JoeCanuck

Canadian Joe Con Section => Yearly CanJoeCon Discussion => Topic started by: BHMike on February 04, 2014, 01:41:35 PM

Title: Official 2014 Canadian Joe Con News
Post by: BHMike on February 04, 2014, 01:41:35 PM
Let me preface this by saying that I love G.I. Joe.
Seriously. When I was a kid, my Star Wars figures merged into my G.I. Joe world and Han Solo became the co-pilot of the Skystriker w/ Ace. Some of my Masters of the

Universe figures became mutant creations of Cobra, and many times the Joes didn't win against them. As I said, I LOVE G.I. Joe.

Over 10 years ago, I took my money and with the help of a couple of other people, held a gathering for people of G.I. Joe. People came from various parts of the

country the first year, then parts of the world in the years that followed (U.S., Japan, UK, Australia, etc). Even during a time in my life when money was VERY tight

(just bought a house), I went into debt to ensure that you guys had a convention to attend, with guests, and trading cards to give away. You don't do these things if

you're not passionate about something. You do it because you care about the hobby, or in this case, the longevity of the brand of G.I. Joe.

However, it doesn't look like Hasbro does anymore. We're in the 50th Anniversary of the original "Man of Action", and Hasbro has had nothing to show for this year so

far. To a fan of G.I. Joe, this is a swift kick to the nards (Wolfman Style).

Due to actions from another local convention, Hasbro Canada no longer attends any cons in Canada. We had to bend over backwards for them to attend in 2012, knowing

full well that they may never come back to a Canadian Joe Con again.... And they're not.

Last year, the 2013 Canadian Joe Con was put on hiatus due to no product being available for our exclusive sets. NO other reason. Hasbro had nothing to offer us since

they pulled all Movie product to re-release it when Retaliation came out. That made perfect business sense, and that was fine. We looked for alternative avenues to get

items for our Con Set, but prices were either too high, or there wasn't enough in stock via the places we contacted. Why didn't we run one without the exclusives?...

Simple, they pay for the con, the guests, advertising, the comics, etc etc. No exclusives, no con. Simple logic, and nothing else behind it.

This past year (2013), I was told that Hasbro would still be able to help us out with something in 2014. Last week, I was told otherwise. Once again, we're at a point

with no figures to use for our con set. On top of that, the Sheraton Hotel has just informed me that the entire banquet hall section is being re-done this summer,

thus, we lose our date & location. (Which would of been Aug. 1st and 2nd).

In short, that's two years in a row that influences outside of my control have worked against me, and things I thought were confirmed, weren't. So, unfortunately, after 10+ years of sharing our love of this hobby, I am officially declaring the Canadian G.I. Joe Convention done.
Thanks to everyone who made this con as great as it was.

I'm thrilled to of offered a place for fans of G.I. Joe to gather and enjoy their hobby. Most conventions don’t last ten years, nevermind becoming a world-wide known event. It started in a small toyshop in Hamilton, Ontario, and who knows, it may return again at some point. But as of right now, the Canadian Joe Convention is finished.

Thank you again to all involved over the years.
Michael Heddle
Title: Re: Official 2014 Canadian Joe Con News
Post by: NeoDragonKnight on February 04, 2014, 02:03:36 PM
Thanks for putting all the effort in the Canadian Joe Con all these years Mike.  Joe had a resurgence due to the 25th Anni but started a slow death after the first movie and now GI Joe as a whole is pretty dead.  It was honestly a great run and you should be proud of what you accomplished.  The convention sets are pieces Ill never part as with the friendships that have come from the con all these years.   I hope maybe some of us can come together for a friendly Joe Meet and just chill.  Don't be a stranger everyone!
Title: Re: Official 2014 Canadian Joe Con News
Post by: bandonov on February 04, 2014, 03:48:38 PM
Thank you to you and your Team for making GI Joe Fun again for me. I wish it will come back sooner rather than later.
Title: Re: Official 2014 Canadian Joe Con News
Post by: silentdusty on February 04, 2014, 04:22:09 PM
Mike,

