#hoping some people sell their duplicate merch

[sweetbottletops]

The girls are getting a Tower Record Cafe collab! Moonlight Diner meal and drinks menu and cafe exclusive merch.

[meowlayn-art]

Hi! It’s the anon who asked you about if you were selling prints of your artwork - since you said you wouldn’t be comfortable selling fanart bc of copyright, is there any chance that if we subscribed to your Patreon we could make prints of your artwork for personal use (stuff like printing it to put on a wall or frame it kind of deal)? I just want to be 100 percent sure about it because some of your fanart is so so pretty and merch isn’t super easy to come by lol

Hi Anon!

Thanks again! It is a lot of fun and I am happy people enjoy them too  ( ˙꒳​˙ ) Before we go further, a little disclaimer : The question of fanart/copyright is a tricky one so my answer might sound cold but it's simply because I try to be as factual as possible :) I appreciate you being open and honest about what you are seeking in a Patreon, and actually asking what would be ok or not. I think that's very important for a content creator and its audience to be transparent and trust each other so again, thank you :)

About printing my work:

Facts : I will draw fanart (not necessarily every month, mind you), and they will be available to download, for personal use only ( = no duplicate/no sharing with friends and/or using them for monetary profit, obviously). They will be in good quality for people to enjoy, but not exactly ready to print (RGB and not CMYK colors, and slightly lower res than shop print quality). As long as people enjoy my work in the "privacy of their home" (or their phone wallpaper haha), I don't personally mind, and I think it's neat. It would be sad otherwise :)

BUT. I should remind people that fanart content isn't and won’t be my selling point on Patreon, and if people pledge "only" hoping to get fanart content to print for themselves, they might get disappointed, and I would rather not see people disappointed :)

The double purpose of Patreon is to :

- give people access to my work which is a mix of "entertainment" + educational content (since there will be step-by-steps, low res psd files and eventually specific tutorials/articles). And fanart happens to be a part of it.

- while helping me sustain myself so that client work isn't my only revenue stream, which means more time to create said educational and entertaining content, but also develop my own original content (both SFW and NSFW). That last part is very important to me, as I'd like to dive into more storytelling in the future :)

The educational content part is the only reason why I am (for now at least) comfortable with putting fanart on Patreon, since "education" is one of the rare argument why a fanart could fall under fair use and probably why you don't see many fanartists getting sued on Patreon - but even that could be challenged by any companies if they really wanted to.

So : Yes, you can print the monthly artwork for your personal use, and I can't stop you from doing it ^^ But my Patreon content shouldn't be seen as a way to "compete with official merch", because it’s illegal, not the purpose of my Patreon, and people will be disappointed since it's not the only content you'll find or that I intend to develop a lot :)

Additional info on how it will work:

To be precise and completely clear, Patrons will get access to the high res art of the month they pledged. Example : if you pledge before the end of March, you’ll receive a private link at the end of the month, to download the HD artwork made in March (same for the educational, low-res psd files, should you pledge for that tier too). With time and if there are requests, I’ll consider putting previous rewards for sale on Gumroad (so that people can download pieces they have missed). :)

Everything else, from the step-by-step process “tutorials”, to sketches and general Patreon feed, etc... will be unlocked no matter when you pledge. ^^ I hope it answers your question Anon! And sorry it got so long haha. I'd rather make sure people and I are on the same wavelength, to avoid any confusion or deception. Thanks again for asking and for your interest in my work, it means a lot! Have a great day/night :)

[letskaleem]

Juice wrld vlone tee

In spite of his surprising demise in December 2019, Juice WRLD keeps on being one among the chief dearest performers of the year. Diagram Data uncovered that the late rapper is the solitary craftsman of 2020 to have two of his collections sell very 1 million duplicates each inside the US . The pair of collections that gave Juice WRLD this amazing accomplishment are Death Race For Love and Legends Never Die. The past was delivered in March 2019 and denoted his last collection discharge during his lifetime, while the last dropped in July 2020 as his first after death record. The two collections appeared at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, anyway Legends Never Die surpassed its archetype by 332,000 comparable collection units. A second after death collection from the late rapper is purportedly inside the works. Juice WRLD's associate Lil Bibby inadvertently uncovered the news in October 2020, and keeping in mind that he didn't give out a particulars, he went similar to calling the impending delivery "insane." Elsewhere in music, another collection from the late Nipsey Hussle is "unquestionably" coming, as uncovered by his companion and partner J Stone.

Juice Wrld Merch Juice wrld was a hopeful and hardworking guy who battled hardships right from childhood. He never lost hope and always wanted to replace evil with good. If you are on the same journey as Higgins and suffering from anxiety or depression, Juice wrld merch will give you the hope to stay strong in the face of adversaries. The clothing items will serve as a reminder to stay courageous and never lose heart. To get a morale boost every day, we came up with some high-quality hoodies, tees, sweatshirts, and pants to pay homage to our dear late artist Juice Wrld. Where do I Buy Juice Wrld Merch? If you are interested in Buying any kind of Juice Wrld Merch, we are your one-stop-solution. You will get a wide variety of merch, and the best thing is the quality is top-notch, unlike some other merch shops. Made from 100% pure cotton and fleece, Juice Wrld hoodies and sweatshirts will become your statement pieces. Whether you want a juice Wrld Portrait Hoodie or just need a symbol to connect with other JW fans, you’ll find it here. Juice wrld was a global artist and had fans all over the world. We understand and respect that and provide worldwide delivery. You will get the most inexpensive and stylish merch here at Juice wrld vlone tee

