tre survival guide to stcc2008: money matters
/// Hell yeh - money matters! No Money? No Vinyl-Honey - I always say ...
/// Singapore (and I suspect everywhere else in the world :p) is about Queuing. Queue to go somewhere to see and/or do something ... Queue to pay ... Queue to get an autograph ... Queue to even take a piss (well, you should see the snaking-line/s outside the Ladies' at malls on weekends) ... so any effort/s put in to lessen the time taken and pain of queuing - is always much appreciated - hence faster monetary transactions - in this instance :)
/// CLICK THRU FOR MORE
DISCLAIMER#1: This post is done with TOYS and toys-related items/products in mind, and may not necessarily be the same for other Convention-items.
DISCLAIMER#2: I've personnally have not been to a Convention, so all this is possible speculation and a figment of posted-fiction for alla youse naysayers :p
/// For folks thinking of a spending-whirlwind at the Con, you may want to consider straight-up CASH Transactions, as opposed to Credit/Visa/Debit - I'd imagine it may prove to be faster, which in turns allows you to move on to the next stall. Which may be critical to a collector (depending on the amount of exclusives or goodies available, of coz), unless you have multiple-*mules out queuing for you, IMHO ... or if you really need to use the toilet, but you don't want to miss the queue. heh.
(*mules* - proxy-collectors / aka - friends - queuing-up and procuring products for you - with or without service-fee ... not haggered donkeys - no livestock in air-conditioned halls, thanks)
/// By utilizing Cash, also consider your DENOMINATIONS:
I remember when I used to run my own weekend flea-market stalls, and there have been numerous folks shoving a $50-bill in my hands for a $2 item, expecting me to be "prepared" for cash-transactions - fair enough, but also do spare a thought for vendors involved, and frankly, generally Singaporeans are guilty of not giving two-hoots in return for service. Am I wrong? heh.
/// CURRENCY: Sing-Dollars or U.S.-Dollars? Or even Japanese Yen? I'll leave that to you folks, yeh? No indication otherwise - altho I'd imagine saving the vendor the hassle of conversion back (but that's just my mindbile on overdrive and my constant effort to be a nice bloke *cough*) - anyone / vendors wanna chime in here?
/// FYI: CURRENCY CONVERSION as of this post (c/o www.xe.com) has USD$1.00 to SGD$1.36 - I have US$15 with me right now (left-over from my Vietnam-trip in 2000 - and for that matter, I have a gigantic fold of Vietnamese-dongs too :p), which I will bring along to try my luck - as if there's anything available for US$15 - I know, right?
/// Electronic-payment via NETS [What Is] would be ideal, primarily for Local / Singaporean-vendors tho, but with the number of overseas-vendors, I'm not too sure if they have the facilities to cater to that tho - but then again, I'm NOT in the know of the current status, so ... also "if" system goes down, it doesn't matter which way too LOL
/// And I've no idea if the payment system will (or will not) end up like regular local expos, where all the items/products are brought to a specific Payment Counter at the end of the hall, as opposed to individual-Booths' payment systems.
HOW MUCH TO SPEND:
/// Bring along how much you want to spend, not how much you can save.
Let's face it, you don't go to a convention to save money. You are there to spend - as wisely as you can - on whatever your heart desires. You Do Not NEED them. You WANT them, and we are but Desire's Biatches, innit? And a Convention is merely the Consumerism-Devil's buffet line - PARTY-ON, FOLKS! LOL
/// And frankly, all the spending could possibly be prepared for, but alas, there is currently no indication of tangible products, nor exclusives listed - for "toys" - as yet. With less than 3 weeks to go before the Convention starts, no less. But of coz I will try to update with as much info as I receive and gather :)
/// Nothing you like? Nothing worth spending money from? Hey, No Expenditure equals "Savings"! - which will do you well in stead, when you go for a revenge-buying-trip afters, innit? (of coz you will. peep below under "Location")
Both males and females are inflicted with guilt-purchases (It's utterly sexist to say only women have shopping guilt-trips. Men too - complete with manly-inner-anguish) and with a concentrated weekend of shopping activities to look forward to? More-over Singapore is currently in the GREAT SINGAPORE SALE-Mode - which means there are even more stuff on sale outside of the Con, so beware - unless you can afford it, then screw the guilt-trip, least of all to me :p
HOW TO SPEND:
It's like how when I used to do weekend toy-runs (oh those heady days) - when I started on one-end of Singapore, and travel thru to the other, and frankly most times when I miss an earlier item becoz I wanna compare prices at the next destination, it is a bit of a bitch to backtrack to get the one prior, if it hasn't been taken up already, of coz.
But of coz, at a Con, it is more contained, but imagine everyone's there for a reason, and the "season" lasts only two days.
