New Shipping Option

We know our international customers have been asking for faster, more reliable shipping options, and we are happy to announce that we're now offering DHL Express Worldwide Shipping.

For the next week, December 8th through Midnight on December 15th, all purchases of $60 or more will get 25% off their entire order with the code DHLinternational.  So stock up while you can!

Celebrate the Cuddliest Month of Them All... NUGTOBER!

Meet The Newest Member of the DA Plush Family!:

     The Emerald Graves are home to all manner of creature, abominable and adorable alike, but all pale before the s-nug-gliest of them all, the new Emerald Graves Nug!  To help celebrate the newest additions to our DA collection, we’re offering a slew of deals on our existing DA merchandise:

Pre-Orders, Ita-Bags, and Products of Fans!

First off, thank you! We’ve been trying something a little different the last few months by focusing more on letting you pre-order our new items online, and the results have been amazing!

We’re hearing from you in the development phases of our product creation more than ever before, getting feedback on what you like, what you look forward to next, and how much of a demand there is for all our latest ideas. This means that new products are being designed faster, which means even more cool stuff for you! It also means we’re making enough for everyone, and not seeing the issues we’ve had in the past of limited-run items being understocked. The pre-order system is helping us produce more new products than ever before, and we truly couldn’t be happier with the results.

Our latest pre-order is the new Gold Ita-Bag, a product designed with your direct feedback in mind. It’s beautiful, universal for any fandom, and features improvements that you the fans asked for. Production will begin once we hit 200 pre-orders, and based on the success of the Galaxy Ita-Bag, we’re confident we’ll hit that. But by putting a minimum number of pre-orders needed, we can be sure that we’re still on the same page as you and making the kind of high-quality merch fans actually want.

Pre-orders have been vital in helping us know what’s important to you, and how much of any given item we should make. As we use our pre-order system to determine what we produce, please understand that also means we’re only going to make stuff we know you want, and we won’t produce high quantities if pre-order numbers indicate there’s no interest. If there’s something you want, it’s important that you pre-order, because otherwise there’s no guarantees you’ll be able to get one later!

Thank you for helping us make the kind of merch that you’re excited to own and show off to your friends. With your feedback and support, there's even more great stuff to come!

A little bit more about Sanshee

Hello everyone! We’ve talked a lot about events coming up and new items launched but today I wanted to talk about something a little different.

In our About Us section on the website, you can read a little bit about how the company got started and how we’ve grown. Our story is a little bit different from some of the larger companies out there - we’ve never had outside investment, we’ve never done fundraising for the initial start of the company, and we effectively own ourselves.

What the About Us section doesn’t go into huge detail on is what really makes this company special. Sure, we started out as an artist alley table and built our way up from there, but there’s a lot that goes into the company itself.

Who is Sanshee?

Sanshee originally started with a few different owners. Now, it’s down to two co-owners, with about 8 full-time employees based out of Seattle, WA. If you’ve read the About Us, you know we used to be based in Massachusetts. Why’d we move, you might wonder. Well, aside from the cold weather and interesting driving practices of folks in Massachusetts, it really wasn’t a good place for any of our employees. The office wasn’t located near anything, we were about an hour out of Boston which made attending conventions rough, and to be honest, not a whole lot of people wanted to apply for jobs in the middle of the woods. So, we moved to Seattle.  

When I buy a product, where does my money go?

I think a lot of people don’t understand how much money it takes to create a product. Without getting into all of the details and nitty gritty that NDAs cover, there’s a few things to consider when you look at the price of a product and think “wow, that’s pretty high.”

