Obviously a big part of GenCon is purchasing the newest games, figures, and other items I have a few questions about transporting merchandise purchased at GenCon. 
​​​​​​Do you carry your new merch with you all day? Do you find that annoying?
Do you head back to your living quarters after purchases? Do you hate wasting that time?
How does everyone get their GenCon haul from Indy to home, especially if you're flying?
Just curious because I found lugging everything around write cumbersome.
Thanks for your feedback/advice.

This obviously all depends on your travel circumstances. I live an hour and half south of Indy and my husband and I usually drive up and back Thursday then back up on Friday, stay the night and back home at the end of Saturday. We also stay at an outlying hotel. That said, we park within walking distance of the ICC and transport our purchases to the car throughout the day. Then they go home with up on Thursday and then on Saturday. I think that regular drop-offs are the way to go if you are able. Carrying purchases around for extended periods of time is cumbersome, painful and annoying. Taking the time to drop them off allows you to have a more enjoyable con and is well worth the time.

As for getting the swag home, unless you have an extra baggage allowance with an airline, shipping might be probably a better option.  There was a shipper at Gen Con this year, near the corridor to Lucas Oil Stadium, but I'm not sure what hours they had.  Also, at least one of the hotels (JW Marriot maybe) has a FedEx ship center, not sure if it's open over the weekend.

However, check with your airline for baggage rates.  If it's only $25 for a 2nd bag, that would probably be cheaper than shipping.  Bring a collapsible duffel bag in your main suitcase on the way to Gen Con, then use it to carry back as much as it will fit.  Also, bring the largest suitcase you can get, and stuff it to the gills.

I'm lucky enough to be a VIG, so I use their bag check during the day. Before I was a VIG, I just brought any purchases to my hotel room.

I fly home to New York but luckily some friends drive, so they haul my haul home.

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Alec Usticke, Fans of Gen Con Facebook Group

There were at least 3 shipping services in the ICC last year.  One in the hall, one outside in the path to Lucas Oil and one across from the VIG room.

Most hotels (that cater to business) had a shipping vendor in the lobby (westin/JW Marriott for example).

Personally, its easier to ship the swag on Sunday.

Trav.

We drive 4 hours from MI to Indy. So we come back with a car full of games. As for during the convention we just walk stuff back to the hotel. This is after the VIG run through we walked back to the hotel, dropped the games off, and got an early lunch while everyone was in the hall for the first time.

If you didn't drive to the convention and don't have enough luggage to fit your purchases, a lot of people opt to mail things home.  There is a FedEx inside the convention center and one in a connected hotel (I forget which one).  There are shipping services that will pack and label your things for you.  Lastly, there is a United States post office right next to Lucas Oil stadium.  Walk out the front gates of the stadium and turn left.

I usually put a smaller suitcase in my main suitcase, along with a duffle bag and a messenger bag (the latter to carry around random purchases, buttons, etc during the con).  I find the extra bag charges at the airline reasonable enough, even before I had status.

However.  I recommend highly bringing a luggage scale.  The cost of an extra bag is far far less than one that is overweight.  No, the hotel may not have one available..I remember trying to use Courtyard's exercise gym to weigh things...unsuccessfully it turned out.  Give yourself a couple pounds leeway, the scales at the check-in counter may not be entirely accurate, but they are what the attendant will use, despite protests. :)

Oh, and I remarked on this year.  Yes, there is a Post Office down the street from the ICC to ship things.  I also usually bring a couple of the large flat-rate boxes just in case I need to mail something, and the post office may well run out of such boxes as 60k people descend on them.

I always stay downtown, so just take the stuff back to the room and then I use ShipNaked to ship it home. They are usually outside the dealer hall, in the hallway to Lucas Oil.

We drive from NY and stay in a downtown hotel, so we drop stuff off at the room throughout the weekend and then drive it home to NY.

am i aloud to have a suitcase with me? 

e.i could i go into the center with an empty carryon / suit case on wheels to fill w my purchase? 
thanks

...and strollers...

I'm able to get along with just a backpack.

None of these things are yet prohibited, but if you can at all avoid them, you really should.  There's really very little space to accommodate them.  If you bring a stroller, please definitely consider an umbrella stroller.  There's really not room for larger, and particularly, double strollers.  I get it's sometimes unavoidable to have the stroller,  I've been there; and I get that some people have disabilities that make it impossible to carry much, and I'm not talking to those people, but really, even people wearing large backpacks can be problematic at times in there, so please, bring as little as possible into the Exhibit Hall.

Marian McBrine
Event Coordinator
Gen Con LLC

I think parents would be crazy to bring a stroller through the dealer hall.  It is so crowded, people get bumped all the time.  It would be terrible if a stroller with a very young child got knocked over.