Messages

Thanks for the heads up! Although I must say, maybe I'm just lucky, but I've always been able to get into Swap Meet, even when I missed the registration and it sold out. With it being in South Hall again, I'm not worried at all. This should make for a good start to the con.

I'm sorry to have ended that on a negative note. As far as swap meet was officiated everything was an absolute blast and I await next year's event! :)

Hi, I've been selling at Fanime swap meet for 7 years, and this was by far the best it's been setup, especially on Friday. Registration was a breeze, checking in was a breeze, and I had ample time to setup before buyers were let in.

There was only one blemish on an otherwise perfect swap meet, and that was that during the last 5 minutes, while we were putting stuff away, the dealer -mod edit- came over, reeking of beer, and tried to low ball us, not taking no for an answer, instead trying to add stuff to his purchase and make a ridiculously low offer. The guy wouldn't quit and kept hassling us. This was WHILE we were trying to pack up. I haven't had trouble with any other dealers coming to swap meet aside from these guys, and this isn't the first time it's happened.

*Mod notes* We are currently investigating.

I'm not sure where you heard that the "spaces unavailable" was the waitlist, but it appears that was in error.  Essentially, there are four groups of people:

I was told this directly in an email from Patrick when I emailed the department after creating an account. It must have been a mistake or a misunderstanding of the process.

I have a few question since I'm taking my chance for Friday Swap meet wait-list.

1.) What is the "Official Wait-list" Mine said, "

Waitlisted

Unfortunately, it appears that our main count is full for this day.
You have been placed on the waitlist. If spaces open up within this week, we will notify you."

2.) Does it matter what my application #? I'm # 811.
I get the feeling I will be wait an hour in line just to be turn away... :(

It sounds like you're on the official wait list. Judging by the earlier comment Decantus made it sounds like you have a good chance to get in. When I made an account it just said "Space unavailable", so my chance seems fair at best, but that won't stop me from trying. If I can't get in, this Fanime trip is ruined.

I'll post the wait list instructions in here for everyone since it looks like most people on the Official Waitlist will be able to get in.  What this means is that if you've created an account, but received the "Spaces not Available" status, you will be Wait list-Wait listed, if that makes sense.  Official Wait listed people will have priority, but you can still possibly make it in.

Wait, there's a two tier waitlist? So this means if I show up early enough to get a number in line, I can still be passed up and turned away? This seems contrary to the word I received about automatically being placed on the waitlist upon creating an account. Also, I still have not been told if waitlisted (or waitlisted-waitlisted) people will be able to use the priority registration line to obtain their badges.

Check in starts at 6:30pm both days, we will start letting people in to buy at 7:30pm.  If you have not registered or have not made "late check in" arrangements with me via email, your spot will be refunded and given to the next applicant on the wait list.

The 10:30 time was only if we were in South Hall.  Since we didn't have to be in there, we can stay open the full time.  The advertized time is Midnight to start clean up, but we usually allow you to run late if it's still busy.

Further instructions for People with spots and Waitlisted people will be sent out today or tomorrow.  I know it's really close to the con, but we're working as fast as we can.

If anyone is still stuck at Step 5 right now, it's because we're still awaiting some form of verification before approval is done.

For spot selection, it's completely random.  There is no priority or At-Con selection.

Had wait-listed email been send out?
I don't think I'm too far in the line.
Not sure if I should wait or look for someone
who's willing to share their space.

I don't think there is a "too far" up on the wait list. I was told that having a swap meet account meant you're on the wait list. I can say that I'm getting a bit nervous being this close to Fanime without proper wait list instruction, but I'm keeping faith in the swap meet department. Plus I have so much inventory that it might be difficult to share a space.

8:30 huh? Sounds like I'll be standing in line for awhile hoping to grab a spot. Will potential sellers on the wait list still be allowed to get their badges early?

Is it worth it to show up early on Friday and try for a dropped spot since I'm wait listed?

I emailed the swap meet department regarding possible space availability and was told wait list instructions are being sent out soon. Hopefully those instructions arrive by Wednesday so I don't end up wasting my time. Although I can say that in the past I have been able to get in after the pre regs all filed in, but I believe Fanime has become far more crowded since then.

Hey there, sorry to be an ass, but I'd like to formally complain about how this just went down. I was sitting there refreshing the forums and events page like an idiot only to find out second hand from a friend via text message that the link was posted somewhere (FACEBOOK???) and now I am waitlisted. I didn't even stand a chance of getting in because I wasn't looking in the right places.

I have been doing Swap Meet for years now, and it's basically how I finance the convention and one of the major highlights for me. The delay in posting information is forgivable since it can be out of the organizer's hands if there's other bureaucratic  crap that might be someone else's fault, but posting a public link on Facebook without updating the main website or forum community who cared enough to ask questions (SOME EVEN MONTHS IN ADVANCE) just seems downright wrong. Last year, communication from organizers was great and while signups went up waaaaaay later than they should have, it all worked out. This was not the case this year, and from what I am reading here now, it looks like being online at the right time on the right page might not even have been enough.

I am also in this situation. Going to Fanime is pricey. Swap Meet was how I made my money to support the lovely venders and Artists of Fanime.
As it is the end of May, many of us are busy college students on Finals. My particular finals are this week. To stop my self from distractions, I stopped using FB for a short while (and I don't use Twitter). Of course, I checked the Fanime Site fairly often to see if any information about Swap Meet would come up. Nothing. Every day was the same news posts. I get a text from a friend saying "Hey, aren't the swap meet reg up?" I didn't believe him because the MAIN SITE had nothing (Of course, now I see that the bottom of the site has a twitter area...) Even the Swap Meet area of the events page still says "More Info coming soon.
I signed up 2 hours after the 7pm opening aaaaaaand... waitlisted. Not everyone uses FB and Twitter religiously and relies on the main site to update accordingly.

Similar situation. I got home at 7:40 and decided to check the forum to see if a reg date had been set. Instead I see posts about trouble during the reg process, so confused I check the main site and nothing. I find one forum link and it says "coming soon". I finally find another link that let's me register for an account and I'm waitlisted. Not cool. I look forward to and rely on swap meet each year, and I've been watching theis forum since April. Now I'm being punished because I don't use Facebook or Twitter, even though I've been regularly checking the main site and this forum. If you know the demand for swap meet is going to be this great, there should be a bigger space to hold it in. This may prevent me from even attending the con.