The economy was the elephant in the room at GenCon 2009. Shoppers were on a tight budget, buying less, and paying with cash.

Jennifer Szynski, 21 of Dayton, Ohio, was one of many gamers who said they were on a tight budget this year. She was browsing the vendor’s hall for Harry Potter trading cards and had a strict $200 budget. Szynski spent about the same amount last year but said she’ll stick to her limit.

In addition, she said she tried to save money by splitting hotel expenses with more people and cutting down on her meal costs: she and five other friends crammed into one hotel room; instead of buying food at the convention center, she brought bags of chips and snacks from home.

“We only have so much money and we want to save it for the con.”

She also enjoys playing games on the PS2 and original 8-bit Nintendo system and said she’s been buying used games recently in order to save.

“We’re all spending less,” she said.

Mark Lucas, 48, lives in Indianapolis, where GenCon is held. He said he’ll be on a tight budget this year, too. Lucas and his two teenaged sons were looking for dice and t-shirts, but he had control over the wallet.

“Everybody is probably spending a little bit less,” he said. “They probably have less to spend because of the economy.”

He and his sons enjoy role playing games (RPGs), board games and computer games. Lucas said they have cut back on purchases and are buying more used items from friends and eBay.

Vendors also noticed attendees were more tight-fisted with their money this year. Mike Sakuta of the Swordmark Company, who sells decorative and battle-ready swords and armor, said this year was “really bad.” Shoppers were buying less expensive items and paying with cash.

One of his most popular items this year was a Prince of Persia-themed chain whip, which sold for $45, whereas in previous years more expensive items such as $100 katanas or $200 rapiers were popular.

Despite the drop in sales, Sakuta doesn’t have any specific plans to cut back inventory or reduce the number of events he attends.

“We’ll weather it,” he said.

Not all vendors saw a steep drop in sales. Andrew Bawidamann, who produces military-themed pin-up art and t-shirt designs, said he was doing “OK.”

“Things are a little slow but I’m not going to complain. I heard people are doing a lot worse.”

He added that the effects of the recession were also evident at Comic Con in San Diego earlier this year, saying he did well but many other vendors saw a 30 or 40 percent drop in sales.

He said having an affordable price point is important – he sold t-shirts for $20 and work shirts for $45. Bawidamann also attributed his success partly to his unique client base – many of his products are targeted toward members of the military.

“They’re not worried about job security. They are still getting paid every two weeks.”

However, Bawidamann said it seemed like attendance was down slightly at GenCon this year, perhaps 10 percent, and said he saw a slight dip in sales. Although he’s not feeling the full effect of the recession, he’s still had to adjust. He usually attends a number of different events each year, including GenCon, Comic Con, tattoo shows and knife swaps, but this year he skipped several of the smaller events that only netted him a small profit.

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