Why We No Longer Sell at Comiccons in the USA

Since comic/anime conventions have started again this year, occasionally we have been getting emails from our US customers asking if we are returning to the convention as vendors. 

Short answer to the question is: Unfortunately, no. But keep reading if you want to know more:

The both of us (Joey and Aldora) had been vendors at comic/anime/tattoo conventions at 200+ events all over the US and Canada for the last 12 years, before Covid hit in 2020. But during the last 2 years of lockdowns, we were forced to stop going to conventions and rethink the way we run our art-based company, and we decided to focus more on the artwork and diversifying our products.

Going to conventions was a big part of our lives, and we loved being there with all of you every weekend. It was the reason we even decided to move to the US in the first place; it was so that we could sell at San Diego Comicon, Anime Expo, and New York Comiccon.

So why aren't we going back to the US conventions as vendors? 

1. Logistics: Sending our products from the Netherlands over to the US to sell would cost us a lot of money. To make it worth the travel we would have to include the shipping cost, possible customs and duties fees, insurance, storage, hotel, and of course we can't forget the 12-hour flight from the Amsterdam to San Diego, for example. After all these costs, we can no longer sell an Akumu Ink t-shirt for $25/shirt at the convention anymore - they will be somewhere at $35/shirt, which we know would result in a massive drop in sales. At the end of the day we don't go to conventions for our ego. We go to promote our brand, hoping that eventually our customers find our website and support us online.

2. Legality: As Canadians, when we lived in the USA, we were granted a 5-year working visa by the US government. As we did not reapply for that visa, and are now considered a foreign company, we are not allowed to sell and collect payments in the USA. Trust us, if we could simply get on a plane and sell at these events, we would be there.

1. Our website has the most comprehensive archive of Akumu Ink merchandise you can find. And currently, the US dollar($) and European Euro(€) are almost equal in value so you would be getting our merch online for a great price if you were to purchase online.

If you have questions, feel free to email Aldora. Flat rate shipping to the USA is €25, which means that you can purchase as little as 1 shirt and pay €25 shipping; or you can purchase many items for you and your friends and pay for the same flat rate shipping of $25. All of our t-shirts are printed and shipped by us, the artists and owners of Akumu Ink.

2. US resellers: We have a few physical and online US resellers that carry our products. Click here to view stores closest to you. If you cannot buy from our website, please purchase from them and show your support for small independent retailers! If you know of an independently owned store who you think should carry our merch, let them know about us. Maybe they will consider carrying us if they know there's interest in our products.

So please know that we miss you all and we definitely wish we could be there with all of you at every convention. At the end of the day, we are just so happy that we had a chance in our lives to be a part of comiccons when we did and met many of you, every year. We hope you will continue to support our small brand as we keep creating cool artwork for all of you.

Lots of love & respect,

Joey + Aldora.

Owners of Akumu Ink.