Posted in: Comics | Tagged: comic con, craigslist, Scalping. Hall H, Underground Economy

San Diego Comic Con Underground Economy

Published Sat, 13 Jul 2013 10:00:54 -0500

Last updated Sun, 14 Jul 2013 03:15:07 -0500

Alex Wilson writes for Bleeding Cool:

Comic-Con isn't a stranger to what most would consider an underground economy. People are already on Craigslist selling passes and no one is going to stop selling passes so here is a price guide and some tips for getting pass.

Comic-Con seems to be a more coveted ticket every year. Comic-Con tries to make it difficult to sell your passes by printing a name on the pass but this just makes people post female and male tags when selling their passes online. Here's a breakdown of the prices I've gathered.

Thursday: $250

Friday: $275 (saw one for $140 thought)

Saturday: $300 (these seem to be the hardest to find)

Sunday: $200

4-Day Pass: $400-500

4-Day with Preview Night: $500-$700

I saw someone who could only go Saturday and wanted to sell their pass for Thursday, Friday, and Sunday. This person had a 4-day pass and the problem I see with this is someone could get your pass on Thursday and disappear with it to never be seen again. If you are selling passes I recommend having it be all or nothing because chances are you won't be able to get that pass back, even if you need it to get into the convention. You have to ask yourself, "Is the money I'm selling this for worth possibly having my pass stolen?" Another point to make is to work in cash only. Don't take checks or mess around with any other forms of payment.

On the opposite end, if you are buying a pass, verify it works before putting up any money. Ask the person who has the pass to use the pass to go into the convention or take you in. Don't meet someone somewhere and give him or her money for a pass you can't verify as legitimate.

As Comic-Con goes into full swing I bet we will also see hall H bathroom passes popping up on Craigslist as well. These are more difficult to verify. I would recommend asking to see the person walk out of hall H and not simply meet them around. If you don't want to mess around with buying hall H passes then get a sleeping bad and plan to spend the night in line because I've seen people get in line at 3 am and not be into hall H at noon.

The most important thing, though, would be to have fun while in San Diego. The convention takes up so much time and if you aren't careful the San Diego Comic Con will eat you alive and stress you out.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!