Keep your badge to pre-register for 2014

12 JULY 2013

By now you should have received the email announcing a new twist in the Comic-Con online pre-registration saga. Which is that you need your badge - your physical, actual badge that you pick up next week - to participate in online pre-registration for 2014.

When will that be? It was in August last year, and that sounds a likely scenario for this year. 

Why are they doing this? No idea, but maybe they're hoping to cull the herd of people trying to pre-register. Or they want to prevent you from selling your badge on Sunday after you're burned out on the Con. Or it somehow simplifies the technological and bureaucratic processes that seem to befuddle them year after year.

How does it work? It sounds like there will be a special code on the badge - what CCI is calling "valuable information."

Who does this apply to? Anyone with an attendee badge - four day, single day, whatever.

Who's ineligible?  Professionals, guests of professionals, exhibitors, exhibitor-purchased attendee badges, volunteers, staff, and press.

So can anyone pre-register using someone else's badge? No. You'll still have to pre-register using your Member ID, and they will know whether or you attended this year. It's just another layer of qualification. Two-factor authentication, shall we say.

So in a nutshell, hang onto your badge no matter once you get home. And prepare for Round One of the craziness for the next year's Con. 


ETA: Sorry to be unclear. This only applies to pre-registration - not the actual Registration Day which will be held sometime in 2014. Only attendees of this year's Con can participate in pre-registration (which will probably be held this summer.) But virtually anyone can participate in regular Registration Day next year as long as they sign up for a Member ID on CCI's site.