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Hope you have a lot of fun and make lots of friends who could possibly attend fanime again with you next year

I know a lot of people are repeating the "Wait till Monday" rule for the Gathering Hall, but that's a double-edged sword.  My first Fanime was back in 2013, which was also when I got hardcore into Monster Hunter.  They had a meetup that year and a few of the con-goers managed to snag some sweet MonHun Plushies from the Hall, so I became driven to find the stall that had them.  I checked everywhere in that Hall Sunday, no luck. Asked around and got the specific spot, went back on Monday, and sure enough, they had sold out of them all on Saturday, probably before the meetup.  I also like getting shirts from the SharkRobot stall at every con I go to, but a couple times when I've waited too long, they've ended up out of my size for the shirt(s) I wanted.

Long story short, even if you don't BUY anything, go into the Dealer's Hall and examine EVERY stall at least once on Friday.  Some stalls will have impressive amounts of stock handy, but others are limited to what you see on their tables.  Getting a deal is great, but waiting for that deal to come and losing out on something you really wanted in the process can put a damper on the good times.

I kinda just wanna reaffirm this! The best time to buy would be Friday or Monday, because many many times I've noticed that something I bought on Friday went up by like five or even ten bucks the very next day. (Also once a dealer gave me a small discount on some small things because it was near closing time on Friday and the crowd was super light.) I tend to do shopping on Friday myself because I know things will be at least a little cheaper and it's kinda like early dibs on things in stock that would totally be gone by Monday otherwise. I've heard things about manga sellers giving bigger discounts on Monday, though, so that's something to try to hold out on if there aren't any Must Haves.

I want to add a couple things to this:

1) Buy the things you really want early and wait for the "I kinda like this" items & impulse buys for later during the con. Chances are that, the item you really want, will be sell out fast. More so if it is rare.

2) I've noticed that the Dealers don't quite give as deep discounts as they used to. And many places, you'll be lucky to get $5 off... It used to be that they wanted to get rid of their stock before the con's end but now more and more Dealers hold onto their stock to sell at future cons/events. I could see waiting til the end of con if the discount was still great things like 50% but $5 off just isn't worth waiting.

To add on to all these points which I've also come across as well. Although it might seem like a drag or not worth your time, do a little research on what it is you're looking for. Check the prices online for rough idea of what an item costs so you can see if it is something you're willing to pay a little more for if it's something that's rare and it's extremely high online or if it's cheaper online you could possibly hold back until closer to the end of the con. This way while browsing through the dealers room on friday you can get idea of whether each seller prices items reasonably or not. Also this is a good tactic for the swap meet at night as well. But like ZeroBudgetGamer said, it could become a double edge sword if you're not careful. and Sunara Ishi made a good point, even if you see an item rare, if it's not something that you truly want, any kind of unsure thought, I wouldn't spend money on it that early in case you find a better item that you do want.

its 10$

thanks hopefully it'll still be there by time i get into the swap meet, huge fan of hello kitty:)

is it acceptable to ask the ones peace bonding a weapon to not make the bond too tight if a weapon can get damaged easily if it's bonded too tight?

We strive the best we can to accomadate and respect our attendees props. This is an acceptable request, just please be aware that we still have to try and make sure that the peacebond stays secured.

that is totally understandable since that's the purpose of having peacebonds is to make sure they're staying on the props. thanks for the response.

is it acceptable to ask the ones peace bonding a weapon to not make the bond too tight if a weapon can get damaged easily if it's bonded too tight?

how much for hello kitty wallet?

The line last year scared me away... which is a bummer.  I hope it isn't as insane this year.

swap meet should be in big Blue tent th is year which shouldn't cause as big of a line as last year but I could be wrong

ZERO's sword from borderlands 2 and it lights up too. Scorpion and sub zeros tunic and arm guards, connor from ac3 and wings i hand made, but the wings ill give after the con is over since itll be my cosplay of the weekend.

nice ill keep eye out for u :)

can we get an idea of what types of props you'll be handing out?

Ahhh do you think any of those stores would sell some nice wigs there or not?

I just ruined my wig because I am a failure LOL. So I can either buy another online but I got like 8 days left till I go to Fanime or just sob in my now blue poopy wig. Or I could check a store nearby and hope for something. ; u ;

Not sure if you have amazon prime but if you do, you could probably order a nice wig from there and get it in time for fanime w/ 2day shipping

Is the con 24 hours? I've visited at like 3am and there is still people walking around inside, and a bunch of people are outside still too. Is the dance 24hrs? Are hotel parties a common thing? How crazy does the con get? Tell me 1st hand experiences of the craziest thing you've ever seen. I think I've noticed that every year it seems to get less and less sleep, which I really like.

The only part of the con that's 24 hrs is the game room and I believe the video rooms. There dealers room and artist alley shuts down usually around 8pm or 9pm (not 100% sure on actual time). However there's always people wondering around because the convention center is still open and people are still welcome to take pictures and what not. The dance isn't 24 hours it starts around 9pm I believe (have yet to attend). Depends on your definition of crazy because it does get fairly crowded during the day time and the line for MusicFest starts pretty early Saturday morning. This will be the 2nd year my friends and I have a hotel room and we decided to stay in the hotels even though we live in SJ because you get the full experience also late at night sometimes you have fans who have like little sing along sessions on convention floors or you get to see unique cosplays that have been worn specifically only for night time (like tron). So far I've only met very friendly and welcoming people which is why I like fanimecon. If you want more specifics on times the best source of reference would be your guide that you get when you pick up your badge, fanime website has some information on times, but not all.

