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Post by The Chris McKenna on May 2, 2023 22:05:48 GMT -5
Hello everyone.
I know this is a bit early, but we'd really appreciate it if you'd come back here after the Nominoichi and let us know how we did.
This will be the thread where people can share their experiences 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 you think we should do different or the same next year.
Are there any new rules you like to see added to the event for next year, or any existing ones you'd like to see changed, or removed?
We've also continued to use an online system and lottery for table reservations this year. We are always interested in hearing about your experience with this. Did you find it easy to use? What changes in how the registration site works would you like see for next year? Do you have any thoughts or suggestions on how to improve the process?
Please note: This thread is not for problems or improvements related to any other areas nor departments of the convention, unless it is something that's directly related to your Nominoichi experience.
This will also be the pace where we can share any important post-event reports, and we can answer any questions you may have post-event.
Finally, although we can't implement all the ideas, we do read all of them.
...and, as always, thanks for your interest in the Nominoichi!
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Post by The Chris McKenna on May 20, 2023 4:16:45 GMT -5
Just a reminder to please come back to this thread after the Nominoichi and let us know how we did, what could we do better, wnd what was already perfect so you don't want us to change.
Your feedback is very important to us, and the event we have today has been built by these type of comments.
Thanks, and I'm looking forward to seeing everyone next week!
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Post by The Chris McKenna on May 27, 2023 8:29:21 GMT -5
now is the time, and this is the place.
please tell us about your Nominoichi experience.
what went well? what didn't? how can we do it better next year?
are there any new rules or changes you want to see? anything we got right abd you don't want us to change?
and most of all thanks to everyone for your interest in the Nominoichi
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Post by samuraizero on May 27, 2023 10:06:00 GMT -5
I feel like this year went really well. Being condensed in a hall was much better than being in the open area, it wasn't crazy hot or anything which was nice. Only thing id like to see is a wee bit more setup time.
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vixolet
New Member
waiting warmly..
Posts: 47
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Post by vixolet on May 27, 2023 22:26:33 GMT -5
As a second-time buyer following last year I would say that this year's Nominoichi went very well.
I liked that it was in a secluded hall over being in an open space and I feel like there was enough space for it to not be completely packed even inside the hall. The long line outside to get into Nominoichi worried me that I would not make it to my reservations but shortly after everyone managed to get in pretty quickly.
Thinking about Nominoichi I cannot think of anything major that should change with the event. As a buyer (though I do not have the perspective of a seller), I felt it ran smoothly and I had a lot of fun this year. I think maybe table numbers should be more visible overall to help buyers navigate (as I had to sometimes look at the layout off my phone and count tables from those with signs to find specific ones).
Thank you to the staff who allowed Nominoichi to run this year! ^^
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Post by impulse on May 28, 2023 9:11:59 GMT -5
I think maybe table numbers should be more visible overall to help buyers navigate (as I had to sometimes look at the layout off my phone and count tables from those with signs to find specific ones). This 100%. Sellers please, please have your table number visible somewhere. There were a good amount that did and I was able to find the tables I was looking for quickly, but there were a lot that didn't and I had to line up at the busier ones to ask what number it was only to be told it wasn't the one I was looking for and I too had to try to count tables to find the right one. Overall, I think the organization with the lines before it opened went really well and the traffic flow wasn't too bad. Really like that it has its own separate entrance/exit from the rest of the con. Good job AN/Noninoichi staff!
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Post by xDream3 on May 28, 2023 15:54:48 GMT -5
Overall it went well. Thank you for the ramp into the courtyard and for moving the location of Nomi back to Hall C.
My only feedback is maybe longer setup time. The original information was that we would be let into Hall C at 5:30PM, but staff didn't start admitting people in till 5:45PM the earliest which gave sellers at the front at most 1hr 15mins.
Teardown went smooth (for me anyways).
Thank you for another year of Nomi!
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Post by neosaturn on May 29, 2023 9:36:05 GMT -5
I agree with seller needing a more viable sign! As a seller I made big neon sign and stuck it to a bamboo pole it was very visible, I know it helped a lot of hold people find us
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Post by straywind on May 29, 2023 12:09:53 GMT -5
I had a great time at the event and it was another fun year. I think it was really well run. I will echo that I was shocked how quickly time flew by during the setup period. I was one of the first handful of groups waiting outside to get an early spot in the line so I would have more time for setup and yet, it just didn't feel like there was enough. I almost didn't have a moment to go pick up a couple of reservations before the event started and I literally gave up on organizing my table and putting out more things. If we could get more time for setup that would be wonderful as I was starting to panic as 7 approached.
