Dealers Den

The Dealers' Room at Anthrocon 2006.

Michele Light and Dark Natasha's booths at Texas Furry Fiesta's Dealers' Den

The Dealers Den/Dealer's Den, also known as the Dealers Room/Dealer's Room, is a designated area or room at a furry convention, mini cons, or even some furmeet where professional and fan artists, vendors and publishers come to sell, trade, exchange their merchandise (art, prints, comic books, anthologies, plush or other types of stuffed animals, scupts/figures, masks, fursuit and parts, etc), and any other assortments of other items marketable to the furry fandom.

Overview

Dealers Den space must typically be booked before the start of a convention, and while some artists in the Dealers Den may take commissions, most are present to sell work created before the convention.

The Dealers' Den vs. the Artist's Alley

Most conventions will have both an Artist's Alley and a Dealer's Den available, but the Artist's Alley is either cheaper or free to those wishing to sell. Unlike Artist's Alley spaces, retailers in the Dealer's Den:

• May sell the works of others and general merchandise as well as their works.
• Have few if any restrictions in the amount and size of signs they can display at their tables;
• Are often given as much table space as they are willing to pay for.
• May use electrical outlets, telephone, or LAN connections (though several conventions may charge extra for the privilege)
• Rent a space for the duration of a convention, which cannot be squatted by other vendors or artists. In Artist's Alley, artists typically receive their space as-is daily, and are unable to leave their space for long gaps of time without ceding it to another artist.

Typically, professional artists rent tables at the Dealer's Den which is more commercially geared and attended by larger publishers and furry artists able to generate enough business to afford such tables. In comparison, Artists Alley is usually a space which is not reserved in advance, so artists of all levels may showcase their work (but the odds of getting any table at all, let alone a particular table, may vary). Dealers who do not necessarily produce their art (and Artists profitable enough to justify claiming the space) may prefer the additional freedom of expression within their space that they receive, along with the added notoriety and traffic of being in the Dealer's Den.

See also

• Artists Alley
• The Dealers Den