It was mid June when the Goblins returned to our realm. Now they visit for a full day, with Shop Goblin Shop, an art market while the sun was out, and Dance Goblin Dance, a party to last all night! I was there as a vendor and will tell you what I saw…
Applications for Shop Goblin Shop opened shortly after the Goblin Market in late March and were shared on Time Travel Events’ social media. Interestingly, the table fee for Shop Goblin Shop was less than the Goblin Market, and there would be free entry for attendees. While Dance Goblin Dance did keep a 15 dollar entrance fee. I applied and got a acceptance response within a couple days! It seems spots did fill up quickly since a friend of mine, who did apply around the same time, ended up on the waitlist.
Coming up to the market, Time Travel Events kept up a consistent schedule of promotional social media posts. They created individual shout outs and graphics for each vendor, which is always an appreciated touch! The week before the event, we got a email detailing load-in, schedule, booth size reminders, and more! They also noted light breakfast would be provided for vendors before opening and that we were welcome to join the Dance Goblin Dance event later with two free tickets each.
Set-up was straight forward, getting into the union hall from the parking lot is fairly easy and I was able to park by the curb to unload before parking. We were allowed to come as early as 7:30 and when I rolled in around 8 there were already a few other vendors there. I was moving fairly slow since I didn’t get much sleep the night before, preshow jitters as usual. Breakfast was served and us vendors got to pick from an assortment of muffins, bagels, cream cheeses, along with orange juice, bottled water, and coffee for drinks. There was also a sign with the Wi-Fi password but I missed out on inputting it, haha!
Traffic was slow compared to the Goblin Market, my first sale was around 12 PM, about two hours into the event! I didn’t get as many trades from goblins either, but this could also be due to the fact I forgot my trinkets at home!!! There were spotty storms and No Kings Day protests scheduled around the same time, but I think we can only theorize how much of an affect either had on attendance. This was also the first day time goblin market Time Travel Events has held, but I still don’t think the time change would be enough to deter their core audience. Plus, I’ve been to their other day time events, such as the Cosplay Yard Sale, and low attendance wasn’t a problem when I showed up then. Sometimes it’s not so obvious why an event’s turnout isn’t so great.
I was very sleepy still after opening at 10 AM, so not having my sales persona on didn’t help things I’m sure! After nodding off, I finally rolled out from behind my table to get a sakura expresso from Drogo Coffee. On my way back I stopped by my friend, EJS Creations, and mentioned my lack of sales. In addition to the poor traffic, I was concerned the empty table booth next to me was also deterring attendees. So then Emily made the suggestion, “you could take the empty table.” At first I was like whuuuuut, but once I got back to my booth I got to work. Fueled by caffeine and quiet desperation, I didn’t wait for permission and pulled the unoccupied table to my corner, creating an awkwardly huge L-shaped layout. I was fortunate enough to have an extra table cloth and put out some shirts, the final result was perhaps obviously stretching my resources but still better than a pocket dimension of liminal space.
Considering the low turnout, I think my sales did as well as they could. Whether due to coincidence or my efforts, after my territorial conquest I did start to attract customers. Purchases peaked around 1 PM and tapered off until closing at 3 PM. I was fortunate to make back table, but honestly I had hoped to at least make the same amount as I did at the Goblin Market. I felt since my last spot was in the outdoor tent, I didn’t get a true impression of how well the Goblin Market could go, and so far my experiences haven’t matched the hype I’ve heard from other local vendors. Could it be an issue of my work not being a good fit or has it just been bad luck?
Billie’s Vendor Rating
| Goblins | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| Foot Traffic | ⭐⭐ |
| Attendee Vibes | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| Restrooms | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Pokémon GO | ⭐⭐ |
I really appreciate how thoughtful the organizers of Time Travel Events are, I’ve never had anyone provide vendors with food before, and really want to believe in their events. While rereading their email correspondence as I wrote up this review, I remembered that they said Shop Goblin Shop was meant to be a smaller version of their annual Goblin Market so could it be that I came in with too high expectations?
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