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Post by The Chris McKenna on May 28, 2014 9:53:04 GMT -5
Hello everyone.
This is a thread where people can share their experience at the Nominoichi. We want to hear about things that you thought we could improve upon. Problems you noticed, and anything we got right that you don't want to change next year. This is not for problems and improvements other areas or departments of the convention, unless it is directly related to your Nominoichi experience.
But first, I would also like to address the delay we had in starting. I was able to scout the Nominoichi area very early in the day on Friday and, although there were a few minor problems, nothing too major was out of place. I left the area after addressing my concerns to the TTC Liaison.
However, when we returned at about 5:00 it was discovered that, although the known issues were resolved, we now had a serious water leakage problem. During the afternoon the Air Conditioners had been switched on in Hall B and, despite assurances to the contrary, they began to leek water.
... a lot of water.
The aisles of the Nominoichi are over 20 feet wide, but a large circular puddle went from end to end. Furthermore, the water was still raining down on three tables and across the aisle. This made those tables unusable and posed a hazard for everyone. I didn't want anyone to slip and fall, and that was a real possibility on wet smooth concrete.
Therefore the Nominoichi sellers had to wait an additional 40 min to be let in to the room while the spill was mopped up and the dripping contained to buckets. We also had to relocate three tables to a "dry-zone" along the side. Because the sellers were late setting up we had to also delay the start of the Nominoichi for the buyers, to insure the seller had enough time to prepare.
In total we opened about 30 minutes late, and for that we are all very sorry for any inconvenience.
At present we are looking ways to both prevent it again next year, and to have a better plan if it does. We are also exploring the possibility of offering a small discount to sellers who were there this year, and sign up again next year. However, this idea is still being developed so nothing is confirmed yet.
I do believe that after we opened the rest of the night ran smoothly. The very long line to get in was quickly absorbed into the Hall after we opened, and we were able to end the event on time without another serious incident.
And now I leave the rest to you. Please tell us if you think we did a good or bad job, and what we should do different or the same next year.
If you had a particularly good or bad experience at the Nominoichi please share it here.
What did you think?
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Post by SalisofKnight on May 28, 2014 15:16:36 GMT -5
I was one of the volunteers trying to "hold the line" when it got cut and I've heard that a couple people were getting very worried about missing their holds. I wasn't terribly worried that the sellers were going to cut off holds based on what time it was they knew nomi's opening was delayed and several of them predicted it citing that they would hold items for the first hour or half hour of nomi rather than picking a specific time.
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Post by mew2collector on May 28, 2014 15:24:28 GMT -5
 Positive: -I was lucky enough to be close to the start of the line, the volunteers were very helpful and directed me exactly where to line up. I also appreciate them helping me wheel my many boxes towards my table. *I am very happy the volunteers could direct me to my table so quickly so I could set up immediately -The Nominoichi hall was very spacious this year, I didn't feel to over heated at all,there was also a decent amount of space behind the dealers tables -When ever I sent an e-mail asking a question about Nomi. I always got a response right away  Negative: -Sellers weren't sure when it started/ why it was delayed. I had more then a few frustrated buyers in line asking me (texting) why it was taking so long / why the line was cut (not sure if the line was cut?) *If someone told me you were having issues with leakage i'd understand, but not knowing makes me believe someone/ administrator was just late or the room wasn't prepared -The Nominoichi Ribbon fell off my AN badge almost immediately, luckily I had tape. A stronger adhesive should be used maybe, or a clip on. It also happened to the seller beside me. Last year the ribbons stayed on perfectly, not sure if we just got funky ribbons lol -I wasn't sure when it was going to start, so as soon as I got in I immediately started setting up my booth. When I went to go pick up my holds I was shocked to see a lot of the sellers didn't even arrive yet. I couldn't collect a few holds because, I had no idea when it would officially open so I stayed by my table after checking once :/ *I do apologize to anyone I didn't collect holds from ^^ I assure you I did check your table at least once after un-packing and setting up Overall positive experience I would participate again |