📷

The music business took a devastating blow this year when the Covid pandemic hit. a lot of craftsmen battled with finding satisfactory approaches to plug their music and bring in cash without doing live shows, driving numerous to become specialists in online media and advanced showcasing. Fortunately for Juice WRLD, he didn't have to depend on making gimmicky Tik Toks and different things to encourage individuals to think to his music. Truth be told, the late Chicago-reared rapper has recently set a substitution deals record. Juice WRLD, née Jarad Higgins, has after death got the honor of being the essential and just craftsman in 2020 to have two collections separately sell more than 1 million units each inside the us . this is frequently regularly a heavenly accomplishment thinking about the pandemic and absence of capacity to plug the activities. The collections being referred to that acquired him this achievement are Death Race for Love, delivered back in March 2019, and Legends Never Die, which dropped in summer 2020. The last incorporates highlights from a ritzy arrangement including The Weeknd, Trippie Redd, Marshmello, Polo G, the kid Laroi, and Halsey, which certainly helped the streaming capability of the all around solid venture. since the essential and just craftsman to know this accomplishment in 2020, it's protected to make reference to Juice WRLD remains a legend even inside existence in the wake of death. May his spirit find happiness in the hereafter.

'A Work Of Love': How Juice WRLD's Family And Team Are Crafting His Legacy

Rather than dashing to deliver new material, his name group followed the lead of Juice's mom, Carmela Wallace, by supporting her formation of Live Free 999, an establishment giving help to those doing combating mental state and medication misuse . It wasn't until July that she and Juice's group chose to deliver his first after death collection, Legends Never Die, and it found an excited crowd. Appearing at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 497,000 comparable collection units inside the us , steady with Nielsen Music/MRC Data, it got a lift from the fourth-biggest streaming week ever at that point and more than 100 unique packs attached to the venture, incorporating a product cooperation with esports force to be reckoned with FaZe Clan. For a craftsman who was a stunning streaming-driven achievement in the course of his life, those numbers weren't completely amazing; still, Lil Bibby and Interscope boss income official/worldwide head of streaming and technique Gary Kelly both state they surpassed assumptions. When information for singular tracks opened up, says Kelly, the Interscope group "extended our streaming methodology on an overall level." The name especially pushed solo track "Wishing Well," a quick fan top pick, to article hip-bounce playlists and utilized flashier highlights — like Marshmello on "Come and Go" — to "arrive at resulting 10% to twenty of fans" in new business sectors. The last turned into Juice's first passage and first No. 1 on Hot Rock and Alternative Songs. With respect to the rest of Juice's excess of unreleased material, Lil Bibby says he minds the sole course forward each day . Extra joint efforts could occur — however they should be "too key" and with companions or fans "that truly f- - ked with Juice" — likewise as dedicatory discharges, somewhat like the new track "Genuine Shit" that dropped Dec. 2, the late rapper's birthday. inside the not so distant future, Lil Bibby says, a Juice narrative is gotten ready for fall or winter 2021 delivery — a potential vehicle for brand new music, and one keep with Interscope's central goal: to "keep up his inheritance," says leader vp/co-head of A&R Nicole Wyskoarko. "There are various components of Juice's inventive vision which can at present start with the assistance of Bibby and Carmela. it's truly been a bit of friendship with all people meeting up." this content initially showed up inside the Dec. 19, 2020, issue of Billboard.

[seaverwritessometimes]

2019 Tokyo Merch Haul

So usually when I go to Japan, I make a few posts for different fandoms, but almost everything I got this time was Yuri on Ice, so I’m putting it all in one post.

And I must say... I got a bunch of stuff.  Because DAMN is YoI stuff cheap right now!  Most of what you’re about to see, minus the doujins, was a dollar.  The YoI stuff wasn’t all out in the open, happily labeled like it was this time last year, but with a little digging, this is what I found.  I’m not happy my fandom is in a slump, of course, but it certainly made my money go a LOT farther than it did on previous trips.  So, without further ado, my haul:

As usual, keychains/buttons first.

I’m sure I bought a few duplicates that I already have, but... literally most of these were a dollar, so I went crazy.  Again, selection was really limited since the fandom is in hibernation, but I got some cute ones.  I found a lot of stuff from the Ooedo Onsen event in 2017 for whatever reason... sometimes one person will sell a lot of their merch at once (for instance, one store I went to had an inordinate amount of Guang Hong stuff, clearly someone got rid of their collection), but I saw the Ooedo Onsen stuff at multiple stores, so I don’t know.  Must have been a popular event.

There was a LOT of side character stuff.  Not too surprising that the podium family was a little more picked over.  But I love all my skaters... especially Chris.  Chris merch is the funniest merch.

Here are a few collections I managed to make, shopping around.  As well as a Miracle on Ice program book, which was a nice find.  I have most of the magazines by now, and programs from events are always fun to collect.  I definitely overpaid for the puffy Victor head, but... when something’s in a blind box, I must buy it.  I’m paying for the experience of finding out what’s inside!  Especially since I can’t read Japanese, so I REALLY don’t know what I’m getting.

