For those of you who are signed up for a Comic-Con member ID this email may have already arrived in your inbox, but for those of you who are yet to sign up this is for you. (Also, you only have FOUR days left before registration closes so if you plan on making an attempt at San Diego this year now would be the time to get on that.)
Because of limited space at the San Diego Convention Center, we are required to limit attendance and do not have enough badges for everyone who would like to attend the show. Unfortunately, the high demand and limited availability can make buying a badge challenging and time-consuming. Although we are working hard on our registration system to make buying your badge a better experience, we want you to know what to expect during badge sales and have provided you with a very detailed document “Comic-Con 2012 Helpful Hints and Tips for Online Badge Registration” available for download now at
Reading this downloadable PDF may help you complete your badge purchase more efficiently and could give you an advantage over people who do not choose to read it.
If you have already purchased a badge for Comic-Con 2012, or if you are a professional, exhibitor, or member of the press who do not plan on purchasing a badge during open online registration, please disregard this e-mail notice. You are receiving this courtesy notice because you have signed up for a Comic-Con Member ID.
Thank you,
Attendee Registration
Comic-Con International
Clicking on that link will bring you to their main site where then you can click on the PDF (which we have provided the text for below)
What can I expect from Comic-Con 2012 online badge sales?
When Comic-Con badge sales begin, thousands of people will be trying to access our registration system at the same time. Because of limited space at the San Diego Convention Center, we are required to limit attendance and do not have enough badges for everyone who would like to attend the show. Unfortunately, the high demand and limited availability can make buying a badge challenging and time consuming. Although we are working hard on our registration system to make buying your badge a better experience, we want you to know what to expect during badge sales and have provided you with some tips below.
Comic-Con will release the badge sales date and time via e-mail to everyone who has registered for a Member ID. Please check your e-mail frequently. There will be no announcement on Facebook, Twitter, or the official Comic-Con website until badge sales actually begin. This is one of the many the benefits of signing up for a Member ID, you get first notice of badge sales before the general public! Please be aware that our e-mail notifications are released in batches, and you may not receive yours until a few hours after we begin sending them out. We are aware of this delay and have scheduled badge sales accordingly.
When badge sales begin, you will access the registration website according to the directions sent in your e-mail notification. Once you are redirected to the EPIC registration website, you will enter a waiting room where you will be able to see your place in line at the top of the screen. Do not refresh your screen or open a new browser! Refreshing your screen or opening multiple browsers while in the waiting room will send you to the back of the line.
When you reach the front of the line, you will automatically be sent to an online registration session to purchase your badge(s). You will need to enter your Member ID and last name for validation. You may purchase one 4?day badge or a combination of single?day badges per each unique Member ID. After you complete your first purchase, you will be prompted to either purchase a badge for another person or exit the process. You may register up to 6 people total during your online registration session, but you must have the unique Member ID and last name for each individual.
We cannot guarantee you will be able to purchase a badge even if you have signed up for a Comic-Con Member ID.
1. There may be long wait times. Once you are in the waiting room, you will stay in line until it is your turn to begin your online registration session. Please be prepared to wait up to 3–4 hours in line before entering the online registration session to purchase your badges. You will be notified where you are in line when you enter the waiting room.
2. You will be helped in the order in which you have lined up. EPIC registration will provide you with a number that represents your place in line. Please be aware that when the site first opens, many people will enter the waiting room at the same time. Although we try to line you up in the order in which you enter, many people will hit the website simultaneously, and it is possible that you and a friend who enter the waiting room at the exact same moment could be several thousand places away from each other in line. If your place in line is over 40,000, it is possible that you will not get a badge. If your place in line is under 40,000, it is possible that you still may not get a badge because buyers are allowed to register up to 6 people per registration session.
3. The waiting room will close when it reaches a capacity of 60,000. To limit the pressure on the EPIC registration system, the EPIC waiting room will close once 60,000 people are in line. You will be returned to the Comic? Con website after you click the registration link if the waiting room is full. You may click the link again to try to reenter the waiting room as people complete their purchases.
4. You will not be able to purchase a badge without a valid Member ID.
When your registration session begins, you will need to have your Member ID and last name readily available. If you signed up for a Comic?Con Member ID, but did not confirm your email per instructions, you will not be able to purchase a badge. To verify that your Member ID registration is complete, please visit https://secure2.comic?con.org/memberid/ and select the “Member ID Login” button. If you are unable to log in to your Member ID account, you do not have a valid Member ID on file and should contact us immediately at memberid_admin@comic-con.org5. You will not be able to change and/or correct your contact information during online registration. The EPIC registration system will be pre? populated with the name and e?mail on file in the Comic?Con Member ID database. You will not be able to change this information during online badge sales. Please check your Member ID account before badge sales begin to confirm that all of your contact information is correct. The first and last name on your Member ID account must match the name on your photo identification. We strongly suggest that you do not use an AOL or Yahoo e? mail address on your Member ID account as there may be a delay in delivery of important announcements. We recommend that you change the e?mail on your Member ID account before badge sales begin.
