Comic-Con Desperation Setting In

devlin1 · Post by **devlin1** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 12:01 pm

Forgive me for asking, but:

Does anyone out there happen to have some miraculous way for a guy like me to get into Saturday or Sunday of Comic-Con? I'm down on my knees. I'm beggin', baby, please.

Seriously though, by the time I thought to get a weekend pass, they'd sold out -- as had Saturday passes. Now, the whole fuckin' thing's sold out, and I'm up Fuck Mountain without a tent. I've nearly exhausted my handful of so-called "connections" and now it's come to this.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Glimmers of hope cruelly snatched away by the unfeeling and capricious hand of Fate would not.

ekomega · Post by **ekomega** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 1:38 pm

Can they be sold-out completely? I doubt it.

I would suggest calling the organizers, or the convention center, and seeing how many tickets they will be selling at the door. The line will be long, but I have no doubt you will be able to get in. I don't think they've ever turned anyone away.

As for me, this is good news, because people have been pressuring me to go. I haven't gone for all these years, and now I have a good excuse not to start.

Drew · Post by **Drew** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 1:53 pm

ekomega, they are completly sold out! No one who doesn't currently hold a ticket can get one. Check out the site.

http://www.comic-con.org/

Devlin, have you checked ebay or craiglist? There are bunches for sale on ebay.

devlin1 · Post by **devlin1** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 2:08 pm

~~[quote="Drew"]~~Devlin, have you checked ebay or craiglist? There are bunches for sale on ebay.[/quote]
*sigh* That's my next reluctant stop. I'll probably end up paying far out the ass for one.

Yeah, no passes sold on-site. S'crazy, I tell you. Is this the first year they've done that? I certainly remember standing in long lines to buy a pass in years past.

Skyman · Post by **Skyman** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 2:23 pm

I may have an option but I'm waiting to hear from my resources to see if that is a go

Neuro · Post by **Neuro** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 2:25 pm

Think about this. Carefully. Completely sold out. It'll be more crowded even than last year. Last year it was so crowded as to be actually irritating. You won't be able to get into anything good without waiting for it for an age. Are you sure you want to pay that much money for this?

devlin1 · Post by **devlin1** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 2:27 pm

~~[quote="Neuro"]~~Think about this. Carefully. Completely sold out. It'll be more crowded even than last year. Last year it was so crowded as to be actually irritating. You won't be able to get into anything good without waiting for it for an age. Are you sure you want to pay that much money for this?[/quote]
DON'T CARE!

MUST GO!

GO GO GO!

devlin1 · Post by **devlin1** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 2:56 pm

Two professional four-day passes available on eBay for the bargain-basement price of $250!

Relatively speaking, that's pretty cheap.

BlanchPrez · Post by **BlanchPrez** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 3:31 pm

~~[quote="devlin1"]~~*sigh* That's my next reluctant stop. I'll probably end up paying far out the ass for one.

Yeah, no passes sold on-site. S'crazy, I tell you. Is this the first year they've done that? I certainly remember standing in long lines to buy a pass in years past.[/quote]

Yes. Last year, they closed the ticket booths on Saturday. This year, they sold out before the event itself. The convention is just so durn huge that the convention center is not bing enough for it. Personally, I think they should break it up into several smaller conventions.

I got lucky and bought my Friday only pass a few weeks ago.

Chris

devlin1 · Post by **devlin1** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 3:44 pm

Well, good news: I suddenly discovered that a co-worker has a spare pass for Saturday that he'll graciously let me buy from him (and at cost!). And I'm watching a number of auctions for Sunday tickets; hopefully one of those will come through. They're relatively cheap, for the most part -- at least, for now. They'll probably shoot up to eighty bucks in the next couple hours, but whatever.

Panic... subsiding....

Never again. I'm buying my 2009 pass in September.

ekomega · Post by **ekomega** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 5:14 pm

~~[quote="Drew"]~~ekomega, they are completly sold out! No one who doesn't currently hold a ticket can get one. Check out the site.