And here are a few of the ULTRA rare characters!  (...except for Victor and Yurio there, they just matched the other keychain so I threw them in here.) The two Emils were, obviously, blind boxes, otherwise I wouldn’t have paid twice for the same button.  But I NEVER find Emil or Mila stuff.  I was super happy to add them to my collection.

Also super rare, I NEVER see unlicensed merch out in brick and mortar stores in Japan.  But I found two different sets!  I’m not sure if Japanese people don’t often buy fanmade stuff, or if they just don’t sell that kind of stuff back, but either way, I thought it was a cool discovery.  Even if Makka on the pole makes me a little uncomfortable.

Okay, this is the all the keychains.  So that blind box on top is what the stores would have put on display and should have all ten keychains in it, though I haven’t actually opened it yet.  I got it for 1250 yen, and later saw the Yurio one alone for 950 yen at a different store, so I think I got a pretty good deal.  I’m not super into plushies, but Victor here was too cute to pass up.  And then there’s a store I always hit up at Nakano Broadway that has Nendo splits (which I LOVE). I don’t know what character the samurai-pirate body is from, but it seemed like it could be a cool dressup thing. Yurio’s body was only 550 yen, so I figured that’s a really good price in case I ever lose a hand or something.  Or alternatively... someone could go twinsies with him in a future comic?  Hmmm...

A few clear files and a bath mat. ...place mat?  Idk, it’s got a rubber backing.  If you’ve looked at my past merch hauls, you know your girl’s into weird merch, so when there’s a YoI bath mat for 500 yen, I’m grabbing it!  No idea where I’ll use it, but I own it now.

I love having doujins, even if I can’t read them.  The top picture is all from one artist, along with the newest issues of Victor, Yuuri, and their child of indeterminate gender (I know it’s a boy, don’t @ me) that I was missing.  Most of the doujins are all age ones because I prefer to read about the 18+ stuff in fanfiction rather than seeing it in art (just a personal preference), but I did buy a few R-18 ones too.

And finally, a few non-YoI items.  Sadly, I didn’t find much Digimon stuff, but what I did find definitely fulfilled my weird merch desires.  I think that’s a wallet, but it looks and feels like the little folder your waiter brings your check in.  So I guess now I can open a restaurant.  I colored the Mothra button at our hotel and I can’t wait to use the Pikachu mask.

Hope you guys enjoyed it!  If you want to see how much money I spent on YoI last year, you can look at my Spring and Fall 2018 merch haul posts.  

[mysticdragon3md3]

Good Smile is having a free shipping sale on a big portion of their “Available Now” products. (That’s their figures in-stock right now. You don’t have to wait for later release dates, like a preorder that comes before production.  They can ship it right away, as soon as the order is placed.) 

And I was tempted to buy something.  Especially if they’re leaning their sales of pre-existing stock, so they don’t have to send their figure production workers to the factories during this quarantine.  If they’re relying on their in-stock sales to make up for whatever revenue they’ll lose for slowing down production for the quarantines, then I kind of want to buy something just to support Good Smile.  But I am committed to buying all the Persona 5 Nendoroids and Figma (except Akechi), and 1 or 2 Pop Up Parade figures.  Every time I think about buying a figure or placing a preorder, that’s money that could be going to a Persona 5 figure.  So I’m “window shopping” instead.  ^^;;;

There is A LOT of good stuff in the sale selection.  I know, because I bought a lot of those figures already.  ^.^  KanColle, Haikyuu, Nendoroid More sets, the Persona 5 Piyokuru set, etc.  I was hoping to find Nendoroid Beam Kirby, but no luck.  There are some figures I’ve wanted but passed up before.  

Like Libeccio.  She comes with a really cute alternate body that’s a jack-o-lantern Halloween costume, and her turrets are also dressed as jack-o-lanterns and a ghost!  She even has a bag of candy!  For people whose favorite holiday is Halloween, like me, it’s been painful to pass her up each time.  But honestly, I’m not into KanColle as much as I am Persona 5.  Gotta save that money for P5.  

And Saratoga is just so elegant, and I feel kind of obligated as an American to buy another American ship.  I already decided on her white dress instead of her black dress version.  I was all set to buy her, but I just can’t use my Persona 5 budget on another KanColle.  And if I get her, then I just have to hunt down Gambier Bay, who I also wanted, not just as an American, but also because she has this cute genki, clutzy energy.  But I can’t commit to 2 KanColle and give in to my completionist tendencies.  

Then there’s Nendoroids Lucifer/Lucy, Tomo, and Ii-chan.  I’m not familiar with their series, but they’re beauty pieces.  I always liked Lucy’s stunning wings, but also the boldness of her color scheme.  Tomo just has hair colors I like, her outfit has an elegant beauty, and her bare feet are rare and will come in handy when I shoot beach scenes.  And though I haven’t seen Tomo and Ii-chan’s movie, if I get Tomo, then I have to get Ii-chan.  

The Christmas outfits are both sets I already have, but sometimes I think about getting duplicates, so I can shoot group photos of more than just one male and one female in Santa outfits during the holidays.  

