Dealer Room Information

Dealer Applications are currently closed.

DEALER ROOMS/ARTIST ALLEY HOURS

VENUE SPECIFICS

About table fees

The vendor halls in the Convention Center require rental and labor costs as part of setup, management, and tear down. We have structured our pricing to reach as close to a net-neutral income as possible while still having lower-cost options available. Table, booth, and power fees do not represent a source of income for the convention. In response to vendor negotiations and more accurate estimates, we may adjust our prices between convention years.

More about power fees

In the Convention Center, we are not able to use our own power equipment. As a result, power will be an optional add-on that dealers can request when applying for our dealers den, and we will be seating “powered” dealers together to share power access and minimize the costs. If you require more than 500W of power, please speak with us for special arrangements. However, if you only require a “top-up” on your cell phone or tablet, we will have rechargeable USB battery packs available to lend. Just bring your device cable!

Regarding load-in and display materials

We anticipate that vendors with rolling luggage, rolling carts, or boxes that can be carried by hand will have no issue loading into the Dealer space themselves (multiple trips are okay). Those with extra-large rolling carts, pallets, or more elaborate “booth” equipment should coordinate with Team San Jose staff to safely load-in their equipment using a predetermined time window for loading dock access. We will inquire about load-in needs in a follow-up communication to approved vendors so we can plan the most efficient schedule for our union crew.

**Note:**setups requiring power tools to construct may incur additional fees from the venue.

SELECTION PROCESS

Further Confusion’s Dealer selection is a juried process, not “first-come, first-served.”

Who decides and how?

The Selection Committee is composed of a minimum of five individuals who include members of the Board of Directors of Anthropomorphic Arts and Education, Inc., Further Confusion volunteers, and other furry fans who we feel bring in differing perspectives and opinions. They are selected by the Dealer Lead to represent a mix of interests, ages, and demographics to do our best to have a fair and balanced selection.

Why do you ask for a website and links to images of previous table setups?

We cannot guarantee that every member of the Selection Committee is familiar with the work/wares of every dealer that may apply. Additionally, we understand that a dealer’s available inventory changes over time. Effective use of space is also a factor in dealer selection, particularly when determining how much space to allocate to a dealer. If you are new to the convention circuit or do not have a picture of your setup, a mockup (i.e., set up your “table” at your house) works well, or even a drawing of how you intend to use table space. Thoughtful use of space goes a long way!

Why does Further Confusion keep applications open for a week or more?

We recognize that our dealers make up a broad cross-section of the community, with different obligations, schedules, accessibility considerations, and computer/internet availability; we also realize that technical glitches and failures happen, for applicants and conventions alike. With this in mind, we are not factoring application time or order received, and instead will score all received applications based on their content alone.

WAIT-LIST

Typically, the wait list is capped at 25 spots as we have found that it’s extremely unlikely for us to back-fill more than 25 additional vendors.

• Waiting list slots will be assigned based on Selection Committee ranking. We will make our best effort to keep dealers informed of their relative position on the wait list (e.g., “near the top,” “middle,” etc.). Further Confusion does not provide specific wait list numbers, as there are factors that must be considered such as requested table space (size), etc.

TABLE SHARING AND TRANSFERS

Pending approval from the Dealer Rooms Lead, dealers may share their tables with another dealer who was not selected through the Dealer Rooms selection process.

• Dealers wishing to share their table must be accepted and registered for a Full Table or a Booth in the Dealer Rooms, and must have their sharing request confirmed by the Dealer Lead before the convention.

• Half Tables and Double Tables may not be shared.

• If a Full Table or Booth is shared, each business entity must have their own California Seller’s Permit on file.

• “Sharing” a table or booth occurs when both the original, accepted dealer and the added dealer are present at the convention and selling from the same table concurrently.

• Table and booth spaces may not be transferred. To “transfer” a table occurs when an accepted dealer attempts to give their table to another dealer without the intention of also being present and selling at that table during the convention.

HOTEL BOOKING

Further Confusion works to give dealers at least a week’s advance access to book their hotel room before bookings open up to the public. Hotel booking information will be sent to accepted dealers in advance of the booking window.

• Whenever possible, please book the hotel reservation under the same legal name as the primary dealer contact for the business.

• You won’t have to know who your roommates are yet, and will be able to add them to your room reservation later on in the year.

• If you need more than one room, please reach out to the Dealer Lead.

CALIFORNIA SELLER’S PERMITS

Every business selling (in either the Dealer Rooms or the Artist Alley) will need to have a valid California Seller’s Permit. Unfortunately we cannot do this for you, but they are easily applied-for online. Please see Section 2 of the Vendor Rules for more information on obtaining a California Seller’s Permit. We will be verifying your seller’s permits in advance and at Dealer Check-In.

Note: You do not need to have your permit number prior to applying for the Dealer Rooms or Artist Alley, but MUST have it available no later than Dealer Check-In. If we cannot verify your permit number at that time, we cannot allow you to vend in our Dealer Rooms. The Vendor Rules include further details regarding applying for a California Seller’s Permit.

ARTIST ALLEY

The Artist Alley lottery typically opens in September/October, and remains open for one month. Artist Alley spaces will be drawn at random from all applicants on a per-day basis, and are all single-day seats. There will be 14 seats per day, and in the event of a no-show, walk-up table placement will be lottery-drawn each day. Artist Alley vendors who fail to claim a seat within the first 30 minutes of the opening of the Dealer Rooms to attendees will forfeit their slot unless prior arrangements have been made with the Dealer Lead.

Note: access to electricity is not guaranteed in the Artist Alley. More information about the Artist Alley is available here.

DEALER CHECK-IN AND SETUP

The schedule and location listed above are what we are targeting for Dealer’s Check-In and setup. Barring unforeseen schedule-impacting events, these are the times that we will be able to let dealers check in and begin setup. If there are unforeseen schedule-impacting events we will make announcements via our Twitter feed, email newsletter, and update board located at the entrance to the Dealer Rooms.

WHAT YOU NEED TO BRING FOR CHECK-IN:

1. A government-issued ID such as a driver’s license or a passport with the legal name under which you registered.

2. A copy of your California Seller’s Permit that must be kept at your table during all business hours.

3. Any other documentation as requested via email in advance.

ASSISTANTS

Every Dealer seat comes with the ability to designate another member of the convention as an assistant. Your assistants will be able to check in and get their convention badges with you at Dealer Check-In, but only if: (a) they have pre-registered for the convention, and (b) you have added them as an assistant using the Manage Assistants tool in our vendor registration system. Otherwise, they will need to register at the convention or pick their badges up from the standard Pre-Registration line.

You may change assistants later if necessary, as we understand plans can change. When submitting an assistant, please make sure of the following two things:

1. Make sure they are registered with the convention at any membership level.

2. You have added them as an assistant using the Manage Assistants tool in our vendor registration system.

If you have any questions

Please let us know promptly so that we can address them as quickly as possible. Feel free to shoot us an email at dealers@furtherconfusion.org. We are looking forward to working with all of you during this coming year to make Further Confusion’s Dealer Rooms and Artist Alley better than ever!