Nominoichi Reports: good, bad, and ideas to improve

[The Chris McKenna]

Hello everyone.

We would really appreciate it if you would please come back here after Friday and let us know how we did.

This will be a thread where people can share their experience at the Nominoichi. We want to hear about things that you thought we could improve upon. Any problems you noticed, and also anything we got right that you don't want to see change next year. Please tell us if you think we did a good or bad job, and what we should do different or the same next year.

This is not for problems and improvements to other areas or departments of the convention, unless it is directly related to your Nominoichi experience.


If you had a particularly good or bad experience at the Nominoichi please share it here.

UPDATE
We have added an update here.

[willyshum]

Greetings,

This is my second time coming to Anime North and second time visiting Nominuichi. I think the room change compared to last year
allowed more space which was great to navigate between tables for the first half hour before everyone came in. I only have one complaint
and it's more targeted to the seller but what happened was a table had listed on nominoichi as first come first serve, however the sellers
of different nominoichi tables were already in line before the room was open to the public. I had waited in line for nominoichi since ~4pm and was roughly fifth in line.
As soon as the doors opened, I made my way to the table and found two sellers from different tables had already been waiting for the said table to purchase products. Because of this
many people including myself and friends were not able to purchase because the products were already considered sold even before the doors opened.
Just my two cents but I hope in the future nominochi can do something about sellers being able to purchase from other sellers before the doors open otherwise it isn't considered a
"first come first serve" when the products were already sold to different sellers.

Thank you.
edit: words

[mollyscribbles]

I think there's room to improve in terms of traffic flow; I was part of the later crowd, and had expected to stop by the tables where I'd made reservations and then happily browse the rest. Unfortunately, there was effectively no movement among those browsing the tables, and I found it difficult to get close enough to see what someone was selling. And once I got close enough, it took a bit to get a break in the crowd to move away and let someone else near the table.

[vickydapos]

My only complaint was the announcements at the end of the night that the TCC was closing and telling everybody to exit the building. The nominoichi was still open for another half hour so it was very misleading.

Otherwise a great event, thank you.

[kittyjordz]

This year was great. I've sold at a couple of Nomis and I loved the bigger room it was much less hot this year..or it could have been the adrenaline. However the new entrance made it EXTREMELY difficult To access via vehicle for sellers, also made getting there in a timely tough due to traffic flow due to having to be directed around and I know a lot has to do with the CPC however it caused me A LOT of anxiety. The extra space between table "pods" was great but I agree with a previous post a bit more room between tables themselves could be beneficial to sellers. Our table got "clusters" and due to that people tended to bypass us without looking due to "crowd hemorrhaging " definitely a HUGE improvement to last year though. Great work guys keep on doing what you do and know we do appreciate it!

[lalarose]

This was my first time at nomi.

I was mildly panicking at the beginning because I was waiting in line to pay my table fee etc from 5:30-6:00. And my table partner didn't get in until 6:30. It just seemed to be taking a very long time to get everyone in, which I couldn't understand because all we had to do was announce which table number we were and pay. When I first walked into the seller's area, I was told to line up closer to the wall. While there I was watching the rest of the line being reorganized and shifted multiple times. It wasn't until my line moved up and I was about 5 people away from being at the staff table when someone asked me what my table number was and I was moved to a different line because I had an even number. I ended up being 8th in line. I know it's not a battle to get in, but it was kinda frustrating. For the future, when we first enter the building our numbers should be asked so we can get divided and organized right away. I did notice the staff was frustrated and trying to get things organized so I am assuming there was some kind of miscommunication. When I did get in I was rushing to get everything set up and just barely finished as the whistle blew.

I know you can't exactly re-constuct the building, but we all had to haul our carts etc over a curb on the way in, which many struggled with.

I was nervous driving to the convention because I had no idea where to park or drop off my stuff. Thankfully the parking attendants were very helpful in directing me. But for the future it would be nice to be directed before hand as many people such as myself are driving from out of town. There were people asking on the forum and there was no response.