Thank you to you and your team that were able to put these Conventions together year after year. I am disappointed I was never able to make it to one, but that is neither here nor there. We know that is through no lack of effort on your part that you are unable to keep things going. Hasbro can take the brunt of that blame. It was a great thing while it lasted, and it makes me wonder about the future of the big GI Joe Convention in the US as well. Heck if they keep putting out these horrible convention sets, it may happen, lol. Thank you again for all the work, and hopefully maybe some day in the future, the CanJoeCon will be resurrected.
Title: Re: Official 2014 Canadian Joe Con News
Post by: 5h4rK on February 04, 2014, 05:15:14 PM
(http://tanyablog.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/i-am-sad.jpg)

Thanks for everything Mike!
Title: Re: Official 2014 Canadian Joe Con News
Post by: GI.Suicide on February 04, 2014, 05:57:15 PM
I have always been a fan of Gi Joe. To be honest I thought it was a lost hobby or simply just forgotten. Not Knowing where to look or where to come across any ARAH in Canada (aside from Ebay) my Gi joe needs never excelled untill I was introduced to JoeCanuck...... Holy SHIT!! A whole new world opened up before me. "This is what I ve been missing out on."
"A community where people help eachother out along with a Canadian convention just for Gi Joes ???" Well that was easily the greatest thing I could have learnt from the interent.
Any ways I never got the chance to experience a Canadian JoeCon and it sucks but thank you Mike for this website and all your hard work.

R.I.P
CanadianJoeCon   
Title: Re: Official 2014 Canadian Joe Con News
Post by: kurt_eh on February 05, 2014, 02:28:18 AM
I wish I could have made it out for one.

But I think we're glossing over the most important aspect of Mike's post:

Wolfman's got nards?

In all seriousness, a big thank you to those who did put in the effort to do CJC.  I've worked on other large events, and I know how much time and effort goes into them, so thank you.
Title: Re: Official 2014 Canadian Joe Con News
Post by: martin-montreal on February 05, 2014, 06:13:47 AM
I attended the 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 CJC and each year I had... not enough sleep :-) but a lot of fun! Thanks for for all these years.

I don't want to create a big debate on Hasbro Canada participation, they made their choices. Too bad they only see us like fan of the brand. Because we are also consumers for ourselves and buyers for our kids, nephews, ... For a big company like that, sponsoring an event like this cost nothing and they are given the opportunity to keep the brand alive. Anyway, nobody knows the future...
Title: Re: Official 2014 Canadian Joe Con News
Post by: Realboss on February 05, 2014, 06:23:35 AM
This is sad but understandable news.  Not only for us Collectors but for the Brand itself. 
The past efforts are much appreciated and at least (because of Mike and the hard work of many others)we did have the opportunity to have our own conventions and exclusives which is a mile stone in itself.

Thank you guys and who knows what the future may bring.
Title: Re: Official 2014 Canadian Joe Con News
Post by: darth cujo on February 05, 2014, 09:31:40 AM
Wow, such a bummer. Can't say I'm too surprised with the lack of info that has been coming out. I had a bad feeling that in this case no news was bad news.  :'(

Really disappointed to hear of the lack of support from Hasbro. A few years ago it was fantastic. Not only did they attend the con, they unveiled a new wave of figures there. I got to have really good conversations with the Hasbro rep who was great. Their participation seems to have really deteriorated over the past couple years. Makes you wonder what happened with that other con to put Hasbro off.

Also, hearing that Hasbro had nothing available for the con set makes one wonder about those Joes showing up at Dollarama. I don't know all the ins and outs of the arrangements CanJoeCon had with Hasbro, but perhaps some of those figures could have went towards supporting the con rather than blowing them out at a measly $3. That wave was pretty weak, but there were a couple gems in there and the CanJoeCon guys have shown to be very creative.

