Dealer's Room - What Do You Want To See?

[Rathany]

Ok, we did not pre-sell contracts to this year's vendors for a couple of reasons.  However, this gives us a chance to really examine who and what you want to see more of in the dealer's hall.  If you have feedback on specific vendor's, please PM me. 

If there is something we completely lack, please let us know. 

[Miss Amanda]

Haha. MORE DOUJINSHI! I saw two vendors with the x-rated doujin I was looking for, but neither one had hetro that I could find. So not neccasarily less yuri and yaoi doujinshi, but more hetro because some people just can't get into guyxguy or girlxgirl.
I loved all the plushies and cute lolita things! This was my first big out of state con and the vendors room overwhelmed me. Next time I go to a large con outside of little Alaska I will bring much more money and plan further ahead of time to save for it!

[AllyKat]

Awesome question...

While I know this is an Anime convention, I also consider it a Japanese Culture
appreciation convention as well and I like to think that most of us enjoy japanese
culture in many of its instances as opposed to just their animation. That being
said apart from uwajimaya's really way schway booth of goodies and ramune,

(Actually there is a great story here about the fact that, prior to September 4th
2009, Allykat here had NO IDEA what ramune was, or that it even existed!)

I'd love to see more japanese export items at the con to purchase. Food and
games and things like (if we could get someone who sells these) Anime Phonebooks?
My mother used to work for a man in japan who used to bring me back Milk Pocky
and Weekly Shonen Jump and I miss those days so much... being able to purchase
the odd things like wasabi balls and Men's Pocky (dark chocolate pocky) would be
just spindiferous!

[reppy]

Seems like there's a serious lack of variety.  Every year there's new stuff, but it seems like all the vendors are selling the same items.  Sure, there's variance but not as much as I'd like to see.  Obviously I understand from their perspective they want to push the anime that are most popular the moment.

As someone that likes to collect plushies/trinkets for his favorite anime, I'm always disappointed when I see the same 4-5 animes represented at every display.  It's almost like every single vendor insists that they must carry Death Note, Host Club, Naruto, Bleach plushies with a few token video game character plushies thrown in for good measure.  I did find it neat that there seemed to be a resurgence of Ryo-Ohkis, but seeing that I already have one xD it didn't help me too much.

A number of years ago, my friend ran a booth called "Superlime Industries" that had all sorts of awesome plushies and stuff you don't see anywhere else.  He hasn't done so in a few years (other obligations, like a marriage and such) but I would love to see another display like that.  It wasn't the most lucrative thing for them, more of a hobby.  It was basically an excuse for them to go to Japan, buy a bunch of random plushies, toys, etc. and then resell them to basically pay for the trip itself.

I'm sure there are other issues, like vendors not being able to actually get a hold of the type of item I'd be interested in.  Just throwing it out there. XD

On the plus side, Artist's Alley is cool, even if I didn't find anything that appealed directly to me this year.  Always good to see local artists and little guys get a chance to sell their wares. ^_^

[AllyKat]

A number of years ago, my friend ran a booth called "Superlime Industries" that had all sorts of awesome plushies and stuff you don't see anywhere else.  He hasn't done so in a few years (other obligations, like a marriage and such) but I would love to see another display like that.  It wasn't the most lucrative thing for them, more of a hobby.  It was basically an excuse for them to go to Japan, buy a bunch of random plushies, toys, etc. and then resell them to basically pay for the trip itself.

On the plus side, Artist's Alley is cool, even if I didn't find anything that appealed directly to me this year.  Always good to see local artists and little guys get a chance to sell their wares. ^_^

I'm sure this isn't the place but I'm curious about that... How exactly do people go about becoming vendors? How do you
get a license to sell all this exported stuff? And also, do Aritsts from artists alley need to get copyright permision to
draw and make money off of all the copyrighted characters they create fan art for? I got two really cute key-chains of
Link and Inu Yasha but I didn't know if this was technically allowed... i also got an awesome kitty hat from AA! Go green
kitty hat maker! you rock!

~Allykat

[Miyako]

K-con '08 had beautiful kimonos, and part of the reason I wanted to come this year was to look at the kimonos and potentially buy one. I was really disappointed when I didn't see any. I'm hoping they'll be back next year.