 To give you an idea, here are some expenses that all companies will have to pay. This list is not all inclusive, but it does give you an idea:

• Rent for the building your office is based in - rent in cities is often extremely expensive, but why do so many companies have their HQ in expensive areas? Well, it’s extremely hard to hire people who live further away from the city or densely populated areas. For example, when we tried to hire in Massachusetts, just an hour out of the city and just ten minutes away from Worcester (another large city) we would sometimes only get 5 applications for a job. In Seattle, we get over 200.
• Supplies, internet and internal equipment - Your employees need computers, they need keyboards, mice, printers, printer ink, paper, labels, boxes for shipping, art programs, tablets, etc. These items add up quickly.
• Payroll - payroll isn’t as simple as just a flat $X per hour, either. If you use a payroll service, fees go into that per employee.
• Insurance - insurance comes in many forms and depending on your type of business, it can get pretty costly just to have the base level.
• L&I and other state mandated costs - If you have employees, you end up paying the state for various things. For example, there are different rates paid for if an employee is strictly on their computer, or if they touch boxes, or if they do different sorts of tasks.
• Accountant fees - someone to balance your books and make sure money going in and money going out matches up. This is time consuming and expensive, no matter how you slice it.

Specifically regarding Sanshee, however, there are some other fees that people don’t take into account.

• Royalties - When you purchase a product from Sanshee, not all of the money goes toward us. We pay a sum or a portion of each sale toward whichever IP the item is from. For example, when you purchase a plush, a percentage of the money you pay goes back toward whoever created the game. That’s great for big IPs and games, but it’s even better for small ones.
• Minimum guarantees - Sometimes, companies will require you to place a set amount of money down to obtain a license (that is, the right to create, sell and market the products you create for a game/show).
• Item creation - it’s not as simple as drawing a picture, sending it off to a manufacturer and then receiving 1000 of a product, unfortunately. There’s the cost of the artist’s time to design the product, the cost of a sample (usually around 100 bucks per sample regardless of product), the cost of setting the machine up to manufacture it, the cost of revisions (some products can go through 10 rounds of revisions. At 100 bucks per sample + artist time, it adds up!), the cost of paying people to set the product up online, to write the copy, to get photographs done. There’s even more that goes into this, but a single item is extremely expensive to make, once all the parts and pieces add up and that’s before you even sell a single item.
• Booth, hotel, flight, food, and pay for employees. Sanshee differs from quite a few companies that attend conventions in that we believe strongly that if you do something for us, you deserve to get paid.  We do not do “volunteer” work where you get a 40 dollar badge for a weekend and then work the convention for us. Conventions are back-breaking work. They’re long hours, lots of customer interaction and a ton of lifting, walking and generally exhausting work. On top of that, there are state required fees for each employee depending on the state you’re in. Some companies opt to do this themselves, but others tend to use an HR service that handles the hiring/paperwork of an employee. Something to note, though - in general, if you’re paying an employee a wage, there are several dollars of additional fees that go on top of it. So if you pay an employee 15 dollars an hour, they’ll generally see 12-13 but a company will usually pay anywhere from 17-19.  
• Insurance - Not just the sort of insurance you’re required to carry as a business, or that each individual con may require you to have, but actual insurance for your employees. Every full time employee at Sanshee has nearly the highest level of health insurance that we can provide through our insurance company, but not just that - Sanshee pays 100% of the cost for our employees’ insurance. With things how they are right now (and without getting into politics) Sanshee firmly believes that our people deserve to be taken care of in whatever ways we can.
• Events, donations, non-profit assistance, other work - Sanshee has tried to up its focus on charities, events and other work that is important to us. Whether it’s donating a portion of proceeds to charities that we feel strongly about, or hosting events like Thanksgiving/Friendsgiving, Christmas, TV watch parties, or Kirkwall con, our intent is to be extremely integrated into the community. While some of these things are paid for out of our own pockets, a lot of this is made possible with company space, time and money.

This isn’t even a full picture of the costs of operating a business and what goes into making products for the IPs that we love, but I hope that it helps people better understand why prices are the way they are.

There’s one more thing I’d like to talk about and that’s Sanshee Originals. This name is pretty broad and will be encompassing a lot of different products, features and collaboration work with our community. Some of it I can’t talk about just yet - we’re still in the paperwork phase. What I can say is that Sanshee’s taken a huge risk with creating its own original merchandise, not just creating merch for our IPs. There’s no established audience for it, there’s no data for it, there’s nothing but all of us getting together and creating items while thinking I’d love to see this out in the world. Your support of any of our products is huge and every single purchase - no matter how large or how small - helps us immensely. It pays bills, it pays employees and it keeps us making the kinds of merchandise that we want to see and that we hope you love to buy.

