Wait? What? Last week of September? No no, it couldn't be- I just got back from Dragon*Con! Whoa! That went... well, WHOOSH!
Okay, I will spare you all the fangirl squeishness that was Dragon*Con for me this year and just give you the bottom line: It was a huge success! After last year's
shipping fiasco that cost me more than I could have ever made, I was hoping to bring in about the same amount of sales as last year just to be on par with expectations. Well shiny Browncoats must have been saving their coin for D*C because sales were almost double what they were last year! (It also helped that we were in a slightly better location and that we had 2 tables instead of one).
What does this mean for all of you? More shinys! Yes, my con and merchandise budget is based mainly on what happens at D*C. Because sales were so phenomenal (and I'm not repeating it to brag- I'm repeating it to stress how stunned I am!)
Firefly Cargo Bay will be able to go out to the black and hit 5 or maybe even 6 cons in 2010! And I'm aiming for some new ones this year (hit some of those border worlds I haven't seen yet).
It also means that I can afford to purchase or have made or buy the supplies to make brand new shiny goods for the
the secret stash including some more of the official stuff from
QMx, since I am one of their official retailers after all. Believe me when I say that I already have ideas aplenty for new shiny stuff!
On the down side, since Dragon*Con was so good sales wise it means my on hand stock is pretty well depleted. So far this has not had an impact on web site sales (after all, the Cafe Press site is usually always in stock of whatever you want) as everything that's been ordered since D*C I had extras of here. Rest assured I am working on filling up the crates again with all the Browncoaty Goodness I can.
There are some things that are going to be pulled out of the Cargo Hold however. Some sizes of the flags just didn't sell as well as hoped and have not had good enough sales to warrant a reorder. The remaining 16"X 24" Independent Flags have gone on clearance sale and when they're gone, they're gone (price reduction is now/ will be shortly evident on the
FFCB products page for all clearance items). Same story for the Browncoat Car Flag. There has also been a price drop on the books Finding Serenity and Serenity Found. Check out all the new updates at the FFCB site.
Unfortunately, until further notice, the Companion Fan will have to be pulled from the site. My supplier only offers the fans in green and navy now instead of the Inara-ish burgundy. I have been looking for suitable replacements, but as yet have not found one of high enough quality.
So, okay, I think I've rambled long enough here. I need to get back to work updating the FFCB web site and restocking and getting my gorram butt in gear on working on those new items! Updates when things progress (or I remember to blog about it- whichever comes first!)
(Oh, and BTW I have reserved my spot for next year's Dragon*Con already- paid in full and on file- so FIREFLY CARGO BAY WILL BE AT DRAGON*CON 2010!!!!!!!)
Until next time:
"It's good to have cargo. 'Course that makes you a target for every other smuggler out there, but that can be fun too."
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The designs are browncoat specific and are engraved right into the leather. They come in brown (with "Browncoat" and the independent emblem on it) and red (with "Serenity" and the chinese for serenity and an outline inspired by a very familiar ship) 
