Messages

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.

Here is some information for you.

1. Wait list will be admitted starting at 8:30pm ending at 9pm.  Show up at 8pm to check in, letting us know that you are here and still want a spot.

2. If you intend to sell, please bring a copy of the Swap Meet Seller's Agreement and your BOE-410-D, links below.

http://www.fanime.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Fanime-Swap-Meet-Application-Form-2014.pdf

http://www.boe.ca.gov/pdf/boe410d.pdf

-I will not have any forms printed up, if you ask me, I will direct you to the FedEx Office down the street and you will have until 9pm before all registration ends.

3. We will not have a place for your stuff, leave it in your car until you know you've secured a spot.

4. If you are fortunate enough to get a spot, please observe the following.  No Handcarts, dollies, pushcarts, wagons, wheelbarrows, two-wheelers, or other cargo assistants apparatuses are to be used to ferry your goods to Swap Meet.
-Rolling luggage is allowed.
-If you do not adhere to this rule, you will be turned away at the door and if you do not return before 8:30 your spot will be treated as a no show.
-My staff will not be helping you carry your stuff, we have many people participating and my staff is limited.
-If you try to re-negotiate this rule with me at con, I will consider you as forfeiting your spot, do not test me on this rule.

5. Please bring exact change for you spot if possible.  Spots are $30.

That covers the more important stuff,  If you have any other questions, please feel free to email me or ask in the forums.

I do expect to get most into a space, but even if you're not able to get a spot, stop by and check it out!  Never know what you're going to find.

So for this swapmeet space, my girlfriend is listed as the primary contact/seller and I'm the secondary seller.

I'm planning on being there at least by 6:30 for the swap meet setup, but she might not be there until after 8 PM thanks to another Fanime event she's taking part in.

Is that going to be a problem?

As long as you were signed up as the second during the reg process, it's fine.  Make sure that she brings the required documents.

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.

So at this point, if you are still not able to get past step 5, we will be manually approving.  Please sit tight and you should be notified when this has been done.

Hello Everyone,

When entering your badge ID, please instead use your Confirmation number from the email that was sent to you by Badge Registration.

Sorry for the confusion.

Is there a URL yet for the reg site?

It will be up and announced Today at 7pm.

Got my permit for AA, do I need one for Swap meet?  Worried I wont have enough time to get it.

If you have a Seller's Permit for Artist Alley, that will apply for Swap Meet.

If you do not have a Seller's Permit, you can fill out the Occasional Seller's Permit that is provided during the reg process.

I should have been more clear, I meant I have a temp sellers permit.  AA is one event.  Swap meet would be my second event.  (More than 2 events a year you need a full permit)  Can I sill just use my AA temp permit?

If you're using the Occasional Seller's Permit for AA, you will need to fill out a second one for Swap Meet.

Swap Meet is ONLY Thurs and Fri? Im not even going to arrive in San Jose till 6:30 on Fri... Im going to have to rush to get there before 7:30, but if I take a cab from the hotel I probably can pull it off.....

This may have already been answered, but are we going to be required to actually have our badge to sell Friday? I dont know if Ill have time to get my badge if I have to get there quickly to not lose my spot...

To sell you have to be badged.  If you need special arrangements to be made, please email swapmeet at fanime dot com after getting into the reg site.

So swap meet is going to be 2 days this year? Thursday and friday? For thursday what time does it start...?

And I am confused. Are you saying we need a seller's permit this year? I never had one before for swap meet.

Swap Meet is Thursday and Friday, Seller's check in starts at 6:30pm, buyers are let in at 7:30pm.  At 8:30pm we will start assigning no shows to the wait list.  Reg closes at 9pm.

You don't need a Seller's Permit.  Having one is nice if you're in AA, because it applies to both.  The Occasional seller's permit is what you have filled out in the past, a link is provided during the reg process for you to fill out and bring with you.

Got my permit for AA, do I need one for Swap meet?  Worried I wont have enough time to get it.

If you have a Seller's Permit for Artist Alley, that will apply for Swap Meet.

If you do not have a Seller's Permit, you can fill out the Occasional Seller's Permit that is provided during the reg process.

Paying for our spots, is it going to be like last year where when we registered we payed online? Or like the year before when we payed as we checked in at the con?. Just asking so we know if we have to pay immediately on the spot.

Payment will be online again.

[Swap Meet Registration will go live, Friday May 16th at 7PM PST.]

Swap Meet Registration will go live, Friday May 16th at 7PM PST.

I know someone asked before but I did not see the question answered. What will be the cart rules for this location?

No carts, rolling luggage ok.

@Decantus, I know a lot is up in the air but will we be getting some significant advance notice (at least a day before) for swap meet reg?