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Post by darkinsanity13 on May 28, 2014 16:00:27 GMT -5
-The Nominoichi Ribbon fell off my AN badge almost immediately, luckily I had tape. A stronger adhesive should be used maybe, or a clip on. It also happened to the seller beside me. Last year the ribbons stayed on perfectly, not sure if we just got funky ribbons lol The adhesive for my ribbon came right off when I took the backing off, so I ended up using the strip as makeshift tape. It stayed on, but for a minute I had been like "uhhh, pretty sure that's not supposed to do that". I'm in agreement that better communication between staff and the sellers/buyers is something to keep in mind for next year if there's issues during setup again. I didn't find out the reason for the delay until the next day, though after seeing the buckets and cones I more-or-less guessed what the reason was. The only other complaint I would have is the fact my table was right against the doors leading into Hall C where the concerts were going on, making it very loud, noisy, and even harder to hear anyone (not to mention I had a headache by the time the concert finished). Maybe to avoid something like that again, flip the layout so the tables along the wall are on the opposite side. |
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Post by SalisofKnight on May 28, 2014 16:55:41 GMT -5
Apparently all the ribbons had a manufacturers defect that caused the adhesive to come off with the paper hopefully they'll get it right next year.
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Post by mew2collector on May 28, 2014 17:29:54 GMT -5
Apparently all the ribbons had a manufacturers defect that caused the adhesive to come off with the paper hopefully they'll get it right next year. Ah, that makes sense it is only my third time at Nomi. and I only had an issue with the ribbons this year. Which is why I thought it was strange.  Not a big deal though ^^ |
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Post by mechanizations on May 28, 2014 19:07:35 GMT -5
As someone who was on one of the moved tables (N189) I was super confused, but totally understood when I looked at the puddle. Though I feel being on the side made us hard to find! Overall I'd say it was a great experience as a first time Nominoichi seller! (Though I did get confused where to enter the line since I was late and accidentally cut through the autograph area!! Whoops). There was lots of space this year which was great, I remember buying last year and it being suuuuper tight, so that was an improvement (the con in General was more spacious that's to the rearrangements).
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Post by ajthecollector on May 29, 2014 8:12:26 GMT -5
One thing I'd like to suggest is finding a way to have all the table numbers displayed at face-level instead of crotch-level, cause with the circus of crowded chaos that the place became within moments, it was almost impossible for me to find where I was supposed to go.
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Post by The Chris McKenna on May 29, 2014 9:05:31 GMT -5
With only a few widely spaced support pillars in the hall, where would you suggest that we hang signs from?
Also, in the letter to the sellers we said:
"There should be a small sticker with this number on your table, but if you are promoting your items for sale on our forums (which we recommend) then you might want to also make a bigger and better sign for your table with this number."
A few sellers did create larger and more viable signs, perhaps next year others will also do the same.
And finally we had "runners" available at the staff tables to assist anyone with finding a table.
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Post by jessibren on May 29, 2014 15:04:12 GMT -5
the only thing i can say i was right up against the wall (it was a great spot considering it was right by the door and people had to walk by regardless to get in) There was a concert in the next room behind us at the same time and it was very loud and somewhat hard to hear people as they came by making it difficult to sell. Location was great cause the size of the room as awesome. However for scheduling i'd rather not have a concert right behind us or at the same time
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Post by shance on May 30, 2014 21:56:02 GMT -5
I'm not sure if this had anything to do with the Nominoichi staff, but the TCC closed a half hour before Nominoichi closed. This was super annoying to me. I was already way later than I promised my table mates I'd be, then I finally get back to the TCC to find that I can't get in. I ended up going through the exit doors to get in. I was so close to not being able to get back to the table to retrieve my stuff.
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Post by dragonlord on May 31, 2014 20:02:30 GMT -5
Having a concert in the next room is a terrible mistake, asides for having a terrible headache from it, it makes it impossible to talk/deal with customers.