Rin & Wooser are another set of figures from a series I haven’t seen, but her jacket is so versatile, and she’s so cheap, I’m always tempted to get her.  Her price, reminds me of back when the average price of Nendoroids was $35 instead of $50.  And yet, she’s still $25.  *o*

There’s actually a lot of other figures in the Good Smile Shop’s “Available Now” section, that isn’t included in the free shipping sale, but is still a great selection.  Like both Nendoroids and Figma for both Ryuji Sakamoto and Yusuke Kitagawa are still available.  When I saw that and the Persona 5 Piyokuru set all in the “Availalbe Now” section, I was afraid that not enough people had bought Good Smile’s Persona 5 figures.  If people don’t buy enough P5 figures from Good Smile, Good Smile will think demand for P5 figures is too low for them to produce more.  And I was really waiting for more P5 Nendoroids to get announced, hopefully in their school uniforms.  Especially when Ryuji’s and Ann’s first Nendoroid faceplates were kind of disappointing.  I mean, they’re fine.  But I had to customize Ryuji’s blank stare faceplate to give him his characteristic sunny grin!  And I KNOW Good Smile knows that sunny grin is indicative of Ryuji, because they gave his Figma TWO of Ryuji’s characteristic sunny smiles!  And Ann’s winking expression is nice, but it limits the angle I can display her face for photos.  Because if her winking eye is towards my camera, she looks more like she’s blinking than smiling or especially looking towards something.  And I don’t know if this bothers anyone else, but her smile in that winking faceplate, looks odd from a distance.  They gave her bottom lip emphasis and a wider, asymmetrical smiling line, but I would have preferred a more standard or subdued smile.  Just something that looks more unmistakably like a smile.  Especially at the small scale Nendoroids have, and with my lack of a macro camera lens, Ann’s current only smiling faceplate, often seems like she’s sticking out her tongue and not quite smiling, except at juuuuust the right angle.  And sometimes a shot get harder with those limitations.  I just really hope Good Smile was planning to make school uniform Persona 5 Nendoroids all along, and that’s where they were saving the more typical Nendoroid smiles for.  I hope.  But if P5 figures don’t sell well, even if they were planning more, they’ll have to just scrap those plans.  So when I see a lot of P5 figures in their “Available Now” stock, that essentially means that was leftover stock that didn’t sell.  Was P5 not in as much demand as I had expected?  As Good Smile had expected?  ;o;???  Then I realized that P5 is very popular right now, and everyone knows it.  SO MANY companies are doing collaborations with Atlus for P5 cross-overs and merch.  It’s more likely to assume that in anticipation for the high demand for P5, Good Smile probably ensured they produced an insane amount of stock for their P5 figures.  So this extra isn’t a sign that P5 didn’t sell well for them.  It’s a sign that they were well prepared for the demand.  Maybe a little too-well prepared, but hey, better than not.  ^-^  I hope to see announcements for P5 school uniform Nendoroids at upcoming Wonder Festivals.  *____*

[trapangeles]

Why you need physical music formats in 2022 and how to sell it.

"RIAA, the Recording Industry Association of America, reported that in 2021 CD sales increased by 47.7% and vinyl sales saw a 67.3% jump from the previous year. These numbers are mostly for major label releases, but according to multiple manufacturers of CDs and vinyl records for independent artists, they have seen substantial growth the last few years as well. This tells us that music fans obviously want physical formats of music.

Listening to music via a physical format is a completely different experience than streaming an mp3 from your phone. You get to take the CD or vinyl out of its sleeve, put it on and read the liner notes and look at the artwork and photos while listening to an album in its entirety, as the artist intended.

After two years of pandemic lockdowns, some of us are starting to feel a glimmer of hope that gigs and tours will soon return to their pre-pandemic stages. With that comes the biggest opportunity for independent artists to sell physical formats of their music and merch. When people are at your show, all amped up and excited to finally be out to see live music, they want the experience to last, to take a little bit of it with them home. This is where the money is for indies.

To simply make minimum wage as an artist you need to sell 1,450 CDs with a $10 profit margin in a year, or get 2,900,000 streams on Spotify. Which do you think is easier to achieve?

Now, selling one thousand four hundred and fifty CDs might seem like a lot, however, when you're gigging, you can also offer vinyl records, T-shirts, and all sorts of other merch.

Here is how you sell more merch at your shows in 4 simple steps:

1. Location, presentation, organization & illumination

Set up your merch table in a high traffic area, close to the exit, bathroom or bar. When more people walk by your table several times during the night, you increase your sales potential. Display part of it on stage, even.

Make it look nice and keep it organized. It should be easy for you or whomever is manning your table to find the right sizes of shirts, more CDs, LPs, and stickers, etc. Don't make customers wait unnecessarily while you rummage through a pile that looks like dirty laundry. Your merch table is a store. Make it one where people would want to shop. Use lights when you can to illuminate your display. Hang up your T-shirts. Display your prices clearly to make it easy for fans to see.

2. Announcements from stage

You have the mic, so use it to your advantage. Several times during the show tell people that you have merch for sale and point out where it is set up. Be specific and say things like: "This next song is from our newest CD that you can buy at our merch table for only $10". Point out audience members, bartenders and other staff that are wearing your T-shirt. (Give some out for free before the show to make sure this can happen.) Invite your audience to come hang out with you at the merch table after the show.

3. Accept credit cards

It is 2022 and there is no reason why you shouldn't be able to accept credit cards. You get free card readers for your smartphone from Square and the fees are rather nominal. It is better to make 97.4% of something than 100% of nothing from the people that don't have cash on them.

