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I was checking out the website and there no badges for Thursday... so does that mean there will be no badge checking to enter swap meet?

Ben addressed this in an earlier post:

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]

So, buyers will not be required to have their badges on Thursday, but Sellers will, because we will have a system in place so they can receive "vouchers" for an expedited line. If last year is any indication, this shouldn't be necessary as registration moved exceptionally fast, but even if there are some delays in the main line, we have made arrangements so that our sellers can access the "faster" line and get their badges in time for selling on Thursday night.

As Ben mentioned, if this will present an exceptional hardship, feel free to email [email protected]

:D

I know for previous years dollies weren't allow to transport stuff for swap meet. Is it allow this year? And if they aren't allowed, what items are allowed for use to transport the goods? (ie rolling suit case, folding shopping carts, etc)

As ben mentioned in an earlier response, we are of the mind that carts/dollies are still not allowed to transport items this year. Rolling suitcases are permitted, and as I mentioned before, you are welcome to employ some muscle of your own to help you bring your goods in. Swap meet staff will be limited in the amount of support they can offer in this way.

Chairs will be permitted for all sellers as well, so you don't have to sit on the floor all night :)

[You are not required to hold a permit if you are only making occasional sales]

Okay so I'm registered for a space on Thursday, but my boyfriend wants to help sell in the space with me. I know I have to have him fill out the "secondary seller" part of the swap meet agreement, but does he have to fill out a second BOE-410-D? Or is it sufficient if I fill it out? We're selling from the same stock of merchandise if that helps.

EDIT: I'm confused. In this thread, it says that you don't have to fill out the BOE form if you're an occasional seller. But on the Swap Meet Reg site, it says "A copy of your seller's permit (if applicable) or BOE-410-D form declaring "occasional seller" status." So do I even need to fill it out?

You are required to have a Sellers Permit if you are selling (even temporarily) new, collectible or handcrafted items, or used items you have purchased for the purpose of reselling to others. You are not required to hold a permit if you are only making occasional sales, or selling products that are not taxable when sold at retail or selling on behalf of a section 6015 retailer (e.g. Avon, Tupperware, etc.).

If you fall under the "occasional sales" category (you sell two or less times per year), all we will need from you is a copy of your swap meet registration.

https://www.boe.ca.gov/formspubs/pub107/ Here is a link from the Board of Equalization site clarifying when you need a permit.

Our apologies if the registration site is confusing. I hope this helps :)

Does anyone who's stayed at the Ramada remember how much they paid per night? I've called the hotel twice and got no answer...

Best practice is to assume $50/night. That's pretty standard. Fairmont's is higher because of their mini bar and generally being a bit fancier.

I don't think it applies to occasional sellers like the swap meet. Most plastic bags that are brought to swap meet are being recycled by the sellers, and so I don't believe they are subject to the same fee. It's mainly imposed on larger chains as a means of reducing the amount of new plastic bags going out into the environment.

Just checked directly with the city of San Jose and got a response from the Watershed Protection Division.  Their reply:

The City's Bring Your Own Bag Ordinance does apply to flea markets, swap meets, farmers' markets, conventions, etc.  The only exceptions are public eating establishments (90% revenue from sale of prepared food) and non-profit charitable reusers.

The ordinance bans single-use plastic bags and requires recycled paper bags be sold for a minimum charge of 10 cents (there are additional labeling requirements for paper bags).  Reusable bags (with handles) from:
1.      Cloth or other machine washable fabric; OR
2.      Durable plastic at least 2.25 mil thick, specifically designed and manufactured for multiple reuse are allowed by the ordinance and there is no required minimum charge (the minimum charge only applies to paper bags).

Protective bags (paper or plastic) that do not have handles and are used for the following purposes:
(1) to transport produce, prepared food, bulk food or meat from a produce, deli, bulk food or meat department within a store to the point of sale;
(2) to hold prescription medication dispensed from a pharmacy; or
(3) to segregate food or merchandise that could damage or contaminate other food or merchandise when placed together in a Reusable Bag or Recycled Paper Bag
are also allowed by the ordinance.

If any staff needs to see the email in its entirety, please PM me and I can forward it to you.
Not trying to make things more difficult for staff or sellers - believe me, I wound up bringing in a ton of plastic bags to be recycled that I was intending to give out at swap meet back in 2012.  Nowhere in my initial email did I mention Fanime; I kept it vague and generic.