I was unfortunately one of the tables that was sidelined by the curtain that was put up over the entrance/exit area. I thought I originally had a great table placement right by the doors, but the curtain blocked much of the aisle in front and it cut off all the natural light from the doors and the lights from the ceiling. It shadowed my table (N219) and a few tables beside mine. My table was right beside the staff table and I know they tried to slightly open the curtain, but it was pretty futile. If I had a dollar for every time someone commented that we were done dirty with our table placement or just saying how hard it was to see things were selling, I could have bought at least a couple of large lemonades from the lemonade stand. A couple of people were even using the flashlight on their phones to see things better. It was very frustrating. I'm just glad I took reservations in advance because the darkness, reduced aisle and shadowing, definitely cut our visibility. Hopefully that's something that can be addressed next year and I pray I don't end up near the doors if I luck into getting another table. It was suck to have that happen again.
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Post by nkei on May 29, 2023 15:39:57 GMT -5
I had a great time at the event and I think it was well run! The hall was surprisingly very well ventilated and seemed much more spacious for the buyers this year. I also really appreciated the extra emphasis on the comms that Nomi was opened until 11 versus the rest of the con closing at 10 (I'm sure people agree, there were a lot of cheers lol). More setup time would be great, but also understand it could be a little tricky. Ideally if we could have everyone start entering by 5:30 that could help a lot. That brings me to my only feedback. Before entering the hall, a bunch of us were kind of shafted for the entry line to pay the $50 and get into the hall. The organization logically made sense - line up in three lines (depending on your even/odd table number), and it seemed like the idea was that sellers will go from the furthest left line, then the middle, then the far right line in order. A few of us that came through the door (and were there waiting since ~4:30) were asked to go into the middle line. Then we saw the left line go in (expected), but then saw the right line go in next (which seemed odd?). Note that the above was the explanation given to us with some assumptions, but it was either we were sent to the wrong line, or the order of the lines didn't go in as planned. Additionally, later sellers were coming in through the doors and going to the far left line or the far right line (and made sense, since those lines were moving) and essentially went ahead of us. A few of us looked at each other confused but none of us moved because I guess we didn't want to be penalized for breaking any rules, but it felt really unfair that we came early only to get into the hall later than sellers that lined up later than us. The middle row didn't even start moving until we flagged down Chris and explained the situation. Completely understand it's stressful managing this event and overall it's not that big of deal, but it just felt a bit frustrating when we were shafted for following the rules. I don't think our middle line started moving until well after the left and right lines were mostly cleared, which also cut into our setup time. All in all, that was really the only instance where I think a bit of additional management or staff support could've helped - otherwise great event! Thank you all for setting this up every year and hope everyone got some great deals!
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Post by Stini (Nomi - N168.2) on May 29, 2023 16:16:19 GMT -5
Thank you nkei for bringing up the odd/even line situation during set up. First, I want to echo the positive sentiments of a lot of already shared feedback that overall I had a good time at my first Nominoichi. I had heard stories from previous years and I felt that there were a lot of thoughtful improvements made, such as the hall had good AC for the most part and was well lit in my area (I was up near top left if you're looking from the entrance). The announcements were also clear, which was very helpful. My only critical feedback is with the odd/even line decision. I lined up around 4PM and we were let in sometime past 5PM to line up inside the venue. Here, we were asked whether we had an even or odd table number (mine was odd) and were told to line up in the middle line. What we were told is that the leftmost line was for even tables, the right line for odds, and the middle line for spillage of odds. Just because there happened to be more odds that showed up early, it felt like we were being unfairly caused to wait longer. I saw people who had been lined up well after I arrived behind me outside go into the hall earlier due to this system. We also saw that some people coming in well after 5:45PM were being told to line up into the right line as it was moving forward (this was later cut off by a staff member after being flagged down and then the middle line finally moved forward). In the end, by the time I got into the hall, it was after 6PM and 1hour was definitely not enough time to properly set up. Due to this, I also didn't have time to make a table sign as I had originally intended which I'm sure made it more difficult to find my table (thank you to everyone who came to pick up their holds, really appreciate!). That being said, I really appreciated how kind the staff were. I had a lot of questions as a first time Nomi seller and they were patiently answered. I would love to attend Nomi again sometime! Thank you for all of the hard work!