Our intent with making merchandise is the same as it’s always been - make cool merchandise that we love, our clients love and that we hope you love. I hope you continue to support us and I can’t wait to see what the next few months bring!  We’ve got a lot of exciting announcements coming up and I hope you guys are just as excited as we are.

Happy Pride Month! Celebrate with us with pins and parades!

Here at Sanshee we’re excited about June for a few reasons. One, of course, is that the weather is slowly clearing up - there’s sun during the day, longer hours, and the ice cream shop is open down the way for mid-day ice cream. Second, and more importantly, is that June is Pride Month across the country. While not officially recognized everywhere, it’s a part of the lives of much of Sanshee’s staff and this year, we wanted to do something a little more than just celebrate on our own.

In 2017, we’ve shifted our focus to try and reach out to local communities and support them where we can. We’ve done sales and charity events to benefit AbleGamers, ACLU, Seattle Animal Shelter and more. This month, we wanted to focus on something else that’s important to us and what better time to do so than Pride?

 Up for preorder today is a pin designed by Chad Gowey, with a portion of every sale going to Gay City: Seattle's LGBTQ center! 

It is a pre-order item with a minimum goal of 200 units; if we are unable to reach this goal, the pins will not go into production and all pre-orders will be refunded, so we hope you'll take the opportunity to pre-order and tell your friends!

Another way we want to try and be more involved with the community is the Seattle Pride Parade. In the past, members of Sanshee staff have attended Pride on their own, but this year one of the things that we felt important was going a step further. We’re proud to announce that Sanshee is participating in Seattle’s Parade on Sunday, June 25th at 11AM. We’ll be marching in the parade for the entirety of the day and then out and about in downtown Seattle for all the fun that Pride has to offer.

If you’ve ever been to any of our events - Friendsgiving, Christmas, or movie/TV watch days, or simply would like to come march in the parade with us, we welcome you. There are only ten spots in the parade available and it will likely require some time commitment on your part, but if you’re interested in participating, please email Sarah@Sanshee.com and we will try to work with you on it.

We also recognize that some members of the community may not be able to physically march with us due to distance, or disabilities. Unfortunately, parades aren’t always the easiest thing to participate in and while there is no easy answer, Sanshee would like to include as many people as possible in whatever capacity we can. If you’re unable to participate in the parade but would still like to support in some way, please email Sarah@sanshee.com for coordination.

We’d be happy to have folks who are local help decorate signs and tshirts and whatever else we might have. Additionally, we’d love to have a blog post after Pride listing all of the names of folks who might not have been able to participate in the marching but still supported us during it. If that is something you would be interested in, please email Sarah@sanshee.com for coordinating that as well!

If you’re local to Seattle, please consider taking a look at all the cool Pride events happening throughout the month. Here’s a link to Seattle’s Pride calendar. http://seattlepride.org/calendar/2017-06/ We encourage you to check out any events that might be happening in your areas, too!

From all of us at Sanshee, we wish you a happy Pride!

Sanshee's Saturday Morning Cartoons Event!

On Saturday, January 21st, Sanshee will be hosting a morning/day of cartoons to celebrate season 2 of Voltron releasing. Come hang out with us for a day of robots, pajamas, cereal, waffles and drinks as we watch the 2nd season of Voltron!

LOCATION:

Sanshee is located at the Prudential Building: 114 Alaskan Way S, Ste 100, Seattle WA 98104.

Parking may be difficult due to our downtown location. There are parking lots in the area and there is street parking; if possible, come early to have a better chance at something close. We are a few blocks from the Pioneer Square Station, and even closer to the Seattle Ferry.

TIME:

The event will start at 10AM PST and will end once we’re done with season 2 of Voltron.