I'm not actually expecting San Jose's Weights and Measures to come in and check for this at swap meet.  Claiming ignorance won't always work in getting you out of paying a fine, and I think staff should be aware of all pertinent city laws and ordinances, not just noise restrictions or maximum occupancies.

Great well thanks for the follow up! Guess we'll have to keep an eye out for that... >_<

[Bonus 2008 story!]

Bonus 2008 story!

--

Marie was on her cell. "Your driveway. Your driveway?" She repeated it like a chant, as though it would relieve her disbelief.

--

Marie was running publications well the help of Matt and Betty, two legendary staffers that took over publications for 2009. There were more staff, but they were especially memorable. Matt, I am told, once broke the internet in the 90s by sharing an excessive amount of porn.

The biggest project for the publications team in any year is the program guide. Typically over three dozen full-color pages and bound in a glossy cover, the program guide is a feat of art and perseverance. Marie had perfected techniques to getting content for the program guide over the years: mostly, it consisted of her threatening to cry if a department did not send her content in a timely manner. She was good at what she did.

It takes a solid two or three weeks to put together the content and compose the program guide. It takes another month for printers to produce it, and then it is delivered in a day or two. Although composing the program guide is labor-intensive, printing it is not. The majority of the month of lead time is to allow the printer to do test prints, get feedback on the prints, and schedule the job. Printing the 15,000 guides only takes a day or two of actual print time. As a printing company, though, you literally print money, so you want the printers running 24/7. Having a month-long queue of work is good for optimizing that pipeline, and therefore your revenue.

Marie and her team managed to put the guide together and send it to the printers about three weeks before con. That was closer than the printer liked, but we had been regular customers for a few years, so they were ok with it. Besides, they only truly needed three or four days to print and ship the guides. It wasn't a big deal.

The test prints came out great, so we ordered it be printed, full steam ahead.

Marie ordered the guides to be delivered on the Wednesday before con. This gave us time to organize them and store them in the convention center so that they could be stuffed into bags. Marie called the printers a few days before this to see how it was going. Remember, printing is weird, and there's this queue thing going on. The way they explained it, our order of 15,000 prints was a small one, and so they would print it on Monday or Tuesday and have it in our hands Wednesday evening.

Wednesday evening came. There were no program guides. Marie called them early Thursday morning. They would be delivered that evening, they said.

Thursday evening came. There were no program guides. Marie called them; they would be delivered Friday morning, they said.

Friday morning came. Don't worry, Friday evening, they said. Friday evening came. Marie called.

They were closed for the weekend.

Marie cried. Will, in the most unusual act she had experienced from him, hugged her.

We decided to post the guide online so that people would at least be able to see it, use it. We somehow did a small batch of prints to give out to guests and a limited amount of attendees. But that was it. Marie's biggest project of the year had fallen apart at the last minute, and it wasn't even her fault.

At least this year she hadn't spent the entire time in the office. They had set up a publications outpost in the Hilton and could at least enjoy some parts of the convention. They were still burnt out, though - four days of print runs and writing twice-daily newsletters takes a toll.

Monday came. Load-out. Staff dispersed. Marie, myself, and a few other staffers went to Johnny Rocket's to close out the year. Matt and Betty headed home.

Marie got a call. Matt and Betty were on the other end and had just arrived at home - except that they couldn't park.

Sometime during the weekend, the printers had actually completed the job, and they had actually delivered the program guides. But they didn't call to inform us, and they apparently didn't read the order, either, because they used an old address they had on file.

They delivered 15,000 freshly-printed program guides to Matt and Betty's driveway.

Matt explained that their crown jewel project had been sitting in their driveway the whole time. "Your driveway. Your driveway? They delivered the program guides to your driveway?!" Marie was in disbelief.

She cried into her milkshake that night. We all gave her a hug.

I remember this! Man, what crazy stories you have!

Is there anyone I could talk to regarding about my Swap Meet registration? I haven't gotten a response from anyone on the swap meet staff.

You've emailed [email protected]?

If you haven't already, please make sure to do that. I know the swap meet head is checking it pretty regularly. I will alert him to the issue as well.

