VANCOUFUR 2023 DEALER’S DEN RULES AND FAQ

Welcome to Vancoufur 2023 Dealer’s Den Applications!

Dealer’s Applications are now closed! Dealers have been sent out. Vendors have 30 days to pay for their tables or they may lose their spot to the next person on the waitlist! So be sure to get those payments in.

Questions? Contact our vendors lead at [email protected] or send us feedback on our contact form.

To complete your Dealer’s Den application, we require:

• Your legal first and last name as it appears on your government-issued ID.
•  Your desired listing name as you wish to have it appear for use in the Con Book and Vancoufur website.
• An email address you check frequently (we recommend whitelisting vancoufur.org so emails don’t end up in spam, also check your spam regularly)
• A portfolio of your work and/or products representative of what you will be selling, with links to any applicable website or hosted gallery.
• A brief biography of yourself/business & products
• If you are planning on sharing a table please apply with your table mate as a co-applicant (only one of you needs to apply)
  • Applicant must also submit like to the portfolio or products of the co-applicant they wish to add to their application
  •  Please note portfolio needs to be accessible. Not on a chat server ( such as discord or telegram) or social media (such as Twitter or Instagram). IGNORING THIS CAN AFFECT YOUR CHANCES OF GETTING IN. Use a G-drive link or imgur gallery if you need a free place to put images.
• We are required to comply with all Covid-19 guidelines that the province of BC puts forth. Currently we do not have a vaccine passport mandate, however, the con will be monitoring the Covid-19 situation and updating the policy closer to the event. Vaccinations are highly recommended, as spread at cons has been consistently documented.
  
• If you are planning on having a Dealer’s Den Assistant*, please specify who. Assistants may also be added AT the convention and will be provided with a way to identify them as an assistant. *NOTE: Assistants are individuals of your own choosing (as the table applicant) that may assist you in running your table when you have stepped out or help out in the space around your table to help you manage your wares. Dealer’s Den Assistants are not allowed to sell their own products. 
• Dealers from outside of Canada should ensure that they are in compliance with the requirements to sell their wares in Canada. 
• Subletting, or renting out your table at the time of the convention is not allowed. Only those who applied together will be permitted to share a table.

Table Pricing and Dimensions

The prices listed below cover your table for the entire duration of the convention. The price is only paid once and is not recurring:

• Full table – 6’x2.5′ $150 CAD
• Corner table – 6’x2.5’(x2) $170 CAD
• Booth – 8’x8’ $220 CAD

We are not doing half tables applications this year. If you wish to share a table with someone, you must apply together. Tablecloths are NOT provided.

Dealer’s Den Rules of Conduct

• Be in compliance with the hotel rules at all times
• Dealers and Assistants must have their valid con badge visibly worn at all times inside of the Dealer’s Den
• The consumption of alcohol and drugs is prohibited in the con space – including the Dealer’s Den
• Dealers and Assistants are not allowed to handle business transactions if they are under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol
• Wares must be in compliance with the rules outlined in the “What can I sell in the dealer’s den?” section in the FAQ below
• Be kind and respectful to the staff, dealers, and attendees – if they don’t respect you back, contact staff
• Subletting, or the renting of your table is prohibited
• All sales at your booth must be legal in Canada and the province of British Columbia
• You are liable for the behavior of yourself and your Assistants while they are in the Dealer’s Den
• We anticipate masks being worn at all times in the Dealer’s Den, unless actively eating or drinking
• Dealers may not ‘share’ their badge with assistants. Assistants must have their own valid badge on at all times
• Products that are 18+ must be kept away from casual public view and censored. We recommend putting them in a binder behind the table that must be requested. Vendors must ask to see ID before allowing a customer to peruse the 18+ material.
• If you need to cancel your table, your cut off date is February 1, 2023. We will not roll your funds over after this time and give your table to the next person in line.

Failure to comply with these rules will result in disciplinary action, not limited to warning strikes, ejection from the Dealer’s Den and loss of your booth, loss (pulling)  of your convention badge, banning from Vancoufur, contact of police, and potential legal action. Disciplinary actions are effective immediately upon issuance. Appeals for actions will be handled according to convention rules after the convention is over.

A dealer who has their convention access revoked will also be ejected from the dealers den without compensation. This applies to the primary owner of the table.

Assistants who have their convention access revoked will not be allowed to enter or be in the dealer’s den for the remainder of the convention, under any circumstance. 

Dealer’s Den FAQ

How do I apply for a table?

To apply for a table, you need to fill out a VancouFur Dealer’s Den Application online between Aug 22nd and Sept 12th, through the provided link to Convention Master – the Dealer’s Den application handler. Within 48 hours of submission of your application, you will be sent an email by a member of the Dealer’s Den team verifying that your application has been received. You will be sent a separate email when your application is approved/waitlisted/declined. (please be sure to check your spam when looking for your emails)

Application approval and waitlist/declination e-mails will be sent by Sept 19, 2022.  This e-mail will include your table type and a Convention Master link that will show you the amount due for your table. Dealer’s Den fees must be paid within 30 days of acceptance, or you risk forfeiture of the table. Please note that the price for a table does not include the price of registration for the convention. 

Why do you need my legal name?

