Artist alley & merch table display checklist

You are not decorating a mood board. You are running a portable shop on a borrowed rectangle of table for one or two days.

This checklist is for independent artists and creators who sell small printed merch—acrylic charms, pins, magnets, stickers, sticky pads—at artist alley, anime and comic conventions, or art markets. It is written for solo or near-solo sellers with limited car or luggage space.

The question it answers:

How do I make small merch easy to see, buy, restock, and pack down within a limited convention table?

Half table and full table are different jobs. A half table is a density puzzle: every centimetre of surface and height is contested. A full table (often sold as a standard exhibitor footprint—commonly around 6 ft / 180 cm in US halls) gives you room for a second zone or a guest-side layout. Actual table width, depth, and display height limits are set by each show. Treat any number you read online as an example from that organiser’s handbook, not as an industry standard.

If you want pretty table photos, search for “table setup ideas.” If you want a system you can run alone with two bags of stock, keep reading.

1. Before the event: measure and confirm (about 30 minutes)

Do this before you buy another acrylic riser.

Check	Why	Decision rule
Table format (half vs full; depth)	Half tables punish wide layouts	Measure at load-in if the organiser only says “table provided”
Height and banner rules	Halls often cap risers, banners, or back walls	Read that show’s exhibitor handbook and keep a screenshot. If a handbook is silent on a point, ask staff before you build
Product mix counts	Drives how much surface you need	Count SKUs that must stay visible vs SKUs that can live under the table
Price list	Price visibility is a sales tool	One printed price card per zone (see §4)

On numbers in handbooks: some US anime and comic conventions publish exhibitor manuals with table sizes and pipe-and-drape height caps (for example, Anime Expo and San Diego Comic-Con publish exhibitor handbooks each season—see Sources). Those limits change by year and by hall. Quote the handbook you actually used, with its date. If you cannot verify a figure, use the decision rule above instead of a universal claim.

2. Table zoning: eye, hand, counter

Split the table into three depths (adjust to your table depth):

[ BACK — vertical / risers ]
[ MIDDLE — main browse surface ]
[ FRONT — price + impulse + checkout reach ]

Zone	What belongs	Goal
Back (vertical)	Banners, taller acrylic stands, hanging charms on a grid or stand	Catch the aisle without blocking your face
Middle (browse)	Primary formats in rows or trays; open one sample of each type	Touchable; clear “this is for sale”
Front (counter)	Price cards, a few impulse items, payment QR, business cards	Reduce “how much?” interruptions

Customer reach and visual blocking

Keep a conversation gap at standing height; a full-width wall of risers can hide you from the aisle.
Front-row items should be grab-able without reaching over fragile acrylic.
With two staff, a lower centre often helps; with one, bias stock and restock access to your dominant side.

Vertical vs horizontal (typical starting point—adjust to your stock)

Format	Often works better	Why
Acrylic charms / keychains	Vertical (hang or stand)	Edges and print can read better upright; less pile-up
Pins	Vertical board or card strip	Many small SKUs in little space
Magnets	Horizontal tray or shallow riser	Easy to pick up and re-stack
Stickers / sheets	Horizontal stacks + one open sample	Show the sheet, not only the wrapper
Sticky pads	Flat with a lifted front edge	Sheet count and print area are the sale

3. Format × display matrix (small hard goods)

Use this as a decision table, not a shopping list. Hardware brands are not the point.

Merch	Display move	Price visibility	Restock note	Pack risk
Acrylic charms	Hang on a grid/stand or slot into a clear stand	Hang tag or zone price card	Keep overflow in a labelled pouch under the table	Faces can scratch if stacked bare; sleeves or soft dividers help
Pins / badges	Pin board, card strips, or shallow trays	Per card or tiered price board	Re-fill from cards rather than loose bags	Metal on metal can scratch; separate
Magnets	Shallow trays or flat risers	Zone card	Stack by design in small boxes	Face scratches; film or tissue between layers
Stickers	Fan stacks + one peeled sample per design	Per design or multi-buy board	Keep backs clean	Corners bend in open air
Sticky pads / memos	Flat, front edge lifted	Per pad card	Avoid burying under charms	Soft corners crush in a tight bin

Display hardware (risers, cubes, panels, trays) is usually sourced separately from the merch itself. Choose for pack volume and breakage as well as looks. Acrylic risers often need corner protection in transit.

