There is always so much you can buy at any anime convention. There are actual companies selling merchandise and along with local artists selling their own works. You can probably buy anything at a convention.
You want a wall clock that lights up and looks like Harley Quinn? Yep, you can get that at a convention.
You want a body pillow of Benedict Cumberbatch? I've seen several!
You want a phone charm that looks like a tentacle? I've already bought three in different colors.
You want a beer stein that says "DeanXCastiel OTP Forever"? Only at a con!
But the problem is that all that stuff costs money. Like a lot of money. The light up clocks are priced around $70. Body pillows usually go for at least $30. The tiny handcrafted phone charms are like $6 a piece. And you don't even want to know how expensive the beer stein is. Separately, they seem pretty reasonable. But how could you go to a convention and only buy one thing?
Limiting your purchases at a convention is probably one of the hardest things you can do (especially if you're one of those impulse buyers that buy into every raffle they see). But unless you want to end up broke at the end of the weekend, you HAVE to do it. There's a lot of money already being spent on your costume and your ticket into the convention (not to mention possible gas and hotel fees) so you really need to try not to go over budget when buying souvenirs.
Here's a few helpful steps on how to not overspend at a convention:
1. Make a list of your desired souvenirs before hand. This means GET THERE EARLY!
When I first enter a con, the first thing I look for is the Dealer's Center. There's always SO much stuff in there that you might end up getting lost or not even noticing a vendor's booth! I like to walk around and just look at everything to see what's there. I never buy something on the first day (unless its a limited edition/rare item). There are bound to be vendors with the same merchandise so it's good to make notes on which one's have the lower prices and where they are located. The Artist's Alley is the next place you want to hit and make sure to really look at everything since every piece there will be different.
2. Plan out your expenses and only take the money you need for that day.
Now that you have a bit of an idea of what you want to buy, you can prepare a plan for yourself. Figure out which items you want the most and which items are the most pricey. The items that are more pricey should be left until Sunday when many artists hold sales and it is easier to haggle with the dealers (note: do NOT haggle with artists). If you think an item will run out by Sunday, buy it on Saturday. Try to divide up your desired souvenirs between the remaining days of the convention and then add up the cost of the souvenirs for those days. Only take the money necessary for those days and those items.
3. Set your souvenir money aside from your food/gas money. (Or: Acquire a very nice, rich friend who will buy you food)
There have been way too many times where I've accidentally used my food money on an impulse purchase. I like to use separate wallets to hold my souvenir money and food money so I can't "accidentally" use the food money to buy an extra souvenir.
And there you go! If you follow those steps, you should definitely be able to manage your spending habits!
-René