4. Man the table

Make it a priority to hang out at the merch table before and after your show. During your show, have someone man the table. If you can’t yet afford to tour with a crew of any kind, maybe you have a dedicated fan that can run the table for you while you play.

For independent artists, releasing music in physical format and selling music and merch at shows, can be a generous revenue stream. Making sure to maximize every opportunity is critical to keeping the band on the road."

Need your music on CD’s? Check out our Cd Duplication Packages Below!

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[isuckatthisdonti]

Ok so the deal is they have 2 separate lotteries: the “luxurious one” and “normal one”.

Luxurious one

-https://collection.rakuten.net/collection/danganv3_premium/index.html

-Costs around $50 ( 5400JPY ) per ticket.

-S Prize: A life-size acrylic standee of a V3 character of your choice.(Probability of winning is 1/100 tickets) it’s day 1 of the lottery and i think 2 people won so far. (that i know by searching on twitter)

-A Prize: A tote bag with the characters wearing kimono printed on. there are 3 different types. it’s by random and you dont get to choose. (all-girls version/all-boys/all the characters) (Probability is 9/100 tickets) 

-B Prize: A large standee-pin of a V3 character. Blind-bag style so you don’t get to choose who you get. (Probability 90/100 tickets)

Normal one

-https://collection.rakuten.net/collection/dangan_v3_2/

-Costs around $5 ( 540JPY ) per ticket. much more reasonable compared to above. 

-S Prize: A canvas art of a random(blindbag) V3 character on the left, and you get to choose a character to go with on the right. (ie if i win a canvas with ouma on the left i could tell the staff that i want a keebo on the right and i get a canvas art with ouma and keebo :) ) (Probability of winning is 1/100 tickets)

-A Prize: A blanket with a character printed on. there are three types: Akamatsu, Saihara, and Ouma. (the top 3 character popularity poll characters) (Probability 5/100 tickets) 

-B Prize: A square v3 student death portrait pin. Blind-bag style. (Probability 94/100)

and among the people who bought over 20 tickets are automatically entered into a raffle where 3 lucky people win a cool keebo poster. this. this is what i want. so goddamn badly. but there’s only 3 winners.......the chances are so close to none im crying. i still tried tho. no matter how much tickets you buy you only get entered once so its not like i can raise my chances by continuously buying 20 tickets..... ;_; 

 since almost all of the prizes are random/blindbags, people tend to make deals online to trade with the same item but with diff characters. man i wish i was in japan so i can join them in trading;;;; i have so much tsumugis and 0 shingujis lol how!!! also id like to trade my duplicates to get more keebo or oumas. :/ 

anyways so far i have: 

Luxurious Lottery: 

I bought 2 tickets. got: 

Akamatsu B Prize large standee pin x1

Gonta B Prize large standee pin x1

So no life-size keebo acrylic standee....    :(  awh.

kinda expected this tho. 1/100 is...damn. 

Normal Lottery:

I bought 40 tickets because I’ve been saving up for this event plus imma dumbass and going to skip lunch for the next month or two. Witness my results: 

Prize A Blankets:

Akamatsu x2   heck yeah

Prize B Death Portrait Pins:

Akamatsu:  x5  my girl

Amami: x2

Iruma: x2

Ouma: x3   i am blessed

Keebo: x3   i am very very happy

Gonta: x2

Saihara: x2

Tsumugi: x6   !?

Tenko: x3

Toujou: x1 

Maki: x2

Hoshi: x1

Momota: x4  boss! 

Yumeno: x1

Angie: x1

and so 40 tickets and 0 shinguuji death portraits lol. is he actually not dead? haha

i got heck ton of tsumugis tho 

haha look at my collection list. shinguuji is the only one blacked out bc i dont have him: 

i might end up sell or do a giveaway of some of the duplicate portrait pins i got. :/ (emphasize on SOME. Not all my duplicates)

if selling: orginal price(540JPY or around$5 via paypal) plus shipping fee(from me to you, the international shipping fee im paying to get them over here from Japan will not be included). First come first serve-isk deal from the day I announce how many I’m okay with saying goodbye.

if giveaway: will be a raffle style by character. It’ll probably only be a few that I’d actually do this(bc money...💦) so pls don’t get your hopes up too high 

either way you need to promise not resell to make profit.(raising the merch price and sell to make money is a big taboo in the japanese community) you better want it for real and be comfortable telling me a name and address i can use for shipping purposes. 

Well i wont physically have them until May (they ship around end of April) soooooo ill think about it and make a decision by then.  

Hope you doods are having a great week. It’s raining a lot where I live. Very exciting stuff. Stay safe.

DRV3 Official Merch Lotteries from Rakuten

So…..Has anyone entered the Danganronpa Lotteries yet???????  I sure did. and…well… i guess i did okay? i did NOT win the life-size acrylic standees so that’s a bummer….spend so much money just to get 2 metallic pins lol. dont get me wrong i love the characters and glad i got them pins(i won Akamatsu and Gonta btw), but 2 pins for a little over $100???? GOD. DAMN. IT.  I JUST WANT THE KEEBO POSTER BUT GODDAMNIT THE CHANCES ARE CLOSE TO ZERO i cant wait until i find out…. if you have no idea what im talking about:  https://twitter.com/danganronpawiki/status/1075812965335646209?s=20

[midorichan10]

Moments I have witnessed intense KnB fans in Japan

Upon request here’s my post of personal experiences I’ve seen or been in that show how Japanese KnB (mainly Akashi) fans are that you probably won’t see too often back in your home country.  *If you are one of these fans, I’m not saying stop doing it or you shouldn’t do it, but just be responsible and don’t neglect other priorities and don’t inconvenience others...and be reasonable. Also these are things I’m not used to seeing so for me it’s quite eyebrow-raising. Thanks. 

