Dealers' Room Invitation

This page contains the Dealers' Room Invitation letter for Renovation, the 2011 World Science Fiction Convention. Note that this information can also be downloaded in PDF format (easier for printing) from the main Dealers' Room page.

OCTOBER 2010

Dear Prospective Renovation Dealer:

The World Science Fiction Convention is being held in Reno, Nevada in August 2011. Accompanying this letter is a blank Renovation Dealers' Table Application Form. If you are interested in being considered as a dealer at Renovation, please complete the form and return it to us as soon as possible, along with your check in payment of your deposit fees. Do NOT return this letter; keep it in your Renovation file. Please note that Renovation is only accepting credit card payments for Dealers' Table fees via its website.

1 Dealer Selection

The Dealers' Room at Renovation will be a juried room, as were those at all recent Worldcons. This means that a jury will make the final decision about which Dealers are allowed into the room and where they will be located. Those decisions are final and are binding on all Dealers who apply to the room. If you cannot abide by this rule, please do not apply.

Although the room will be juried we are doing so to ensure that there is an appropriate mix of various types of merchandise. Worldcon is literary oriented but its members have a wide range of interests.

Filing your application in a timely manner is important, as always, but it does NOT guarantee you a place in the room. Notification of initial acceptances or placement on the waiting list should be sent out around April 30, 2011.

2 Restrictions

We do not yet know if the City of Reno, the Reno-Sparks Convention Center or the Renovation Committee will have specific exclusionary rules regarding certain classes of merchandise. Past Worldcon restrictions have included (but not been limited to): weapons of any sort, live flames, anything generating a perceptible odor (incense, perfume, oils and essences), anything generating loud noises or causing crowds to gather in the aisles (audible audio or video presentations) and displays which are too tall (eight feet above the floor is the maximum allowed on the perimeter of the room, and seven feet is the maximum for island locations) or which block access by any other dealer to his or her space, the common backspace, or the aisles.

Also be aware that it is very likely that the provision of 'personal services' (anything involving direct person-to-person contact such as massage, tattooing, face-painting, the fitting of false fangs and the like) will be prohibited.

We reserve the right to ask any dealer to remove any materials from sale in the Renovation Dealers' Room if we have a reason to suspect that those materials are boot-legged, pirated or grey-market in origin.

Dealers agree to use their assigned space to sell or exhibit material which is of a science fiction, fantasy, gaming or other 'fannish' nature.

Dealers agree that they are self-insured, that they will be ready to sell when the room opens and will maintain their space until the room closes each day of Renovation.

We strongly suggest that you assume that most of the usual Worldcon rules will apply to Renovation; we'll keep you informed about all of these. In addition, dealers may need to have a valid, current Nevada Sales Tax License on file with us before opening for business on Wednesday; if we are indeed liable, the necessary application information will be posted here on the convention website.

3 Hall and Table Information

Room Location - the Dealers' Room as well as all the rest of the Exhibits Division will be in the Reno-Sparks Convention Center (RSCC) Hall 2. Wall table availability will be very limited due to the hall configuration.

Table Size - dealer standard is eight feet by two and one-half feet (96 by 30 inches). We will provide two chairs per table; for now, assume that you will have to bring your own table covers, drapes and carpeting.

Table Price - a deposit of USD 100.00 per requested table is required to hold space. The final table price will not be set until later, but we think it reasonable to assume a final price of at least USD 250.00 per table at this time. The final price includes your deposit, of course.

Sales Hours

• Wednesday: Noon to 6 PM
• Thursday to Saturday: 10 AM to 6 PM
• Sunday: 10 AM to 2 PM.
• We must be clear of the Convention Center by 8 PM Sunday.

Other - consumption of food and drink inside the Dealers' Room is restricted to dealers only. The Dealers' Room is non-smoking (as is the entire RSCC). Autograph sessions should take place somewhere in the Exhibit Hall.

Answers to the following questions will be in the second Dealers' Letter and posted here on the convention website in due course.

1. Rules on moving stock and on unloading and loading vehicles.
2. Hours of access to the Hall beyond normal sales hours.
3. Licensing rules, if any. The necessity for a Nevada state and/or Reno city Business License is still being researched.
4. Final data on collecting Nevada Sales Tax.
5. Whether boxes and/or reserve stock can be located in your space.
6. What sort of additional lighting will be permitted.
7. If there will be special restrictions imposed by the Reno Fire Department.

Attending Memberships will absolutely be required for all dealers and their staff members. You need to purchase your memberships directly from Renovation (we do not handle memberships through the Dealers' Room team). Memberships are available on-line here and we will be kept informed of the membership numbers assigned to you and your people. Dealers without confirmed memberships will not be permitted to unload stock or to occupy their space at Renovation. We will, however, accept memberships in the name of your business, for use by your staff on a rotating locum tenens basis, so long as the total number of warm bodies on site does not exceed the number of paid memberships for a given dealer.

4 Application Handling

As stated on the application form, we will read and acknowledge receipt of e-mail and answer simple questions there. However, anything which we designate as 'must be mailed' means just that -- sent to us via the postal system to the address given below. Please do not send certified mail, express mail or anything else we have to sign for. We are often away at conventions on weekends and usually collect mail from the post office during the week after business hours. If you want us to acknowledge receipt of your Application, enclose an SASE or a pre-paid postcard (with the correct US postage on it) with it. If you have specific questions feel free to e-mail jbdashoff@aol.com and sallykobee@hotmail.com or dealers@renovationsf.org.

Keep a copy of everything you send us. We make photocopies of all applications and attachments for our files, but these do you no good. If you move, YOU must tell us about it. We expect to have more than 100 dealers to keep track of and we assume you got your mail unless it is returned to us by the postal system.

A final note about your deposit checks, final payment checks, refund requests and anything else financial. All dealer paperwork will come to us; we send checks and copies to the Renovation office in Oregon. Processing will be done by the Renovation Finance Division, so only they will know when your check or refund is actually processed.

Sincerely,