WHAT WE WILL HAVE:

Employees of Sanshee will be bringing a variety of things. We’ll have multiple kinds of breakfast cereal (all terribly sugary and probably not healthy for you, so if you have a specific request/want please let us know in the google form in advance when you RSVP.) There will be fruit, waffles, milk, along with supplies to make mimosas, among other things. Additionally, pizza will be ordered around lunch time or so.

REQUIREMENTS:

This is an inclusive event. Sanshee will be providing nametags so you can write your preferred name on it, as well as preferred pronouns. We ask that everyone who attends this event is respectful of those who attend. We will need you to also fill out the Google doc with as many details as possible.

WHAT TO BRING:

Yourself! You can bring others so long as it is written on the Google doc, so we know how many people to expect.  Also, as this is a cartoon/morning party, please feel free to wear pajamas! Many of us will be in kigus or pajamas as the case may be, so please feel free to join us. We also ask that if you can bring a side of some kind; please feel free to and let us know in the doc what you may be bringing so we can plan accordingly. We understand if you’re unable to do so and will be providing food/drinks regardless of what is brought.

QUESTIONS:

1. I can’t have milk/can’t have sugar/have a dietary restriction! If you specify what dietary requirements you have, we are happy to accommodate as best as we can. We’ll have a variety of things in advance but knowing what to plan for will help us.
2. I don’t know anyone who will be attending! That’s fine! Most of Sanshee will be there from before it starts until a little after it opens. We’ll have nametags and will likely set something up so you can find people who have the same interests as you, too. We will be going through and introducing people to each other if they would like, so no one feels uncomfortable.
3. I can only attend for a short amount of time! That’s fine! Some of us will be spending part of the day working or doing other things with friends and family elsewhere and joining later. Please feel free to drop by whenever you can.
4. I am afraid of spoilers! We realize this might be the first time some of you have seen S2 since it will have only recently dropped. We ask people keep spoiler talk to a minimum to make sure that people who haven’t seen it are able to without being spoiled.
5. I cannot believe you’re having a Saturday morning cartoon event and haven’t mentioned a pillow fort. I know, right? Don’t worry, we’ve already started talking about how to make this happen, we take Saturday morning cartoons very seriously. 
6. I have a Voltron cosplay and want to show up in costume! YES PLEASE? If enough people A) show up and B) want to do costumes, that is totally awesome and others will happily join. Feel free to email Sarah@Sanshee.com and we can coordinate. 
7. I have a question not addressed here! Please feel free to email Sarah@sanshee.com with any questions that you may have regarding this. I’m happy to address anything that comes up.

We hope to see you there!

Sanshee is now Hiring for Part-Time Convention Staff!

Convention Staffer (Part Time)

Description

Sanshee is looking for contract workers to staff our booths at various conventions throughout the year, with a primary focus on PAX South & PAX East. Given that this is a contract position, you will be hired through a temp agency and provided a W-2 by them. However, if hired you will be working directly with Sanshee and encouraged to list us as a work reference. We pride ourselves on being a team of friendly, passionate, and hard-working folks who love our community. If you think you are a good fit for us, please review the responsibilities and requirements below!

Locations

• We are currently prioritizing PAX staff and looking for people local to San Antonio, TX and Boston, MA.
• We are also looking for people local to the following cities for upcoming shows:
• Austin or Houston, TX
• Los Angeles or San Jose, CA
• Washington, D.C.
• Raleigh, NC
• Atlanta, GA
• Chesapeake or Hampton, VA

Responsibilities

• Receive and transport boxes containing merchandise and equipment.
• Set up booth equipment and dress table(s) to display merchandise according to given instructions.
• Represent Sanshee in every interaction with customers, exhibitors, and event staff. We wish to provide a safe, positive, and inclusive space at every convention we attend, and you must be wholeheartedly committed to this ideal.
• Keep the booth neat and organized throughout the event; keep watch over all merchandise, equipment, and cash.
• Take notes and keep accurate records of expenses, inventory, etc.
• Pack all merchandise and equipment after the show and ship back to Sanshee.