We strive to do our best to accommodate every need and concern of our attendees. However, due to the controlled nature of sales and commerce, we require the inclusion of your legal first and last name as it appears on your government ID. Additionally, we need to have it on file should government, police, or medical personnel require it. Your legal name will only be used on a strictly need-to-know basis and will not be shared with any staff members for identification purposes unless absolutely necessary.

What can I sell in the Dealer’s Den?

Vendors must sell only items which they are legally entitled to sell. Please be aware that if you have pirated, or materials that infringe copyright in an illegal manner we will require you to remove the items from your table.

You are encouraged to sell your artwork, handmade items, merchandise with your artwork/creations on them, and items intended for resale. The sale of food or drink items in the Dealer’s Den, Artist’s Alley, Night Market, and After dark Market is prohibited to be in compliance with Hotel/Catering agreements and policy.

We have some firm rules regarding adult material in the Dealer’s den, that is considered any material depicting sexual, sexually explicit, and/or  violent imagery – in our dealer’s den and Artists Alley for 2023. These rules will be different for the After Dark Market . Please see the After Dark Market for specific details.

• Any material (art, sculpture, and literature) containing extremely violent and/or sexually explicit depictions must not be accessible to anyone under 18 years old.
• Adult material must be kept in closed binders/folders/bins that are clearly marked as adult. Adult material in binders must have explicit portions censored.
• Adult art in progress must be as concealed as possible from public view.
• Dealers are required to monitor their adult materials to ensure minors are not viewing them (please check government issued ID) and must be aware that the people behind the person or people browsing their materials may be minors. 
• Dealers are required to check Government issued identification when exhibiting adult materials. Convention badges are not a valid picture ID and cannot be used to confirm an attendee’s age.
• For Adult Sculpture, we recommend a binder of photographs to showcase and simultaneously censor explicit portions. Examples are available on request.

Dealers found in non-compliance with these rules will be asked to rectify the problem. If on follow-up the problem persists, the dealer may be ejected from the Dealer’s Den without compensation.

How are tables approved?

Vancoufur’s Dealer’s Den applications are reviewed by a committee of Vancoufur staff and community members in an effort to fill the Den with a wide variety of exciting, diverse merchandise. Judging is based on the following criteria:

• Reputation
• Uniqueness
• Variety of merchandise
• Merchandise available at-con vs. post-con
• Theme-appropriateness

Preference is given to full-table vendors with complete portfolios depicting products that will be sold at-con, and those with on-theme variants. Having less-common styles and unique products is also an asset. Selling something that can be picked up at-con vs. only taking home commissions and online sales is a plus.

The majority of our tables are filled by the selection committee; the remaining tables are filled by a random number generator lottery of the remaining applications. 

The selection committee will review submissions once the application period has closed. Applications are NOT first-come-first-served, so make sure you take your time to present a solid application. Put your portfolio on a website (try wix if you need a free one) or gallery site such as Furaffinity, DeviantArt, Weasyl, Sofurry, behance, imgur gallery, etc . PLEASE DO NOT USE SOCIAL MEDIA (twitter/instagram/facebook) or chats (telegram/discord) AS YOUR GALLERY/PORTFOLIO . it is often too hard in regular social media to determine what is your work, vs favorited or retweeted works of others. This makes it a lot harder for the judges to see your work and may affect your score. Applicants will be notified by Sept 19 if they were accepted, rejected or waitlisted.

Who is the Selection Committee made up of?

The selection committee consists of seven voting members and a non-voting chair who will facilitate the selection process. To avoid bribery, coercion and blame, we do not release the names of the committee members. You can be assured they will make judgements to the best of their abilities based on the information available to them. Any questions or concerns regarding the committee or the selection process can be directed to the committee chair or Dealer’s Den lead. ([email protected]).

What happens if I don’t get a table?

Dealers who do not receive a table will be put on a waiting list, broken down by their panel remarks and time of application. Wait listed dealers will be contacted for a table as soon as a spot opens up. If no response is received within two business days, the table will be forfeited and the next waitlisted applicant will be contacted. Please make sure you monitor your SPAM!

Can I request a specific location in the Den?

While we are not able to promise a specific location for your Dealer’s table, there is a section for requests in our DD application. Please fill out this portion if you would like to be sitting next to another vendor, or have specific corridor accesses (priority given to those with disabilities/mobility difficulties) and we will do our best to accommodate your request. There are no guarantees that we will be able to accommodate every request, but we will do our best.

Is electricity and/or Wi-Fi available?

We will do our best to provide electricity to your table. Please indicate in the online form if you require electricity for your table. There will be free Wi-Fi vouchers given to dealers in our Den; dealers can purchase additional vouchers for a donation to our charity.

Are tablecloths provided?

No, table cloths are not provided, you will need to provide your own table cloth. With a standard table, the table and 2 chairs are provided. If you require additional chairs, please request them as part of your application. 

What is the Dealer’s Block?

The Con sets aside hotel rooms specifically for Staff, Dealer’s, & DJs, to ensure they do not miss out on a hotel room when the block is released, since typically the hotel sells out prior to the Dealer’s Den selections being finalized. If you intend to get a hotel room or need a hotel room at the con, you can get one in the Dealer’s block if you are selected regardless of the sold status of the public hotel room block. You just need to request it as part of your application.

We look forward to seeing you at the convention!