6. You will need the Member IDs and last names of the people you wish to register. If you are purchasing badges for others, please be sure to have their personal Member IDs and last names readily available. We strongly suggest that you take time to confirm the spelling of each person’s Member ID and last name before you begin the registration process. Member IDs or last names that do not match what is on file will result in an error message when you try to purchase badges. You do not need to purchase a badge for children 12 and under.
7. You will not need to get in line again to purchase additional badges. Once you have reached the front of the line, you will be redirected to your online registration session. You will need to enter your Member ID and last name to begin the session. During your session you may purchase a 4?day badge with Preview Night, or a 4-day badge without Preview Night, or any combination of single-day badges without duplication (e.g., you cannot purchase two Sunday badges under the same Member ID). When you have completed the first purchase, you will be prompted to register another person or exit the process. If you choose to register another person, you must have the person’s unique Comic?Con Member ID and last name to make another purchase. You may only use your Member ID once. Once you have completed the registration session cycle 6 times, you will be automatically returned to the Comic?Con website.
8. By the time you reach the front of the line, your desired badge type may not be available. 4-day badges with Preview Night will likely sell out quickly and may not be available by the time you start your online registration session. Additionally, badges may sell out while you are in the middle of your session, i.e., it is possible that you may purchase a 4-day badge for yourself only to find that they are sold out when you go to purchase one for a friend or family member.
9. Your badge purchase should reflect your age at the time of purchase, not at the time ComicCon begins. If you are purchasing a badge for a Junior attendee who is 17 now but will be 18 by July 11, 2012, please purchase a Junior badge during your online registration session. You do not need to buy an adult badge.
10. Your credit card will not be charged for 48–72 hours after your registration session. To increase the speed of the online registration system, we will not charge your credit card during your registration session. You will receive an individual acknowledgment for each person you register. Your credit card will be charged within 48–72 hours and we will send you a receipt once your card has been successfully processed. Should your credit card be declined after your purchase, you will receive an e?mail alert that instructs you to resubmit payment information. If you do not submit a new form of payment by the deadline in the e?mail, your badges will be canceled and returned to inventory for resale at a later date. We recommend that you add registration@epicreg.com to your e?mail’s safe sender file.
11. You will not receive your barcode confirmation until your credit card has been successfully charged. Please be patient as we process badge purchases 48–72 hours after your online registration session ends. Once your payment has been processed, a barcode confirmation will go to the e? mail you used to sign up for a Member ID. If you purchased badges for others, the barcode will go to their e?mail directly, not yours.
If you have already purchased a ComicCon 2012 badge, you will be allowed to participate in online badge sales using your Member ID. Please read the following notice carefully.
Purchases of multiple badges with overlapping dates using the same Member ID is strictly prohibited.If you use your Member ID to purchase a badge for a day for which you previously purchased a badge, the original badge you purchased will automatically be canceled and the amount paid will be refunded without contacting you.
For example, if you purchased a 4-day badge during pre-registration and you use your Member ID to purchase a second 4-day badge with Preview Night, the 4-day badge you purchased during pre-registration will be canceled and refunded. Likewise, if you purchased a 4-day badge during preregistration and then purchase a single-day badge, the 4day badge will be canceled.
This policy does not apply to purchasing different single?day badges. For example, if you purchased a Friday badge during pre-registration and you later use your Member ID to purchase a Saturday badge, your original Friday badge purchase will not be canceled. Only purchases of badges with overlapping dates will be subject to automatic cancellation and refund.
While Comic-Con has made every effort to make the badge purchase experience fair for everyone, it is possible that problems outside of our control could result in the system not working as planned. The possibility exists that anti-virus, anti spyware, and antimalware software may aggressively block browser cookies, JavaScript, or other operation of modern web applications. It is also possible that user error, specific hardware problems, local ISP issues, or simply the extremely high level of demand beyond our control may result in your computer and/or browser not behaving as described above. While Comic-Con has done extensive testing, we make no guarantees that your efforts will result in a successful badge purchase regardless of when you enter the process.
Tips for a Successful Registration Session:
1. Make sure your Member ID account is confirmed and check your e?mail frequently for announcements. Have the Member ID and last name of everyone you wish to purchase a badge for readily available.
2. If you are currently using a Yahoo or AOL e?mail address on your Member ID account, we recommend changing it to a more reliable provider.
3. Internet Explorer, Safari, Firefox, and Google Chrome are the EPIC waiting room preferred web browsers. Your browser should be updated to the latest version available from your vendor and installed in the default configuration with cookies and JavaScript enabled to ensure compatibility with our waiting room.
4. DO NOT refresh your screen or open multiple browsers once you enter the EPIC waiting room. If you do so, you will be sent to the back of the line.
5. Be prepared to wait 3?4 hours in the waiting room and schedule your day accordingly.
6. Have the credit credit card you plan on using readily available, make sure you have an adequate dollar limit for all planned purchases, and familiarize yourself with the CVV number on the specific credit card. We accept AMEX, Mastercard, and Visa only. We do not accept PayPal.
7. Add registration@epicreg.com to your e?mail’s safe sender file.