On anther note, I felt like this year was nothing but a manga store. A lot more variety and a bit less manga for sale would be way awesome.

[Tygati]

Definitely more variety. Last year I wound up spending way more than I meant to. This year, I walked out of the Dealer's Room with every dollar intact. That's never happened before, and I'm rather baffled that I couldn't find a single thing to buy.

Part of this could be because I'm an oldschool fan, and pretty much everything represented was from a handful of current popular titles that I have zero interest in. With all the anime out there to choose from, surely there could be a few more choices available. I'd love to see more import toys, rather than the same toys that I saw last year. :/

I also felt like the Artist's Alley was rather small compared to last year's... I went back several times hoping that I'd missed something wonderful, but no dice. Sadness.

[Rathany]

A number of years ago, my friend ran a booth called "Superlime Industries" that had all sorts of awesome plushies and stuff you don't see anywhere else.  He hasn't done so in a few years (other obligations, like a marriage and such) but I would love to see another display like that.  It wasn't the most lucrative thing for them, more of a hobby.  It was basically an excuse for them to go to Japan, buy a bunch of random plushies, toys, etc. and then resell them to basically pay for the trip itself.

On the plus side, Artist's Alley is cool, even if I didn't find anything that appealed directly to me this year.  Always good to see local artists and little guys get a chance to sell their wares. ^_^

I'm sure this isn't the place but I'm curious about that... How exactly do people go about becoming vendors? How do you
get a license to sell all this exported stuff? And also, do Aritsts from artists alley need to get copyright permision to
draw and make money off of all the copyrighted characters they create fan art for? I got two really cute key-chains of
Link and Inu Yasha but I didn't know if this was technically allowed... i also got an awesome kitty hat from AA! Go green
kitty hat maker! you rock!

~Allykat

Fanart stuff is definitly allowed in Artist Alley.  

I know that J-Box sends buyers to Japan and they just buy up stuff over there and bring it back.  Outside of that I don't know.  Some things like kitty-hats and stuff are just made here by small groups.  

[catboy-trades]

actually for the con the size that it is... I felt the vendor's area was very well done.  Good job. ^_^

[EveofAbyss]

I'd like to see more music-specific vendors.

More specifically, there was one vendor who I saw in 2006 and 2007 who always stood out as the only music vendor present in those years. I'm sure anyone can tell who I'm talking about (I just don't remember the vendor's name). This is the booth that always had J-Rock playing, lots of Visual Kei posters, stuff like that. I loved it and always spent a good deal of money there, but have since not seen any vendors who specialize in music.

[Kurohime]

We only get to choose one? 

More little toys.  And some Japanese candy or confections.  The sort of stuff you see them chowing down on in anime (dango, mochi mochi, other stuff I don't know the name of).

I'd say more music, but at import prices, I'd only be browsing anyway. 

[murder_of_raven]

As I said in my review, I felt like everything except the manga section was a little bit small, overpriced, and lacking in variety. That's not really any individual person's fault because well y'know, if there isn't a jpop import store that wants to be at Kcon then there isn't any jpop.

But I had gone hoping to buy a character messenger bag, a cat-ear headband, and maybe a leather collar. I was unfortunately unable to find any of those things except the first and I was very disappointed by the lack of variety in them. The only one in the entire Dealer's Hall that I liked my girlfriend bought when I showed it to her and I didn't want the same bag XD.

I did buy some manga I was having trouble finding though! Yay! I wish I'd bought more actually, but I just couldn't find a good price on Naoki Urasawa's Pluto. ::shrug::

[reppy]

I'd like to see more music-specific vendors.

More specifically, there was one vendor who I saw in 2006 and 2007 who always stood out as the only music vendor present in those years. I'm sure anyone can tell who I'm talking about (I just don't remember the vendor's name). This is the booth that always had J-Rock playing, lots of Visual Kei posters, stuff like that. I loved it and always spent a good deal of money there, but have since not seen any vendors who specialize in music.

Was that the booth ran by the awesome girl? XD I remember seeing her stand but I was under the imperssion it was mostly visual kei music / merchandise.

