Messages

Not sure about Marriott but there doesn't seem to be one for the Fairmont

To clarify, there are two opportunities to collect a "deposit", one is when you book the hotel, and the other is when you check into the hotel.

I've stayed at the Marriott, the Hilton and the Fairmont and all of them had a "deposit" upon check in. They seem to have gone down (25/night is lower than the 50/night it used to be for Hilton).

However, none of them have required a deposit to book the room.

Definitely kudos to how quickly registration was able to process! The only drawback was the maze and we can't even cut through the tape even with no line. I honestly thought that was absolutely unnecessary and a complete waste of time. If there's no line, why waste our time walking through all that? They should have at least taken some of those poles/caution tape down.

The tape and line has to be there for any line that may form in the future. If they take it down and then the line starts blocking fire exits etc, now they have to worry about re-positioning people and establishing boundaries so that people don't jump the line.

Additionally, by building in that maze they also helped to stagger the people who got to the door. For example, if there is a line of 10 people at the front of the maze and then 10 more people enter the "maze" and take about a minute to get to the front, now the line is no longer there. It gives registration time they need to process any residual line.

Seriously, if all people have to complain about was having to walk through an EMPTY line maze, I'd say Registration honestly has nothing to change.

I would hope that with the huge demand for this event and the seemingly obvious mis-match between the size of venue and the size of the audience, we will see a venue change next year that may be able to accommodate more sellers and more buyers...but ultimately that will depend on our available facilities.

I'm sure Decantus will have a few things to say, but on behalf of staff I wanted to thank all of those who came out to sell, and the patient buyers who braved the son of linecon to browse their wares!

Swapmeet staff and rovers did a great job of keeping the line moving and organized.  I didn't mind the line so much as lining up outside at night and getting swarmed by insects and the downtown San Jose transients.  With all the new facility space it kind of left me scratching my head as why swap was given a raw deal and we were all standing outside but I understand that you had no control over that and did the best that you could - which in all honesty was excellent.

I think South Hall would be a perfect fit for swap meet however I am aware there's a noise ordinance in that area of the convention center.  Maybe it's time for swap to take place earlier?  Maybe all day Friday with two six hour rotational seller sets or something like that?  I don't know but when the only real complaint is there's not enough space, that's about the best complaint you can have.  Great job!

The problem with holding swap meet any earlier is conflict with Dealers hall hours. I don't know the specifics, but my general understanding is that if dealers Hall is open, swap meet can't be. Thus, it takes place on. Day 0 (dealers hall still closed) and starting at 7:30 PM Friday (once dealers hall is closed).

A Saturday night block might work, we will see where next year takes us!

As a member of swap meet staff - thank you for your kind words! I know Decantus has been working really hard on being as transparent as possible and making the overall experience the best for everyone involved.

Regarding the line - Unfortunately there are much higher powers (AKA - the fire marshal) that dictated how many people could be in the civic center at any given time. As the staff member who was helping to decide how many people to let in at any given time, let me tell you I was trying to be as lenient as I could without endangering people. With that being said, we did our best to make sure people weren't lounging around inside the civic center too much in order to free up valuable space and get more people in there as soon as possible. All of your patience was appreciated, and I think the attendees really help make the swap meet one of the most popular events at fanime.

Regarding space assignment - I know we got some feedback from people regarding the random assignments and the fact that we didn't honor any of the requests that came through. With spaces getting filled in about 10 minutes, and in order to ensure fairness to everyone involved, we utilized a random number generator to assign sellers their spots. We also did this to help dissuade people from forming "super-spots" that start looking more like a dealers booth, which has definitely happened in previous years.

For the most part, I'd say 90% of sellers came with all of their proper paperwork and weren't in violation of any rules that Decantus set out in the numerous emails he sent to sellers. I understand it can be frustrating when a policy that has seemingly been "overlooked" in previous years is enforced suddenly and strictly (see: not using hand-trucks/dollys), but again, these rules often come from the venue and violation of them could jeopardize our ability to continue using said venue for future events. Of course, once we start enforcing these policies consistency is key in order to avoid any semblance of favoritism, as well as preserving fairness for all involved.

I would hope that with the huge demand for this event and the seemingly obvious mis-match between the size of venue and the size of the audience, we will see a venue change next year that may be able to accommodate more sellers and more buyers...but ultimately that will depend on our available facilities.

