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Hi, I registered for the swap meet, but now that I've gone through everything that I'm selling I've realized that I might not have listed everything on the form I submitted.  I'm currently on step 7, is there a way to go back and edit it, or should I not worry about it?  Thanks!

Not easily.  Fill in the complete list on the Swap Meet Agreement that you will be bringing to the convention and that should suffice.

[SWAP MEET SELLERS WILL BE ABLE TO PICK UP VOUCHERS TO GET INTO THE SPECIAL REGISTRATION LINE.]

Alright, Swap Meet Peoples!  Things seem to have been going rather well with registration so far!

There have been a few minor changes to what we may have discussed earlier.

First and foremost, SWAP MEET SELLERS WILL BE ABLE TO PICK UP VOUCHERS TO GET INTO THE SPECIAL REGISTRATION LINE.  What this means is that if you register for Swap Meet on Thursday or Friday, on the appropriate day, you can come by Swap Meet prior to the opening of Swap Meet (plan on about 5:00 p.m. each day), you will be able to pick up a voucher to get into the "special registration" line at registration.  This will be a faster line than normal registration (which should still be as fast as last year, I hope) and will help Swap Meet sellers to get their badges easily and have them prior to the start of Swap Meet.  That ties directly into point number two...

YOU WILL NEED YOUR FANIMECON BADGE IN ORDER TO SELL ON THURSDAY NIGHT.  Previously, we had said that you would not need to have your Fanime badge when checking in on Thursday.  However, in light of the Special registration vouchers and the ability of sellers to get their badges more quickly, we have decided to revise this policy.  Now, Sellers and seconds will be required to have their Fanime badges when checking in on Thursday.  If this is going to present exceptional hardship for anyone, please e-mail [email protected]

SELLERS WILL BE ABLE TO CHOOSE WHERE THEY ARE SEATED IN ORDER OF CHECK-IN, WITH SOME LIMITATIONS.  The way Swap Meet will be set up this year is that there will be sixteen blocks of 12 spaces, four columns of four blocks.  It is my intention to fill the hall in from the front, column by column.  However, within that, we will be allowing for some freedom to choose which spot you take from those that are currently available.  Thus, all of you who made requests to be near people will hopefully be able to coordinate that.  However, nobody is guaranteed any spot.  If Swap Meet staff deems it appropriate (colluding to make one giant spot, creating a problem for others, etc.), we can place you as we see fit.  This is particularly true on Friday for those selling both days.  If we notice a problem, we will take steps to correct it.

If you have already completed registration for a space on Friday, for example, is there a way to go back into your account and register for Thursday as well? I would like to share a space, but you have to be registered for that day to join someone else, right?

If you find someone else who has a spot registered on Thursday who would be willing to share their space, you do not need to pre-register.  You will simply need to arrive with them, with your badge, government issued photo ID, and your half of the Seller's Agreement filled out.

If you want to sign up for your own spot on Thursday and to redo your registration, please e-mail [email protected]

Quick question. Do you have to fill out the sellers permit online or just bring the print one signed?

You must have a printed out, filled out, and signed seller's agreement in hand when you show up to sign up for Swap Meet.

Alright.  I believe that we have cleared the majority of the backlog of registration issues.  Please let us know if we missed you by sending an e-mail to [email protected]

To answer some of the questions we've received about the need to fill out a BEO or to obtain a temporary Seller's Permit for Swap meet, here is some clarification.

Prior to selling at Swap Meet at Fanime, you are required to possess either a valid seller's permit (temporary or permanent) or qualify under an exception.  The most common exception for Swap Meet vendors is that they are classified as "occasional sellers."  An occasional seller can be defined as someone who makes sales of their personal property less than twice per 12 month period.  If this is an accurate description of your selling pattern, you need only fill out the Swap Meet Agreement and check the box at the bottom indicating that you are an occasional seller.  If this does not, you will need to apply for a Seller's Permit on the BOE site, then fill in your permit number on the Swap Meet Agreement. 

In either case, a printed, filled-out version of the Seller's Agreement must be brought to each day you intend to sell at Swap Meet.  If two sellers are selling as a single group (single stock of merchandise), they must either both be on the same seller's permit (if applicable) or both be able to qualify as occasional sellers.  If the sellers are selling separately (separate stocks of merchandise), they must either individually have seller's permits (if applicable) or qualify as an occasional seller on their own.

I am not aware of any reason this might be different for those out-of-state, so this should hopefully be a rubric for everyone.  Please post further if you have additional questions on the permit or lack of need for a permit.

Hi I have finished my register earlier today around 12:20. At that time it shows "wait list" for my "Friday Space", so I paid for my "Thursday Space" and moved on to step 7. Now it shows both "Friday Space" and "Thursday Space" as "In Process", so I am wondering do I get both days? Is it the same issue as what Aishasama posted? If yes how am I gonna pay for my "Friday Sapce"?

Please help!

