A few important updates.

[mercury]

Jun 1, 2016 7:42:02 GMT -5 The Chris McKenna said:

7) We have been fighting for years, YEARS, to get a few additional chairs. This year we got more than we asked for, but I was very glad to have them. Did anyone feel that we had too many, were the chairs getting in the way?

Seeing three chairs/table was such a relief! This was our first year really needing it, but I remember seeing/reading about the struggle of other people who couldn't find extra chairs around for their third table member in past years. The space behind the tables was very generous this year, so it didn't get in our way. When our third wasn't at the table, the extra chair served as a convenient and elevated space put our bags/tape/reserves/etc (as opposed to under the table/on the floor which causes a lot of strain from constantly bending to grab stuff all night).

I never thought I'd be so excited about a chair, but thank you to everyone who worked to make this finally happen. I hope that we see the extra chair come back next Nomi!

[zellerific]

Thanks again for a wonderful year Chris & Staff!

I don't really have any complaints this year. It was easy to find since I knew where to go (and others were able to assist this year, too! A huge improvement from last year), and everyone got admitted fairly quickly. I had loads of time to set up my table.

The heat was a little much, but there's nothing much you can do with thousands of people in a room when its 30 degrees outside. I just took periodic breaks to go to the "breeze" by the door and drank a lot of water.

As others have said, some sort of system to help those who have a lot to lug in would be great. Even a few dolly carts to let people borrow (and maybe have a volunteer come with them?). Possibly allowing sellers to drive around back too just to drop off, and then move their car to regular parking? As you said though, not sure there is much you can do about this, but just an idea for a possible future improvement!

Thanks again! It was really a great experience and I managed to make a decent amount of money again this year. Every year I say I won't be back since I think I hope I won't have too much to sell...but the likelihood is that I will apply again next year

[vivi]

Hey Chris! Here is some of the feedback I'd like to leave regarding Nominoichi:

1) The volunteer who assisted in helping me and my friend fold down our table to accommodate the clothing rack was very helpful! Her assistance was greatly appreciated and allowed us to set up our table much more quickly.

2) Volunteers need to be better informed regarding the end time of Nominoichi. The two volunteers stationed in front of my table (N156) were certain the event ended at 10:00 PM instead of 10:30 PM. They pressured buyers and sellers to stop buying/selling at 10:00 PM and demanded buyers to start leaving the premises and sellers to start packing up. Despite presenting Nominoichi information from the Anime North website including the 10:30 PM closing time to the volunteers, they dismissed the information on the website claiming it incorrect and continued to believe the event ended at 10:00 PM.

3) Tables N156 and N157 were negatively affected by the one way traffic flow in front of the stage. Volunteers repeatedly shouted at buyers to constantly keep walking forward or to push themselves against these tables. The shouting from the volunteers created a very tense and uncomfortable atmosphere around these two tables. Buyers were reluctant to stop or stay for a longer duration of time to browse at these two tables due to the constant shouting. Additionally, buyers coming from the right side of Hall A (if viewing the map with the main entrance positioned at the top left corner and the hardwall positioned at the bottom) would be required to walk around the table island (N156-N183) in order to browse N156 and N157. I feel the table islands could have been placed further away from the hardwall and closer towards the wall with the main entrance to better accommodate the stage and the flow of traffic that will occur in the back once buyers start entering Hall A.

4) The additional chairs this year were extremely helpful to tables with 3 sellers. However, I do feel for tables with only 1-2 sellers, the third additional chair started to become an obstruction. Additionally, the third additional chair for each of two corner tables (e.g. N156 and N183) would frequently block other sellers from entering and exiting the table islands as they would use the corner space to enter/exit.

Despite the misinformed volunteers regarding the end time for Nominoichi and my table being negatively affected by the flow of traffic due to the stage, I had an enjoyable experience at Nominoichi this year. I hope these concerns will be addressed for next year as I look forward to applying again! Thank you Chris and all staff members for organizing this event year after year!