I'm sure Decantus will have a few things to say, but on behalf of staff I wanted to thank all of those who came out to sell, and the patient buyers who braved the son of linecon to browse their wares!

See you next year!

And why it's the reason I'm not going to be attending Fanime next year

The art and commissions were overpriced, there was little style variation between artists and many of the artists I talked to were fairly rude. Artist's Alley is usually my favorite part of conventions, but this was awful. The artists are talented, and I'm not trying to degrade them and their work. However by picking such an elite selection of artists, they were given less competition, resulting in raised prices all around and a general sense of superiority. Many of the artists I've seen at other cons and their prices were definitely increased here as opposed to other times.

But don't feel too bad, Fanime. Really this was just the straw that broke the camel's back. The scheduling was horrid and unorganized, events were difficult to locate due to the separate booklets containing different information, the one way only entrances and exits were pointless and really the only thing that went well was the registration line.

TL;DR this year's Fanime was single handedly the least enjoyable out of all the cons I have attended since 2007 and I will not be returning.

Huh, interesting...I thought this year's con beat last year's by miles.  The AA was in a much better location for showcasing art than last year (maybe use the south hall for the swap meet?), and the prices didn't seem out of line.  I was able to buy large, quality prints for $15-20 each, beautiful earrings for $10-15 each, and a very nice etched Kill la Kill glass for $15.  As for the attitude of the artists, none were rude to me at all.  I also thought there was better variation in what was being offered; last year's selection seemed a little bland, both in the AA and DH.  Yes commissions were pricey, but you are getting a custom item from the artist that they are personally making for you, so the tab is naturally going to be higher.  I'll give you that information on some events was a little hard to find, but if you take the time to look around, you'll almost always find something cool to do during the con.

Fanime during the last couple years has had problems, there's no denying that.  And while there were some issues this year, like some event info being hard to find and the swap meet line being incredibly long, overall I thought they did much better this time around.

Agreed. This year's con was run very well I think.

The quality of Artist's Alley was markedly better than previous years, in part due to the screening I think. All of the artists I spoke with were perfectly friendly, the pocket guide was informative and easy to read and most of the major events went off smoothly.

But hey, with 26,000+ attendees, you can't please everyone.

Just wanted to say this year's FMV contest was absolutely solid! Very well done and the quality of entrants was top notch! The recap of last year's winners at the beginning was brilliant, and recapping the videos near the end was also very much appreciated. Great job on an excellent event FMV staff!

Who'd ever thought there would be a thread like this? It's only day 0, but it's already one of the best Fanimes ever

All i gotta say is haters gonna hate.

I know it's only Thursday, but they opened the line 3 hours early and the process is extremely smooth! One of the vice chairs was in front of me and said they average 3600/hour with the new system. GREAT JOB REG STAFF! Let's see how tomorrow goes...

Welcome back FanFicGuru! I thought you had left us for good.

YES Reg is OPEN NOW and accepting pre-paid pick up only!! (No Payments today unless you prepay online!)

Can't keep me away...! Especially if you stick with this awesome registration system!

I know it's only Thursday, but they opened the line 3 hours early and the process is extremely smooth! One of the vice chairs was in front of me and said they average 3600/hour with the new system. GREAT JOB REG STAFF! Let's see how tomorrow goes...

I am hyped! I went to AX last year and had a great time, but the convention isn't about guests to me. It's about video programming, AMVs and hanging out with my friends as we peruse the dealers hall.

It's going to be awesome.

Is the security deposit fee a con thing? I've never been charged one before.

It's pretty much a universal hotel thing. It's not technically a "charge" it's just a "pre-authorized hold". Once you check out and the bill is finalized the "pre authorized hold" falls off and your "final bill" goes on.

Whether you use credit or debit you will be charged a security deposit fee. This is typically $50 a night, or one night's stay depending on the hotel. Typically it works like this:

You have a $250 charge for staying at a hotel for 3 nights
They place a HOLD on your account for the amount of the room (250) plus the amount of the security deposit ($50/night X 3 nights = $150)
250+150=400 placed on hold from your credit/debit card

Typically around Tuesday or Wednesday of the following week, your bank gets the memo of what the actual bill was and the hold falls off and is replaced with your final room total. Keep in mind that Monday is a bank holiday, so don't expect to get around the hold. Plan accordingly!

