Messages

Room Needed:
+ Introduction: Hi! My name is Amanda. I'm looking for a place to stay for myself (34F) and a friend of mine(35M) within walking distance of the con center as we weren't able to get a hotel this year. This will be my 10th Fanime, my friends' 5th Fanime. We are both cosplayers but none of our costumes take up a large amount of room.
+ Hotel Information: I would prefer a hotel within walking distance of the con, so Fairmont, westin, hyatt, but not opposed to hotels attached to con center either.
+ Requirements: Both of us would be staying from thurs-mon. Just would need one room key for the both of us, we're fine with floorspace just as long as we're able to use an air mattress that's about queen sized. Would prefer a non-party room as we don't really party. We tend to stay out late, but are quiet when we come in.
+ Contact: Please email me at [email protected] or send a PM

Found a room, thank you for all your help =)

Super late to post this, but I'm looking for a room for a friend of mine. His friends bailed on him last minute and its his first fanime. His name is Brandon and is looking to stay from thursday-monday. He's 22, easy-going, respectful of everyone's privacy, quiet, first time cosplaying, and mainly just looking for a place to sleep and shower. If you have any space available in your room, please contact him at [email protected] or PM me here. Thank you!

Yay, glad this gathering is happening again! Only bummer is I'm still waiting for swap meet signups to go up since I typically participate in that to pay for hotel costs and the swap meet is usually Thursday and Friday right around 5-6ish. I'm still going to try to make this gathering since I do have at least 2 costumes I can wear for this. Not sure if I want to wear Maetel again or wear Stella from Interstella 5555 or possibly make Kei Yuki's new outfit from the cgi movie or throw together a Ryuze or fix up Crystal Claire, but I'll definitely have something to wear. Also, not sure if my conductor friend will be there, but he knows about the gathering so hopefully he'll make it down. I'll also let another friend of mine know about this group since he finally finished his Count Mecha costume for ALA and not sure if he's heading to this con but if he is to bring it.
 

Found a couple of pics from the gathering:

http://briananim.kicks-ass.net:9000/sdcosplay/gallery2/var/resizes/cons/Fanime_2011/IMG_8998.JPG

http://briananim.kicks-ass.net:9000/sdcosplay/gallery2/var/resizes/cons/Fanime_2011/IMG_8997.JPG

http://briananim.kicks-ass.net:9000/sdcosplay/gallery2/var/resizes/cons/Fanime_2011/IMG_9000.JPG

http://briananim.kicks-ass.net:9000/sdcosplay/gallery2/var/resizes/cons/Fanime_2011/IMG_8999.JPG

Also I'll let my conductor buddy know about next year, although he really needs to re-make the mask again.

I loved this gathering! Thank you everyone who came, you were all so sweet and it was great meeting you all =). Also thank you Dany for helping me with my wig, that thing gets all sorts of everywhere and loves to stick on the velvet. Totally excited for next years group.

Oh man, so much long hair.....reminds me, I need to check my wig since I wore this for the SF CBF and it really took a toll on it.

In no particular order, still trying to figure out how I'm gonna wear them all

-Maetel from Galaxy Express 999
-Stella from Interstella 5555
-Mai Shiranui KOF 97 version
-BB Hood from Darkstalkers
-Amanda from Metal Gear Peacewalker
-Meryl Silverburgh Metal Gear Solid 1 version
-Lilith from Darkstalkers

I know/agree with everything you just said, but this in particular jumped out at me. A lot of people have told me to price things like "One for $5 or Two for $8" so that I can sell more things at a time, but I've found that this tactic actually makes people NOT want to buy anything. The only reason I could think of is that some people think that if they can buy 2 for $8, then buying 1 for $5 isn't worth it since they theoretically could've gotten it for $4 (despite having to spend $8 instead of $5).

Or maybe I'm overthinking and they just didn't want it in the first place -- totally possible too.

