If you didn't get a badge today

15 MARCH 2014



Are your nerves shot? Did you pledge your hatred and enmity against San Diego Comic-Con forever and ever? I know it's horrible to not get a badge. It's especially aggravating when Comic-Con is your thing, and you've dedicated so many summers and dollars and memories to it. And then you wind up exiled while undeserving people scream with joy about their badges.

If you didn't get a badge today, you can do the following:

  • Wait for the badge resale. People have until May 23 to turn in their badges for refunds; those badges will all go up for sale around June. It might seem incredible that people cancel and seek refunds, but they do. Life happens.
  • Contact CCI with any evidence of glitches. What I saw today: people freezing in the waiting room, people getting error messages that their Member ID was invalid, people getting bounced out of the credit card section. Let CCI know now and provide as much evidence as possible; they held a private sale for such people last year and could do that again, though it's not guaranteed.
  • Try to win a contest.
  • Ask any retailers you're close with if they'll have extra badges or need help at their booths. (Don't assume everyone has already asked; you'd be surprised at how blase retailers and industry people can be about their free badges.)
  • Remember how expensive and exhausting Comic-Con can be. Remember that most of the panels will appear on YouTube, a lot of the exclusives are easier to get from Ebay, and think of all the lines you won't have to stand in, the hotel bills you won't have to pay. You can spend that money now on a vacation that's actually relaxing.
I know none of this helps much and I'm sorry. Genuinely.

10 comments:

  1. helped me a little :) it's not the end of the world. maybe i get lucky if there will be a resale.

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    1. You have a good attitude. You're right, it's not the end of the world - but that said, I hope you score in the resale.

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  2. Annoyed with the 3 badge limit. My children got badges but I didn't. I obviously can't split up my family. What a bad system.

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    1. This has been an increasingly destructive issue. Last year I encountered several families where one member didn't have a badge at all, or one had a Preview Night badge and the rest just had Thursday and Sunday. Hopefully you can get a badge in the resale.

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  3. I heard Phoenix Comicon is the second best in the entire country right after SDCC. This is awesome, I'm lucky enough to live in AZ :D

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    1. I don't know if I'd call it the 2nd best - NYCC or Emerald City might vie for the title - but I do enjoy it. I think it's grown from a destination mostly for local kids and nerds to an attraction people are willing to travel to. Having the Mad Monster Party the following weekend should escalate that trend.

      I've heard more than a few writers and artists say they prefer Phoenix because they can spend more time talking to their fans. So there's that as well.

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  4. That's very true. I mean last year they had some of the Walking Dead cast, and Stan Lee himself attended one year. It passed NYCC in attendance, maybe that's what I was trying to say earlier lol

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    1. Stan Lee will be there Sunday this year. One thing they're good at is upping the celebrity factor each year.

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  5. Still hurt from the 3 and half hours of waiting for nothing last night (from Asia), this is comforting. Could you please explain a bit more about the retailers that may have extra badges/need help at their booth? Apparently I'm not local but do have a few friends in L.A., should I let them ask around? Which kind of retailers are we talking about here? Are they willing to offer the chance to foreigners like me?

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    Replies
    1. Any retailer who will have a booth on the floor is one category, and comic book and industry retailers is another - even if they're not going to display or sell anything at the show, they usually get passes. That said, you generally have to know them and often they won't give the badges away until the last second, when it's obvious none of their friends can use them.

      Go ahead and have your friends ask around - who knows, you might strike gold. But don't get your hopes up too high. And there's always an element of faith in these arrangements, which you may not want to risk since you'll be spending $$ on a flight. Good luck.

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