[never]

You have to also remember that at the end of the day it really comes down to where the guests want to go.  I would hope (and assume) that many potential guests wouldn't be swayed strictly by waving around more cash in their faces.  Have you ever attended a panel at a convention where you could clearly see that the guest didn't want to be there?  I have - puts a weird vibe in the air of the room.  Sometimes being a big convention can hurt your chances with hosting guests that would rather have smaller and more laid-back appearances as well.

Being a big convention can hurt a con's chances at getting good guests?  Sounds like another excuse...and one that isn't even true at that, as AX/Otakon/ACen are consistently the biggest North American anime conventions and consistently get very prominent guests.

I think it's just as important, if not more so, to have guests that are enthusiastic and excited to attend a convention than to have a big name to throw up on a marquee.  Also remember, convention guests also, like, you know, have to work and live their lives and create the things that make us want to see them in person.  They can't pop around the world every weekend to show up at fan events.

However we should never be disrespectful to the guests who appear at the convention.  Don't know who they are at first glance?  Expand your horizons!

Ok, all of these I completely agree with.  I think the negative comments are directed more at Fanime's lack of organization than the guests themselves, even if they do appear on the guest threads or guest topics.  People have been frustrated and what's going around is coming around.

Those other large conventions are corporate sponsored events. Fanime is "by fans, for fans". Therein lies all the difference in the world. Of course AX and Otakon are going to get consistently big names coming out, because their contracts likely call for it as being an extension of the company sponsoring these larger conventions.

At the end of the day, a fraction of a % of attendees use these boards, so we have no idea how the convention attendees as a whole feel about the trend in guests of honor. If things are as terrible as they seem, surely attendance will go down. Or maybe, people still keep coming because at the end of the day it's not as important that people see huge anime celebrities, as long as they get to cosplay with their friends and have a good time.

At least, that's my opinion having attended for ~11 years.

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...

My understanding is the Thursday swap meet is non-badged, but Friday will require a badge.

If you've already designated your spot for badge pickup as Fanime, are they actually going to let you just change to CA on the fly like that, though? 

We use this designation as a metric on where to allocate our resources. We will not hold you to whatever location you chose when you registered.

So are badges going to be printed on-demand during reg?

Yes. We will have printers at nearly each check in station.

Wait, so they won't be fancy-badges? Or will they be fancy printers making fancy badges?

They will be fancy badges with fancy printers printing directly onto the fancy badges.

;D

HOW FANCY!!!!~~~~

If you've already designated your spot for badge pickup as Fanime, are they actually going to let you just change to CA on the fly like that, though? 

We use this designation as a metric on where to allocate our resources. We will not hold you to whatever location you chose when you registered.

So are badges going to be printed on-demand during reg?

Yes. We will have printers at nearly each check in station.

Wait, so they won't be fancy-badges? Or will they be fancy printers making fancy badges?

I don't have a Fanime savings but I do have enough money saved up for pretty much w/e I'd want

I really would like to buy a Kill la Kill scissor blade this year though


So I don't lose my way of course

DON'T LOOOOSSEE YOURRR WAAAYYYYYYY.... Great now the song is in my head.

[$3,000 - $4,000]

I've been saving since about January. I will have about $3,000 - $4,000. I'm coming in from Indiana so it's also my vacation. My partner and I are going to Great America, San Francisco, seeing movies and eating lots of Japanese food. I can't wait. I'm determined to make this a great Fanime.

Holy crap! I tip my hat to you! Have a great con! :D

The convention approaches! I haven't been to fanime for a couple years but figured I'd come say hi for the 20th anniversary. How much have you guys got saved up for the con this year? I've got a couple paydays between now and then...so I should have about $800-850ish.

Anything in particular on your shopping list for this year? I'm interested in some of the One Piece figures, maybe some good gaming finds at the swap meet. Otherwise, I don't really buy much in terms of DVDs/blu-ray at con.

I'm interested to hear from the rest of you!

Can you park at the Airport, and if so, what are the rates?

http://www.flysanjose.com/fl/travelers.php?page=parking/p_overview&subtitle=Parking+%7C+Overview

Lowest flat daily rate is $15/day.