It really depends on the person and item. Some people have a limited budget and will come by to buy something small to break a big bill so when you try to get them to buy more, they tend to not buy from you. Most times if you do the offer thing you mentioned they'll take it, but for some they're just trying to get smaller bills from you from someone who didn't prepare for large bills and don't have anything else they want.

Definitely echoing what LordKefka and Haruka said but here's just some real simple things people forget to do that really help with swap meet whether you're trying to get people to haggle or just buy something from you.

-Smile and say hi to people who pass and stop by and make eye contact with them. If you look friendly and are friendly towards people, it eases people which makes it easier to lead into conversation and eventually into a purchase if not at least a visit back. If you look totally bored and uninterested in being there, you won't have many people haggling with you. Also try not to be upset when people don't greet you back, it happens a lot. Just stay positive. =)

-Make a list of all your items and write down the lowest price possible for each item. This comes in especially handy when you have multiple customers asking you questions as well as if you have a helper/sharing a space so if you have to step out for bathroom break or something else, you can still have your stuff sold and have people haggling without worry about someone selling a high ticket item for stupid cheap.

-It helps to know how to read body language. If someone lingers on something, touches something for about a couple of minutes, kinda winces if they see a pricetag on it, just simply ask "did you have any questions?" or depending on the item, mention something about it like "Ah I remember that item fondly cause of X reason" or something to that. It helps break the ice.

-Always be polite. For example, if you're selling old clothes and costumes and you have a lot of people who are looking at them that don't seem like they're going to fit it, don't give them dirty looks or ignore them. Who knows if they are shopping for someone else? If they do ask for a size, just let them know what the size is. It also helps to label clothing with the size on the price to not have to deal with the question. If they look bummed, try to direct them to other items you're selling that they might be interested in or ask if they have a friend who would be interested in the items. Also note that you will have people coming at you from all directions and its hard to answer everyone all at once so it helps to address each person as a first-come, first-serve basis as quickly and concisely as possible.

-Lay out your items that make it easy for people to access but still close enough to you. Bringing people in some sort of close contact with you will help lead into conversation. This also keeps down on theft as its pretty easy to get caught up in the crowd.

-Make sure you have change and lots of it. I had to refuse sales a couple of times just because I didn't have enough change to break larger bills. Sometimes you can try to convince someone to buy X amount of merchandise from you, but sometimes this also kills your sale. 

-Another part of the be polite thing. Usually when you're setting up, you'll sometimes get people coming to your spot before you have all your things out wanting to buy things. This can be frustrating, but just take it with a grain of salt and mention "I'm still setting up so if you'd like to wait just a minute I can make sure you're getting the best price and best items" or hold a conversation with them while you set up. It makes them stick around, possibly buy more of your things and you aren't snubbing them because you're focused on getting your things set up.

-Always thank people for at least looking or buying something.

I think I listed a bunch of "duh why wouldn't you do that?" type things, but you'd be surprised how much of this kind of thing gets forgotten in the hustle and bustle of the crowds and everything in general.

Count me in as Maetel. I'm down for taking pictures in front of Arcadia, just don't think I'll have the time to eat there/get drinks there due to having to get ready for swap meet. 4-5pm sounds good to me, although I might just have to leave early due to swap meet since we line up at 5pm. Super stoked for this gathering and glad that we have a nice sizable group.

Quick question(and sorry in advance if its been answered, but I didn't see this clarified). I didn't pre-reg for fanime but instead did early registration(different price point for the badge than pre-reg). If we pre-reg'd for the swap meet, will our badges be pulled whether or not we pre-reg'd for the con or did early reg as long as we're sellers at the swap meet?

Count me in as Maetel, although my only worry about this being on friday is that I have to prepare for swap meet and that its the same day as the Capcom vs SNK gathering. I definitely love the idea of all of us going to Arcadia after the gathering and ever since I saw the place I thought it would be awesome to at least get a picture of us in front of the sign.

