100th post, who i am

[zerospace]

I'd go to Priceline or something like that and just look up what the fees are for you to attend another con nearby, like Otakon or Animazement, and see if it's worth it to you. Areas like NYC and LA are popular areas to go, and that's probably why the prices were so high. But something closer to you might cost $500 for a couple days hotel & airfare. You could also share your room with others, and that will diminish your costs a bit. A lot of convention websites have forums where you can post that you're looking for roomies, rides, etc.

^^ This.

I've been to AX a few times now, and since I live within driving distance, my costs are significantly less than those who fly to the west coast to attend, but collectors have often shared rooms (my husband and I shared a room with both klet and syan this past year) -- which saves everyone some serious cash.

If you want to visit a larger con but not spend 1k+ on travel costs, you should consider going to Otakon ... you could drive there & probably find a less-expensive hotel -- and I'm sure you'd meet plenty of your fellow collectors.

[KuroiTsubasa4]

Otakon is a great con I've been there 4 times and I like the size (I love big cons but AX was a little too big for me; Otakon felt just right). For me, the best parts are:

1. Cosplay (making a costume, wearing it and seeing other people sporting their own creations as well)
2. Meeting guests
3. Concerts
4. Shopping >.>

I try to go to events but I usually get sidetracked...usually due to cosplay related shenanigans. I think just the experience of being around other fans is the best part of a con. Meeting guests is great but you'll spend a lot of time in line. However, it's not so bad if you have friends to chat with, or strike up a conversation with a fellow con-goer. Concerts are a lot of fun and I'd encourage you to go even if you don't know the band. I think I've ended up buying CDs from most of the artists I go see >.> There are cel shopping opportunities as well, maybe not as many as there are at AX though. But I think at least 3 booths were selling the last time I went. Hotels were also very easy to find and I never felt as...wary...as I did in LA. (I don't think our hotel was in the best part of town...but I know very little about LA XD)

[zerospace]

The surrounding area of LA where AX is held now (LACC/Staples Center) has apparently been cleaned up from before, and they're now talking about building a football stadium nearby it >_< (and we thought the ESPN X-games made things interesting THIS year!) As long as you don't wander too far away from the LACC, the area isn't that bad. But yeah, not the nicest part of LA, all around. Expensive, too.

But for you, AJ, I'd seriously look at going to Otakon sometime . AX is unbelievably huge, but that has its drawbacks, too.

[syan]

I'm coming out of lurkerdom to post. Nice to meet you! I will echo others in that you should check out Otakon. I too enjoy the concerts. This was the first year since 2004 that I didn't attend, but that was because I went to AX instead. Plus I then spent a week hanging out with another collecting bud. Otakon is large, but I've always enjoyed myself. I used to split the hotel cost with yet another collector, but now I live near Baltimore. You can check out the Otakon forum, as there are usually others looking to split hotel rooms.

If I didn't already have plans, I would be all over NYAF this year. Yoshitaka Amano and Moyoco Anno are going to be there.

[Keropi]

But yeah, not the nicest part of LA, all around. Expensive, too.

Lol...I was leaving AX one night (about 10:30PM) and right outside between the door and the traffic light a homeless guy cussed me out because I decided to walk around him instead of right in front of him so he could ask me for money. I felt like saying something to him, but thought better of it.

[KuroiTsubasa4]

Haha, my friends and I were serenaded by a guy who followed us from the con. It was such a creative effort and he wasnt rude or anything. It also taught us we need to remember to take off our name badges sooner XD

[zerospace]

Haha, my friends and I were serenaded by a guy who followed us from the con. It was such a creative effort and he wasnt rude or anything. It also taught us we need to remember to take off our name badges sooner XD

I always try to flip mine around backwards when it isn't needed...

syan -- since you've been to both AX and Otakon, do you have a preference? If Yoshito and I ever get a chance to travel back east again, it might be fun to finally go to Otakon.

[syan]

syan -- since you've been to both AX and Otakon, do you have a preference? If Yoshito and I ever get a chance to travel back east again, it might be fun to finally go to Otakon.

