Interesting. Good timing too. We’re taking our autistic daughter to disneyworld while we’re there and lines aren’t easy for kids on the spectrum to deal with. Plus, we’re hoping to bring a couple kids from a local schools sped class.
@rainbowgx, at least some people listened and they’re both loving MZ and some even made a ton of money if they
got in when I recommended it here. A couple here hit over 100k and still have a high value collection. Sorry if you missed the boat but such is life.
Yes they do. I remember in a highschool field trip some of the kids rented wheelchairs so we could all skip the lines together.
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What? Well that’s really sad. Unfortunately not very surprising though:(
highschool kids will be highschool kids
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I guess they can’t ask for “proof” for legal reasons. As long as our little girl and our guests can get that special consideration then all’s well:)
DBruze told me last time he went to Disneyland he clocked his steps and ended up going 12 miles. With my health concerns I couldn’t do that so I’ll bring a walker I can sit in when needed.
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I appreciate him putting it on and all; though I expected a 90’s pop up shop, not a slaughter line where you filter through and eventually end up on the altar sacrificing your autism for YT monetization.
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Probably for the best that everyone gets treated equally.
My 2 cents on the topic is that is was a cool idea. Always good to bring engagement and host events to bring fans together.
Kinda defeats the purpose of cheap packs from the 90’s if you have to pay an addition price of admission. A lottery or waiting room system would have probably been better, but logistically would probably be much more difficult. Guess they needed to make some money back as well since the whole thing probably cost a fortune to organize.
Video was 6 hours long, so there is no way I’m watching that. Saw a few clips though and it seemed legit, although it didn’t look like a 90’s card shop. The booster box display and all the blisters were a very impressive setup though.
Seems they could have stopped at Chick-fil-A and got some tips on how to properly manage a large line.
…and requiring a mask in Texas is ludacris.
Oh wow I didnt know he was charging $300 a ticket, that changes everything and his title is very misleading then.
Basically, people weren’t getting a pack for $3.99, but $303.99 altogether. That’s more or less the market value for a pack right now. Hmm…
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It’s incredibly easy to be critical of Leonhart, however bear in mind this is a new concept that has not previously been executed - and I don’t see anyone else putting their money where their mouth is. First-try flaws are a necessity for greater improvement.
Despite the understandable frustrations of attendees, the event taking place is wholly positive. What it’s done is open up a huge learning opportunity and served as a data-gathering exercise for either Leonhart or another enthusiast to build on.
Thanks to Leonhart’s event there’s some key information we know now that could be put to extremely good use in future:
- Scale of actual interest, i.e. attendance figures
- Crowd logistics - what worked and what didn’t
- People’s reaction to the content and ‘feel’ of the event itself, and the specific feedback provided.
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Lee’s intention was honorable but you’re always going to have the unaccomplished T.O.T.T.s hating on you. Best thing he can do is take the good and learn from the bad. The next one will be much better and will raise even more for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). Keep it going LeonHart and the HartSquad:)
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Except Lee didn’t make a nickel. He made that very clear and I believe him. None of the influencers made anything also. Knowing convention costs the way I do, along with the cost of 750 unweighed vintage booster packs, I can guarantee a net deficit in excess of 120,000.00.
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The thing I’ve noticed with a few of these type of events is that the primary goal seems to be to produce content for the internet.
What I mean by that is many of “activities” or experiences aren’t meant for the people who are actually at the event. “1990s priced $3.99 vintage packs” is meant to capture headlines while in reality it’s clear that the actual price people at the event paid to open a pack was significantly higher. The pack opening stream is only there to capture the 4% of charizord pulls that happen to create video content for the internet, meanwhile it’s basically a wheel of disappointment for all the other people not pulling a charizord. If the event was meant for the actual attendants, there could be free modern pack(s) with the tickets and a range of packs available for purchase with a designated area of opening. These are people who travelled from across the land to (maybe?) open one pack so I don’t see how every opportunity wasn’t taken to sell packs off-stream and create organic and isolated experiences. The drone show was probably the most notably interesting thing to see in-person, despite it primarily to capture headlines and create online content - I know this because otherwise you wouldn’t run it the day before the event and only for a subset of the guests.
If the primary goal is to produce content for the internet, then two problems are created. 1) the “experience” is not much different if you are at the event vs watching a stream online and 2) you may end up neglecting the guests who are actually there. The cruel truth is If the guests are looking bored or disappointed during the stream, not only have you failed them but also it just makes the content harder to watch for people watching from home.
I have not run an event, so maybe my advice is not worth much, but I have been to multiple in-person Pokemon events so I do know what makes them fun. If it was up to me, the primary goal should be to make the people watching regret not going. Most of the “activities” should be tailored exclusively for the people who made it to the event. There could be a live-stream component but the guests should be having so much fun doing other things that many won’t even care to watch it. We live in an age were everyone is a content creator - let your guests record and share the actual organic and fun experiences of the event. That’s the type of short, exciting content that actually goes viral.
The reason I bothered typing all this out is that I know there will be future events and e4 has enough exposure that a future event coordinator could be reading this right now. If we care about the success of future events, it helps to know what made this one - and others - fall flat. There’s nothing wrong with any of the individual things that were planned for this event. But when all the experiences available are intended for an online audience and the actual guests are an afterthought, it makes sense that things turn out this way.
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Can confirm!
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If someone can show me where these “content producers” are overall subtracting from their net worth - then I’ll award them some virtue points. Until then it’s self interest.
Not really targeting him or this event in particular, but the blanket notion that is constantly parroted by most consooomers about how these people are divine Santa’s (because the hype pumps their bags…)
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wut
I have nothing to add to this conversation that hasn’t been said.
I just wanna say that this has been a great thread to follow. Everybody has been honest and fair about their experience at the event but also maintained respectfor Leonhart via helpful and constructive feedback for future Pokemon/Collectible events.
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He can lose money on the event and still benefit from it. He had a vision of a way to give back to the community which is something he is passionate about, and that’s what he got out of it
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Yeah, I can’t believe people even push multi-level marketing. Seems like another crappy trading card game trying to capitalize off the hype of Pokemon. It’s crazy how much MZ graded cards are being sold for. Smells like a scam
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Because he said so. With all his charity work, I’d be inclined to believe him unless you could show me he wasn’t being honest. I crunched the numbers only to see how much he lost but actual numbers could be an even a bigger loss than I estimated.
I’m not making light of your skepticism. Under many circumstances I’d agree with you…just not with Lee:)
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@rainbowgx,
Bingo. It’s called marketing which is a valuable tool for success. Now they’re flying which is great for the tcg market. Pokémon needed a helping hand too over 15 years ago and they got it with a tremendous result.
Now check out DSpirits. The owner, Sterling, is the real deal and I hope his success is great.