We were a group of 3 sellers, and as such not all of us needed to be at the table the whole night, we were able to swap and relieve each other throughout the night, however as the Nominoichi went on after the dealers/artist closed, one of our table mates had issues getting back in and had to sneak in just like the poster above me(People at the door refused to let her pass even when she showed them her Nominoichi ribbon)Shouldn't the con/tcc staff be aware and let us through at the entrance instead of forcing us to the irrational and fight the crowds leaving the building (not to mention the security issues that raises). Not to mention not all of us have multiple people who could get everything out in one go, some may need multiple trips... which is impossible in this situation.
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Post by The Chris McKenna on Jun 2, 2014 6:23:31 GMT -5
About the TCC Doors: I was unaware that OS Volunteers were preventing anyone from entering after 10:00pm. Those doors should have been open to everyone until 10:30, because the Nominoichi was still open until then. This is something I will try to have corrected for next year. We will also try to clarify that anyone with a Nominoichi ribbon will also have a table and may need to get back in to pick stuff up, even after 10:30. I'm not sure if things can be worked out for next year, as there may be other issues or concerns involved, but we will try to make it better. About the Concert:We can't do much about that. Anime North has a live concert performance on both Friday and Saturday. These events are well liked and attended, and we can not just cancel one show because it's too loud. However, we can adjust the Nominoichi set-up next year to move the row of tables that were next to that wall to the opposite wall. Unfortunately, that wall is between Hall A and B and in Hall A there is the "Dance" later in the night. It is nice and quiet at the start of the night, but it will get much louder near the end. The noise is a known issue, and we will look at ways to make it more manageable. About the Ribbons:Yes, the adhesive was awful. It appears that much of the Anime North ribbon order, including ribbons for other departments, had similar problems. By the time I knew about them it was far too late to order new ribbons, Next year we will try to have the ribbons inspected before the con, but it's probably a good idea to bring a roll of tape just in case anyway. 
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Post by eka on Jun 2, 2014 16:34:39 GMT -5
Overall our table had a pretty good experience this year! We sold a lot, and I liked how much wider the aisles seemed this year so the location was a good spot.
I did mess up a bit though when I signed into Nomi (and there probably was a much better course of action I could've taken before) but I had a photoshoot to attend to at 6pm and my group was at the start of the line going in, so they signed in for me (which was great of course, thank you!!) but when I returned running back at about 6:40, I originally thought that since my group had signed me in already and that I could confirm the email address for my identity, I could be let in as my group was setting up, but I did not sign in with my group before so I was directed to the back of the line to wait and get the Nomi sticker on my badge. There was also a bit of miscommunication at first from different staff people telling me different things ('You're allowed to go into the Nomi,' 'go to the back of the line' etc.'), but really that was a minor thing in the end.
Given, I really should have probably asked more questions about the process of getting back into the Nomi (and I understand now that it appears unfair for me to just walk in at a given time as my group signed up) but maybe that process for people part of a group arriving late should be detailed in the rules or something? Or I mean I would've liked a process to have happened that I go through before I run off to my photoshoot so that I can quickly return to Nomi, but again, I understand if that's not something that can be changed or accomodated. Just maybe more clarification on it, at least.
I also understand that there are two chairs set up per big table, but maybe since 3 sellers are listed for each table usually, the number of chairs could increase... ? It was just a bit of a hassle to run around for awhile asking for extra chairs people had so that I could sit down. =s;
But really besides those, our group enjoyed Nomi a lot this year!!
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Post by kunoichifox on Dec 19, 2014 22:55:07 GMT -5
I have an idea about table numbers, do you know those Hello I am stickers, you can probably get at any craft store, you can have the dealers wear them with their table number on them, the stickers are cheap and can be easily seen if done right. and if any of them are wearing hats, which is also a great place to put it.
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Not a big deal though ^^
