201010010320.jpgAfter two attempts at putting four-day passes on sale, Comic-Con International: San Diego is giving it another shot, this time with a
Registration Test which will roll out tomorrow. They’ll attempt to sell 1000 badges via TWO different companies, in a process so complicated we couldn’t summarize if we tried:

For this test, an individual may request up to two badges only. If you request two badges you will be charged a total of $6.00, a $2.00 deposit and a service charge of $4.00, that will be paid directly to TicketLeap at the time of request. If you are among the first 1,000 people to request a badge, TicketLeap will send you a confirmation e-mail that will confirm the number of badges you are able to purchase. If badges are sold out when you make your request, you will not be charged anything for participating in this test. If you receive a confirmation from TicketLeap, but decide not to purchase a badge from EPIC, your $1.00 deposit and $2.00 service charge is still non-refundable.

After you receive your TicketLeap confirmation, EPIC will send you one e-mail for each badge confirmed by TicketLeap. Be sure to add [email protected] to your e-mail contacts or address book so your registration e-mail won’t go to your SPAM folder. Check your SPAM folder if you do not receive an e-mail from EPIC within three hours after tickets have sold out on TicketLeap. The EPIC e-mail will contain one unique log-in code and additional instructions on how to pay for your badges. You are not registered at this time. You must log-in to EPIC and pay for your badges after you receive the e-mail. You will have 24 hours only from the time you receive your e-mail code from EPIC to log in to the EPIC site and purchase your badges. The badges are $105.00 for Adults and $52.00 for Juniors/Seniors, but as a thank you for participating in this test, you will receive a $3.00 credit per badge purchased through EPIC, upon checkout.


So…you have to register…to get a link to buy a ticket.

Frankly, this makes Hoteloween look like a simple, straightforward process, but since two previous servers couldn’t handle the demand, they have to try something different.

1 COMMENT

  1. This is probably the most convoluted, amazingly bad decision they could have made. There is absolutely *no* reason they couldn’t build an automated test to simulate the load and test the servers that way. No reason to use humans.

    This kind of decision is likely driven by one or more of the following:

    1. their vendors tried to save a deal by proposing something this assinine rather than sign up to actually deliver.

    2. there’s some existing contract they can’t get out of

    3. there’s a relationship somewhere that they are trying to preserve

    4. there’s some grudge or some untenable clause in a ticketmaster agreement

    I’ve worked in enterprise software for 10 years and rarely seen projects this poorly managed. With or without the visibility this has.

    I guess the $3 fee is to potentially keep people from squatting on tickets?

  2. It’s insane to me that an organisation the size of CCI would think that this is an appropriate solution. Who does the tickets for the Superbowl? Contract that company, even if it’s someone horrible like Ticketmaster.

    Furthermore, the way they dealt with exhibitor hotels this year is even worse. Ranking system returns, plus we get to wait TWO MONTHS to hear back if we got our room.

    How on earth EPIC and Travel Planners have managed to survive with CCI this long I have no idea. Ridiculous.

  3. Today is Feb 5th and says we are allowed to purchase Comic-Con 2011 tickets through you.
    so far I have reached the ordering form 10 times! but when I “Proceed to Checkout” it goes back to “We are currently….
    Is there really a way to get tickets for people who have attended for the past few years? Have now been trying for over 3 hours! NEVER had this problem in past years.