To be honest, it seems like every year I come to Kumoricon the selection becomes more and more streamlined.  Or maybe I'm just not as bewildered anymore.  It's like you go to every display and you see:

1- Bleach, Naruto, etc.
2- Mario, Zelda, Sonic, etc.
3- Cute animal hats
4- Shirts with video game or nerd humor on them
5- Ramune or Pocky

I have no problem with any of those things.  Well, I'm not the biggest Bleach / Naruto fan xD but I just don't like seeing the same items represented by 10 different vendors.  I understand the vendors are going to sell what they think will be the most profitable and I don't expect vendors can or will carry the type of anime merchandise I'm interested in.  So, I'm not really sure what I can do about that. xD  But, I am kind of surprised there is a serious lack of a Japanese / Asian culture vendor.  You know, cool stuff like bento boxes, chop sticks, sake sets (even though I don't drink I still think they look cool), heck even books on kanji or Japanese language learning programs.

[Rathany]

But I had gone hoping to buy a character messenger bag, a cat-ear headband, and maybe a leather collar. I was unfortunately unable to find any of those things except the first and I was very disappointed by the lack of variety in them.

The company that made most of those anime messenger bags has gone out of bussiness.  Unless someone else starts then every year there will be less and less as stock runs out. 

[murder_of_raven]

The company that made most of those anime messenger bags has gone out of bussiness.  Unless someone else starts then every year there will be less and less as stock runs out. 

Oh no! That's completely awful news! I better go online and buy one soon, before they're all gone T__T

[Hazuza]

The company that made most of those anime messenger bags has gone out of bussiness.  Unless someone else starts then every year there will be less and less as stock runs out. 

Oh no! That's completely awful news! I better go online and buy one soon, before they're all gone T__T

That's sad >: I really wanted a Code Geass bag this year, but I couldn't find any good ones...


I guess I'd want;
- Unique anime goods, rather than the same popular anime over and over
- More cosplay or clothes
- A Jrock vendor *_*
- More bags, if there's anyone else out there that makes a lot.


Anyone got suggestions for AA goods next year? : D Not what series, but what uncommon things do you want to see?

[Kurohime]

You know, cool stuff like bento boxes, chop sticks, sake sets (even though I don't drink I still think they look cool), heck even books on kanji or Japanese language learning programs.

This too.  I meant to look for chop sticks after passing some up at Comic-Con in Seattle, but forgot (not that there were any). 

[Slash5150]

Okay, so this was my first K-con and I bounced into staff haha, yeah, ballzy I know :-p

Anyways, I was psyched to get into the dealer room because I was extremely curious to see what there was...want to know what I saw?  Kinokunya in the Seattle Uwajimaya. 

There wasn't anything at that con that made me go "OMFG I WANNA SPEND ALL MY MONIES HERE!"

I think what K-con desperately needs is some of the following

Get some special artists in there who will offer exclusive Kumoricon items.  The Dealers room needs to have stuff that won't make me have the initial internal response of "Oh, I can just get that at so and so website and save money"

Get an import type of place going.  Offer stuff that isn't easily findable online.

Get something in there with a bit of appeal to gamers. Hell, who knows, maybe my arcade stick business will get off the ground and I could sell some gear at K-con thats Kumoricon exclusive.

The fact that a lot of the places all had the same thing made the room a bit boring as well.

[SilentChaos]

Gah! I knew it! I knew there was something different about the Dealer's Hall this year! This was the first Kumoricon where I didn't leave broke!

Now I'll be honest, I'd like to see more variety overall, but what is really my bread and butter at the conventions in the dealers hall are the PVC Figures. No matter where I looked this year all I saw was Final Fantasy and Kingdom HeartsPVC figures, and I'm quite frankly sick of looking at them. So help me god, every Kingdom Hearts figure just makes me exasperated toward the franchise in general, but that's not my point.