Thanks!

Hi I have finished my register earlier today around 12:20. At that time it shows "wait list" for my "Friday Space", so I paid for my "Thursday Space" and moved on to step 7. Now it shows both "Friday Space" and "Thursday Space" as "In Process", so I am wondering do I get both days? Is it the same issue as what Aishasama posted? If yes how am I gonna pay for my "Friday Sapce"?

Please help!

Thanks!

I will double check both of these.  Swap Meet staff is currently working our way through the applications and questions that we have received as quickly as possible, so hopefully it will clear up the questions you might have.  If you have reached the point where you are "In process," your space should be reserved (not that we're yet close to selling out on either day, still a good number of spaces available each day) and the application might just need to be cleared on our end for one reason or another.  If you have paid, you should be completely done and have your space.  Once the backlog is done, I will post here again stating that it is cleared out and that if there are further issues, to e-mail [email protected] to make sure something hasn't fallen through the cracks.



EDIT:  Also, clarification on the BEO vs. the Swap Meet Agreement vs. temporary sellers vs. seller's permit is forthcoming as well.

I got to Step 3 and was waitlisted? If there are still spots available then what happened?

Odd.  I haven't received enough confirmation emails to fill the spaces, so this might be an error.  I will look into it once I can get into the admin side from home.  We will do everything we can to make sure everyone is accomodated.

Phew, swap meet registration is all set.  One less thing to worry about.  Didn't have any issues with my badge number, for what it's worth.

I did notice under the section for the seller's permits, occasional sellers are required to contact staff in order to claim exempt status.  They had that last year, but when I emailed I got a response saying it wasn't necessary.  Is that something we're required to do, or is claiming EXEMPT status and having a completed BOE-410-D form sufficient?

The completed BOE should be enough.

do i need a membership badge if i just wanted to check out the swap meet to buy stuff (and not as a seller)? i'm only able to attend the convention on Saturday so I'm only getting the One-Day pass on the day of, and therefore wont have a badge on the swap meet nights.

thanks in advance

Thursday, a badge is not required.  Friday, a badge is required.

I sent an email about my badge saying balance is due. I'm in a group reg and the leader says he already paid for it.

We're getting a good number of those.  Rest assured that we're working on second sellers showing balance due, but may not be able to resolve it until this evening.

Getting an error "Badge Information Does Not Match" so I just emailed you guys. I assume by the time this gets sorted through, all of the spaces will be gone? Double checked everything and it should all be good, so not sure what the deal is.

It is my belief that there will still be more spots than sellers.  Regardless, I think it should save your spot at that point.  Make sure your name and Badhe number match how Fanime has them.

[Civic Auditorium]

The check-in information on step 7 says that check-in is at the staff table at the entrance to the Civic Auditorium. It should be South Hall, right?

yes, it is South Hall.  Must have missed that one when making the corrections.

Registration for Fanime Swap Meet 2015 is now open.  Please follow the link below and follow the instructions to go through the registration process.  Please keep in mind that if you are Staff, Press, or Industry and thus do not have a badge number, you will need to put which one you are in the field where it requests a badge number.  Following that, your application will need to be manually approved.  This will take some time, as Swap Meet will need to check with the head of the appropriate department or division before receiving the authorization from them to pass you through registration.

If any other details or issues arise, please send an e-mail to [email protected] and we will respond as soon as we can.  However, this is not likely to be before 6 p.m. Pacific, since I cannot do some of the likely necessary work from my work computer.

http://apps.fanime.com/2015/swapmeet/

[not]

I'd like to request that we be allowed to pick spots once we enter according to our order in
line. I want to be next to my friend so that we can guard each other's spots when we go on
bathrooms breaks or take a few minutes to browse and shop ourselves.

Seconded! For the exact same reasons mentioned above.

My friend and I have been fortunate to get a spot for as many swap meets back as I can remember.  Even when we had the 10'x10' spots, what seems like ages ago, we've managed to have enough stuff to make getting two separate spots worth it, which is why we don't opt to share a space.  Last year, we somehow still managed to wind up with spots more or less within view of each other on both Thursday and Friday, so we were somewhat able to keep an eye on the others' items during a bathroom break or shopping lap.  Being able to request (and understandably not guaranteeing) neighboring spots would allow us that small piece of mind that we don't have to remain there for the entire duration should the need arise for us to step away for a minute, lest we risk leaving a bunch of anime goodies unattended.  We have some pretty great folks that attend Fanime, so while theft is always a possibility, what I noticed last year were people walking away upset if there wasn't someone there to answer questions or even take their money for something they wanted to purchase.

Besides having too much stuff to squeeze into a single space, it's also usually just the two of us who attend Fanime.  We could mark each other down as a secondary seller for the other space, but we don't have anyone else to help out   Having more than two people per space hasn't been an issue, as we can't even get that second person to begin with.

