The vibe at my local con shifted hard in just two years

Jake Owens · 2026-03-20T01:10:09.4036+00:00

I was at Emerald City Comic Con in 2022 and again this year, and the difference in the crowd is wild. In 2022, it felt like 60% cosplayers and 40% people just there to buy stuff. This year, it felt totally flipped, like 70% were just shopping for exclusives and merch, barely looking at the art or panels. I think the big movie delays and the whole 'superhero fatigue' talk online made a lot of casual fans just treat it like a mall. Has anyone else seen their local con turn into mostly a shopping trip lately?

gibson.elizabeth6mo ago

Maybe @thomasm15's friend needed a vendor booth to get noticed...

6

thomasm156mo ago

Man, my buddy went to his usual con last month and said the same thing. He spent an hour on this amazing Mandalorian build and barely got stopped for pictures because everyone was just rushing to vendor lines. It kinda killed his mood, you know? Does that shopping focus make the whole event feel less special to you too?

4

kelly_schmidt6mo ago

That's a solid point about the vibe shift. @thomasm15 mentioned his friend's cosplay getting ignored, which is a huge bummer. Do you think the con organizers are partly to blame for pushing so many limited edition drops? It feels like they're feeding that shopping frenzy. Makes the whole floor just feel like a checkout line sometimes.

1