Is it bad if we cant get square or have our paypal set up to work at fanime? This is my first meet so im not sure what everyone else really does.

Also, whats this 10 cents bag thing?

Setting up square is pretty easy. You can buy the square reader at most electronics stores (Best Buy, etc) and they basically reimburse you for the cost of the reader. After that, you just put in your bank routing number and account number and you're pretty much golden.

As I mentioned earlier, the Square Cash app is also another alternative that doesn't require a card reader as long as both parties have the app. From what I've seen the transfer is immediate as well, which isn't the case with Square. It has a set deposit schedule and if I recall correctly last year I found out that the timing of the deposits meant that people using square on Thursday night wouldn't see their money until after the convention was over.

If you choose not to use either, that's fine. I think the general idea though is that more people will probably expect swap meet sellers to accept credit/debit cards through one of these methods.

Regarding the $.10/bag thing - a law was recently passed that restricts grocery stores from using plastic bags "for free". Essentially if you choose plastic, you pay $.10/bag. Of course, if you bring your own bag you don't have to pay anything which is why a lot of stores offer reusable bags in the checkout aisle.

That being said, I don't think it applies to occasional sellers like the swap meet. Most plastic bags that are brought to swap meet are being recycled by the sellers, and so I don't believe they are subject to the same fee. It's mainly imposed on larger chains as a means of reducing the amount of new plastic bags going out into the environment.

Crazy stories Tony!

This should be required reading for people who complain about the invited guests/timeline. Talent acquisition isn't like calling in a pizza for delivery. There are a lot of external factors that impact who comes and for how long.

In any case, thrilling reads! Looking forward to more!

[How much do people usually sell manga for? This is going to be my first Swap Meet, so Im trying to gauge what to sell them for. I have over 200 books, but Im bringing only about 40 or so. Three being complete series.]

I have a question and then some suggestions. My question is: How much do people usually sell manga for? This is going to be my first Swap Meet, so Im trying to gauge what to sell them for. I have over 200 books, but Im bringing only about 40 or so. Three being complete series.

The main factor for pricing is typically the condition. Mint condition used manga you might be able to get $7-8/book, especially for a collection of books in sequence. However, most of the more successful manga sales I've seen at swap meet had their books priced at $5-6/book.

Manga is probably one of the most sold items at swap meet, so you will have a lot of competition on pricing. Just something else to keep in mind.  :D

Seller tips:

Most everybody has a smartphone nowadays. Most responsible adults have credit cards and/or PayPal accounts. Consider taking PayPal for payments, and/or requesting a card reader from PayPal so that you can accept credit cards. The fee they take out is nearly negligible when selling large ticket items such as figures.

Another good option is the Square Cash app.  :D

[Seller Tips]

Hello everyone!

Fanime is just over a week away (AHHH!) and of course the first event most people attend is the Swap Meet. I'm making this thread for experienced swap meet sellers to share some of their best practices so that our sellers and buyers have some tools at their disposal!

Seller Tips

1) Make sure to bring change! This seems like a no-brainer, but you'd be surprised how many people look at their patrons with a look of panic when they realize they have no 1's. Everyone's system is different, but I recommend the following ($60 in change total):
20 1's
4 5's
2 10's

This should allow you to make the proper change for enough transactions to start building up more 1's, 5's and 10's on your own. On that topic

2) Price everything in whole dollar amounts Unless you've got little collectibles and you've got rolls of quarters to give change, having items that are $1 and up in whole dollar amounts typically saves you a world of pain.

3) Bring an assistant/helper Like any good shopkeep, it's good to have some backup. Especially with the logistics of running said shop for the entirety of swap meet (until 12 AM and 1 AM respectively on Thursday and Friday), as meals will most likely be involved, and a number of bathroom breaks. Swap meet attendees and fellow sellers are awesome people and in a pinch no doubt you could get a neighbor to babysit your spot for you, but having designated help that you've brought along is ideal.

Buyer Tips

1) Don't bring bills larger than $20 - On the "change" topic, using 20's helps the sellers out tremendously, as they won't have to worry about breaking a $100 bill for the $5 plush you just bought.

