More details about the 50-50 rule

[The Chris McKenna]

To answer a few questions regarding the 50-50 rule we have decided to go into greater detail here.

The Nominoichi is primarily for the sale of LICENSED ANIME MERCHANDISE of all types. These items must account for half, or more, of all items for sale.

Therefore sellers must have at least 50% (or MORE) anime items and 50% (or LESS) of ALL the other items combined. This is called the 50-50 rule.

This rule is in effect for the duration of the Nominoichi, not only during set-up. Sellers must be aware of what they are selling at all times and be prepared to either add more anime items, or remove some non-anime items, to maintain the balance of 50-50. Once all the ‘anime’ items are sold, a seller can not continue to sell ‘other’ type items.

Furthermore, the percent of items is determined in three ways: number, combined value, and surface area on the table. In all three aspects anime items must be more than all other-items.

Finally, the intent of this rule is to maintain the focus of the Nominoichi as a marketplace of used anime items, while allowing the sellers the option to include a few non-anime items as well. These non-anime items should not become the primary selling focus of any table. They are like a side dish, not the main course.

Should a seller be, at the discretion of the Nominoichi staff, violating the intent of this rule, then we will consider the the rule itself to also be violated and shall take appropriate actions.


If you have any questions or comments about the 50-50 rule please address them in an email or post them here.

Thanks.

[eka]

So... if a seller sells all of their anime items during Nomi but there's still some things left like videogames or big-franchise movies and books for example.. then they have to just leave their table at that point? What if we have some anime left but the small majority is other?
And does anime solely constitute DVDs and manga, or can 'anime' include anime/japanese-style videogames and cosplay?

[The Chris McKenna]

You are interpreting the rules correctly.

A seller must be aware of what they have on the table at all times and add, or remove, items from the table to maintain a 50-50 balance all night.

Once a seller has "Sold out" of all the Anime related items, even if they still have some non-anime items, they can not continue to sell.

This is probably for the best anyway, because if people were not interested in buying non-anime items at the start of the night, they won't be any more interested at the end.

Furthermore, "Anime" is not exclusively DVDs and Manga, it can include figures, posters, toys, music, hats, calenders, clocks, jewellery, etc... Any merchandise that is directly related to an Anime, or Manga, property.

However, Japanese style video games that are not connected to an Anime series may be sold at the Nominoichi, but would be classified as "Other: Gaming" and would not count as part of the Anime requirement of the 50-50 rule.

[Infinityzfire]

Hi Chris,
I have a bunch of my cosplay costumes to sell that are Sailor Moon, Hellsing, Fate/Stay Night etc. They are costumes I have made (fan-made) but are based off of anime. It is the majority of items I have to sell and I was wondering if the cosplay items that are based off anime qualify as the “anime” category or "other" category. The costumes I have are more than 50% of what I would be selling, which is why I need clarification on the matter to know if I can qualify for a table.
Thanks!

[mechanizations]

I also have a question, 90% of my items are official anime DVDs or Manga, but I also have quite a few Shounen Jump magazines that I'd like to sell. Would SJ Magazine fall under official anime/manga since it is published by Shounen Jump (who publish manga like Naruto and Bleach) and mainly consists of manga?

[The Chris McKenna]

Here are the Answers, in reverse order:

mechanizations: Shounen Jump Magazines would be welcome as they are (even the English translations) Official Licensed anime and Manga. Please post a selling list here once you have a table confirmation.

Infinityzfire: This year the rules have been written to define licensed anime merchandise as something that has been professionally mass produced and includes copyright information. Therefore homemade costumes would not fall under this category and would not count as "anime merchandise"

However, cosplay items and accessories of all kinds are welcome at the Nominoichi, just homemade items are not considered to be licensed anime merchandise, and therefore can not be more than %50 of what you are selling.

This is something we can consider for a rules change next year. Right now I am a bit busy, but perhaps in a few months, sometime after Anime North, you would like to post something on this forum again (we are open all year!) and we can discuss it for next year's Nominoichi!

Finally, I'm sorry if this negatively affects you decision to participate in the Nominoichi this year, but I am very grateful that you wisely decided to ask about this first, before reserving a table. It might seem like a simple and logical thing to do, but you may be shocked to discover how many people just assume the answer to questions and don't bother to ask!

[eka]

Got it. Just a few further questions:

The 50-50 rule applies to the whole of the table, yeah? Also, if people make reserves on items, can we keep the items behind us since we'd be saving them for certain people?
Lastly, if a member at the table might be slightly late to when people are being let in to set up for Nomi (say they arrive at 6:30ish, or 6:20) can the other 2 members of the group pay for the individual coming late and can the member enter into Nomi at that time?

Thanks for answering my questions!

[mechanizations]

Thanks for answering my question! Thanks for all your hard work Chris !!