Skills/Requirements

• Have at least two years’ experience in a retail/customer service position.
• Able to stay on your feet for long hours and lift up to 45lbs.
• Friendly, personable, and able to interact positively with customers.
• Passionate about games/anime/pop culture; knowledge of our licensed properties and familiarity with our products.
• Organized, detail-oriented, and able to keep accurate records in provided documents.
• Creative problem solving; able to think on your feet and adapt.

Bonuses

• Have experience working as an exhibitor at conventions.
• Familiar with Shopify Point of Sale or similar vendor apps (e.g. Square, Revel).
• Own a car and/or able to drive.

Even if you don't fit all the requirements, we encourage all who feel they are a good fit to apply!

How to Apply

Please send your resume and a brief cover letter to jobs@sanshee.com. Applicants must be available for interview via Skype/Discord/Hangouts.

Sanshee's Holiday DXRacer Giveaway!

It's been a crazy year! So we're sending off 2016 with our most exciting giveaway yet!

Thanks to our friends at DXRacer, we're giving one lucky winner their very own Performance Series OH/DJ133 chair, valued at $369 USD!

All you have to do is be follow us on Twitter and enter on the form below! That simple!

Sanshee's Holiday DXRacer Giveaway entries are open from 12/19-12/26. Must enter via the Rafflecopter widget below. Must be 18 years or older and within the US to qualify to win.

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

A Very Sanshee Holiday!

A few weeks ago, Sanshee hosted Friendsgiving at our office and unsurprisingly, it was fantastic! We had over 30 people show up throughout the day/night and tons of new friends were made.

Once more, we’ll be opening our doors for the holidays: this time for a Christmas/holiday celebration.  On December 21st, from 3PM - 9PM, Sanshee will be open and we’d love for you to join us. Much like last time, we’ll likely have Yuri!!! On Ice with a side of Monster Factory, plenty of outlets for your DS or laptop and a ridiculous amount of food.

This is open to anyone who is local to Seattle or has the ability to be here on December 21st.

LOCATION:

Sanshee is located at the Prudential Building: 114 Alaskan Way S, Ste 100, Seattle WA 98104.

Parking may be difficult due to our downtown location. There are parking lots in the area and there is street parking; if possible, come early to have a better chance at something close. We are a few blocks from the Pioneer Square Station, and even closer to the Seattle Ferry.

TIME:

Our holiday party will start at 3PM PST on the 21st and end around 9PM, most likely. We’ll probably start dinner around 6PM or so.

WHAT WE WILL HAVE:

Employees of Sanshee will be bringing a variety of foods. Depending on the number of RSVPs, there will be either turkey or ham, general holiday sides and dishes. If you are someone with dietary restrictions, please let us know in this Google doc. we will do our best to accommodate you.  Additionally, we will have a TV set up with movies and gaming.

REQUIREMENTS:

This is an inclusive event. Sanshee will be providing nametags so you can write your preferred name on it, as well as preferred pronouns. We ask that everyone who attends this event is respectful of those who attend. We will need you to also fill out the Google doc with as many details as possible.

WHAT TO BRING:

Yourself! You can bring others so long as it is written on the Google doc, so we know how many people to expect. We also ask that if you can bring a side of some kind; please feel free to and let us know in the doc what you may be bringing so we can plan accordingly. We understand if you’re unable to do so and will be providing food/drinks regardless of what is brought.

QUESTIONS:

1.    I don’t eat turkey or ham, what can I do? If you specify what dietary requirements you have, we are happy to accommodate as best as we can. Turkey or ham will be here, but we can also plan on other items for vegetarians, etc.
2.    I don’t know anyone who will be attending! That’s fine! Most of Sanshee  will be there from before it starts until a little after it opens. We’ll have nametags and will likely set something up so you can find people who have the same interests as you, too. We will be going through and introducing people to each other if they would like, so no one feels uncomfortable.
3.    I can only attend for a short amount of time! That’s fine! Some of us will be spending part of the day working or doing other things with friends and family elsewhere and joining later. Please feel free to drop by whenever you can.
4.    I have a question not addressed here! Please feel free to email Sarah@sanshee.com with any questions that you may have regarding this. I’m happy to address anything that comes up.