I personally found that 3 1/2 hours was not enough time. Especially when the announcements were proclaiming that the convention was closing at 10:00. The last half hour was pretty dead and I noticed buyers were leaving when they could have stayed longer. Because nomi has grown over the years I wonder if holding it on a Saturday would be better? Saturday, today for example, is completely sold out. I don't usually attend Fridays, but my friends that do said it was less busy than usual. If held on a Saturday we could benefit with longer hours and more buyers.

Otherwise, I had a wonderful experience and would defiantly attend again!

[LittleEki]

My first time at Nomi, one of the annoying bits i found as someone who reserved items was trouble finding the specific table. I had the map on my phone so i had a general idea of where the table was, but due to all the people crowding the tables at 7pm it was impossible to see the paper that showed the table #. Maybe next year we can have like a signpost put up behind each table that displays the table # so it's easier to see? Other than that i had an enjoyable time, thank you!

[zellerific]

Hey Chris!

Thanks again for hosting the Nomi and thanks to all the other staff who helped!

This year I really liked the entrance location. Usually I have to try and awkwardly lug my items through all the car and pedestrian traffic, and since I come late from work I used to have to park in the middle of no where. Thankfully I was able to park at the back this year which was great and super close to the entrance.

There was an issue with the lining up in reverse order, but you guys did great by moving the table and ensuring everyone got in in the right order for set up.

I really enjoyed the space - much less hot and seemed like there was more space in general.

My biggest issue were the announcements of the TCC closing at the end of the night. In previous years I relied on that last 30min rush to get my stuff sold, but once that announcement happened everyone left and I missed out on 30min of sales. Nothing to do with you guys, but maybe something that needs to be communicated with the announcers for following years.

All in all I had a great Nomi, and even though I say every year will be my last, it never is

[mav]

Great new space this year. Well ventilated and lots of room between areas.

Would have liked that the entrance for sellers had the ramped section. Getting my dolly over the curve with 6+ boxes was tricky. The volunteers were really helpful and helped me carry it (it was just figure boxes so it wasn't too heavy). +1 to volunteers. All of them were friendly and informative.

***Suggestion: Post somewhere for people to bring their own bags/boxes/carriers (like a recommendation somewhere on the forum or main page). Literally every person wanted a bag (I had brought a few but they were gone in about 30min). It would be helpful for vendors if buyers brought re-usable bags to these events (as this is an independent market). Doesn't have to be a requirement of course, just a great little recommendation to ensure you can carry your merch away safely/easy.


Nomi is great as always. I am going to try again next year. Thanks for all your hard work and opportunity to sell my stuff

[kotoshin]

The good:

* I love the new space/line up, with risk of rain the indoors waiting area was a godsend
* Helpers were AAA+++ this year, I was scrambling to my table and dropping things and they sent one person to help walk me over (my fault totally, was trying to text my missing table partner with free hand)
* proximity to Radisson/east side of con: SO MUCH EASIER to get to and won't have to dodge pre-reg/at door con goers with carts!
* A LOT more buyers - this is YMMV, but this is the best year I've had at the nominoichi thus far.

The bad:

* YMMV, but I found several shoppers wearing STAFF badges were especially rude, with comments such as "I'm just curious where you got all this crap to sell"; and "People actually buy this?" and "this is too overpriced, you're scalping". Especially when I saw the exact SAME item in the dealer's room anywhere from 30% - 100% more on Saturday when I did the shopping.
* People using your table and goods as a support. Several people seemed to think that if it's a flat surface, it's okay to throw down your bags or your full weight on one hand.
* The water station/washroom was not really obvious to me - I only learnt as I was about to leave that they were at the entrance XD;;;

[qtpantha]

Pretty good Nomi and I appreciated the larger space and the better air circulation (vs. last years hot box) but the biggest issue I had was that I felt like the sign in process could be worked on. As someone mentioned above, I watched as people got to go in and sign in but when it came time for my line we were told to be re-arranged again into even and odd numbers because, apparently, the list was sorted into that. However, I was close to the front by that time and was forced to move further down the line because of my odd number table. This drove my nervousness up as by this point it was basically past 6PM (my table partner and I arrived around 5PM) and I didn't get signed in until almost 6:30PM and I still had to go outside to get a second run of items from my car, leaving me and my table partner with about 30mins to set up. By the time Nomi started, we still haven't finished.