2) Ask if the seller is willing to negotiate before you start haggling One element that some buyers (and sellers) enjoy is the process of "haggling", or negotiating a fair price on an item. That being said, it's not for everyone, so please do not assume that the seller is interested in negotiations. Ask first if they are willing to move on the price, and take the conversation from there. Too often I've overheard someone claim an item and offer $10 below asking without saying a single word beforehand. On this same topic, please do not get upset or take offense if the seller doesn't accept your offer.

3) Explore and take your time! Swap meet might not be as big as the dealers hall, but the variety of goods is definitely there. There are often gems buried under piles of manga, or tucked away behind boxes. Be diligent in your search for that special item, and have fun!

I'm interested in hearing from others as well so please share your tips/tricks here.

I'm honored to be working for swap meet this year and I'm looking forward to another fun year! See you all next week!

http://forums.fanime.com/index.php/topic,19909.0.html - There's a thread on the Buy/Sell/Trade forums for swap meet sellers looking to preview their wares! In past years this has been pretty successful to help line up buyers for some of the bigger ticket/rarer items you might be selling, or to drum up excitement for the selection of goods overall! Feel free to utilize it.  :D

[EDIT: To clarify, in previous years chairs were not permitted, typically due to the venue that we were provided. This was the case last year from what I can recall. I'm not sure what the policy is on chairs this year for the South Hall location, but whether they are allowed or not, reasonable accommodations are made for any person who needs one for medical reasons.]

I sent a special request in the registration portion for Swap Meet, and since I'll probably get an answer faster here, I figured I'd give it a shot. I'll be 34 weeks pregnant at the time of Fanime and I won't be able to sit on the floor or stand for extended periods of time. I know tables are not allowed, but there's nothing about being able to bring or use chairs. I know that we're able to choose our spaces within limitations, but if I'm not going to be allowed to bring a chair, what other accommodations can be made?

Accommodations are made for people with disabilities and as someone who will be 34 weeks pregnant, that will most certainly qualify. You can bring a chair of your own, and we will most likely have a few on hand if you don't. Please email [email protected] so we can be sure to make the right preparations for you.  :D

EDIT: To clarify, in previous years chairs were not permitted, typically due to the venue that we were provided. This was the case last year from what I can recall. I'm not sure what the policy is on chairs this year for the South Hall location, but whether they are allowed or not, reasonable accommodations are made for any person who needs one for medical reasons.

Very cool story! I was an attendee pretty much the whole time you were staffing it haha. Interesting to see it from "behind the curtain".

Looking forward to more!

Bumping this to the top sense it not on the first page and lost in the slush.

Appreciated! Although at this point this will probably be used for Fanime 2016 prep :D

EDIT: Sticky'd! How fun! :D

What is the address we should put on the sellers permit?

If it's asking for the address where you'll be selling you can use the convention center address: 150 W San Carlos St, San Jose, CA 95113

If it's asking for your address, list your permanent/home address.

Nearly 30 years old here as well - sounds fun!  :D

There's a person who wants to share my swap meet space with me and sell his items from his
own collection, but he is an employee of one of the vendors. He wants to know if it is all right
for him to sell?

And if I can't share with him, I am still looking for someone to share my spot with me for both
days.

As long as the items are not from the inventory of the vendor that will be fine. If he's looking to sell his own personal belongings (used anime, manga, etc) that's not a problem.

Despite the things going on, I still look forward to Fanime just as much as I did the past years. I don't let the haters/complainers/whiners get to me, I'm still gonna enjoy the con and they won't ruin it for me. Sure, I wish Fanime were more on top of things, but that doesn't mean the con can't be enjoyable.

I look forward to meeting up with friends, hosting a gathering for the first time, being back in the Masquerade after a couple of years, and just the whole atmosphere of the con that gives me the reason to be excited for it each year.

For me, it's hard to believe all the doom and gloom simply on account of the convention being so friggin' huge. There are over 25,000 people who will be descending upon the convention center. Sure, a few thousand are really hoping for some sweet guests, but the vast majority will likely get all of the excitement and joy they are looking for out of Fanime by going to the Masquerade, or the AMV competition, or browsing the dealers hall, or artists alley, or swap meet (woot woot), etc. There's just so much going on at any given time that I just know tons of people are going to have a great con.

Are there things that can be improved? Always. Constructive criticism is always appreciated, and Fanime welcomes it. Even better, joining staff to help make the con what you want it to be.

Anyways, I'm looking forward to my 11th year. :D