Fans with multiple and intense ita-bags (bags with character merch usually dedicated to 1-2 characters)

Many people cover every inch of their bags with badges/straps of a character and I’ve seen some intense Akashi ones. Also they many have duplicates of the same badges and I’ve seen people who have like THREE bags they take to J-world or an event.  *(I also have my own itabag and I know other Tumblr users have their own as well. And I can say, those are normal and I wouldn’t classify them as the ‘crazy’ bags I’ve seen)

Fangirl logic in Japan as said by someone in an interview: The more you spend on rare merch of a character you like the more you love them, or something. Hence why girls collect 50 duplicates or more

Girl spending over $600 on Akashi Newstyle badges

Last year they had NewStyle badges which were from a lottery/kuji at certain arcades. You could choose who you wanted so buy the time I got up to try all the Akashi ones were gone. The Akashi badges in particular were VERY expensive on auction. A two-badge set went on average at the time like $60. It would’ve been cheaper but there was this ONE girl (same girl because the username was the same) who kept BUYING THEM ALL OR WINNING ALL THE AUCTIONS. I had the auction pages saved (since I was keeping an eye on them while I was bidding) and I calculated the total of the ones she won and it went over $600....

I eventually got my own set for $90........

Also pretty sure I’ve seen the acutal girl because she had like 40 New Style badges on her bag and these weren’t common badges compared to the usual KnB ones from J-World......she also had 3 intense Akashi bags and I see her frequently..

Fans spending TONS of money to get a high rank in Cross Colors.

There is no hack or cheat people literally do spend hundreds of dollars to get a high rank for a 5 star Avatar in Cross Colors. I’ve seen the same people try one event after another so it’s not like they save up for months and then go all out. Fans do this for other game apps too like Ensemble Stars. 

Girl hyperventilating at the site of an Akashi lifesize cardboard cutout (I’m not exaggerating, she was holding up the line to take pictures)

Girl hugging a Kuroko cutout as if she was embracing him romantically and looking into each other’s eyes. (not the typical let me take a picture with him because I can sort of thing)

Fans being over the top seeing a guy in an Akashi mask/costume at J-World.

I just wanna say first of all, even his hands are gloved and since it’s a mask, he can’t talk. Think of it like Mickey at Disneyland or any other mascot

I’ve seen a girl actually trying to strike a conversation with him and all he could do was stare back and nod and gesture her to move on because she was holding up the line.

I’ve seen another girl jumping up and down in front of him showing off how she got the Akashi movie clearfile. Again not much of a reaction from him. 

When I got a picture with him, there were girls peeping at him from behind the backdrop like some stalkers.....it was really unsettling....

When he walks around J-World, he ALWAYS WITHOUT FAIL has a herd of fangirls following him trying to take pictures of him, and I know some of those girls are J-World regulars and already have a pic with him. One time the guy was going back to the staff area but they had to do one last round of pictures because the girls would’t leave him alone. 

This is probably a thing in multiple fandoms and even back at home but KnB stageplay tickets selling out within 10 min. And a lot of those tickets were bought merely to just be resold at a much higher price. And that was just for the first play.

People going to Jump Festa and sleeping overnight in line when you’re not supposed to but guess the staff allowed it anyway....I went at 3:30am so I could get a shot at the limited KnB Merch and I barely got them...

I’ll also add people buying KnB merch not even for themselves but for the sake of selling. How do I know? For example the Oreshi Puni Puni doll is limited to only two per customer and then I see on auction the same day one seller selling two of them. Unless they asked their friend to pick it up too so they could sell for money but I feel that’s still pretty bad and unfair to those who actually wanted it.Also seen people sell like 40 KnB Jump Festa keychains...which by the way sold out.  

GIrls (specifically girls) shove you and knock you over to get in line for the goods even when staff members are there demanding you line up calmly and no running. I had one girl fully jab me in my arm with her shoulder to get ahead of me. 

Last year’s Jump Festa had an exclusive Akashi wall scroll that sold out in less than 30 min despite the limit they set per person. The original price was about $32. I found one on auction for $100 and bought it right away. Sad thing is, that was the cheapest. Later when everyone else decided to put their own scrolls up for auction they went super high like $300-500 if I remember. I remember one auction it was a fight between three buyers and then it got down to two buyers and they kept outbidding each other and the auction got extended for 2 extra hours because they wouldn’t stop bidding. (Yahoo auctions only end if there are no bids in the last 5 min otherwise they automatically get extended for another 10 min). Ending price was at almost $700, or if not it WAS $700 depending on the currency exchagne rate. 

Girls trying to compete with you on how much goods you have

My friends and I were at J-World just chilling at a table resting and these two Japanese girls walk by and one of them points at my Akashi bag and shows her friend. They weren’t in my line of sight but my friends who could see them from our table said that the other girl sat down and started pulling out ALL of her Easter Akashi merch ranging from badges, straps, putting on her decked out Easter Akashi lanyard, and displaying them on their table. I was just sitting there talking and my bag was just casually on a chair because we had space for it....I wasn’t trying to start anything. And it was very clear that she had more merch than me anyway so I don’t get why it was necessary to show that she is clearly the “winner.” 