For the future, I would hope that a better system can be implemented to signing in people. The increase of sellers probably contributed to this and I am hoping that more time can be allotted to signing in so people don't feel rushed and can get everything together before people are let in; 5:30PM as a start time was not enough time, I felt.

[jc4ever]

Nomi this year pretty good, not too hot, pretty spacious, not sure if the desks got bigger from last year (only seller on my table this year). Only complaint is the announcement about closings. First I heard, the TCC hall blah blah blah and nomi hall is closing in 30 mins at like 9:30 i think? and i believe we can sell till 10:30pm but the second announcement was the hall other than nomi will close at 10:30, so i thought "cool, we still have time to sell stuff" but when 10 o clock came, there was an announcement again saying, nomi hall is now closed, buyers please start exiting the building. so buyers left or starting to leave already which doesnt let us use our time we paid for to sell stuff, so we had some potential business lost. Would be great if next year, announcement will be made more clearer, and instead of saying TCC hall X, X, and X is closing in 30mins other than nomi hall, just say which hall is going to close, as this confuses people. Also if the selling time is 7-10:30, please do not kick out buyers at 10pm, if you are only allowing us to sell till 10pm, then on the info page, write 7-10pm = buyers can buy stuff during this time, and 10pm-10:30 pack up for sellers. Also another idea is, if possible, maybe move the nomi to the hall closer to the parking lot towards to water tower as it was a pain to walk all the way around with many boxes, as i don't think i remember seeing a road leading to the entrance to drop off stuff. anyways, it was another great year!

[Deleted]

Amazing event this year! One thing I would suggest changing is the entrance. I found that a LOT of people got very confused while looking for it, and the entrance itself was difficult to access for those in wheelchairs (though this is due to the building itself not being up to code, what with the lack of power doors and proper ramping). And like others have stated, the closing announcements were very confusing, and I saw a lot of people leaving a half hour early because of this. While it meant I got to be one of the few who stayed behind to score some last-minute deals, it is rather unfair to the sellers who lost out on potential business. While I doubt your group is in charge of the announcements, perhaps some stronger coordination with whoever is would be good for next year.

[pomelo]

Thanks again for this event! This was my second year, and I really liked this area more. It felt more spacious and was definitely not as hot (although last year the weather was just terrible in general).

Like others have said, my only gripe this year was the announcement that the building was closing. I felt like the last hour or so was pretty dead because a lot of people had left, so I didn't get to sell much. Otherwise great though!

Edit: Just remembered something else to add. The staff who helped me check in and get to my table were also very nice. I really appreciated the man who lead me directly to my table (unfortunately, I don't remember his name).

[lugiap2k]

Thanks again for another great year!

Pros:

• Being able to line up inside was nice with the threat of rain.
• The ‘End of the Line’ banner made it easy for people to figure out where to line up.
• Everything seemed to run on time (being let in for set-up, starting on time, ending on time).
• It seemed a bit cooler in the hall this year. Granted, I was right by the doors so I was getting some cool air from outside.

Overall, everything seemed well-organized and well-run to me, so great job! My cons below are pretty much just nit-picky things.

Cons:

• Let sellers know in advance that they could pull around/park near the east side of the building. For set-up, we ended up parking in the far back of the parking lot and had a long trek around to where the line was.
• I realize this likely isn’t something you control, but the TCC announcement(s) about the building closing led to a lack of buyers after 10.
• The fact that you had to get up on a curb to get inside the door to the seller line was a bit troublesome if you didn’t have someone to help lift your cart up over it. Maybe a portable ramp for people with dollies/carts/etc. to use next year would help.
• Nothing you can really do about this, so just sort of a FYI to other sellers: even on LTE data the internet barely works, so Square readers and the like seem to have difficulties. I only did one transaction with mine (that worked, thankfully) and it took a good few minutes for it to go through.