Anime Palace has been the only Booth in the past three years that I have always bought something from, and this year Anime Palace felt like it was the only booth of its kind, and that was very frustrating since one booth can't stock stuff from every anime we're happen to be fanboying or fangirling over at the moment. To make matters worse I look around and there were like...four booths selling Manga! We don't need that many manga vendors! I'm not claiming to know this, but I think manga is easily one of if not the most accessible thing we see in the Dealer's Hall outside of the convention and having 4 different booth selling it is just counter productive. We could be using that space for more variety!

So yeah, I was ultimately disappointed with the 2009 Dealer's Hall. We need to stop having so many booths with manga and add some more variety. My personal preference would be on some booths with more PVC figures...that are NOT Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy!

[MichaelEvans]

Along the Variety thread I saw one obvious missing area:

An 'Adult's only' (18+) shopping window.

That still wouldn't help very much though, as a major problem with various Hentai works is lack of detailed classification.  I'd love to know what kinds of things show up so I can avoid the things that really ruin an experience and narrow down to an A list of items to consider for those items that have what I'm looking for.

Bonus: quantify the percentage/duration of content each given item occupies.  IE a movie has 50% sex scenes, 25% filler fighting with ecchiness (sp), 15% tentacles, 10% Hetro, 25% Yuri, various fetishes from the wide diverse range the Internet offers...

Essentially it's like ordering sandwiches from a vending machine, I'm a picky eater and there are extras I dislike, extras I love, and things I couldn't care less about either way.

-  -

Depending on the number of vendors who'd be interested it may be a better idea to use another space for such activities.

[MichaelEvans]

Gah! I knew it! I knew there was something different about the Dealer's Hall this year! This was the first Kumoricon where I didn't leave broke!

I know what you mean... I went with even more money I was allowing my self to spend, and was glad I'd instead already spent it on the camera I brought.

I think I spent -maybe- $100; 50 on a box-set (the very upper limit of what I'd pay; and then only for things I -really- wanted a copy of), about 10-15 on art, about $20-25 at Uwajamiya, mostly on Ramune (sp), and a bit at the Kumoricon booth (a water bottle thingy and some other stuff).

Actually on cost things, what I'd be readily willing to pay (Without any -effective- DRM, CSS breaks very nicely for watching under Linux):
Crap Anime: <$0.25 / ep
Normal Anime: <$0.50 / ep
Premium anime @ premium quality: <= $1 / ep

[murder_of_raven]

That still wouldn't help very much though, as a major problem with various Hentai works is lack of detailed classification.  I'd love to know what kinds of things show up so I can avoid the things that really ruin an experience and narrow down to an A list of items to consider for those items that have what I'm looking for.

Well, although I agree with you this is really the vendors' responsibility... and actually hentai/doujinshi seller seem to be the most unfriendly of vendors. Doujin stores that don't let you open the doujins before spending huge amounts of money on them really irk me, but I guess we didn't have that problem this year because there were hardly any doujin sellers to begin with . Hentai is a little easier because only like 2 genres get released in America and you can usually figure out what you'd like to buy before going to the convention (although I don't like any of it to begin with so maybe this is a perceived difference).

[MichaelEvans]

It's Hentai, I can wait to understand the details of the story later... like in a decade or two after I bother learning to read Japanese.

-- edit: add --

Of course some DVDs might have engrish subs.

[reppy]

Oh dear! 

[Meganekko]

Music for sure! I love my J-rock and Pop.  Also K-pop. lol.

Stuff that's not Kingdom Hearts or Naruto or Final Fanatsy... I'm a Gundam Girl.

I could go either way for the hentai... more would be nice, but its not a huge deal to me.

More Japanese language texts/mangas or even beter actual Doujinshi (an no, that isn't just smut)... If i want any old English translation I can get that at a Borders/ B&N.  Now I know I can go on over to Kinokuniya, I usually do every so often, or I hit up the Japanese Language section in Powell's.  Mainly I want less mass production stuff... I'm looking for neat things that are less likely to show up in another vender's booth down the aisle.

[EveofAbyss]

I agree with the diminishing of manga vendors, one is enough because they all carry the same things for near the same prices. There's really no need for more than one.

[Meganekko]

Oh I forgot, I'd like to see.. I think her shop/booth was Kimonomomo.

Anyways it'd be cool to see a real kimono vendor!

