FREEDOM!

[pacificpikachu]

Yay, a whole day of sitting around doing nothing today. No school because of Veteran's Day. ^_^ I think I'll take a shower and then call Nicole and Cody.

I downloaded 20 AMVs yesterday. @.@ I can't watch them 'til I get to Mom's because this computer is stupid and won't play anything, but they should all be excellent, seeing as they were all in the top 10% at AnimeMusicVideos.org. And I saw several of them at cons, and loved 'em.

I have to prepare for the convention on Sunday. Let's see... Costume needs sewing, get batteries for digital camera, print directions off MapQuest, bring my CDs for in the car... Oh, and we have to figure out somewhere for Nicole's little brother to go on Sunday. Nicole's mom randomly decided to go to Oregon, leaving Nicole in charge of babysitting Dilan for a whole weekend. We've been planning this convention for a while, so I don't really think that's fair, but...whatever. -_-;; Now we have to find somewhere for him to hang out on Sunday.

Nyaa~~ Not much else to say. I'm going to go take a shower.

Comments

I don't want to seem rude

[scorpio-alice.livejournal.com]

, but can I come to the con?

I've been starting way too many LJ comments with OMG lately...

[hitchi.livejournal.com]

OMG have fun! I have to ask you for some advice about buying at cons. I know dealers and merchandise will vary from con to con, I just need some general tips. If you see something you want, do you buy it then, or pass it up because it might be cheaper at a diff table or you'll see something you want more? Do you haggle with dealers? I can't think on my other questions now, but yeah.

Re: I've been starting way too many LJ comments with OMG lately...

[pacificpikachu.livejournal.com]

Before you buy anything, ask if the dealer can hold it for you for a while and peruse the convention for that while, looking for a better deal. If you don't find one, go back and buy what you asked them to hold earlier.

Before buying it for whatever their full price is, however, act like you found it for a better price and try to haggle with them. Don't give in too easily, but be sure to be very polite when haggling. Be reasonable--don't ask for something for half price or anything. If it's $20, ask $15, and then $17. Something like that. Some dealers are up for haggling, others are firm on the price. Use your judgment to decide who seems like they'll haggle with you or not. If someone acts friendly towards you and you're polite to them in return, they're much more likely to give you what you want for how much you want it for.

Being in costume can get you discounts, too, because it seems like dealers are more prone to giving in if you're in costume. Especially if what you're buying has to do with your costume. At Fanime, my little brother kept trying to haggle with this one dealer over...I forget what. An Initial-D-something-or-other, I think. Anyway, the guy wouldn't even cut the price $1 for him. Later I went to the same dealer in my Pikachu costume and asked him about buying a big Pikachu plushie he had. I haggled for a while, and he ended up selling it to me for $20 instead of $30. He said he respected me for cosplaying, and figured that I deserved the discount for that reason.

If there's a swap meet, always check that out first. You might find what you want cheaper from a random anime fan trying to get rid of whatever they've got than from someone trying to make a profit.

Another good idea is to come back just as the Dealer's Room is closing. A lot of people will take half price and other crazy discounts if it's closing, because they just want to make an extra buck before the con closes. You wouldn't believe how much free/inexpensive stuff we got at the end of Anime Expo. O_o;