Just like last time, we understand the holidays can be a stressful time, but hopefully we’re able to provide a day of fun and making new friends! We look forward to meeting those of you in the community through the coming year and hope that you and yours have a wonderful holiday season.

We hope to see you there!

Sanshee's Friendsgiving!

On Thanksgiving day, Sanshee will be opening its doors to anyone in the general fandom for a community Thanksgiving. We’ve held events at Sanshee before, from Kirkwall Con, Friday Fundays, to general fun events and parties. This year, we’d like to invite you to our Friendsgiving.  While we can’t provide any sort of transportation or accommodation for you, we are happy to provide a home cooked meal, good friends, great conversation and new friends.

One of the best things about working at Sanshee is the fact that, for all of us, Sanshee is like a family. We all come from very different backgrounds and walks of life, but we come together because of a shared love of video games, anime, merchandise and general nerdery.  Many of us spend our holidays traveling to go to conventions where we can meet other fans who are as passionate about the products and licenses that we work with as we are.   

Unfortunately, not everyone is as lucky as we are to have that. The last few weeks have been a very trying time for many of us and we want to welcome everyone to come together as friends and fellow fans to make Thanksgiving a happier day for all of us.

This is open to anyone who is local to Seattle or has the ability to be here on Thanksgiving day.

LOCATION:

Sanshee is located at the Prudential Building: 114 Alaskan Way S, Ste 100, Seattle WA 98104.

Parking may be difficult due to our downtown location. There are parking lots in the area and there is street parking; if possible, come early to have a better chance at something close. We are a few blocks from the Pioneer Square Station and the King Street Station, and even closer to the Seattle Ferry.

TIME:

Friendsgiving will start at 12PM PST on the 24th, eating will begin around 3PM PST and go until approximately 8PM.  This is to ensure that A) people have a place to go at any point during the day and B) if they have other commitments, they can join at a different time. You are welcome to stay as long as this event continues.

WHAT WE WILL HAVE:

Employees of Sanshee will be bringing a variety of foods. Depending on the number of RSVPs, there will be turkey, general Thanksgiving sides and dishes, and - of course - pie. If you are someone with dietary restrictions, please let us know in this Google doc. we will do our best to accommodate you.  Additionally, we will have a TV set up with movies and gaming.

REQUIREMENTS:

This is an inclusive event. Sanshee will be providing nametags so you can write your preferred name on it, as well as preferred pronouns. We ask that everyone who attends this event is respectful of those who attend. We will need you to also fill out the Google doc with as many details as possible.

WHAT TO BRING:

Yourself! You can bring others so long as it is written on the Google doc, so we know how many people to expect. We also ask that if you can bring a side of some kind; please feel free to and let us know in the doc what you may be bringing so we can plan accordingly. We understand if you’re unable to do so and will be providing food/drinks regardless of what is brought.

QUESTIONS:

1.    I don’t eat turkey, what can I do? If you specify what dietary requirements you have, we are happy to accommodate as best as we can. Turkey will be here, but we can also plan on other items for vegetarians, etc.
2.    I don’t know anyone who will be attending! That’s fine! I (Sarah) will be there from before it starts until a little after it opens. We’ll have nametags and will likely set something up so you can find people who have the same interests as you, too. I will be going through and introducing people to each other if they would like, so no one feels uncomfortable.
3.    I can only attend for a short amount of time! That’s fine! Some of us will be spending part of Thanksgiving with friends and family elsewhere and joining later. Please feel free to drop by whenever you can. The ideal time to be there is 3PM since we’ll begin serving food, but we also have people who live close by, so we can stagger things out a little depending on when people are due to arrive.
4.    I have a question not addressed here! Please feel free to email Sarah@sanshee.com with any questions that you may have regarding this. I’m happy to address anything that comes up.

In short, the holidays can be a stressful time for a lot of people. At Sanshee, we’d like to do what we can to make it as enjoyable and inclusive as possible. We look forward to meeting those of you in the community through the coming year and hope that you and yours have a wonderful holiday season.

We hope to see you there!

• Sarah and the rest of Team Sanshee