I hate to sound stupid, but what is the point of having said props peacebonded if there's a possibility of someone to cause a ruckus with them if they're out of costume? Isn't it the individuals responsibility and not Fanime's once the item is peacebonded? The getting all props and weapons peacebonded in costume seems like a huge hassle, mainly for those who will be wearing their costumes to masquerade. Not only that, but with weapons and props policy still not posted and this close to fanime, it would be a shame if someone spent time creating a prop for a skit that didn't pass prop and weapons policy and their only time to find this out would be hours before they were to get on stage. I understand you are trying to cover all angles here to make sure people don't pose threats to those not in the know and keep people safe, but honestly, having people to be in their costume that corresponds with their props/weapons doesn't seem like it will remedy a lot of things and instead slow the policy down, not to mention let a lot of people slip and negate the rules.

So yeah, with it being like 40 or so days before Fanime, it'd be super if we got a solid weapons and props policy for those who are trying to do costumes that are weapon and prop laden, instead of arguing with people who are stating that they've had issues with policies not being concrete.

the original thinking behind this [before cosplayers had 10 different costume changes in one day] is that any person/cosplayer could "say" that they are going to have a costume change that same day/fanime weekend and will want to peace bond say and entire armada [say 10+ items] of weapons/props.

the worry here is liability again --- technically speaking you can only cospay one character at a time so you wouldnt need to carry a huge assortment of weapons/props with you.

That and say a NPC [ non playing/cosplaying chracter ] will pick up or walk around with a prop with a peacebond but not properly in cosplay and hypothetically causing a ruckus with it.

So again - we realize that having you go back and forth several times in one day between cosplay props would be tedious and time consuming, but at the same time Fanime doesnt want to be shut down because a non-cosplayer person causes trouble with items peace-bonded all at once thru a rule following cosplayer.

again i dont think there should be an issue with my Rover department heads, but the preference is one cosplay = maybe 3 cosplay items to be bonded max.

just please dont bring an armada of weapons, props and items to be bonded all at once, and for us to believe you really have 10 cosplay changes in ONE DAY  :P  then again with the way some cosplayers are... i could kinda believe it.

Friday: Envy (FMA) at day, Schrodinger (Hellsing) at night
Saturday: Envy in the morning, Laharl (Disgaea) in the afternoon, Schrodinger at night
Sunday: Bridget (Guilty Gear) in the morning, Schrodinger for the rest of the day
Monday: Bridget the entire day!

My Bridget had a HUGE freaking handcuff.
Laharl had a giant scarf.
Schro was the OVA version.
Envy... well, I was the male one.

I only saw one Laharl at the con and i'm guessing its you: http://www.cosplay.com/photo/1541168/

@ryuhayabusaDOA: Thanks again! Always nice to see old school cosplay

Did anyone get a picture of me in the following costumes?

-Maetel from Galaxy Express 999
-Meryl from MGS4(I also wore her MGS1 version briefly before it got too cold)


Thanks in advance!

here ya go:

Why thank you! Kinda wish I wasn't blinking but I have problems with that when people take pictures of me.

Oh wow you took lovely pictures of my Maetel costume! I'm glad you liked it.

Did anyone get a picture of me in the following costumes?

-Maetel from Galaxy Express 999
-Meryl from MGS4(I also wore her MGS1 version briefly before it got too cold)


Thanks in advance!

Hey I was the Meryl in this group, and would love to see any group shots anyone got of our small gathering. That and if anyone knows who was going around interviewing cosplayers and interviewed our group, that'd be awesome.

Yeah i'm really sorry for the super last min location change. The hilton pool was tiny compared to the marriott, not to mention there was a bit of a supposed food fight(supposedly people above the pool were throwing things out the window and just being immature and rude)at the hilton pool. I know I did go over to the hilton to make sure anyone who headed over there knew about the last min change and whatnot, so sorry for any confusion with this gathering.

I also would like to see any pictures from the gathering(I was the Hitomi in the All Range swimsuit top).

I'll definitely have to catch you sometime when i'm in my Meryl and Maetel costumes.