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What We Thought About Exhibiting at Anime NYC 2025!
We made it back from AnimeNYC!
This was our second time being an exhibitor. We are by no means experts at this. 😧 We (my husband and I) both have normal day jobs and this business, so conventions are rarely something that we consider.
(AS INFJ 🙈, conventions are very hard but also very rewarding.🎁)
One day, I had a moment of 'let me try something that makes me feel kinda uncomfortable.' So last year, we started vending here at AnimeNYC!
Oof, thinking back, last year was rough! Everything was new, we did not have a clue what we were doing, WiFi was such a headache and we didn't really profit. (We did break even! So I was happy with it 👌)
This year, in exchange was a LOT better.
Let me explain:
What was different?
Okay. To be fair, we had some changes since last year's event. So here are some things that were changed since last year that made it a better experience for us.
Booth Location 📍
Okay, I'm gonna reference a map of Javits Center for this one. In the photo, pink circle is where we were this year. Blue circle is last year. At a glance, you might think they are both similar since they are at the edge of the sides!
But, pink circle area is close to main event/artist alley. This is also close to the main entrance where people enter in.
Blue circle is next to the food court and while it's close to side entrance, people use this area to eat, or exit. A lot of folks actually told us that they didn't even know we were there!
We noticed few things this year with new location:
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A lot more cash transactions.
(I assume because we are close to the start area, people break their money or use cash here) - More traffic.
- More transactions.
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Folks browse in the morning, shop later in the day.
(There were folks who came back after browsing to make purchases before leaving the convention. Normally, we don't make it a big deal when people say this, but we noticed more people actually came back!)
So what did we do to put ourselves in a better spot?
This is going to vary by different businesses and situations, but last year when we had our chance to re-book the event, we didn't re-book our same spot. Exhibitors can try to re-book for the same spot unlike the artist alley. (Though I will say nothing is 100% guaranteed. We heard stories where exhibitors were moved even when they wanted to rebook the same spot.) So be up-front and request a different spot, if possible.
What I'm trying to say is, when and if you are able to, try asking the staff if you can be relocated next year closer to your desired area. Again, nothing is guaranteed, but at least you tried. Be nice to the staff, always! They are just trying to make things better for people!
Additional Day ⏰
Another thing that made this year better was having an additional day of the convention. When we saw the dates for this year, we were surprised and skeptical about Half-Day Thursday being added.
But to our surprise, we did pretty well on Thursday! 👾
Now, for people who go to the conventions back to back, have other commitments, or have to spend money on transit/stay, this might not be such a big plus.
Pricing System 💵
We did change our pricing for this event this year. Last year, I was strict on prices being same as our website. I felt like up-charging the prices during the convention seemed un-necessary and wrong.
But, I quickly learned after dealing with cents, and taxes, having a flat and simple pricing was necessary.
So, I did cave in and changed it this year for the convenience and speedier check-out. However, I did add a 'BUY 4 GET 1 FREE' deal to make up for the slight price increase. (I think it ended up being a pretty decent discount for those who purchased a lot)
It made explaining prices a lot easier and I learned that price increase was able to be made up with deals. There were a lot of people who recommended going up even more just a bit 😂
Conclusion
Conventions are never always the same. Crowd changes, economy changes, and sometimes it's just pure luck. However, the takeaway for us this year was that it was better compared to last year! It definitely helped us enjoy it a little more! Here's a few tips that I think is important when attending a convention for the first time:
Meet fellow small businesses and make connections. It will make you appreciate and respect others in the same business. It's also great to support and have supports from others!
Think of conventions as a way of advertising for the business. Profit is not always guaranteed so have a back up plan or a mindset to expect the worst. It's not good to bet everything on the convention to hope to make a ton of money from the beginning.
*A little tip: if profit is a sole purpose for attending the convention, really make sure to calculate if certain conventions will be worth it. For example, our cost for good are a lot higher than say people who print themselves. This cuts down into our profit (unless we raise up the price a lot). If we have to pay for hotel, flight, etc, certain conventions will not really be worth it for us!
Be humble and expect to learn LOTS of new things. There's a lot of trial and error with conventions. Always be willing to learn and adapt. Don't worry too much that you're not perfect.
Don't rush checkout. There are lots of good people attending the convention, but there are also people who like to take advantage. We have gotten a fake $50 bill this convention, and it was such a disappointment.
Don't overwhelm the crowd. While it's great to make connections and advertise, make sure not to over do it! Remember they are just as overwhelmed as you are if not more!
Don't rely/depend on people who say they will come back! We do sometimes save orders/items for folks if possible when they say they will come back. But we don't expect them to. There's ALOT of vendors at conventions, so take it with a grain of salt when people say they will come back! or don't be disappointed when they don't!