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The Swaggernaut On How To Score A Free San Diego Comic Con

Published Thu, 04 Jul 2013 09:00:13 -0500

Will Romine writes;

Hello friends!

It's your old pal Will Romine here and I'm a little sad. For the first time in 4 years, I won't be attending San Diego Comic Con. As much as I loved covering SDCC, and seemingly every other con, for BleedingCool; my big boy job has me in Bangladesh this summer. Alas, I will have to experience the con vicariously through my fellow bleeders.

That doesn't mean, however, that I can't pass on a few nuggets of my hard-won con wisdom. No, this isn't one of those "wear comfortable shoes, bring a poster tube, buy deodorant" articles. Instead, I'm going to tell you how to pay for your trip. That's right folks, a free trip to SDCC. Lots of people say they can't afford to go to Comic Con. After you finish this article, you'll ask yourself how you can afford not to.

Every year I've been to San Diego Comic Con, I've been a starving student. While my destitution didn't quite hit the "selling bodily fluids for cash" level, the discretionary funds for travel were never easy to come by. Therefore, if I was going to make it out to San Diego, it had to be a break-even financial endeavor. In my four years of free SDCC trips, I've developed quite a few tricks to fund the SDCC experience. Now that I have a big boy job with a big boy salary, I can pay my way out of pocket next year without taking too much of a hit. Now, I'd like to give back to the geek community and pass my experience on to you. If you use the information below, please do so responsibly. These tips are for the fanboy or girl whose light pockets are offset only by a burning desire to make the pilgrimage that all geeks must, not the profiteer fundraising for that downpayment on their Bugatti. In other words, don't get greedy.

The bulk of this article will deal with the gentle art of flipping. SDCC is rife with exclusives. For many collectors out there, it simply will not do to leave that gap in their collection unfilled. They would gladly pay many multiples beyond sticker price to acquire that jewel of their collections. That's where you come in, enterprising reader. By purchasing these items at the con, and then connecting them with the individual who will give them a good home, you are performing a valuable service and offsetting some of the cost of your week.

Not all exclusives are created equal. Some will receive 10x retail on the con floor, where others will depreciate faster than a used car. In my experience, it's not that easy to tell. However, there are some sure sellers out there that I'll cue you in on.

Hasbro: Anyone remember the Morgan Spurlock Comic Con documentary? Specifically when The Collector waits inordinate amount of time in the preview night line to make a mad sprint to the Hasbro booth to pick up that Super-Sized Galactus figure? I have to tell you, that scene was completely staged. Last year, I waited from 5:30 am until the preview night doors opened, was one of the first 10 attendees on the floor, and still couldn't get into the Hasbro line before the exhibitors swarmed on the booth like flies on a dumpster. Sure, Hasbro has a policy not to sell to exhibitors on preview night, but exhibitors can easily substitute a regular attendee badge with little fuss and no muss.

This phenomena this speaks to the appeal of Hasbro's offerings. Because the line around the Hasbro booth is legendary, nearly anything you buy from them will net you profit. But this is a very dangerous game. Hasbro likes to go big. Be it multi figure sets, or last year's four foot long Helicarrier set, items like these will take up significant hotel space and likely net hefty baggage overage charges. Whatever you buy remember that, at the very least, you'll have to get it from the convention center to your hotel. My advice, buy lots and lots of MLPs. They're highly transportable and the Bronies will gladly take them off your hands.

Hasbro also enforces strict purchase limits. When they say that you can only buy two Derpy Hooves, they mean it and will stamp your badge to prevent you from double dipping. If you want to buy extras, my advice is to make friends with your linemates. Chances are, they may need extras of something you want, and vice versa. If you can hammer out a semi-equitable trade of purchase allocations, then everybody's happy. If not, cash is king. Often, an extra $5-$10 above asking price will get someone in line to give you their allocation.

Mattel: Mattel's stuff generally stagnates in value because of their online presale practice. While this has streamlined the buying process, it has affected the resale value of most of the exclusives. Because folks don't have to line up for hours to get the stuff, the illusion of urgency isn't there like it is for Hasbro.. One exception exists: Monster High Dolls. Last year, I bought my quota of six at $25.00 a piece, Later, they sold for $200 a piece. I don't know what Monster High is, I don't play with dolls, but they paid for my flight and then some, so count me as a Monster High fan.

Lego and Hallmark: These two booths fit my ideals for exclusives. They transport easily and net a pretty good return on investment. Additionally, I think Lego has one of the better line management systems. If you are one of the first X people in line each morning, Lego will give you a ticket to come back at any point that day to purchase your exclusive. The line to get the ticket can be competitive, but once in, you don't have to wait for everyone in front of you to pay.

The Free Shit: A few years ago, I would have called this section "swag", but Justin Bieber ruined that word for all of us. Though last year was a little light in the free shit department, San Diego Comic Con has always been a wellspring of promotional material from studios, publishers, and other geek-friendly companies looking to kiss our ring and gain our blessing. Lots of times, this stuff isn't worth the time it took for the booth babe to had it to you. Other times, you strike gold. In 2011, the Flashpoint tie-in black Wayne Casino chips netted $200 a piece on eBay. Last year, Lego had a very generous raffle where I won a Shazam minifig. The result? $370 big ones. If you do get something, anything, pop it up on ebay quickly. Lots of times, you can get a ridiculous amount of money for an item simply because you're the only person on eBay selling it. Wait any longer, and the market gets flooded.

Admittedly, these promotional items were offered in limited numbers. However, I've also been able to find gold in seemingly non-obvious places. While I was waiting in the Hall H line last year, I sold five Comic Con programs at $15.00 a piece. Yes, the one they keep a stack of by each entrance While that's not a huge chunk of change, it's pretty good for something most people throw away.

I'm going to take a break here now. I may have just taught you everything you know about funding your trip to SDCC, but I haven't taught you everything that I know. If you want to take that first trip to SDCC, to see what all the fuss is about, then follow me at @notacomplainer and I might just take you under my wing.

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