[Kurohime]

Actually on cost things, what I'd be readily willing to pay (Without any -effective- DRM, CSS breaks very nicely for watching under Linux):
Crap Anime: <$0.25 / ep
Normal Anime: <$0.50 / ep
Premium anime @ premium quality: <= $1 / ep

You can find anime for under $4 an episode at the convention?  The prices I saw... I can get what I want cheaper and legal elsewhere in town.  Same with manga. 

You know, Christmas ornaments would be nice. 

[@random]

The Maid Cafe absolutely frickin' rocked. Please find a way to keep them, and Uwajimaya as well? (^_^)

It would be nice to see more fan-produced material... original trumps commercial any day for two simple reasons: 1) lots more creativity, and 2) commercial stuff is easier to find and cheaper online.

I don't know about anyone else, but the only things I bought or was tempted to buy all weekend fell into the above categories - a handful of buttons, a $10 bokken, and Japanese-themed junk food and drinks. Honestly, I spent more on used manga at Powell's on the way back.

[hieis_girl1]

I enjoyed the vendor's hall and the booths they had. But I would definitely like to have a larger Artists' Alley next year. There weren't many artists this year, which disappointed me. And possibly lay the area out so it's easier to move around. Some of the walkways were too skinny for more than a couple people (+ props) to get through easily.

[Man of the Public]

I'd love to see more variety in the selections. In all the music places I looked through I saw mostly Visual Kei and the OSTs to only the most popular shows, not once did I find the band I was browsing for. And personally I'd love to see more Tokusatsu merchandise.

[Hazuza]

I enjoyed the vendor's hall and the booths they had. But I would definitely like to have a larger Artists' Alley next year. There weren't many artists this year, which disappointed me.

Keep in mind, this isn't because there weren't a lot of artists, but because there weren't a lot of tables/spaces *_* Many, MANY artists were sharing booths. At Otome studios there were 5 of us. xP

... B-but yeah, It'd be sweet if it was bigger. The AA has the most unique stuff you can find at a con : P

[camname21]

I'm sure those glass bottles that you smash the top down into itself sold well.  Random food drink that anilovers have made their staple snack food would be nice to increase, up to a certain point?  O.O<  <==[=|>'^.^

[murder_of_raven]

I'm sure those glass bottles that you smash the top down into itself sold well.  Random food drink that anilovers have made their staple snack food would be nice to increase, up to a certain point?  O.O<  <==[=|>'^.^

You are talking about Ramune. And the problem with increasing snack food is, to my knowledge, the only real vendor we have is Uwajimaya and there is of course a limit to how much they can stock and how much room they have.

[catboy-trades]

how about a little more variety.  I know alot of people are gonna go for the stuff that is popular... and that is what is gonna sell.  But some merch for some anime that is not so well known would be nice too. 
^_^ Still that is my only want from the dealers room.  I like 80's anime ^_^

[melchizedek]

Seriously, I go for stuff from japan, I can find better prices on anime / manga on right stuf I only bought one thing from the dealers hall this year.

Would have been nice to commish some stuff from AA but I dunno, the area seemed somewhat unwelcoming.

Also, I'm a big fan of engrish stuff

[Animeman73]

Personally I'd like to see more Cosplay stuff. especially more costumes. I think it would help out those who want to say put something together at the last minute. As a matter of fact I know a nice costume shop folks might to check out if interested. Let me know if such is the case.

[thesirensings]

I'd like to see Cosmic Monkey Comics again next year. I realize that there's probably TOO much manga and not enough other stuff in the Exhibitors hall, but I spent most of my money at that booth because they had hard-to-find books for $5 and under.

[ScrumYummy]

I enjoyed the vendor's hall and the booths they had. But I would definitely like to have a larger Artists' Alley next year. There weren't many artists this year, which disappointed me.

