I was a little bent when I discovered there are no Cash/CC refunds for generic tickets.  It was "GenCon Account Credit" only.  Since there is realistically less than a 50/50 chance there will be a Gencon next year (IN MY OWN OPINION, I HAVE NO INSIDE INFO)  this seemed like a desperate cash grab.

Kinda sad really.

 Trollish comment, without an understanding of what reorganization under the BK code is.

Translation: kick your conspiracy theory out the window, of course there will be a Gencon next year.

Kinda sad really

OK man, believe what you want to believe.  It sure sounded to me, based on what several vendors said to me and others they were talking too, that this years Gencon was alot closer to not happening than many care to believe.  Look at the artists who boycoted the show.  

Who knows though.  I am not so much intersted in baiting fanboi's as I am trying to figure out why Gencon, for the first time in my 21 Gencons, decided to not refund Generics.  Not sure how it is anything more than a cash grab.  It's fine you think that's ok but I beluieve rational people did not like this decision.

Not a question of 'belief,' my friend.  I'll trust how I've seen these things play out in real life over the conjecture of vendors and alleged boycotting artists.

Not a fanbois, just a lawyer who devotes a good fourth of his practice to bankruptcy and understands the process of business organization.   Although I'm starting to question how rational it is for me to waste my time talking about this anyway LOL

Gnomercy:

Look at the artists who boycotted the show.  

Really??  Just who was missing?  I think about every name I look for was there this year.  If they weren't then perhaps you need a better lesson on politics within the gaming industry, because the only one I really noticed missing threatened not to attend last year as well. 

By the way... I'm not a fanboi either.  I also happen to know a good number of the vendors because I used to work security at origins.  I heard none of this crap you're talking about, not even from the people I know at GAMA and they run the competing con.  In fact, many vendors and GAMA themselves have told me that if there was ever a threat of Gencon going under then they are ready to assist and keep it alive because it is considered essential to the gaming industry. 

Despite the raise in costs this year the vendors did profit.  Even a small entrepreneur that I know of made enough to cover costs of the booth and the hotel by Saturday. 

 I am part owner a game store in addition to my day job.  I understand the "politics in gaming" more than I ever wanted too  =(  I often believe distributors are the ones who could use a lesson.

Ed Beard, who is someone I look forward to talking to every year as well as buying his new Dragon Calendar, was not there and had posted a fairly long explanation on his site having to do with the details.  I won't reiterate everything here.  It's easy enough to Goggle his name if people are interested in the information.

It was more a general statement on the size of the artist room more than specific artists.  Just a gathering of opinions from people I talked to who care alot more about the artist area than I do. 

Yes, not going to argue with a Lawyer.  Could not think of a bigger waste of breath.

Not trying to pick fights with the forum users.  Still looking for an answer on the "No refund on Generics".

EDIT: there is a reason I was clear that I was only expressing my opinon.  I made no claim to have inside information other than the few vendors I spoke with.  Just offering an opinion on what I heard/saw.

 We aren't mean dragons :p  Just trying to chill ya out on the conpiracy front.   I was probably a little too rude at my first response. I tell ya what.  I'll wager my leftover Generic tickets that Gencon will return next year.  If Gencon is back, I get your leftover generic tickets.  If you are right, and Gencon doesn't come back, you can have my stack of unused generic tickets.   Deal?   

Gnomercy:

Ed Beard, who is someone I look forward to talking to every year as well as buying his new Dragon Calendar, was not there and had posted a fairly long explanation on his site having to do with the details.  I won't reiterate everything here.  It's easy enough to Goggle his name if people are interested in the information.

Thank you for proving my point.... he was the one I was actually referring too.  Last year he threw a little fit and said he wasn't going to go as well.  So don't take everything at face value.  He already had a personal grudge with gencon.  :) 

As for the refund issue, that really is unfortunate. I was under the impression you could actually get cash back (less a "restocking fee") on site. I know Origins gives the money back to you, minus a quarter per generic if I remember correctly (i almost never have to do it).

As for there being no GenCon, you are sadly misinformed. Those "vendors" you spoke with are most likely more in danger of not existing in 12 months than GenCon. As an attorney who practices bankruptcy law I can tell you that the filing under the Bankruptcy Code in many ways only solidifies a company's assets and makes them a more solid investment.

A brief glance at the Fortune 500 will reveal literally dozens of past (and current) filers in the courts.

I would not worry about the absence of GenCon 2009, and it is only a very ignorant individual (of which there are probably many among those vendors) who will let the filing affect their decision whether or not to attend GC 2009.

Regardless of what nay-sayers and conspiracy theorists want to say, I will see you all next year....for GenCon.