4. Price visibility (without clutter)

Pattern	When it tends to help
Per-item hang tags	Few SKUs, higher unit price
Zone price board	Many SKUs in the same price band
Tiered board	Volume offers (“3 for …”)
QR + short menu	You also take custom orders or sell online

Working habits many sellers use (not laboratory-tested sightlines):

Put price where it can be read before the buyer has to ask.
Keep one payment QR at the front edge; do not bury it under stock.
If the same price question repeats, the sign may be the problem.

5. Under-table inventory and solo restocking

Example under-table map (adapt to your bins):

[ BIN A: top sellers by design ] [ BIN B: second tier ]
[ packing sleeves / bags ] [ cash belt · tape · markers · backup QR ]

Practice	Why it helps
Label bins by SKU	Restock stays fast under pressure
Keep one open display set + sealed overflow	Display stays full; overflow stays clean
Restock on a rhythm (timer or every few sales)	Avoids a half-empty table at peak hours
Soft sleeves on hand	Protects acrylic while re-hanging

Solo rule of thumb: if restocking means walking away and leaving the table unattended, rethink the under-table layout.

6. Scratch, edge, and transport protection

Small hard goods are often damaged in bags of bags, not on the table.

Risk	What sellers usually do
Face scratches (charms, magnets, acrylic stands)	Individual sleeves or tissue; avoid bare-face stacking
Edge chips	Corner protectors on stands/panels; avoid dropping bins on corners
Bent stickers / paper	Flat boxes or stiffeners; avoid soft side pockets
Metal against acrylic	Separate compartments

This is not the same as shipping packaging to customers. For outbound parcels, see how to package custom merch. Show-day packing is about your hands, time, and vehicle.

7. Load-in → selling → load-out

Phase	Sequence many sellers use
Load-in	Table check → height rules → display skeleton → price boards → primary stock → samples → payment
Open	Walk the aisle sightline; fix blocking; confirm prices read from standing distance
Mid-day restock	Bins under table; refill fronts first
Slow hours	Tidy rows; test QR; adjust one zone at a time
Load-out	Soft-pack acrylic first → bins → flat goods → last: cash and devices

Compact packing checklist

Soft sleeves or tissue for acrylic faces
Corner protectors on stands and panels
Bins labelled by SKU
Flat rigid box for stickers / paper
Tape, spare price cards, marker
Payment backup (card + QR print)
Business cards / custom-order card

8. Printable one-page checklist

Before the show

Confirm table format (half or full) and depth
Read that show’s handbook for height and banner rules
Count visible SKUs vs under-table stock
Print price boards and backup QR
Soft-pack acrylic; corner-protect stands

Table build

Back: vertical display without a full-width wall
Middle: primary formats + one open sample each
Front: prices, impulse, payment
Sightline clear from the aisle

Selling day

Restock fronts on a rhythm
Price readable without asking
Under-table bins stay labelled

Pack down

Acrylic and stands first (soft + corners)
Flat goods rigid
Cash and devices last
Count bins before you leave the hall

9. Need stock that survives the table?

Display is only half the problem. If you are still building the merch itself—charms, pins, magnets, stickers, sticky pads, or backing cards—tell us what you sell and what table you run.

Send your product mix + table format (half or full) + event date for a production and pack plan quote. We will reply with what we can make and what stays sample-dependent—no invented MOQs.

Sources and limits

Venue rules: use each show’s official exhibitor handbook. Example publishers: Anime Expo exhibitor handbook; San Diego Comic-Con exhibitor materials (see Sources in frontmatter—verify the current season’s PDF before quoting numbers). Table sizes and height caps vary by venue and year.
Display practice in this note is operational decision logic for solo sellers, not laboratory-tested ergonomics.
OFFPRESS does not publish display-hardware MOQ, prices, or load ratings here; those are quote-specific.

Researched and written by the OFFPRESS editorial desk. General production principles are kept separate from order-specific figures — anything that depends on your job (lead time, sample cost, freight) is marked as confirmed with your quote, not stated as a blanket promise.

SOURCES & FURTHER READING