/// If you're there to window-shop - all good. But if you are unsure of buying anything for fear of seeing it in shops the day/week afters (and cheaper, no less LOL) then perhaps you'd consider doing a toy-run the weekend prior to the Con. I may end up at China Square Central the Sunday prior myself (PM me if ya wanna meet-up folks) to see what's in the local markets now - at least for reference, yeh? (either existence or price)
Yes, there is also the CSC Sunday Flea Market - operation starts 10am-ish til 5pm-ish. I constantly go-on about it becoz it is one of the heavier-concentrated areas for toys, on a weekend, with the exception of Malls, which frankly holds not more than a coupla establishments at any locale, including shopping-center toy departments (ie. less / if NO designer vinyls)
- www.chinasquarecentral.com/
[Video circa Dec 2006]
/// If I were more "entrepreneurial", I would organize a TOYSREVIL-WEEKEND-TOY-RUN and bring folks around on a bus on Sunday for the Ultimate Toy Buying Spree around Singapore! ... but alas, no money, no vinyl-honey ... :p
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION:
/// The Singapore Toy & Comic Convention 2008 is situated on the 6th Floor of Suntec City - which may or may not see wandering crowds / traffic (altho in Singapore, general crowds are like lemmings trekking to a cliffside, IMHO - as long as the path is known/shown). Good for specific folks looking for stuff without the possible hassle of unruly-crowds, bad for organizers if the general public don't know what's upstairs ... But don't worry about toilets. Singapore takes cares of peeps bowel-movements - Foreign or Domestic. Really.
/// Scope out the nearest ATMs to the Convention Floor - at least you'll know WHERE to run to when you need it the most.
/// FYI: Suntec City itself is a cluster of a few buildings, and in a few of them also has quite a number of Toy Shops, including a dismal Toys'R'Us (I'm sorry, but it's true) - in case your appetite remains unsated ... So may an earlier recce around the area may help in your purchasing decisions? (IF I have the time and patience, I may list down the toyshops :p)
LINKS:
- Suntec City
- STCC Venue Map
THE END IS NEAR:
/// And DON'T forget that extra bit of cash at the end of the day, for the taxi-ride back home, stuffed with purchases of the day! LOL
/// Stay tuned for the next topic in the Toysrevil STCC Survival Guide :) [TAGGED]
DISCLAIMER#3: these are non-sanctioned blog-posts via my own personal opinion/s & initiative and is not tied to the organizers of STCC.
/// Singapore (and I suspect everywhere else in the world :p) is about Queuing. Queue to go somewhere to see and/or do something ... Queue to pay ... Queue to get an autograph ... Queue to even take a piss (well, you should see the snaking-line/s outside the Ladies' at malls on weekends) ... so any effort/s put in to lessen the time taken and pain of queuing - is always much appreciated - hence faster monetary transactions - in this instance :)
/// CLICK THRU FOR MORE
DISCLAIMER#1: This post is done with TOYS and toys-related items/products in mind, and may not necessarily be the same for other Convention-items.
DISCLAIMER#2: I've personnally have not been to a Convention, so all this is possible speculation and a figment of posted-fiction for alla youse naysayers :p
/// For folks thinking of a spending-whirlwind at the Con, you may want to consider straight-up CASH Transactions, as opposed to Credit/Visa/Debit - I'd imagine it may prove to be faster, which in turns allows you to move on to the next stall. Which may be critical to a collector (depending on the amount of exclusives or goodies available, of coz), unless you have multiple-*mules out queuing for you, IMHO ... or if you really need to use the toilet, but you don't want to miss the queue. heh.
(*mules* - proxy-collectors / aka - friends - queuing-up and procuring products for you - with or without service-fee ... not haggered donkeys - no livestock in air-conditioned halls, thanks)
/// By utilizing Cash, also consider your DENOMINATIONS:
I remember when I used to run my own weekend flea-market stalls, and there have been numerous folks shoving a $50-bill in my hands for a $2 item, expecting me to be "prepared" for cash-transactions - fair enough, but also do spare a thought for vendors involved, and frankly, generally Singaporeans are guilty of not giving two-hoots in return for service. Am I wrong? heh.
/// CURRENCY: Sing-Dollars or U.S.-Dollars? Or even Japanese Yen? I'll leave that to you folks, yeh? No indication otherwise - altho I'd imagine saving the vendor the hassle of conversion back (but that's just my mindbile on overdrive and my constant effort to be a nice bloke *cough*) - anyone / vendors wanna chime in here?
/// FYI: CURRENCY CONVERSION as of this post (c/o www.xe.com) has USD$1.00 to SGD$1.36 - I have US$15 with me right now (left-over from my Vietnam-trip in 2000 - and for that matter, I have a gigantic fold of Vietnamese-dongs too :p), which I will bring along to try my luck - as if there's anything available for US$15 - I know, right?