Jealous fans who won’t stop staring at you

Example of this was when my friend and I were at a KnB Cafe. There was a mini game the staff did halfway through where you try to match the same picture as them and if you’re in the top 5 (I think) you get a special sparkly holograph coaster of a random character. My friend managed to be one of the lucky ones but the coaster you get is random. My friend luckily drew the capsule that had the Akashi coaster so she gave it to me. Once someone picks that capsule the staff doesn’t put it back in the box so in other words no other winner can get an Akashi coaster. One Akashi fan across the room kept creepily staring at me after that because her friend also won a coaster but because the staff came to us first, her friend had zero chance of getting Akashi. That girl kept staring at me for awhile and it was quite unsettling....

Fans declaring they love Akashi more than anyone else

I actually saw someone’s profile on Cross Colors that said that....

Last year for Valentine’s, the Jump Store had a lottery campaign where if you tweeted a picture of a Valentine’s Card you got from them and tagged it with whatever hashtag it was, then you can be entered for a KnB poster lottery of your choice. One girl literally made an account just for this on twitter and spammed every hour a post so she could try to get the Akashi poster. Now that’s not the worst part. Each post had some sort of sentence of her declaring her love for Akashi and how she loved him more than anyone else in the world (she actually said ‘world’). How she only thought of him ever since she “met” him 3 years ago. She even jokingly said as a reference to Akashi’s phrase, “If I don’t get that Akashi poster I won’t forgive you Jump Store lol” at least I hope it was a joke. 

If you just google image search 赤司部屋 (Akashi room) you can see how dedicated some fans can be into decorating every inch of their room with Akashi merch....literally every inch....though I’ve seen rooms like that for other characters too and other series. 

You’d think fans would be happy that you like the same character as you right? Or everybody in Japan is nice? Well, sadly for Akashi fans that’s not the case a lot of the time. When it comes to showing off merch on twitter fans seem pretty chill but when it comes to actually getting the goods and in person, well.....good luck....

So that’s my report of personal experiences of crazy KnB fans within my 3 years of Japan. I really wished I was making these up but I don’t think I ever could. Here’s to hoping none of you guys have to experience these XD;

[thereviewsarein]

15 Things Music Lovers Can do While Quarantined to Celebrate Music, Have Fun, and Support Artists

For ten years in a row from 2010 to 2019, I wrote a post called the March Madness Widow(er) Survival Guide and shared tips for folks who didn’t care about college basketball but had a partner that was all the way into the madness. I was set to do the same thing this year. However, in 2020 there is no March Madness but there is a quarantine.

So, we’re shifting gears and making due by taking some of the ideas from the old series and adding in some new ideas and giving everything a new shine and creating a list of 15 ideas that you can jump into while you’re at home and not going to concerts or meet and greets or any of the other great things that we are all sadly missing.

I want to point out that we aren’t taking COVID-19 lightly by putting this post together or by keeping it lighthearted. We hope that each and every one of you reading this remains healthy and safe and is ready to rock when things get back to normal.

And we hope you keep listening to and loving music non-stop until then too!

If you’re ready, we’re ready. Let’s go!

The Music Lovers Quarantine Survival Guide

1) Listen to your favourite albums front-to-back.

We love playlists and variety and being able to bounce from artist to artist at a moment’s notice – BUT there’s still something super fantastic about putting a great album on and listening to it from front to back.

We suggest picking one or two albums per day/night and letting them play all the way through from start to finish. And if you really love it – hit play again.

If you’re having trouble choosing an album, here are four that I highly recommend. Enjoy!

2) Create playlists with friends.

You can do this a couple of ways… the important thing is there’s really no wrong way to do it.

You can start a collaborative playlist on Spotify and invite people to add songs and rearrange the order and what have you.

You can put up a post on Facebook or Instagram or Twitter asking people to recommend songs for you to add to a playlist – and then build a playlist with all of those recommended songs.

You can even get in a private group chat with friends and turn it into some sort of game where you all pitch songs to each other and make jokes and discover new songs and enjoy each other and the music.

3) Discover podcasts by musicians / about music.

There’s a podcast about everything, and usually more than one. And guess what, music is no different!

Check out these five recommendations and give ‘em a listen while you do chores or eat dinner or go for a walk or whatever else you’ve got going on. (All recommendations available on Spotify)

🎙️ Music Exists with Chuck Klosterman and Chris Ryan 🎙️ The Show (Hosts Amy Aust and Scotty Kipfer) 🎙️ Walking The Floor with Chris Shiflett 🎙️ Geeks And Beats (Hosts Alan Cross and Michael Hainsworth) 🎙️ Questlove Supreme

And stay tuned, maybe we’ll have a podcast someday!

4) Watch concerts and festival sets.

YouTube is filled with festival sets and Netflix has concert specials and really there is no shortage of awesome footage and content featuring live music and great crowds. Is it the same as being at a show live and in person? Of course not, but it ain’t bad.

5) Binge live music performance videos.

If you don’t have time for a full concert experience, go for the YouTube model of one song at a time!