As for the brand overall, well, this has been an ongoing discussion throughout the Joe community. Seems Hasbro has no faith in it, which is a real shame. You'd think that with two recent relatively successful big budget movies and the 50th anniversary Joe would be on a high, but it feels like it is in one of its all-time lows. But the past 5 years or so have been so schizoid with the brand. I think they really need to find a new direction and focus everything on it rather than going to multiple directions and constantly pulling the plug after they just get started.

Anyway, thanks to Mike et al. for organizing and running a con for the years it was around. I'm sure it was a lot of work, and involved a lot of logistical headaches, so it was appreciated. I'll hold out hope that perhaps it will have a revival one day...

Title: Re: Official 2014 Canadian Joe Con News
Post by: Jon S. on February 05, 2014, 11:22:03 AM
(http://tanyablog.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/i-am-sad.jpg)



I'll second this  :(  :(  :(  :(  :(  :(  :(
Title: Re: Official 2014 Canadian Joe Con News
Post by: Sundance on February 05, 2014, 11:51:16 AM
I'm so disappointed I'll never get to attend one of these and meet some of you guys who I have become matey with. I thank everyone for their involvement in the cons if only for my cool set of cards and my con comics.

and thanks again to the guys like pdaat who helped hook me up with the stuff.
Title: Re: Official 2014 Canadian Joe Con News
Post by: ARROW on February 05, 2014, 12:55:44 PM
Quote
As for the brand overall, well, this has been an ongoing discussion throughout the Joe community. Seems Hasbro has no faith in it, which is a real shame. You'd think that with two recent relatively successful big budget movies and the 50th anniversary Joe would be on a high, but it feels like it is in one of its all-time lows. But the past 5 years or so have been so schizoid with the brand. I think they really need to find a new direction and focus everything on it rather than going to multiple directions and constantly pulling the plug after they just get started.

Blame the retailers, not Hasbro. And blame Paramount for the movie delay which killed the retailer interest in the Retaliation product and the brand.
Hasbro has apparently proposed all kinds of stuff for the 50th, and apparently none of it has interested any retailers.
Let's repeat that: Hasbro WANTS to unroll 50th anniversary stuff, but retailers have NO interest in carrying ANY of it.

 Correction: Amazon Kindle has just today announced that GIJOE is one of the properties opened for their published fan-fiction thing.  Big whoop.  That MIGHT be the opening salvo in some kind of 50th Ann. Joe blitz leading up to Toy fair next week.....but don't hold your breath.
The interest otherwise from retailers just isn't there, and if retailers don't want to order product....Hasbro has no need to make any.

Everything that Hasbro has done over the past decade or so for GIJOE has languished on the shelves. While we think that something like POC was a hit.......it wasn't. Large amounts of it stayed on the pegs. Retailers both did not stock a lot of it (coming off the glut of ROC stuff) and it did not sell fast enough. Just like all the other GIJOE stuff. 

Like it or not, the deck is stacked against the brand and the retailers have no interest in playing fair with or having consideration for such a tiny amount of product.
GIJOE could vanish, it's trademarks could lapse and it wouldn't make a single bit of difference to Hasbro's bottom line.  It's a sentimental brand that is........quite frankly.......tired out and stale.
Title: Re: Official 2014 Canadian Joe Con News
Post by: spiderpumpkin on February 05, 2014, 07:45:14 PM
Sorry to hear the news. 


Driving to Hamilton from Minneapolis and attending the 2009 Canadian Joecon was a lot of fun, and one of the best vacations I've ever taken. 


I was looking forward to attending another convention and doing some more traveling in Ontario but now that's on hold.