We are definitely not considering combining our powers to form one massive, all-mighty swap meet singularity.  The concern of vendors using swap meet rather than the dealer's hall or other sellers otherwise monopolizing space is definitely a valid concern, but I think this can be mostly addressed through clear communication of the rules and the consequences of breaking them before hand, followed up by monitoring by staff.  For the vast majority of us sellers asking to be allowed neighboring spots, if not where specifically on the floor our spots are, is a reasonable request that shouldn't be overly difficult or disruptive to grant.

Assuming we don't use that random-number method from last year again.  Please don't do that to us.

This is definitely something we've heard in previous years, and definitely a valid concern regarding having a friend possibly watch a spot for long enough to cover a bathroom break.  It was my intention to allow at least some choice regarding spot selection, though perhaps not of the entire hall at once.  Probably a column at a time progressively down the hall.  Keep in mind, though, that the Seller's Agreement states that spots will/may be randomly assigned, so if we notice an issue or it seems as though spots are being combined into a single mass of merchandise, we will take steps to correct it.

[SWAP MEET REGISTRATION WILL OPEN ON TUESDAY, MAY 5th AT NOON PACIFIC.]

Alright, everyone!  Thank you so much for your patience with the Registration timeline for Swap Meet.  We are just about ready to go on this.

SWAP MEET REGISTRATION WILL OPEN ON TUESDAY, MAY 5th AT NOON PACIFIC.

There should be a link in this thread as well as on the main Fanime site and hopefully through other Social Media as well.

When you register online for Swap Meet, you will also pay for your spot.  Once you have registered online, there will be a Swap Meet agreement that you need to fill out and sign, which includes the rules and regulations.  This agreement functions as your temporary seller's permit and is required before you will be able to check in at Swap Meet.  Please print it and fill it out before arriving at Swap Meet each day.  We will try to have extra copies, but there is no guarantee.

Further updates will be posted as they become relevant and/or finalized.

I want to raffle one item.

Is this allowed?

I don't mind shipping it to the winner after the con if thats the case (in case they leave early.)

Just so you know we haven't forgotten about this question. Ben and I are discussing it and will get back to you once we have an answer. :)

raffles are not allowed in Swap Meet, just like in Artist's Alley or other places.  Sorry about that, but it is considered a form of gambling and is not permitted at Fanime.

Any word on when sign ups are going to be?

I checked in yesterday to see if there was any update and at this time we don't have any more information. I promise we'll get it out to you guys as soon as we know!

Take some comfort in the fact that we'll have a LOT of spaces this year, so hopefully we'll be able to accommodate everyone who wants to sell!  ;D

We're in the process of getting it set up.  I wish I had a more exact answer that I could give than that.  Once things are prepared on the back-end, we'll put notice out through all the channels.

As Jeremy stated, there's plenty of spots, so everyone should be able to get in, judging by previous years.  We know that late notice and lack of forewarning have been issues in the past, but we should be able to let everyone get in even if registration opens later than we might want.

I have a question for seller check-in on Thursday night.
Do we have to get fanime badge in order to checkin swap meet, or we can use our drivers license for checking in?
Knowing the line, I'm worried I might not have time to get my badge before swap meet. and since swapmeet is on Thursday night, there is not a Thursday badge that sells, how is this work?
Thank you

If you have a weekend badge, you can pick up your badge on Thursday starting at 3 PM. While past performance is no guarantee of future results, I can say that last year registration did a legendary job in terms of moving the line quickly to the point that there really was no "line" throughout the con. Assuming they keep this system in place I doubt that getting your badge on Thursday will be an issue.

Additionally, (and this may have changed, correct me if I'm wrong on this Ben), the Thursday night swap meet is not a badged event. This is mainly to welcome in any and all interested buyers to peruse the swap meet, but it's also to help sellers not have to worry about getting their badge beforehand. We will require a photo ID (drivers license, state ID, passport, etc) to check you in of course, but if by chance you have not picked up your badge, that will not bar your entry to swap meet either as a buyer or seller.

Again, this may have changed but I will defer to Ben if there are any corrections to be made.  :)

To the best of my information at this time, a seller will not need to pick up their badge prior to check-in on Thursday.  The online registration will check your name against your Fanime registration, so we should be able to make do with a photo ID and the seller's agreement.  Friday, however, badges will be needed.  If this changes, I will make a post about it here.

Is there any chance there will be an option to pick up badges at swap meet Friday? Because of work scheduling, my husband may not be able to get to the con until after 7pm on Friday when badge pick up closes. This really sucks for us since he's my #2 for the swap meet "booth" and we don't have a group reg.

We will not be able to pull and hand out badges to Swap Meet sellers when they check in.  The one year we did that, it seemed to really slow down the registration process.  I'm also unsure whether that'd even work with the system we had for registration last year.  Things were pretty streamlined for general registration and I would be reluctant to do anything that might upset the flow there.  I'll give it some thought and private message you to try and figure out a solution to this particular problem.