~~[url]~~http://www.comic-con.org/[/url]

Devlin, have you checked ebay or craiglist? There are bunches for sale on ebay.[/quote]

WTF? I certainly don't remember it being like that. That's absolutely crazy!

Good luck, everyone.

devlin1 · Post by **devlin1** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 7:34 pm

~~[quote="ekomega"]~~WTF? I certainly don't remember it being like that. That's absolutely crazy![/quote]
Yeah, that's new. And agreed. It's crazy. Fuckin' Hollywood, coming in and fucking up a perfectly good comic-book convention....

Count Zero · Post by **Count Zero** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 7:55 am

I might be able to get a pro-pass and have you be one of my guests, but since you would be my second guest, it isn't free.

Drew · Post by **Drew** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 8:09 am

~~[quote="ekomega"]~~WTF? I certainly don't remember it being like that. That's absolutely crazy!

Good luck, everyone.[/quote]

Remember when "geeks" were getting picked on in high school and parents/teachers told them, don't worry, some day, you'll run the world?

devlin1 · Post by **devlin1** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 9:48 am

~~[quote="Count Zero"]~~I might be able to get a pro-pass and have you be one of my guests, but since you would be my second guest, it isn't free.[/quote]
Oh -- I thought you didn't have any more of those available.

In any event, I ended up winning an auction for a Sunday pass, though I'm not exactly proud of what I paid for it (although it's within about $10 of what everyone else on eBay is paying for a Sunday pass, so I guess it's not so bad in the grand scheme of things). Between that and my coworker's spare pass I think I'm set.

devlin1 · Post by **devlin1** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 11:47 am

Wait, no -- I just got this email from Epic:

~~[quote]~~There will be no more preshow substitutions for Comic-Con International 2008. If you cannot attend the show you may apply for a refund by writing Comic-Con at Comic-Con International 2008 co/San Diego Comic Convention, 8340 Alison Ave, La Mesa, CA 91941. Badges will only be supplied to individuals with a valid photo ID. If you cannot attend do not share your confirmation since refunds will only be considered for individuals whose badge has not been printed onsite. Onsite substitutions will not be granted for any reasons regardless of circumstances.[/quote]

So... I'm fucked again, I guess? I dunno. Sure sounds like it, though, doesn't it?

More importantly, though, is that, if this is true, there are a lot of people on eBay who are in for a very unpleasant surprise.

ekomega · Post by **ekomega** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 12:06 pm

I know the convention's only a week away, but that seems pretty harsh.

I saw a guy sell the box for Xbox (but not the Xbox itself) for a couple hundred bucks on Ebay. The auction clearly said "Xbox box, but no Xbox", although now that I write that, it could still be confusing.

I recently recycled my Wii box. Maybe I should've sold it, with some Comic Con tickets?

cczernia · Post by **cczernia** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 12:09 pm

My fear is that comic con tickets are now going to sell out quickly (as in months before the con starts) with intent on selling them on things like ebay and craigslist. I suggest anyone who intends on going thinking about buying tickets at the con for next year.

~~[quote="ekomega"]~~I know the convention's only a week away, but that seems pretty harsh.

I saw a guy sell the box for Xbox (but not the Xbox itself) for a couple hundred bucks on Ebay. The auction clearly said "Xbox box, but no Xbox", although now that I write that, it could still be confusing.

I recently recycled my Wii box. Maybe I should've sold it, with some Comic Con tickets?[/quote]

Wintermute · Post by **Wintermute** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 1:04 pm

Honestly, your best bet may be to head down there and just buy a pass from someone who's leaving.

Count Zero · Post by **Count Zero** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 1:17 pm

~~[quote="devlin1"]~~Oh -- I thought you didn't have any more of those available.