Thanks for the great memories.
Title: Re: Official 2014 Canadian Joe Con News
Post by: DPrime on February 05, 2014, 08:19:28 PM
Ah, that's too bad. I only just moved back to Ontario last year, so I never got the chance to attend until now. :(

Well, who knows, maybe something can rise up and take its place, despite Hasbro not participating (frankly, I'm not sure we absolutely need that).
Title: Re: Official 2014 Canadian Joe Con News
Post by: darth cujo on February 05, 2014, 08:52:37 PM
Quote
As for the brand overall, well, this has been an ongoing discussion throughout the Joe community. Seems Hasbro has no faith in it, which is a real shame. You'd think that with two recent relatively successful big budget movies and the 50th anniversary Joe would be on a high, but it feels like it is in one of its all-time lows. But the past 5 years or so have been so schizoid with the brand. I think they really need to find a new direction and focus everything on it rather than going to multiple directions and constantly pulling the plug after they just get started.

Blame the retailers, not Hasbro. And blame Paramount for the movie delay which killed the retailer interest in the Retaliation product and the brand.
Hasbro has apparently proposed all kinds of stuff for the 50th, and apparently none of it has interested any retailers.
Let's repeat that: Hasbro WANTS to unroll 50th anniversary stuff, but retailers have NO interest in carrying ANY of it.

 Correction: Amazon Kindle has just today announced that GIJOE is one of the properties opened for their published fan-fiction thing.  Big whoop.  That MIGHT be the opening salvo in some kind of 50th Ann. Joe blitz leading up to Toy fair next week.....but don't hold your breath.
The interest otherwise from retailers just isn't there, and if retailers don't want to order product....Hasbro has no need to make any.

Everything that Hasbro has done over the past decade or so for GIJOE has languished on the shelves. While we think that something like POC was a hit.......it wasn't. Large amounts of it stayed on the pegs. Retailers both did not stock a lot of it (coming off the glut of ROC stuff) and it did not sell fast enough. Just like all the other GIJOE stuff. 

Like it or not, the deck is stacked against the brand and the retailers have no interest in playing fair with or having consideration for such a tiny amount of product.
GIJOE could vanish, it's trademarks could lapse and it wouldn't make a single bit of difference to Hasbro's bottom line.  It's a sentimental brand that is........quite frankly.......tired out and stale.
While I don't disagree that the retailers are partly to blame, (and the movie delay) I don't think Hasbro is entirely innocent in the way they've handled the brand. I think a lot of the languishing over the past decade has to do with Hasbro's lack of direction and their constant starting and stopping of lines. 25th Anniversary, Sigma 6, PoC, Resolute, Renegades, the movies. They've been all over the place. Constantly pulling the plug on things shows little faith in the brand. PoC had some of the best figures ever produced in the line, but there was no harmonious support attached to it. So can you blame retailers for not wanting to jump in at this point? It's like a vicious cycle where they can all blame each other. Bottom line, the brand is a mess right now. I said this on another board, I think they need to step away, regroup and do a full on re-launch with full coordinated multi-media backing. Ala 1982. Something that shows real faith in the brand again that the retailers can get behind. Probably behind a video game ala skylanders or angry birds that ties the toys in directly with the game. Something relevant to todays kids. It may not be what we want but it could revitalize the line.

Anyway, this is getting off topic, my apologies. But I do think it's interesting to discuss and isn't entirely unrelated. Perhaps if the brand is revitalized, one day the con will come back.
Title: Re: Official 2014 Canadian Joe Con News
Post by: DPrime on February 05, 2014, 10:12:19 PM
^ Agreed.

It's like they're trying to follow the Transformers method - which would be fine, except that unlike Transformers, they almost NEVER have a solid media (i.e. TV show) backing it up.

I mean, I dunno - isn't that toy marketing 101? Toy+cartoon+comic book (at least in the '80s)+videogame=success? I mean, not necessarily but without the media behind it, it's almost destined to fail...
Title: Re: Official 2014 Canadian Joe Con News
Post by: B on February 06, 2014, 07:20:41 AM
Feel very bad about this since the Cdn Joe Con also generated a lot of discussion on this site. I doubt I would have ever attended but I always looked forward to all the board discussions pre/post con.
Many thanks to everyone over the years but most of all to the Joe Con staff.
Title: Re: Official 2014 Canadian Joe Con News
Post by: grunt 4 mvp on February 07, 2014, 09:14:41 AM
Too bad. I've attended for many years in a row, and brought along maybe a dozen friends over that time - we all had a good time.

