Being an anime fan these days means more than just watching/streaming titles on a computer or a laptop. In the modern day era we’ve been blessed with not just awesome people who voice the very characters that we’ve come to know and love, but to see those very same people at the conventions that we spend over six months saving up for. Since the 90’s the anime convention circuit has been one of the greatest destinations for anime fans to come together, and one of the first places that many fans head to, is the Dealer’s Room.

When it comes to this particular area of the convention, you’ll find a large assortment of anime DVDs, manga, T-shirts, apparel, figures from the shows, and more! Now before you reach into that FLCL wallet that you have conveniently tucked away in your back pocket, there’s a few tips about Dealer’s Room shopping that we’d like to share with you.

Tip #1: Do A Little ‘Window Shopping’

Dealer’s Rooms have tons of vendors with both official and fan-made merchandise from various anime titles. However after chucking out money for the hotel, your badge, and (possibly) your mode of transportation, your wallet will make you real selective about the kind of anime merch that you want to buy. If you’re a first-time con goer and you have no idea of what you want to by at the Dealer’s Room, shop around for a bit and look for deals that’ll give you more ‘bang’ for your buck! Don’t make an impulse buy on a particular item just because you’ve seen it on a recent episode, because you might find that same item for a whole lot less either online, at a store, or at another convention.

Tip #2: Compare Merch Prices From Different Tables in the Dealer’s Room

If you managed to find the items you want to buy in the Dealer’s Room, it never hurts to look around some more until you find another table with the same items. Once you do, compare the prices of the items on the two tables. If the prices of the items is lower at one table than the other, then your best bet is to buy from that table. Different vendors sometimes sell the same items for less than the competition, but that depends on the convention itself. At smaller hotel-based cons you can find some really cool merch at some rather reasonable prices, which brings us to our third and final tip…

Tip #3: If You’re Hunting For Deals, Sunday is the Best Day

On the last day of the con, everything in the Dealer’s Room drops between 50-70% off. This is really good for fans who want to score some good deals on some merch, however the only thing about shopping on Sundays is the fact that you run the risk of losing out on something that you really wanted. (But that all depends on the fan as well as the convention.)

Types of merch like DVD/Blu-Ray box sets or props are at their highest prices on Fridays and Saturdays, but on Sundays you’ll find them marked down to almost 60% of their originally priced value. If you’re looking to save money or if you brought less than $100 in merch funds with you, then Sunday may be your best bet for buying anything from the Dealer’s Room.

Hopefully these three tips will aid you in searching for some good quality merch at great prices while at the convention’s Dealer’s Room. They may also make you more aware of what you’re getting (money-wise) depending on what you want. Every con’s Dealer’s room is different; meaning that prices found at one con’s Dealer’s Room, will either be higher or lower than the other.

That will do it for this post, but if you have any Dealer’s Room stories or experiences to share, you can post them in the comment section below.

Until next time, stay gold! 😉