I intend to give 48 hours notice before Reg goes up.

Any word on how many spaces are going to be available.

About as many as we had in the Fairmont.  Not nearly as many as Hall 2.

Gotta admit, when I was thinking about the space available in the Civic Center, I was strictly thinking of it from a seller's point of view.  If we get anywhere near the crowds swap meet has been pulling the in last few years...

It's got a maximum seating capacity of 3036 people.  That number sounds like a lot, but the rooms wound up being crowded as all get out for a couple hours.  Plus when you factor in that the space that's going to be taped off for the sellers, just guesstimating, that would that bring it down to only about 1000 people walking around at a time?

This is going to be way early, but I'd like to put in my request for swap meet to be moved back into the actual convention center.  There's got to be space to accommodate everyone in there now.  Gaming doesn't seem to take up the entire far hall; I say move gaming to one of the new ballrooms.  Most people are sitting or standing still, so there shouldn't be much foot traffic.  Arcade cabinets and other machines could be put on to some type of surface that won't damage the carpet, I'm sure.  Let swap meet, plus some other function, take over the large hall on the Hilton side.

I don't always check out Artists Alley, and never participate there as a seller since I can't do the artz, but I actually really liked it at the South Hall last year.  I don't know if there were other issue that came up internally regarding that spot, or if the artists had problems with the location, but I thought there was plenty of room to walk from table to table, there were tons of people who were able to represent their craft, and it was very easy to walk from the convention center and back.  No need to cross any streets if you're already at the con.  All in all, I liked how it worked out last year, but if AA needs to be in the big hall at the convention center, find some way to get swap meet into one of the other main halls.

I know there's some concern that people aren't going to know where Swap Meet is being held, but I guarantee that we're doing everything we can At-Con to make sure that people know where we are.  We're going to have Signs at Registration, I'll have staff going to the Reg Wait line making announcements, Info Desk will know where we are, and hopefully the stream of people going to it is going to help as well.

As for going into Hall 3 (I think it's Hall 3 that you're talking about), If we have to share it with Gaming, that's not going to happen.  If gaming moves, maybe.  I'm not about to actively try to push them out.  Maybe the Auditorium in the Hilton where they usually have the Gainax Panel, I was thinking about that one too for next year.

To be clear to everyone, if I could have had it in the main hall, I would.  The Main hall is the most convenient, has the most foot traffic, and has the most space.  Problem is that the space is being used this year by Dealer's, and I'm not about to start stepping on Dealer's Hall Seller's toes.

My first choice that I was trying for was Park Side Hall, where the Black and White Ball is held.  There's a ton of room in there, and easier access than the Fairmont.  Next Year, we'll see what we can do.  Since it will be my second year, and I hopefully won't have to re-do any of the reg site stuff again, I hope to find a place that's: easy to access, has plenty of room for growth, and can be our permanent home.

My options were, SJ Civic Center, Fairmont Hotel, or South Hall.  Fairmont is too far away, and all of your concerns apply more so to it.  South Hall we would close at 10:30pm so there would be no point having Swap Meet.

As for the release time, the best laid plans often go awry.  At this point, it's more important to be able to get everyone reg'd and not have an At-Con Snafu.

I don't know, for the past few years, things really slow down after the 10pm hour. If doors open to the public for sales at 6 or 6:30, 3.5-4 hours of sales pretty much gets all the major sales out the door, the only ones that come at the late night hours are the wishy-washy buyers who have mind battles with their bank accounts and credit cards. My point is would closing up at 10:30pm be such a bad thing? Or, by 10:30pm do you mean everything locked up and everybody, even sellers, are to be removed from the premises?

10:30 is when we would have had to be locked up, everyone out, clean up done, which means that I would have to start kicking people out at 9:30pm.  I would have no flexibility to extend it out another 30 minutes to an hour like we have been for the last 2 years.

From what I noticed, it's fairly consistent all of Thursday since people are filing in from the Pre-Reg line.  Friday, we tend to have a packed house most of the night and a few stragglers at the end when we have to kick people out.

What is this civic center we speak of? Explain explain.

The Civic Center is the building across the street from the Convention Center.  If you stand in front of McEnry and look straight across, that's the entrance to the hall that we're using.

As for the release time, the best laid plans often go awry.  At this point, it's more important to be able to get everyone reg'd and not have an At-Con Snafu.

2 CAN PLAY AT THIS GAME

I do wish that I could have gotten reg up on a weekend, but the fact that it has taken this long to build the reg system into the new site code, means that I cannot have 3 days between reg and Con starting to get everything hammered out.

And Yes they do have the same Union rules.