Dealers' Hall

After we finished touring Fells Point, my friend retired back to the hotel room (along with my Pinky clan) and I skipped back over to the convention for a whirlwind dash through the dealers' hall. I had just over an hour before I had to meet back with my friend for dinner and our trip to the aquarium and I was planning to make it count. Although I didn't buy any Pinkys at the convention, I wanted to make sure I found (and documented) all of them. There were only a few vendors that had Pinkys (or maybe I should say *still* had Pinkys) there, but the ones that did have them had a fair number. I didn't see too many rares (or perhaps they all got snapped up before I arrived...), and I didn't see too many of the brand new ones (repeat caveat). The dvd girls were not there, and I didn't see to many sakuras or choroQs, although there were some. Talking to the woman at the HLJ table, I kind of got the impression the dvd girls were never there (and it wasn't just that they were sold out), but as I never asked point blank, I guess I don't now this for sure. I figured if HLJ didn't have them, than no one did. At that point I was still waiting for mine to arrive, and it would've been slightly tempting to buy them there, even tho they were already in transit to my house...

At any rate, this is what the Pinky hunter could find at Otakon:


One of the first booths you run into is one of the few not selling anime merchandise. They had more traditional looking goods from Japan, including a nice selection of dolls.


Depending on what direction you are walking, one of the next places you come across with Pinkys is Anime Sekai. They had a nice selection of Pinkys, including some rare-ish ones like the Eva girls... but their prices weren't the best. They weren't bad, they just weren't the best. If I had been desperate and impatient, I might've spent a lot of there without realizing I could get better prices elsewhere. Not to pick on Anime Sekai, of course, we're only talking a couple of dollars difference!

One weird feature of the dealers' hall was that it was almost impossible (at least to me) to figure out which vendors were which. Very few tables had signs indicating who they were. I guess this doesn't matter to your average shopper, but I like to know who I am buying from so that I can check their website once I am home. I figure if they have good stuff at a show, they are worth checking back on at other points in the year too. To be honest, I can't understand why so many places didn't have signs. Surely they *want* to advertise? Usually you get advertising even when you aren't looking for it, it's weird not to be able to find it when you actually want it. I ended up asking who people were for nearly every picture here. I took notes, and hopefully I haven't scrambled my pictures and I'm naming the right stores....

This one I am sure of though - JPNToys had a very nice selection of Pinkys and some of the best prices.


Yes Anime also had a decent selection and relatively reasonable prices


The best prices, however, hands down, were at HLJ. Unfortunately this also meant their stuff went fast! By the time I got there, it had been severely depleted.


Hometown heros (located in Waltham, MA - formerly in Cambridge, MA) Sasuga Book was as popular as ever. Although they mostly sell books, they do tend to have a healthy selection of Pinkys at most conventions. I believe they were the only people selling Arc... Of course I already have two Arcs, so I don't think I even looked at the price.... I did buy a copy of Dolly Dolly tho. I would've bought a couple, but Dolly Dolly is actually pretty pricey. C'est la vie. So many nice art books at Sasuga. Really makes I had a lot more money. And time to read. And that I could read Japanese...


Of course even though I didn't buy any Pinkys, I did manage to spend a fair amount of money! I think Wizzywig ended up with most of my money. They're a fun store, but somehow they always seem to have more (or better?) stuff at conventions than they do on their web page. I never buy anything online from them, but they're one of the most fun tables to browse (at the giant FOUR conventions I've been to... oh well). They have a physical location in Ann Arbor, MI, and I did actually get to go to their store once. I think if I lived in MI I'd definitely be there all the time, and the fact that it's located there was definitely a selling point in Ann Arbor's favor! (irrelevant side note - Ann Arbor is actually a really nice town! Too far away for regular visits from Boston, but very nice)

I'm not actually positive, but I'm pretty sure this Hidamari display was Wizzywig... Or... maybe not. Whoever it belonged to, it was cute! (And I didn't take any good photos of Wizzywig's stall. So... let's say it is, even if it's not!)


And that's way more than I needed to say about the dealers' hall. Up next - sushi dinner and the Baltimore Aquarium!