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Post by orintheus on May 30, 2023 11:44:54 GMT -5
I agree with everyone.
I think everything went smoothly. I dunno how I feel about having multiple lines but everything went pretty fast. I think my major issue was the table numbers. This was probably my second Nomi I've been to and I downloaded a copy of the map to make sure I knew where I was going, unfortunately, it didn't work out too well. I do wish people would place their table numbers up because even with the map, it was confusing.
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Post by aquacapsak on May 30, 2023 11:47:16 GMT -5
I can also echo the need for more setup time and a better line system. We were in the odds and noticed it took significantly longer for our line to process which cut severely into the setup time. A suggestion I would like to propose is this: I noticed there were 2 sets of double doors available for use, the one which we were using for the sellers to enter and another that stayed closed but also had access to the nomi hall. For next year would it be possible to potentially use this set of doors to our advantage and further separate the even and odd by having an additional set of registration tables at these doors so that even can process and enter through one set of doors and tables and odd sellers through the other? Also, if sellers are lining up at the crack of 5pm can we start letting them into the hall at that time based on time of arrival so we actually have the extra half hour to utilize and aren't stuck wasting time. It was frustrating to line up early only for people well after us to go in before us.
Other than that it went fairly smooth and will be working on including table signage for next year.
On the note of signage;If possible, could we add end cap signage to the aisles? Every year is just as confusing as the last to navigate the tables and it would be helpful to have a sign saying table n122-n(insert number here) for people to find them easier. It's super easy to get confused in the chaos otherwise.
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Post by sirvicksalot on May 30, 2023 12:23:02 GMT -5
As a buyer, Nomi was fun this year! I completely missed out on picking up my reserves last year due to the Friday night lineup, but this year I was able to make it to get my items! I do really wish that signage was much clearer. I had the same issue last year with not knowing where tables were at all, and this year when I was picking up stuff it was so much worse. I had to ask multiple sellers what their tables numbers were as "checkpoints" to know if I was going the right way. I think sellers should all have a sign on their table or their table number on their badge to show what table you're at. Huge thank yous to sellers who did have visible signs! The lineup outside Hall C was super confusing too. My friends and I actually lined up in the accessibility registration line before being told where the Nomi line was, then we got in one of the lines in the loading area. When the loading area filled up, people just lined up behind the original line and went in when the first line was sent in. I think the lines should be clearer outside and definitely enforced more by security. Otherwise, Nomi was great! Got some awesome stuff out of it, including figures I'd been wanting for years. I was very worried about not getting everything before holds ended, but I got everything before 7:45! Nomi will absolutely be something I look forward to yearly.
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Post by Istoria on May 30, 2023 20:36:34 GMT -5
Ah-this was my first year as a "buyer" after being a seller for 6-year-non-stop due to various reasons, but it was a refreshing experience!
First of all, I was shocked to see just how long the waiting line was for Nomi, but it was my first time participating as a buyer so I had no clue. Nonetheless, I was impressed at how fast it moved once the hall had opened.
Having said that however, I'm surprised at how no one's talking about the ventilation issue with the hall..? (unless I missed it) It wasn't too hot and AC seemed to be working ok (especially compared to how hot last year had been it was a blessing this year😇), but there was definitely an unpleasant smell lingering in the air...at first I thought it's because of the opening hour crowding, but even when I came back after few hours later and there was less people, the smell was still there...never had I experienced this in my previous 6-year experience doing Nomi, so it was a bit strange 🤔
Also I was a bit concerned about the huge black curtain that was separating the entrance area. It definitely marked where people should enter/exit and that's cool, but it casted a huge shadow onto tables in front of it and somehow people were crowding around it as well, making it hard to get around.
I agree with the consensus that this year it was especially hard to locate table numbers; even with a printed map on my hand, many tables didn't have numbers visible and it was frustrating having to wait for people to move only to ask the table number and realize I'd been heading the wrong direction. I think the person above me who suggested having the table numbers on the seller's badge is a great idea! If that's too hard for admin, maybe distributing even a small white sticker to write the number on it and sticking on their badges might help?
All in all, this year's Nomi had been a huge improvement compared to the last year's! I'd be lying to say that I wasn't sad to find out I couldn't continue my tradition of participating as a seller for this year's Nomi, but being a buyer also gave me some freedom to explore other parts of AN and moving more freely without any obligation. I already can't wait to join for next year's Nomi! Cheers to everyone for making this awesome event happen every year ☺️
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