Besides figurines and wallscrolls, what else is there to buy?

[RaddaX2]

I dunno, everytime I go to a con I can never bring my self to buy anything.  I like anime but I can't justify spending $60 on an 8'' toy.  I'm not putting down anyones hobby but it's just not for me.  Besides the figurines, wall scrolls, and the sword replicas, what else is there?  I've only been to a few cons so I'm not sure.  Do they sell galge and dojinshi at fanime?  If anyone could (and I'm sure there are) please compile a list of things to buy that I can look forward to next fanime.

Btw how far is the mall from fanime?

[Moonblossom]

There are manga, anime, videogames, dvds, snacks, little fun cheapie toys, cosplay accessories, t-shirts, plushies... All sorts of things. My best friend picked up some model kits last year that are totally unrelated to any anime, just nice car models from some Japanese car customizing group.

There's not any big interesting malls within walking distance that I can recall, but I don't live in the area so I could be wrong. There's a few within a short drive though.

There are a lot of restaurants and a few small speciality shops in the area though. Do you need to get anything specific while you're there?

[hikarihoshi28]

In downtown San Jose itself, there isn't a whole lot of shopping, which is a shame. It's really more of a performing arts/nightlife city.

But not too far away (by freeway) there is the Westfield Valley Faire shopping mall, which is a popular destination with a broad selection of stores. Across the street is a place called Santana Row, a complex of buildings with shops on the street level and apartments above.

While it's not a mall per se, it's a very pleasant place to take a walk or go for a night out (especially in May), as there is live music, a selection of restaurants, and a movie theater. Between the buildings there is a wide center island with trees, fountains, a wine bar, and an area where you can play chess with pieces about a foot tall!
There's even a Japanese stationary store called Mido. They have all sorts of trinket-y things and a wide variety of stationary and cards.

So, if you're willing a 15-20 minute drive for some shopping, I would recommend those places. :)

[Nyxyin]

Does it have to be a mall?  Nikaku isn't very far away (although you still need to get on the freeway, and I don't know if it's open over Memorial Day weekend).  They have http://www.nikaku.com/ but the site doesn't do the place justice.  There's a small anime video store downstairs, but the upstairs has imported anime goods on one side and lots of other neat Japanese (and maybe other Asian) things on the other side.  The last time I went, they had bowls, tea sets, fans, origami paper, and other art and culture stuff.  (It's been a while since I went, so I don't remember exactly what's there, but it was neat.)

Nikaku is in San Jose Japantown, which is about 5-ish miles? away from the convention center, so there are a few other interesting places in the area, like the manju shop (which seems to always have a long line).

For more Japantown info, try http://www.japantownsanjose.org/ and click Merchants on the left.  The food sections and the gift section probably have the most interesting items.

Edit: Oh, by the way, at Fanime itself, I tend to buy stuff from the Artist Alley.  In addition to prints and commissions, several artists have done pins, badges, bookmarks, etc.  I also tend to like to buy playing cards and shijitaki in the dealers room, but I didn't remember seeing any that I liked last year.  There used to be an OST import dealer too, which I don't remember seeing them last year either.  But then, I didn't get to spend nearly as much time in the dealers room as I would've liked.

[RaddaX2]

Does it have to be a mall? 

Well, yeah.  Someone told me they had a nice mall there and I SERIOUSLY need clothes.  I sold most of my clothes for drug money and i'm practically wearing the same thing every week now. Though all of that sounds cool, I dunno why I'd go to a japan inspired mall 5 miles away from anime convention I'm attending.  Sounds pretty sweet though, I'll try to check it out some time.

btw kudos to hikarihoshi28, that's more of what I was looking for.

anyways so far the list of thing I would actually buy looks like

manga
anime
videogames
dvds
snacks
little fun cheapie toys
cosplay accessories
t-shirts
plushies
model kits (Life size TENGEN TOPPA GURREN LAGANN.  It's the only way)
prints (??)
commissions (??)
pins
badges
bookmarks
playing cards
shijitaki
swords
figurines
wallscrolls
OST imports

List if subject to change, results may vary.

[Nyxyin]

Someone told me they had a nice mall there and I SERIOUSLY need clothes.

Ah.  Then it's probably Santana Row, which is also about 5 miles away.  http://www.santanarow.com/

Edit: Er, maybe I overreacted to the word "nice".  Santana Row is so "nice" that I would never buy anything from there.  ^_^;

[RaddaX2]

Someone told me they had a nice mall there and I SERIOUSLY need clothes.

Ah.  Then it's probably Santana Row, which is also about 5 miles away.  http://www.santanarow.com/

Edit: Er, maybe I overreacted to the word "nice".  Santana Row is so "nice" that I would never buy anything from there.  ^_^;

*chokes on microwavable food*

[Ayanami Rei First Child]

In terms of manga what you SHOULD buy is:
$2 Manga!!

EVERY YEAR there is one booth that sells manga for only $2! You can't find a deal like that anywhere else to my knowledge. That's one of the big things that I buy there...that I can't get cheaper or find somewhere else.

