little unglued and regret it.