SDCC 2011 Ticket Demand Delays Sale – On Sale Date TBA

Remember when I said that you had to be prepared to buy tickets today on Monday, November 1st at 9am PT? It seems a number of people listened. And others already knew what was going down without even consulting me. It happens. Anyway, as a result of mass geek preparedness, we effectively shut down the Comic-Con servers within minutes after they memberships went online for purchase. According to the official Comic-Con site, just a handful of passes were sold before they took the site down, due to unknown “technical issues”, likely to prevent any half-baked purchasing problems. As we well know from trying to book a hotel room each spring, once geeks hit an internet roadblock, they will repeatedly batter that roadblock until they smash through or the F5 button on their keyboard shatters into a million pieces.

Comic-Con International announced shortly after the hammer fell that they would announce the future on sale date for memberships on November 8th. That is not necessarily the date they will go on sale. That is the date they will announce (again) when the tickets will go on sale.

This is just one more example of how San Diego Comic-Con is not simply a comic book convention anymore. It’s an entirely new species of pop culture event. A person marginally interested in comics or movies can’t walk in off the street to take part in the glorious madness of Comic-Con. Only the dedicated and prepared get to join the masses each July. You can’t simply buy tickets just like you can’t simply book an affordable hotel room with a quick phone call or the click of a mouse. It’s a fight. It’s on the level of a major band or musician booking a one-time show at the biggest stadium in town. It will sell out. It’s just a matter of how fast. And as I’ve indicated in previous posts, it will likely happen the same day, if not within hours (even minutes). You don’t even know what big events and exclusives are scheduled for San Diego Comic-Con or who will show up… but you still want tickets! And after today’s troubles, you know you aren’t alone.

When the day finally does arrive, I wish you luck. Just remember a few things when buying a ticket:

1. The only real passes come from San Diego Comic-Con. Not eBay. Not Craigslist. Not some shady scalper standing alone in a dark parking garage wearing a trenchcoat and a fedora pulled down over his eyes. If you buy one from any of these places, you have very likely been scammed.
2. If you think you can buy one off a friend if you feel like going later, you’re wrong. Passes are issued in the guest’s name at the time of purchase and are verified upon badge pickup on the day they arrive at the show. Yes, you could share passes or let the named person pick up the pass and hand it off to you for an agreed price (even if that mean Biff has to wear a tag that says Susie on it all week). But if you get caught, Comic-Con is known for banning people from the event for years to come. I have a friend who suffered this fate just this year, even though he was not selling the ticket for a profit In fact, the potential Craigslist buyer worked on one of the major films featured at the event and only wanted a pass for his child to accompany him.
3. If you’re one of the folks thinking of buying the tickets just to sell them for an enormous profit, you’re out of luck (and a bit of a douchebag). You won’t be able to re-sell your ticket to someone else. Comic-Con International monitors the selling sites (eBay, Craigslist, etc), reports the posters, gets their names, and shuts them down. Hard. See item 2.
4. If it turns out that you can’t make it to Comic-Con after legitimately purchasing your membership, you can get your money back. San Diego Comic-Con offers buyers the opportunity to return the passes directly to them. And then they often make those returned passes available to the public at a date closer to the event (so all hope is not lost for the late comers!). But be aware that those re-sells go super fast, especially when they’re offered less than a month before the official event.

If you’re looking for more tips and ideas on how to navigate the increasingly treacherous waters of the San Diego Comic-Con with as little stress as possible, it’s time you grabbed my book. Yes, some of you know it all. And, yes, some of the passages are common sense (eat, sleep, bathe), but when you’re in the thick of things and you don’t have time to think, it’s good to have this 169 page pocket-sized manual in your back pocket to consult on the fly. And, of course, it helps you get all your ducks in a row leading up to the big purchasing events, like hotel on sale day, and the event itself.

And if you still think you know it all, it’s time you helped out your friends who might not be as clever as you and you really don’t have the time to write down all your wisdom for them. At $5 each, they make great holiday gifts. (there’s even an eBook version!)
Also, if you’re looking for something to hand out to the members of your geeky group or organization, we can give you a bulk rate. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions!

Again, once things get sorted out with ticketing, I wish you luck. Do not hesitate to take that day off work, go in late, or take a long lunch. When they do go on sale, you’ll need to focus on the task at hand or you won’t be going to San Diego Comic-Con. And I really want to see you there…

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