It’s the most wonderful year! No, I’m not talking about lame Thanksgiving or pointless Christmas- it’s San Diego Comic-Con badge sales this Saturday! In honor of this festive holiday, here are 9 things experienced cons nerds are doing to prepare.
1. Making sure everyone qualifies
Preregistration means this sale is only for those that purchased badges last year. Check your Member ID account if you are unsure if you qualify.
2. Don’t panic if you didn’t get the registration e-mail
Log into your Comic-Con Member ID account and click the “Registration Info” tab. The EPIC waiting room link and your personal registration code can be found there.
3. It’s a team sport
The best way to ensure a badge is to work in groups. You can buy up to 3 badges in one session and everyone must qualify for Preregistration. The purchaser needs to have everyone’s last names and Member IDs. Again, you can not buy for someone that does not qualify for preregistration. You can buy for 3 badges and not for yourself is you choose. 3 badges total. Clear enough?
4. Prepping the tech
It’s highly encouraged to use a laptop for badge sales- not a mobile device. Make sure your browser is Java & cookies are enabled. You can use Safari, Chrome, Firefox, and IE 8. Besides not hitting refresh, DO NOT use multiple browsers when trying to purchase your badge- the space time continuum will collapse.
5. Know how much a badge costs
Preview Night and Sunday for adults is $40. Thur-Sat badges are $55. Junior/Military/Senior (Jr 12 & under) are $20 for Preview Night/Thursday and $27 for Thu-Sat. Reminder that there is no ‘4-day’ badge, you must buy each day separately. The typical order of sell out is Sat, Friday, Thursday, Preview Night, then Sunday. So $245 for the whole shebang. It’s a lot but you know it’s worth it. Make sure to have your credit card info ready.
6. Be ready
While the badge sale will begin at 9a pst, you will be able to log into the EPIC waiting room by 8a. So plenty of time to get your coffee and stress out for the remaining 59 minutes. Once it hits 9a, the Skynet will randomly organize everyone in the waiting room and randomly select buyers- so it doesn’t matter when you enter the process before 9a. Whether or not you are spiritual, I would suggest praying a lot.
7. RFID technology!
There is all this talk of the new system that Comic-Con is rolling out called Radio Frequency Identification. No you won’t be able to tune into your favorite smooth jazz station but it will mean more security and quicker entry into Comic-Con. Don’t worry about it now- more about it later.
8. I’m still stressing out!
Don’t worry, Comic-Con International has a registration ‘walk thru’ page for those that feel uneasy about the process. I would suggested not to murder anyone.
9. Help is here
On Saturday, Twitter is a great way to not only get help, but find out what the progress is like for others during the sale. You can find out which days have sold out and if anyone else is experiencing technical issues. Follow me at @Crazy4ComicCon for updates- especially if you need someone to talk you down from the ledge. We’ll get through this together! Other great resources: @Friendsofcci @EnglishmanSDCC @WaywardNerd @ConSharkNews. Comic-Con’s own Toucan Blog always has great detailed info.
There you have it- the first ConFeed Original post! Let me know what your suggestions are and if you have any questions by commenting below. Good luck and may the force be with you!
And when you get your purchase confirmation email…
Crazy 4 Comic Con 