Comic-Con is for broke people too

17 JULY 2024

This is not a post for 2024 attendees - it's for everyone who isn't going to San Diego Comic-Con, who wistfully wishes they could go but thinks they don't have the $$$$.

I used to do "SDCC on a Budget" posts about inexpensive food options, free events, and other ways to save money at the Con. But it occurred to me that probably quite a few people exempt themselves from even trying to attend a Con - be it San Diego or others - because they're strapped for cash.

I'm not here to tell you to go into debt or spend money you don't have. But if you're drinking in all the Comic-Con news from home and seeing pricey event tickets and looking up downtown hotel rooms that cost $1K+, you might come away with the idea that SDCC or NYCC or other Cons are only for the affluent. And that just doesn't have to be true.

Here's what to know about financing a Comic-Con trip.

You won't be paying for everything at once

For San Diego Comic-Con, you'll pay for your badge in the preceding fall; about six months later (roughly), you'll put down two nights' deposit on a hotel room. Then you'll have a few months more before you arrive at SDCC and pay the remainder of your hotel bill. Other Cons follow a similar path, though not all. This can give you a few months' breathing room to pay down those initial charges on your card and put aside some fun money.

You can do a partial Con

Especially for first-timers, this is a wise option. You don't have to buy a full badge and pay for 4-5 nights in a hotel. You could just pay for 2 nights/3 days at the Con or even pay for 1 night if you know you're spending 1 night in line. Don't be so sure a truncated Con won't slake your nerdy thirst; just 2 days of Comic-Con can be more thrilling and exhausting than you'd think.

You can find alternate lodging

Your hotel bill is usually your biggest expense. For this reason, many people will cram into one room and even sleep in shifts. But you can try to stay in a local hostel; you can find a very budget motel and take transportation into the city; you can sleep outside in various lines. (But please, for the love of God, find a place to shower.)

You might wonder why I don't mention Airbnb or one of those sketchy arrangements where locals will offer up a couch in their basement. The sole answer is that they are less reliable than an actual hotel. There are numerous legends about people who get their Airbnb reservation cancelled at the last minute by owners who just realized how much more they can charge during SDCC.

You might qualify for a badge discount

Most conventions offer discounts if you're a senior, junior or military; kids under a certain age are usually free. You can also volunteer, which usually gets you full or partial free access to the Con. Just look at the event website and find out their application requirements.

Finally, you can try to come in as a booth worker or a vendor's right hand. But be aware that there's a huge difference between working for someone you know and answering one of the job ads you see every summer. Those are often looking for people with modeling or acting experience and if they do hire you, you'll often work long hours with very little free time of your own.

You can bring your own food

Hats off to those attendees who pack up a little meal for themselves and carry it into the Con like a squirrel. I am not that person, but plenty of people live off apples, power bars, nuts, sandwiches, cereal and other food kept in their rooms. Going slightly more expensive, there are food trucks, pizza slice shops, and fast food. Once, people could scavenge appetizers and snacks from hospitality suites - but those spreads have shrunk down in recent years.

You might be able to buy and sell your way to a profit margin

This is also something that I think has become less reliable - but some attendees finance their Con by buying exclusives and selling them at a profit. This has always seemed like a colossal headache to me, and unpredictable to boot - even skilled flippers can be mistaken over what's going to sell for a big markup and what's going to collect dust. It also involves strenuous effort from standing in multiple lines to making trades to haggling with vendors.

Here's a horrible story: I know of a comic shop that sent employees to SDCC to buy a long wish list of items and said they would have to pay their own expenses if they fell short. And short they fell - two minimum wage employees stuck with a colossal hotel bill on their credit cards. It's just not as easy as people think to buy and flip unless you're very skilled with a good network.

You can find free events

There will always be pricey events around the bigger Cons - comedy shows, concerts, competitions, private parties - but there are also free events like offsites, screenings, gaming, meetups, and more. And if you're bringing kids, know that there are usually kid-specific panels and events - and they'll probably pick up a fair amount of kid-swag like free books and games during the day. And after a long day traipsing around the Con, they'll also fall asleep earlier at night. :)



I know times are tough for many people. Only you know what's in your checking account. But if going to Comic-Con is deeply embedded in your heart and your bucket list, you can probably work with your friends to pull it off.