Also some of the t-shirt designs I haven't been able to see outside of FanimeCon ^^;

[otakuapprentice]

In terms of manga what you SHOULD buy is:
$2 Manga!!

EVERY YEAR there is one booth that sells manga for only $2! You can't find a deal like that anywhere else to my knowledge. That's one of the big things that I buy there...that I can't get cheaper or find somewhere else.

Also some of the t-shirt designs I haven't been able to see outside of FanimeCon ^^;

are you serious? manga for two smeggin' dollars?!

crap, there goes a chunk of cash if i find some good stuff.

[RaddaX2]

In terms of manga what you SHOULD buy is:
$2 Manga!!

EVERY YEAR there is one booth that sells manga for only $2! You can't find a deal like that anywhere else to my knowledge. That's one of the big things that I buy there...that I can't get cheaper or find somewhere else.

Also some of the t-shirt designs I haven't been able to see outside of FanimeCon ^^;

Holy crap, at $2 that could possibly be the cheapest item you'll find in the entire con.

[Hakaru_chan]

In terms of manga what you SHOULD buy is:
$2 Manga!!

EVERY YEAR there is one booth that sells manga for only $2! You can't find a deal like that anywhere else to my knowledge. That's one of the big things that I buy there...that I can't get cheaper or find somewhere else.

Also some of the t-shirt designs I haven't been able to see outside of FanimeCon ^^;

Holy crap, at $2 that could possibly be the cheapest item you'll find in the entire con.

wait... isn't the cheapest items you can find in the entire con.... are the food like the pocky and ramune?

[Nyxyin]

$2 Manga!!

Yup.  Comics One / Dr. Master.  I think the manga didn't drop to $2 until Monday this year.  And then they had a few minutes when they announced it was free, and some people hauled off whole boxes of manga.  I paid $5 for the same manga on Sunday, which was still cheaper than elsewhere.

[otakuapprentice]

In terms of manga what you SHOULD buy is:
$2 Manga!!

EVERY YEAR there is one booth that sells manga for only $2! You can't find a deal like that anywhere else to my knowledge. That's one of the big things that I buy there...that I can't get cheaper or find somewhere else.

Also some of the t-shirt designs I haven't been able to see outside of FanimeCon ^^;

Holy crap, at $2 that could possibly be the cheapest item you'll find in the entire con.

wait... isn't the cheapest items you can find in the entire con.... are the food like the pocky and ramune?

nope, con pocky/ramune is incredibly overpriced.

[RaddaX2]

In terms of manga what you SHOULD buy is:
$2 Manga!!

EVERY YEAR there is one booth that sells manga for only $2! You can't find a deal like that anywhere else to my knowledge. That's one of the big things that I buy there...that I can't get cheaper or find somewhere else.

Also some of the t-shirt designs I haven't been able to see outside of FanimeCon ^^;

I didn't go to fanime last year but I'm willing to bet that the $2 manga cost less than the water available in the vending machines.

Holy crap, at $2 that could possibly be the cheapest item you'll find in the entire con.

wait... isn't the cheapest items you can find in the entire con.... are the food like the pocky and ramune?

nope, con pocky/ramune is incredibly overpriced.

I didn't go to fanime last year but at $2 per manga I'm willing to bet it's cheaper than the water sold at the vending machines

[Kazuko]

anyone who buys pocky and ramune along with other jappo snacks are so being Ripped off

I can get them for like 1 dollar or less at the asian food marketo

:U theres clothes...well besides cosplay  and lolita fashion clothing thats all I got
Dont forget the body pillows man!

[Ayanami Rei First Child]

$2 Manga!!

Yup.  Comics One / Dr. Master.  I think the manga didn't drop to $2 until Monday this year.  And then they had a few minutes when they announced it was free, and some people hauled off whole boxes of manga.  I paid $5 for the same manga on Sunday, which was still cheaper than elsewhere.

Holy shit it was FREE for awhile?! Damn I missed that. I would have taken as much as I could get, sold it off to used bookstores that sold manga, and then gotten NEW MANGA! Bwahahahaha.

Seriously don't forget about some of the huggable sized plushies, and those body pillows! I hope to find a nice non-pervy one of an Anime girl I actually really like...

[laganndriller]

it all depends on what you like

[FanFicGuru]

It's very rare that you'll buy DVDs at a con, I'll tell you that right now. Even when rightstuf has a booth, their prices aren't as good as they are online, and/or they have a killer sale the weekend after (almost ALWAYS happens this way).

Artist Alley is probably the best place to get some real neat unique stuff for decent prices...and I'm hoping for an improvement in the music selection this year.

So...yeah.

[laganndriller]

It's very rare that you'll buy DVDs at a con, I'll tell you that right now. Even when rightstuf has a booth, their prices aren't as good as they are online, and/or they have a killer sale the weekend after (almost ALWAYS happens this way).

Artist Alley is probably the best place to get some real neat unique stuff for decent prices...and I'm hoping for an improvement in the music selection this year.

So...yeah.

its best to buy dvds at the swap meet

[Ayanami Rei First Child]

Yeah Artist Alley DOES contain some really sweet stuff. I remember getting some really cool drawings there before, along with a cute bookmark that I use with my books today ^_^