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Whew! Made it in the first 10 for both days!  I was starting to have a mini panic attack, wanting to make sure I would be able to reserve a spot.  I don't think it's just my own perception that swap meet seems to be getting larger and larger every year.  I mean, did anyone actually notice the reduced space size for sellers this year?  On the one hand, it always seemed like 4 people could easily fit and work in previous full-spaces of 10x10, but to not have that option this time... makes me wonder how many people staff are expecting to be selling this year.

Now the only thing I have to worry about is the logistics of getting all my stuff in there in one trip.  I won't have nearly as many boxes as I had last year, but I don't think I'll have any buddies to help with the load, either.

BRING BAGS!... your fellow customers will thank you ALOT!.....
besides I keep forgetting to bring bags >_<!

Totally got that covered.  I've been saving bags every year for swap meet, and I've yet to run out.

I'm coming in a bit late to the party, but since I'm here:

Orange Range would be really awesome to have, but aren't they on hiatus or something?  I know the original drummer left, but have they already found a replacement?  Well, if MusicFest staff can manage to get them, I sure wouldn't be disappointed.
UVERworld.  I mean, dude, they've been mentioned I don't know how many times in previous posts.  If bands were selected by a board popularity contest, they'd have to be pretty close to the top.
I was thinking I would be the first to mention SCANDAL, but alas, someone else beat me to the punch.  I'll definitely second that motion, however.  Plus, I don't think that they're so huge yet that getting them to come to the Bay Area would be out of the question.
This may be more suited for the GR department, but if the cast of K-On!/!! could come over to perform, I would literally be willing to do just about anything legal to see them.  Even if that means giving up my beloved swap meet because of scheduling conflicts!  (Not to con staff: please don't make me choose in the event they actually do come over!)  Regardless of what some may say, bribery -will- get you places, and I'd help the Fanime cause as much as I can if it meant that anime fans like myself and others could witness HTT in person.  Wait, maybe that was flattery, but I'm willing to shower both in the general direction of con staff if it'll help.
Finally, I don't know a whole lot about miwa or her work (other than she's crazy talented?)  except for the current OP that she's supplying for Bleach, but I am really liking what I'm hearing, so let's see what we can do with her.
Ah!  On that last note, I totally forgot about OLIVIA!  She hasn't has the same spotlight in the anime world since Nana finished airing, but I would put her up near the cast of K-On in terms of my interest of seeing live.  Plus, she's fluent in English and has attended other American cons, so we know it can work.

One thing I really missed this last year was Rock Band.  I'm not much of a social gamer - I haven't had much interest in fighters since Street Fighter II/Mortal Kombat were in arcades - but RB is the exception to this.  The keyboard that's being added to RB3 should make the game even more fun in a group environment, least of all because that will mean up to SEVEN people can play at a time with harmonized vocals.  The only other thing I might add to that would be to check on the feasibility of having a mock stage set up for the game.  You know, like RB on Stage Zero, only not on Stage Zero.  Mini concerts going on all night would be pretty cool.

That's the only game I would request, since RPGs don't make for the best pick-up-n'play experiences.  However, more games and a greater variety of them is always a good thing, so I'd say let the suggestions roll in and cram in whatever you can (while hopefully still allowing space for a '11 swap meet)!

It looks like pretty much everything has been addressed by now, but I figured I may as well pitch in my one-cent (pay anything more for my opinion and you're overpaying!):

Having two swap meets under my belt as a seller and an additional one solely as a buyer, I've found people wind up talking a lot - questions about items, prices, commenting on various series, etc.  Those couple of hours might seem like a short period of time, but you'll be much better off with a bottle of water or soda or something, just to keep you hydrated.  I was surprised how parched I got from the whole thing.

Having a partner is not only strongly recommended, it's practically required, in my opinion.  Sure, you want to have some backup to help watch over your merchandise and cash, but don't you think you'd probably want to check out some of the other swag?  Taking shifts in your spot makes it easy so you don't have to worry about missing out on some great deals, unless you're sure you're going to sell everything you're bringing in an hour or two.  Plus, it's just fun having a buddy with you for the times when things quiet down for a bit.  Being able to take potty breaks is also nice.