And a brief glance at the retail businesses that have declared bankruptcy and closed in the past year could sway someone's opinion differently.  This is why I won't buy gift cards from businesses on the verge or having declared bankruptcy.  You could end up with useless plastic.

A question for the lawyers out there:  What percentage of businesses (not counting the big ones that receive government bailouts like the airlines) that declare bankruptcy make it out to thrive afterwards?  Gencon isn't exactly a Fortune 500 company, is it?  It's a privately held company which could affect the outcome differently, correct?

 And a general question:  Will gencon allow one to use generics from the year before instead of going through the process of getting the system credit?  That would make more sense to me.

Ok...........mind the flames please.

To clarfiy, for regular event tickets, you could get a cash refund less the 5% fee, or you could get a full system credit.  For generics, as well you could have a full system credit.

 And I have ABSOLUTELY NO DOUBT that Gen Con will go on in 2009.  Absolutely none.

Did one have to pay the 5% fee to collect cash for cancelled event tickets?  Just wondering.

indigo:

Did one have to pay the 5% fee to collect cash for cancelled event tickets?  Just wondering.

Oh no, if your event was cancelled, or if your GM was a no show, no, you should not have been charged the 5% fee.

Sherilyn:

Gnomercy:

Ed Beard, who is someone I look forward to talking to every year as well as buying his new Dragon Calendar, was not there and had posted a fairly long explanation on his site having to do with the details.  I won't reiterate everything here.  It's easy enough to Goggle his name if people are interested in the information.

Thank you for proving my point.... he was the one I was actually referring too.  Last year he threw a little fit and said he wasn't going to go as well.  So don't take everything at face value.  He already had a personal grudge with gencon.  :) 

I emailed Ed before the convention... his reply to me stated that his issue was over some snide words with customer service as well as personal problems with Peter, and that it even stemmed from Peter's days with Wizards.. in my opinion after reading it, it has nothing to do with the actual GenCon event.  

Ed also has some, lets just say strong views, against digital art and digital games, and apparently they were enough that he didn't end up coming, as well as verbally trashed those mediums (which I actually create and enjoy myself) and said they were ruining the industry.  Basically Ed lost some respect in my eyes for the way he handled everything, as he was one of my inspirations that caused to be start pursuing fantasy art in the first place (not to mention I even had my picture on his website at one point posing with a puzzle of his I completed).

As for the generics.. it seems like the policy on those changes every year... one time there were no refunds, one time its a fee on generics only, then its a fee on all tickets, etc. etc.  I only buy them in small quantities when I need them (avoiding the long lines by buying from the remote booth near the TCG hall) this way, I avoid having too many and don't run into these issues.  It might be something to look into to avoid getting stuck with system credit you don't need.

Gnomercy:

I was a little bent when I discovered there are no Cash/CC refunds for generic tickets.  It was "GenCon Account Credit" only.  Since there is realistically less than a 50/50 chance there will be a Gencon next year (IN MY OWN OPINION, I HAVE NO INSIDE INFO)  this seemed like a desperate cash grab.

 

Kinda sad really.

You know what's sad? A gamer who didn't read the rulebook... whining about it.

Contrarian:

For crying out loud, the credit policy is on the website and in the convention program.

for what it's worth, that text may NOT have been there "day one of registration". I don't know that it was or wasn't, but it definitely was something I first learned about reading my program this year.

Regardless of when this policy was announced, I do have to admit this will make me think twice about purchasing generics in the future.

I do remember when there was no "restocking" fee at all, which did encourage me to buy some generics just in case, because if I did not use them I could always return them on Sunday.

 My problem with the generics is that they wouldn't accept it if the ticket was in another person's name. One of my friends bought tickets and they screwed up and put the wrong number in and they are in another person's name. So he was out of 30 bucks on generics and he couldn't do anything with them.

MatthewL:

My problem with the generics is that they wouldn't accept it if the ticket was in another person's name. One of my friends bought tickets and they screwed up and put the wrong number in and they are in another person's name. So he was out of 30 bucks on generics and he couldn't do anything with them.

If his friend bought too many generics then why didn't he just have his friend return them, after all he is the one that messed it up right?  Why did your friend pay the person that ordered incorrectly for generics he didn't ask for instead of telling him to get them refunded on his own?  For future reference, you can create sub accounts for people and order tickets in the correct names even if they aren't for the purchaser. If a friend ordered for me as a favor, I'd still ask them to fix their own mistakes instead of paying them things I did not request. 

I gave my extra generics to the money handlers...Rogue Judges was angry when a group of cup jingling transients showed up wanting to play games.

 EDIT: Doh!