That's a tough call, since my motives are differnet for each. For AX it's all about seeing friends and cel shopping. For Otakon, it's about the actual con experience - plus I'm not limited by a suitcase on any purchases. The lines at Otakon don't seem as crazy as AX, but they are equally crazy line lengths. I am more likely to attend panels at Ota too. I'm torn between autographs between the two - I've had good and bad experiences at both.

I'm defintely on board for you and yosh to come out here! It is during the hottest part of the year, but the con is air conditioned. Plus ice cream vendors at night. The waterfront is nice too.

[hgeek23]

So I have to ask--why are there more cels at a convention than you can just find online? Who has these collections they haven't put up for sale?

[cutiebunny]

I don't think it's necessarily that more cels show up at conventions than what is posted online, but rather, what shows up at some of these conventions.

Anime Expo is the only convention that Midori travels to, and if you've seen her update posts around the time of AX, you might be aware of some of the items she is bringing to the convention. Lots of other art sellers go to AX as well, and every so often someone will come who brings an unexpected item, or perhaps doesn't know the full value of that item, and sells it for cheaper than what it would sell at auction (doesn't happen often though). A lot of people go to AX to buy artwork since its sellers usually bring out their best for this convention as attendees are prone to spending a lot of cash at AX. It is not uncommon for many collectors to spend several thousand dollars on artwork at AX.

In some cases, a lot of the artwork can not be shown online. Sometimes it is smuggled out of studios or under loan from certain studios or collectors with the expectation that, if it is not sold by a certain date, that it will return to them. Many of these studios and collectors are selling these items to pay off whatever debts they have. Studios feel that it is best not to advertise these sales due to bad press it could create (Toei selling off several Sailor Moon bank sequences must mean that the studio is in financial peril!) and most Japanese collectors do not like to advertise what they own. This is where middle men come in; They form an agreement with the seller, and they bring it to a location where it is far likely to sell for the prices that the owner wants.

A good portion of the artwork being sold at AX will never be sold on YJ or Mandarake simply because its current owner does not want to publicize its existence.

[Gonzai]

The studios don't own the artwork, its the licensee. That is why you can't show them online.
The studios could get into a lot of trouble if the licensee found that they were selling the
artwork, which technically, at that point, belongs to them.

[cutiebunny]

This is probably a stupid question, but at what point does the artwork not belong to the licensee? I'm not talking from a marketing or copyright standpoint since none of us own the rights to the characters that we display, but the direct physical possession of a cel or sketch? At what point can the licensee not contact someone who owns the cel/sketch and demand for its return?

I understand that the chances of a foreigner being contacted by someone, say Naoko Takeuchi, demanding a return of their cels is quite small due to the cost of suing internationally being prohibitively expensive, but have there been any instances where someone outside of Japan has been contacted by either a representative of the studio/mangaka or a foreign licensing company demanding that the artwork be taken down in cases where the owner of the particular sketch or cel is receiving no economic benefit from showing it?

[Gonzai]

Not sure if that has ever happened, but I have been told by a couple of cel dealer friends
that if the licensee chooses to, they can come and take the artwork back from the person
possesing it, if they never granted permission for the artwork to be sold. They are the
owners of the artwork, not the studio.

If you feel I am wrong about this, then I suggest you contact the cel dealers which I am
talking about, since I am sure you know who they are and ask them if I am wrong. I have
bought artwork for certain animes that I cannot display, since I have been told that the
licensee is a United States based company, and if they wanted to, they could demand
it back from me. Not a chance I am willing to take.

I have also been told that the studio's can get in trouble for releasing artwork, which in
turn will reflect back on the dealer who is selling it. Actually, certain dealers (I won't mention
any names) have been kcicked out of studio's for selling artwork and the licensee finding
out about it and making the studio pay up.

I am not disputing that some of the artwork is stolen from the studio by animators hoping
to make a quick buck. I also know that Japanese collectors are very private about their
collecting, however, I don't know how a dealer selling something for them is in anyway
going to reflect back on them. I am sure you don't have a clue which Japanese collector
owned any of your artwork before you bought it.

I just don't think that studio's are afraid people will see them as needing money if some
of their artwork ends up on the market. Just my 2 cents.

[hgeek23]

I actually was about to ask--am I buying stolen property?