Keep in mind, this isn't because there weren't a lot of artists, but because there weren't a lot of tables/spaces *_* Many, MANY artists were sharing booths. At Otome studios there were 5 of us. xP

... B-but yeah, It'd be sweet if it was bigger. The AA has the most unique stuff you can find at a con : P

What about moving some of the larger artists/studios into the Dealer's Room? Is that totally out of the question? (I didn't make it to kumoricon 09, so I have no idea how much space you guys had/what it looked like)

[Rathany]

I'd like to see Cosmic Monkey Comics again next year. I realize that there's probably TOO much manga and not enough other stuff in the Exhibitors hall, but I spent most of my money at that booth because they had hard-to-find books for $5 and under.

They would fall under being a local manga vendor and would definitly be welcomed back. 

[Evaldas]

I enjoyed the vendor's hall and the booths they had. But I would definitely like to have a larger Artists' Alley next year. There weren't many artists this year, which disappointed me.

Keep in mind, this isn't because there weren't a lot of artists, but because there weren't a lot of tables/spaces *_* Many, MANY artists were sharing booths. At Otome studios there were 5 of us. xP

... B-but yeah, It'd be sweet if it was bigger. The AA has the most unique stuff you can find at a con : P

There were some questions about layout and space. Last year, the layout was out of my hands as it was determined by  the pipe and drape people. I was told that the AA will be bigger this year and I will take into consideration as much as I can about flow and over all space.  I will also be working with the artists again this year to help give everyone the best con experiance. And if people are still interested, I will probably do the drawing for prizes again.

What about moving some of the larger artists/studios into the Dealer's Room? Is that totally out of the question? (I didn't make it to kumoricon 09, so I have no idea how much space you guys had/what it looked like)

Oh I forgot, I'd like to see.. I think her shop/booth was Kimonomomo.

Anyways it'd be cool to see a real kimono vendor!

The woman who runs Kimonomo was a treat to talk to about kimonos and their history. If I recall correctly, she even held a panel that year about how to wear a kimono. It would be grand to see he back, but I know she is busy and in high demand.

[melchizedek]

it would be nice if there was a good selection of masks too

[superjaz]

many pages so not sure if dark horse was said, there booth is awesome partly because you might run into an editor of manga there so cool

[cloud-9]

DEATHNOTE shoulder bag for school, laptop ect.

[RozenMaiden_Girl]

Well I would like to see another BJD panle.

Last year I didn't get to see it. May be this year we could have it on Satuday? If we want to have it again?

Just putting that out there.

[DeathNotePanda]

I personally would love to see more J-Rock merch =.= I believe someone did say this before but I looked through the music places too and only found Gackt >=| THAT GUY WAS EVERYWHERE!!!! It drove me nuts xDD

Yeah but I'm a major J-rock fan and I would love to see more of it at the con~ ^^ Oh and Japanese imported stuff too~ ^-~ Like from the popular fashions like Lolita, Decora, V-Kei and Oshare, etc. ^^

And I second the whole bento boxes and house hold stuff like that~

[cloud-9]

that would be good too

[murder_of_raven]

And I second the whole bento boxes and house hold stuff like that~

Come to think of it, Uwajimaya has access to a lot of that sort of things and since there seems to be a lot of interest in it, perhaps we could extend an offer for them to have two booths (one for food and stuff like normal and one for stuff other than food). I imagine they could be interested, after all it sounds like it could be a lot of easy money.

[DeathNotePanda]

I HAVE ANOTHER SUGGESTION!!!! =DD I think this will help a lot of cosplayers out too! ^^
So I was thinking about what wigs I wanted for my cosplays the other day and then I thought,
"Wouldn't it be awesome if they sold wigs at Kumoricon?"
And then I freaked out after that xDDD *laughs*
But yes! It would be very benificial for the cosplayers if there were wigs in the dealer rooms! ^^
Anyone for this idea? =D Yes? No? xD

[UtadaFan20]

I would like to see more Japanese food and candy. Not just the stuff Uwjamaya has but like the stuff  anime asylum gets, the last time I was there they had Ginger Ale Kit-Kat's and other Japanese imported Foods/Flavors that you can't get off the shelf.

I would also like to see some more clothes/costumes not just t-shirts and cloaks - like kimonos, shoes and Lolita.

Also if you could find a vender who sells Yaoi stuff not just books but pc games and other stuff that is hard to get unless purchesed online. I saw a vendor like that at K-con when it was in Washington but haven't seen another.