I haven't seen the swap meet/Fanime staff make a huge deal about it this year, but they've all but gone ballistic previous years making sure that nobody tapes anything to the floor or the walls.  We're making use of a building that isn't ours, and it wouldn't be nice to leave behind a bunch of sticky residue from tape all over the place.  However, it can be handy to have none the less.  If you're like me and planning on bringing stuff in on cardboard boxes, the last thing you want to have happen is you try to lift a box up only to have the bottom split open and watch all of the contents spill onto the floor.  Not that I've ever actually seen that happen at swap meet, but reinforcing those flimsy boxes is something that shouldn't be overlooked.  And you can always tape signs to the side of your boxes, or yourself, because, you know... some people are into that.

I wouldn't worry about having giveaways.  There are so few available spots at swap meet, people are going to be looking at anything and everything you've got.  If you happen to have an open box of Pocky and come across someone who looks like they're about to pass out, offer them a stick or two!  But as it's been mentioned above, I don't know if giving away food is even allowed.  And I'd stay away from trying to sell anything like that either, unless it's an anime figure that comes with candy inside the box or something.

And finally, after this long post, I cannot agree more with this: YES - bring small bills!  Look at how you're pricing your items.  Are they all $5?  Then bring plenty of fives, since people may pick up $5 or $15 worth of stuff and then hand you a $20 bill.  I'd advise against pricing items at anything other than whole dollar amounts.  $x.95, $x.75, and $x.25 items make it difficult to give totals on the fly and nobody's going to want to walk around with a pocket full of quarts or pennies.  Plenty of ones, a good number of fives, and maybe a ten or twenty if you're going to have some expensive items.  Remember you'll be getting more bills as people buy from you, so I recommend keeping them neatly on your person (if you're wearing jeans, you can keep the various bills folded up in different pockets,) or in a pouch or lock box that you're aware of at all times.  I haven't heard of any money thefts at swap meet, but you should ALWAYS be cautious when it comes to cash.  A fanny pack can be handy, but that's so '80s.  A backpack can be a safe place to keep your bills if you don't want to keep it on you - just make sure you or someone else keeps an eye on it and you have it away from where people can just reach for it.

One last piece of advice: do think about how you want to price items.  Common items like DVDs or manga should be at very fair prices, based on what series they're from and what their condition is.  Same with video games.  Use your best guess for collectible items.  People will still pay good money for a figurine that's hard to find.  And just remember, your prices don't have to be set in stone.  You can try to get as much as possible for something, but if people think the price is too high, you can always negotiate a lower price.

Regarding the rules for any adults-only box, everything seems pretty clear and logical... but what qualifies as a "lid?"

So far all of the other boxes I'm planning on bringing that are rated E-for-Everyone are regular brown cardboard shipping boxes.  They all have four flaps that fold over to cover it up - is this sufficient for my ecchi box?  I plan on having it set off to one side of my space, clearly marked, with the flaps closed until someone of legitimate age asks to see the contents.  If that won't fly, I can empty out one of those white file storage boxes with a lift-off lid, but that would be kind of a pain.

With Fanime and the swap meet finally coming into sight, I've been wondering what people are LOOKING for.  It looks like I'll wind up with four or five good sized boxes of anime-related goodness, and I'm hoping I'll be able to sell most of it (if only to then turn around and buy other people's stuff).  I'll have a fair number of monthly manga anthologies like Young Ace and the various Dengenki magazines, but would anyone be interested in buying them?  Not everyone will be able to actually read them, but that didn't stop me from looking at all the awesome illustrations.

I have an unrelated question about Swap Meet and didn't want to create a new thread for it since the title is general enough.

Has anyone ever tried selling anything expensive (~90) and/or rare and was successful selling it? I have a completed Rei garage kit and some other uncompleted garage kits that are a bit more expensive than what's usually sold at swap meets and wanted to know if they are worth bringing.

I won't mention what the actual product was, but I sold an item last year for $80.  People will definitely have cash on them at swap meet looking for good deals - I know I will.  I think you have to keep two things in mind when it comes to higher-end/priced items: is it a good price for what you're selling compared to new/retail price or is it a hard to find item that even hours on ebay won't turn up at a fair price.

That said, I'm really hoping this year will have a great turnout for swap meet.  I've had three boxes in my room ready to go for the last couple months, and I can hardly wait for May to come around.

So with only a couple of days left (really one, given how late I'm posting this,) before Fanime '09 begins, I wanted to double check and make extra sure about one thing: are we able to participate in Thursday night's swap meet as shoppers, even if we haven't pre-registered?  I'm pretty sure that was the case last year, and I missed the pre-reg cutoff date this year, although I did still sign up with the early registration.  I can understand not being able to sell without a badge, but it'd be a bummer to miss out on some potentially great deals.