If you’ve already got favourites, like when Nick Nurse joined Arkells in Toronto for Signed, Sealed, Delivered (as an example), revisit them and play ‘em loud. If you are looking for new videos, just type the artist’s name and live into the YouTube search bar and see what you get!

6) Watch live stream performances from bands on Facebook and YouTube.

Some artists who can’t be on the road at this time have started setting up live performances via live stream so that fans can still hear them play and they can show everyone their talent and energy. It’s a very cool idea that allows for live music to exist in a time when it feels like it’s been taken away for a little while.

Check out your favourite artists to see if they’ve got anything planned, and when you do see an artist you love getting ready to go live, share the stream so that other people can tune in too.

7) Order albums and merch online, directly from artist websites.

Here’s another way that you can support artists while they aren’t able to play shows and collect cheques – buy some gear.

Hit the online shops of artists you love (especially emerging and indie artists) and see what they’ve got for sale. Need some new CDs for the car? Get ‘em. Love that t-shirt design? Order now. Ooh, would that vinyl look great in your collection and sound great on your record player? Better not pass it up!

These sales are going to help a lot of bands stay afloat, pay the rent, and be prepared to hit the road when we’re able to get back to some sort of normal. We know every purchase will be appreciated.

8) Take selfies in your favourite musician merch and include the link to where you got it in your post.

Here’s a follow-up for that last one. When your order arrives (or if you’ve already got some cool merch that you love) snap a photo and tag the artist and link to their online store so that other fans see what they should be buying.

Every little bit helps get eyes on the product and the music and the artists.

9) Share stream and YouTube channel links from your favourite artists with your friends to help everyone discover new music.

This one is easy, and we highly recommend it. Whether you’ve got cash to buy some t-shirts or you don’t. Whether you pay for Spotify or Apple or Amazon Music or you don’t. None of that matters here, all you have to do is go to your favourite artist’s website and copy the link to their YouTube or Spotify channel and then put that in a Facebook post or a Tweet and tell other people it’s awesome and that they should listen.

Heck, you can pick a new artist and do it every day. Challenge your friends too. No duplication, get as many recommendations out into the world as possible!

10) Read a music book.

Reading doesn’t always come to mind when we’re talking about music, but when you need a quiet moment or you’re getting ready to go to bed, etc. a good book is still hard to beat.

Check out these music-related biographies and autobiographies and a book about Big Shiny Tunes that we highly recommend.

🎶 Reba: My Story (by Reba McEntire and Tom Carter) 🎶 It’s A Long Story: My Life (by Willie Nelson) 🎶 Waylon: Tales of my Outlaw Dad (by Terry Jennings) 🎶 Loretta Lynn: Coal Miner’s Daughter (by Loretta Lynn) 🎶 Me (by Elton John) 🎶 Life (by Keith Richards) 🎶 I, Bificus (by Bif Naked) 🎶 David Bowie: A Life (by Dylan Jones) 🎶 Feeding My Mother: Comfort and Laughter in the Kitchen as My Mom Lives with Memory Loss (by Jann Arden) 🎶 Shine: How a MuchMusic Compilation Came to Define Canadian Alternative Music and Sell a Zillion Copies (by Mark Teo)

11) Have a lip sync battle.

If you live with a roommate or a partner or you’ve got great neighbours (and nobody is sick), get some snacks and drinks out and have a Lip Sync Battle.

You need like 4 things to pull this off.

1. YouTube or Spotify ready to play the songs. 2. Open and clear space for performances. 3. Some time for participants to choose songs and prepare themselves. 4. Two or more willing players.

Have fun!

12) Watch some music documentaries.

There are some amazing music docs out in the world and available on streaming services if you want to watch them (and you should).

Here are 10 suggestions that you can watch on Netflix or Amazon Prime Video in Canada. (as of March 15, 2020)

🎵 Woodstock, Three Days That Defined A Generation * 🎵 Gaga: Five Foot Two * 🎵 Miss Americana * 🎵 27 Gone Too Soon * 🎵 Homecoming, A Film By Beyonce* 🎵 A Fat Wreck ^ 🎵 Sound City ^ 🎵 Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Runnin’ Down A Dream ^ 🎵 Slash: Raised on the Sunset Strip ^ 🎵 Jonas Brothers, Chasing Happiness ^

* = Netflix ^ = Amazon Prime Video

13) Have a solo dance party.

Pour a glass of wine or mix a drink or grab a beer and turn up some awesome 80s jams or put on Dance Mix ‘93 or whatever makes you move – and dance like no one’s watching. Because they aren’t. Because we’re all in quarantine.

14) Discover new music.

Check out the new release playlists on your favourite streaming services, look for recommendations from friends and social media, just keep your eyes and ears open for new songs and artists that you just might fall in love with.

15) Take care of yourself and the people around you.

Be smart. Be safe. Stay healthy. Don’t take risks that you don’t need to take. We’re in a difficult time with a lot of uncertainty and fear and anxiety and questions – and that is a crappy recipe, but it’s what we’ve got. And while it can be tempting to pretend that we’re immune or invincible or get all YOLO in a situation like this, we hope you do your best to just follow the recommendations of the people who know what’s going on (as well as anyone does) and stay safe and keep vulnerable people safe at the same time.

Thank you.

The Music Lovers Quarantine Survival Guide 15 Things Music Lovers Can do While Quarantined to Celebrate Music, Have Fun, and Support Artists…