Perhaps someone can spearhead a smaller southern Ontario meet....? Just something informal to keep in touch. No guests, no exclusives, just a get together to swap and stuff.
Title: Re: Official 2014 Canadian Joe Con News
Post by: Jon S. on February 07, 2014, 09:58:21 AM
Too bad. I've attended for many years in a row, and brought along maybe a dozen friends over that time - we all had a good time.

Perhaps someone can spearhead a smaller southern Ontario meet....? Just something informal to keep in touch. No guests, no exclusives, just a get together to swap and stuff.

I'm sure something will happen to fill in the void. If not, I'll make sure something happens.
Title: Re: Official 2014 Canadian Joe Con News
Post by: latinjoe22 on February 07, 2014, 02:26:40 PM
Thanks Mike for the update, even if it's bad news. It took me awhile to react to it, as I was a little short of words to be honest.

I can remember blowing a good part of my savings on many occasions I did the trip to the Canadian Joe events. Why did I still bother going? For the love of it man. A know alot of people from my area that wouldn't go on the premise they didn't have a ride and wouldn't be willing to put down for the cost of a travelling fare. My point of view was always when I say that I really love something, and I do love GI joe at its essence, I do whatever I can to at least try to make it happen. I had to buy a 100$+ bus ride during the 2007 and 2008 Joe Meets (my favorite events btw), and I never complained one moment about spending a little more on the transit buses as well. I rarely got to leave Montreal until I heard about the CanJoeMeet. I don't regret going because I got to live the excitement of venturing on my own in GTA territory several times, and even got to discover Hamilton, which had some great local architecture btw. And the city bus people I rode with were absolutely friendly and helpful with directions and referring places to go eat. What many travelers would've considered an incommodity or a limitation, I saw as a new thrilling experience anyway.

I think it had to do with Hamilton. The Toronto conventions didn't have the same effect on me, but I did get to meet alot more Canuckleheads in person over there. And my older daughter still speaks about wanting to return to the same Sheraton Hotel as she remembers the thrill of going through the vendor aisles and receiving from our own Propergrounds' hands the Carebears movie DVD that he helped me find.  Lots of great memories revolving around the con, and for every year there was a different highlight.

So anyway, long story short, let's not forget also to mention that with your store the responsabilities must have multiplied, and while I believe that business must be keeping you very busy right now, I say maybe that the timing did its own Wonder. We have a saying in South America, that there is not a bad event that comes without a good one. So I'm confident that it's all for the best.

I'd like to say alot more, and I could, but I think I said enough for now (it's the third time I try to type something and it wasn't easy to come out with this). So I'll just end by saying thanks Mike for the selfless and countless efforts you've made at your expense to make sure that there is an official Canadian Joe Community in the first place.







   
Title: Re: Official 2014 Canadian Joe Con News
Post by: morgardee on March 09, 2014, 09:59:30 AM
Apparently Hasbro won't be attending the 50th anniversary convention in the US either.

 
Title: Re: Official 2014 Canadian Joe Con News
Post by: latinjoe22 on March 30, 2014, 11:33:19 PM
I just realized today after washing my red Canadian Convention Gi joe T-Shirt that I will dearly miss those, especially since I've been using my convention T-Shirts like there would always be other new ones to replace my old ones, but there won't...
Title: Re: Official 2014 Canadian Joe Con News
Post by: Madman on March 31, 2014, 10:04:11 PM
A little late on this, but I'll definitely be missing the Canadian Joe Con as well.

It was fun while it lasted. I had a chance to attend the last 3 years and it was a real blast to be able to see familiar faces and meet a bunch of new ones.

Mike and crew really put in a lot of hard work and put together a great show.

Everything was great top to bottom.

On a side note, Hasbro is putting its resources where it makes lots of money like Transformers and Marvel. GI Joe just doesn't have the legs to stand on at this time.