In any event, I ended up winning an auction for a Sunday pass, though I'm not exactly proud of what I paid for it (although it's within about $10 of what everyone else on eBay is paying for a Sunday pass, so I guess it's not so bad in the grand scheme of things). Between that and my coworker's spare pass I think I'm set.[/quote]

I don't have anymore free ones, it looks like I can get you a creative professional guest pass for $75, but that is if space is available. I will be there Thursday, so I can check when I get on site.

devlin1 · Post by **devlin1** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 1:23 pm

The new deal is this:

Pass transfers are no longer possible. They were supposed to allow them through today, but they decided to change their minds, I guess.

I bought a Sunday pass off of eBay, fair and square. It can't be transferred into my name anymore, but the guy will register it himself on-site and give it to me either Saturday or Sunday. In fact, he'll just leave it for me at the front desk of his hotel, which is a couple blocks away from the convention center. That is a very reasonable and equitable solution.

Now... how can I weasel out of it?

Because I'd rather pay Count Zero $75 for a pro pass for the full con than pay a dude $80* for one day, but I seriously can't think of a decent, believable reason to not pay him like I'm supposed to.

*That's the going rate, more or less, for Sunday on eBay.

cczernia · Post by **cczernia** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 1:40 pm

Just tell him you are not comfortable with that and you believed the pass would be put in your name.

devlin1 · Post by **devlin1** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 1:55 pm

~~[quote="cczernia"]~~Just tell him you are not comfortable with that and you believed the pass would be put in your name.[/quote]
Huh. That's pretty good. And it's hardly even underhanded at all!

To be honest, I do have a slight twinge of doubt about his plan -- I could pretty easily be screwed over, although we've talked on the phone and he sounds like a decent enough guy -- so it's not like it's ~~[i]~~completely[/i] a lie. Okay, I'll give that a shot.

ekomega · Post by **ekomega** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 12:08 pm

~~[quote="devlin1"]~~Huh. That's pretty good. And it's hardly even underhanded at all!

To be honest, I do have a slight twinge of doubt about his plan -- I could pretty easily be screwed over, although we've talked on the phone and he sounds like a decent enough guy -- so it's not like it's ~~[i]~~completely[/i] a lie. Okay, I'll give that a shot.[/quote]

Just complain to Ebay and say it violates the Terms of Service, because he is selling something invalid on the auction. He can't sell you tickets that he can't give you. He's just ripping you off.

Sure, he can work around it with complication, but it doesn't say anything about that nonsense in the Ebay ad, does it? They're very buyer-friendly, anti-seller, nowadays. Just complain.

To put it more fairly, and plainly, you're trusting a guy to do some weird stuff that you're arranging unofficially out of Ebay. It's weird enough dealing with Ebay people, and expecting them to mail you something days after you pay them, but now you're making special arrangements. What if he doesn't show up or hold up his end? You have no recourse. I'd say complain and get out of it.

devlin1 · Post by **devlin1** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 12:13 pm

~~[quote="ekomega"]~~Just complain to Ebay and say it violates the Terms of Service, because he is selling something invalid on the auction. He can't sell you tickets that he can't give you. He's just ripping you off.

Sure, he can work around it with complication, but it doesn't say anything about that nonsense in the Ebay ad, does it? They're very buyer-friendly, anti-seller, nowadays. Just complain.

To put it more fairly, and plainly, you're trusting a guy to do some weird stuff that you're arranging unofficially out of Ebay. It's weird enough dealing with Ebay people, and expecting them to mail you something days after you pay them, but now you're making special arrangements. What if he doesn't show up or hold up his end? You have no recourse. I'd say complain and get out of it.[/quote]

No complaint necessary -- I asked for a refund, and he gave it to me.

I didn't give him an elaborate reason, really. I just said that, for the money, I didn't want to take the risk, and that there were too many things that could go wrong. I didn't want to directly accuse him of possibly being dishonest, but I'm betting he could work that out on his own.