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More stuff that isn't figures? I came in hoping to buy a bunch of Sailor Moon stuff but as far as I could tell nobody had any of the items I'd seen online (charm sets, pointers, pens, cups, plates, phone cases, phone chargers, etc)

Not a stock request but it would be nice if more of the costume/goth vendors had big signs up indicating what sizes they offer, for the convenience of those of us who don't fit in the Japanese size range. There's a lot of bigger folk and it would help to know which places we should bother picking through the racks and which ones we should stay out of everybody else's way.

It's still not possible for industry people to even attempt to register to attend the convention.

Hope you weren't expecting any panels?

How much space are we actually allotted (other than the 2X6 table, which I'm hoping I don't have to stand on top of)? Fairs I've done with a booth fee under $100 are usually avoided (like an apartment whose rent is so cheap because someone was murdered there), so I'm not sure why $85 would be considered a lot. Are sales consistently bad at Artist Alley? Is this particular event more for fun and networking than selling stuff?

There's space behind the table with a chair, but you're generally not supposed to use that space for display, just for sitting/ standing in.

Speaking only for myself the $20 price change is completely not an issue when it comes to profit. The possible lower traffic from being in a weird location is more concerning but honestly it sounds like the AA is doing the best they can for us so as long as I get a table I'll be there and see how it goes.

(Well, and also, I got progress on my stated wishes so I'm a happy bunny.)

But a lot of sellers in AA are young amateurs selling cheap prints and such, I think?

not a staff member but - there are union regulations in place on certain places. it's actually standard for a line like this to be in dealer's hall agreements. if you have more merchandise than you can carry in  your hands, you have to pay freight charges and have the official employees cart it in and set it up for you. Which IS an option in this case, from the facebook comments. It's just that it's really expensive.

I can only assume it hasn't been included in AA stuff in the past because they generally assumed most artists were not moving large amounts of stuff anyway, but if people have been using trucks then it starts falling into union regs.

Anyway, to the best of my knowledge it's not about space and it's not their fault.

As for a disability exception, that you'd need an actual staff member to give an opinion on.

[NO MATTER WHAT]

Serious question - what can we do (as staffers) to help the wait before AA registration opens? Is there anything we can do besides "AA registration, omg!" ?

Things that would actually make people happier? Are usually going to be things that aren't so easy to do.

A firm and absolute promise that not only will the registration be available, but that accounts will be properly approved or denied before the hotel cancellation deadline, even if that means having to skimp on the portfolio approvals. Because as it stands there are fears that even if registration eventually opens people will have to drop out because they didn't know in time. If there is an absolute commitment that tables will be approved before deadline NO MATTER WHAT even if it means doing registration by hand on paper forms, then the fretting will calm down.

Another options would be some sort of carrot being offered to make up for the disruption, like allowing artists to register for the convention at a discount, or a special artists-only line at pre-registration at the convention so that checking in would be speeded up. For that people would forgive a lot!

Explaining what went wrong is probably not the best answer because, while I don't know what really happened, there's a chance that it involves drama and things that would embarrass people and are not good to make public, and there's a chance that the public would massively nitpick the explanation, point out a million solutions that could have been tried instead, and generally rage.