**This article is written sans opinion, this is just information on a topic I found interesting.

The past couple of weeks, I have seen some social media posts from conventions clarifying their autograph rules specifically around Funko Pops and the Japanese guests of these conventions. I didn’t pay much attention as these conventions were not ones located in Arizona but with the recent announcement of Yoichi Masukawa (Rock Lee from Naturo) appearing at next month’s UwU Con, I saw the following:

 

I’m not a Funko collector or someone who usually get guest autographs so I was a little unsure what “Window” autographs were. These are blank windows removed from a Funko Pop box to be signed. Autographer seekers will apparently get a blank window signed to be attached a Funko Pop box at a later time. This request came from the representation of the guests according to the UwU Con’s Instagram post.

So what’s the big deal? Why are guests and conventions placing rules around autographs with Funko Pops?It has to do with autograph seekers looking to make a profit off the vinyl figure. Several conventions have taken measures to reduce the amount of these flippers/resellers (however you want to identify them). At Otakon this past August, this white board  was posted in the autograph area outlined the rules for Funko Pops.

The personalization of the autographs is a big deterrent for flippers/resellers as they signature is made out to a specific person. These individuals will try to get the guests to use a specific type of pen to sign, one that is much easier to remove the personalization of the autograph.

Otakuthon, anime convention in Canada, had a Funko Pop autograph fee that started at $200 for most of their Japanese guests. These some times rare appearances by Japanese guests are experiences that conventions want both attendees and guests to enjoy and remember. These rules are being put in place to deter groups of resellers/flippers from clogging up lines and there have been plenty of complaints across social media.

There are a few examples such as this reddit thread, this thread on the Otakon message board, or this Twitter post about how some are getting around the rules.