/// Electronic-payment via NETS [What Is] would be ideal, primarily for Local / Singaporean-vendors tho, but with the number of overseas-vendors, I'm not too sure if they have the facilities to cater to that tho - but then again, I'm NOT in the know of the current status, so ... also "if" system goes down, it doesn't matter which way too LOL
/// And I've no idea if the payment system will (or will not) end up like regular local expos, where all the items/products are brought to a specific Payment Counter at the end of the hall, as opposed to individual-Booths' payment systems.
HOW MUCH TO SPEND:
/// Bring along how much you want to spend, not how much you can save.
Let's face it, you don't go to a convention to save money. You are there to spend - as wisely as you can - on whatever your heart desires. You Do Not NEED them. You WANT them, and we are but Desire's Biatches, innit? And a Convention is merely the Consumerism-Devil's buffet line - PARTY-ON, FOLKS! LOL
/// And frankly, all the spending could possibly be prepared for, but alas, there is currently no indication of tangible products, nor exclusives listed - for "toys" - as yet. With less than 3 weeks to go before the Convention starts, no less. But of coz I will try to update with as much info as I receive and gather :)
/// Nothing you like? Nothing worth spending money from? Hey, No Expenditure equals "Savings"! - which will do you well in stead, when you go for a revenge-buying-trip afters, innit? (of coz you will. peep below under "Location")
Both males and females are inflicted with guilt-purchases (It's utterly sexist to say only women have shopping guilt-trips. Men too - complete with manly-inner-anguish) and with a concentrated weekend of shopping activities to look forward to? More-over Singapore is currently in the GREAT SINGAPORE SALE-Mode - which means there are even more stuff on sale outside of the Con, so beware - unless you can afford it, then screw the guilt-trip, least of all to me :p
HOW TO SPEND:
It's like how when I used to do weekend toy-runs (oh those heady days) - when I started on one-end of Singapore, and travel thru to the other, and frankly most times when I miss an earlier item becoz I wanna compare prices at the next destination, it is a bit of a bitch to backtrack to get the one prior, if it hasn't been taken up already, of coz.
But of coz, at a Con, it is more contained, but imagine everyone's there for a reason, and the "season" lasts only two days.
/// If you're there to window-shop - all good. But if you are unsure of buying anything for fear of seeing it in shops the day/week afters (and cheaper, no less LOL) then perhaps you'd consider doing a toy-run the weekend prior to the Con. I may end up at China Square Central the Sunday prior myself (PM me if ya wanna meet-up folks) to see what's in the local markets now - at least for reference, yeh? (either existence or price)
Yes, there is also the CSC Sunday Flea Market - operation starts 10am-ish til 5pm-ish. I constantly go-on about it becoz it is one of the heavier-concentrated areas for toys, on a weekend, with the exception of Malls, which frankly holds not more than a coupla establishments at any locale, including shopping-center toy departments (ie. less / if NO designer vinyls)
- www.chinasquarecentral.com/
[Video circa Dec 2006]
/// If I were more "entrepreneurial", I would organize a TOYSREVIL-WEEKEND-TOY-RUN and bring folks around on a bus on Sunday for the Ultimate Toy Buying Spree around Singapore! ... but alas, no money, no vinyl-honey ... :p
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION:
/// The Singapore Toy & Comic Convention 2008 is situated on the 6th Floor of Suntec City - which may or may not see wandering crowds / traffic (altho in Singapore, general crowds are like lemmings trekking to a cliffside, IMHO - as long as the path is known/shown). Good for specific folks looking for stuff without the possible hassle of unruly-crowds, bad for organizers if the general public don't know what's upstairs ... But don't worry about toilets. Singapore takes cares of peeps bowel-movements - Foreign or Domestic. Really.
/// Scope out the nearest ATMs to the Convention Floor - at least you'll know WHERE to run to when you need it the most.
/// FYI: Suntec City itself is a cluster of a few buildings, and in a few of them also has quite a number of Toy Shops, including a dismal Toys'R'Us (I'm sorry, but it's true) - in case your appetite remains unsated ... So may an earlier recce around the area may help in your purchasing decisions? (IF I have the time and patience, I may list down the toyshops :p)
LINKS:
- Suntec City
- STCC Venue Map
THE END IS NEAR:
/// And DON'T forget that extra bit of cash at the end of the day, for the taxi-ride back home, stuffed with purchases of the day! LOL
/// Stay tuned for the next topic in the Toysrevil STCC Survival Guide :) [TAGGED]
DISCLAIMER#3: these are non-sanctioned blog-posts via my own personal opinion/s & initiative and is not tied to the organizers of STCC.
