So after the pre-reg & open sales of San Diego Comic Con 2014 are done & over with, with a highly unlikely possibilities of a 3rd opportunity of one last chance to buy tickets [3rd chance after the deadline for refunds]. Time to weigh in.
Now before I proceed. I want to state that I am no official representative of comic con nor do I have any authority, nay say or official word what so ever.
These are based off facts, statistics & things to think about.
So ... in my opinion ... they should try to find a better way to compensate the ongoing growing demand of people wanting to go to San Diego Comic Con. With the San Diego Convention Center currently capped at 150k+ or so due to the fire marshal, even with the inevitable expansion, only so many will be able to buy after that.
Yes I know...the whole idea of "capitalism"..."supply & demand"...or "people who can't buy are just out of luck...why should I care? I have my ticket!"
It has been mentioned that they want to have San Diego Comic Con available to everyone, especially those who have never been.
Think of this ... during the pre-reg sales, anyone who has had a 1 or 4 day pass qualified for the 1st round of pre-reg sales earlier this year. Keep in mind...they are not selling all 150k-160k of tickets that day, you're looking at 1/4th...maybe 1/3rd at most of those set tickets being sold. Those who are lucky to have gotten their passes are either content [ or in some cases, have already listed them at a bid from what I had seen ] or if they didn't get all those days are thrown into the general open sales & the numbers of people wanting to go can only at this point be either exponential in comparison to the remainder of people looking to buy that 1 or 2 days they couldn't get this year.
The 1st couple of years of online attempts to buy SDCC online were flawed, the early bird who got the worm was rewarded & those who slept in or had bad connection inevitably didn't get their tickets.
This year was an entirely different monster. With randomization, it didn't matter if you were the 1st one there or logged in maybe 30mins later from the next guy. Granted...the whole "band together to help each other out" was cool 'n all, but its also one of those moments, where those who were already in past the randomization sorting process had let 2 other people who are still waiting in line to cut ahead metaphorically speaking by buying for them as well.
Whether you find either of these past or current methods good or bad, I'll leave it completely up to you to draw that conclusion, but it is something to think about for those who either lucked out or those who were basically out of luck when trying to buy SDCC 2014 tickets this year or any year for that matter.
A lot of the draw for many & most comic con goers are to meet that celebrity or go to that panel to their favorite show & hear what they have planned for the fall. Or that up & coming movie that they want to preview at comic con. There have been occurrences were after they got to see what they want, they'd sell their ticket on the spot to some random person walking by so they can see comic con too. [ Oh yes, there are plenty of stories of that as well. ] It is also one of the reasons why all days are sold so quickly because not all panels are announced - so when in doubt...by all the days anyways!
Some of you are thinking "Hey, after refund deadlines...there's one more chance...right?" I'd say there might be a chance but last year, they didn't even hold a 3rd sale after refund deadlines [those tickets ended up being prize/contest/give-a-ways]...so please keep that in mind that they may or may not do it.
So what can one do to be apart of it? Or how can they improve this ongoing rising demand?
I've mentioned a few before during San Diego Comic Con before & here's some insights of alternatives.
- There have been events that extend well into Downtown San Diego & the Gaslamp Quarter. You don't necessarily have to have a ticket to get into the convention if you want a chance to run into a celebrity in Downtown San Diego. This is especially good for the locals who just wanna see the chaos from the outside.
- Go onto the methods of BlizzCon etc.? Virtual tickets, simulcast ongoing panels, etc.?
- Seperate varied tickets? (one strictly for panels, the other for the sales floor/artist alley? *kinda saw that in AnimeExpo too*)
- Extend the days *has read other blog thoughts about that* to a week...maybe 2! (personally not a fan of that...)
If none of these happen, I imagine it'll be a continuous cycle of the selective lucky who get to go & the ones out of luck that may never be able to get back in.
With that being said...SDCC 2014 is still far away & those are my insights of it so far with pre-reg & open sales that happened earlier this year. Whether this has been a good or bad experience for you or looking to buy tickets somehow anyways, this is what it essentially boils down to. Congrats to those who have secured their passes & good luck to those who are looking for a 3rd opportunity to buy tickets.
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