Mod edit: Its called a dance

everyone pretty much said what I'd suggest, most of all if you aren't sure check the schedule or ask the rovers that's what they are there for. I've been going since 2007 and its always been fun also you get to meet a lot of new people with similar interests

Does anyone happen to know if you are able to use two cards? I was hoping to put the deposit on a credit card and the actual payment on debit.

At the fairmont and the marriott I've been able to do this in the past. Just make sure you make it clear that you want to put your deposit on a specific card beforehand.

Policy may have changed as well so I would echo Spiritofkairi's suggestion of contacting the hotel to double check.

to my knowledge the card you put on there for deposit is just incase you have any additional charges, they don't actually charge anything on there, they hold the amount for accidents and confirm a hotel booking last year i had marriott and i was able to use a different card than the one i had on the account for deposit.

I know this might seem pretty last minute, but I've been working on my cosplay for Attack on Titan x Hatsune Miku, I'm more or less very close to finishing everything, just got a lot of painting left to do. What I'm asking for help on is how best to attach the 3D gear to my belt. Unfortunately, I also don't have the back piece which I've struggled to try to figure out how to make and also due to time constraints (I know it's a tough cosplay to take on last minute with limited time) so it won't be incorporated in the costume but the boxes are still present.Any help will be appreciated.

3DMG is not easy! That's the part that my AoT cosplay group and I got a bit caught up on. We haven't gotten back to working on them yet (we rushed last minute for last fanime and I think they could use some improvements before they are ready) but the solution I've been considering is attaching them to the belt that goes around your waist with large lobster claw style clasps. I want to attach 2 straps up the length of the inner facing side of each of the boxes up to my waist belt (it can go under the skirt so they should be hidden) and then have the clasps on the end of the straps to they can attach right to the belt and even be removed at any time if need be. I don't know if this is the best solution but it's an idea.

Thanks that sounds like a very doable solution. I'll have to try that one out. It's coming down the wire and I'm nervous about being able to properly attach the gear so this is very helpful. I just hope it won't look awkward because I'm a bit short and with the harness and everything hopefully I can still walk properly...thanks!!!!

I know this might seem pretty last minute, but I've been working on my cosplay for Attack on Titan x Hatsune Miku, I'm more or less very close to finishing everything, just got a lot of painting left to do. What I'm asking for help on is how best to attach the 3D gear to my belt. Unfortunately, I also don't have the back piece which I've struggled to try to figure out how to make and also due to time constraints (I know it's a tough cosplay to take on last minute with limited time) so it won't be incorporated in the costume but the boxes are still present.Any help will be appreciated.

Has anyone got their hotel room or their room extended since the last day to cancel was on the 24?

I figured this week they'll start updating reservations. (I'm just guessing. I don't know if CMR works over the weekends.)

I'm wondering this too. I have the Fairmont (king bed) for Thursday through Tuesday but I want Marriott. We got on the waitlist the first day of hotel reservations. What hotel are you waiting on? I hope you get through the waitlist. We have less than a month now.

You're not only one...although I'm just looking to add Thursday since when I got my hotel reservations Thursday wasn't available for some reason, and that was on the 1st day.

I'm sure there are some great guides out there that trump what I have to say, but there was a great panel last year on bootlegs that was pretty hilarious.

Thanks for notes, I've tried searching some things up but each one says a little something different. I've noted what was mentioned across different sources though. I'll look into the panels this year to see if there's any panels related to it. =^.^=

Two of the main things, of spotting counterfeits, are poor quality and misspellings of brand name, other key info, etc.
Specifics depend on what type of product it is. I think with figures, the quality of the eyes can be a huge giveaway if its legit or not. Bootlegs tend to be of cheaper material, crappy paint jobs, and so on.

But there's some grey areas like with asian dvds that are "supposedly" legit releases in their respective countries... The ones that have usually have english & chinese subtitles with japanese audio but are of iffy quality. I'm still not 100% sure on these (whether they are legit or not)...

That aside, Dealer's Hall does a very good job of keeping counterfeits out. And swap meet used to check for counterfeits but I don't know if they do anymore. But if you do spot something, let staff know. Also, be aware that Dealer's Hall also has a bunch of professional artists that sell there and it is largely obvious that their product isn't official.

Thanks for the notes, I'll try to look into more of the specifics. I usually try to look at the details of figures anyways just to see which has better paint jobs and better joints. If I do see anything suspicious I'll be sure to let the staff know. =^.^=

Cosplay and MusicFest is usually what draws me to Fanime. At times the panels and even dealer's room as well. However, it's slowly declining on drawing my interest but I still enjoy coming to see everyone's cosplays and love making new friends. As far as food goes, if you're staying in the hotels, it'll probably help you save money if you bring some snacks or like premade sandwiches and such to munch on when you're hungry. That way you won't be eating away your fanime funds but still get fed. There are some fast food places a couple blocks down from fanime as well as La Victoria (La Vics) which has really good burritos and tacos, but be prepared for lines because they're popular, they work fairly fast though.

I've been going to Fanime since 2007 and have purchased my share of items. With several threads mentioning counterfeits and bootlegs, I was wondering if anyone has any tips on how to spot them just so everyone has an idea. Although I've been collecting figures for years I'm still not 100% sure how to tell at times. Personally I usually collect Nendoroids, S.H. Figuarts, Figma, Gundams, and Pullip Dolls. Any tips on how to spot real from fakes?