Dealers Room
*Applications for our 2024 Dealers’ Room are now open! Fill out our application form before it closes on September 14th, 2023, at 11:59 pm ET. All exhibitors must apply via the form, even those who have been at Zenkaikon in previous years.*
The Dealers Room allows vendors to showcase and sell collectors’ items and wares.
Dealers may sell anime, video-game, science fiction, cosplay, and cultural Japanese paraphernalia, including official figurines, wall scrolls, apparel, exclusive items, GUNDAM, trading cards, stationery, plushies, accessories, video games, manga and comic books, and much more!
The Dealers Room will be in Freedom Hall B – identified as the Exhibits Hall – of the Lancaster County Convention Center and will be open all three days of the 2023 convention.
Exhibitor Policy Highlights
Space Allocation
Because Zenkaikon’s Exhibit Hall is not particularly large relative to the size of our attendance – and we have reached the capacity of booths in the room – we carefully jury vendors to provide a good mix of merchandise for our convention attendees. Prior vendors are given priority in allocating space. Once the number of returning vendors is known, we review new applications emphasizing enhancing merchandise variety.
Load-In
The Convention Center loading dock is small and narrow. You can generally expect to wait in line to unload. Once directed to a spot by the dock manager, please unload your inventory and supplies as quickly as possible to keep traffic moving. Zenkaikon Exhibits Head Staff will do our best to keep the load-in process as scheduled and organized as possible. If you are an accepted Dealer, you will be expected to update our staff ahead of the event with a general time frame for arrival on Thursday, March 23, 2023, or the morning of Friday, March 24, 2023.
Bootlegs
Bootleg goods are about far more than CDs and DVDs. Wall scrolls, plushies, and figurines are all goods highly susceptible to illegal copies. You are responsible for ensuring you carry only goods that are properly licensed in the United States.
Just because an item is legal in another country does NOT mean it is legal to sell in the United States.
Used Goods
You may sell used goods, but they must be labeled as such. Packaging items to conceal the fact they are used and not affirmatively revealing their used status is a potential violation of Pennsylvania consumer protection law and will not be tolerated.
Contact Lenses
Contact lenses are medical devices regulated by the FDA, regardless of whether they are plano or corrective. Since it’s unlikely a vendor can follow proper dispensing procedures in the context of a dealer’s room, contact lenses may not be sold at Zenkaikon.
Food
Dealers may sell prepackaged specialty drinks and snacks such as Ramune and Pocky. Any other food items must be approved in advance by the venue. Contact exhibits@zenkaikon.org with any questions.
Weapons and Replica Weaponry
Any sales merchandise that is weaponry or bearing the resemblance of weaponry must be displayed away from where customers can reach it. Any merchandise considered weaponry or replica weaponry may only be purchased by customers 18 and over who furnish proper ID at the purchase time and, after purchasing, must be immediately taken from the convention floor.
Banned Merchandise
The following merchandise is considered banned from sales within our convention space and Dealer’s Room and will be asked to be removed from the sales floor by our Zenkaikon staff:
- Merchandise and art that depicts minor-aged characters in sexually explicit imagery.
- Drug paraphernalia and products that may have been derived from controlled substances.
- Expired or spoiled food and drinks.
