Dear ECCC, thanks for wasting my time and money.

**Tyr** · 03-31-2012, 05:09 PM

So yeah, went to the con, sold out they told me, come back at 1:30, then 2:00, then 2:40, finally went home writing it off as a loss and fuming, still pissed about it.

Guess I should be happy I only paid 11 in bus fair compared to the 30 to 40 it would have taken had I gone by car. Then again, I hate wasting any money especially given my current situation. That and the 4 hour round trip for nothing.

Sorry, just felt angry enough about this to start a thread.

**Cassandra** · 03-31-2012, 07:03 PM

Did they have pre-registration at all? I always try and pre-register for a Con I'm intending on going too because you can never tell how popular it's going to be.

**Tyr** · 03-31-2012, 08:56 PM

Originally Posted by Cassandra

Did they have pre-registration at all? I always try and pre-register for a Con I'm intending on going too because you can never tell how popular it's going to be.

Sure, but you had to buy them by March 14th online. I didn't know if I was going to make it or not 16 some days before the show.

I do feel sorry for a curly haired security gent, who's name was Chris Hamel, I believe. This poor bastard's job today entailed telling what looked like 400+ angry nerds including myself that they were sold out of tickets and would have to wait. For the record I'm not angry with him or anyone else who had to work with the business end of an angry crowd. But I am angry at whoever organized this thing for not giving the con the appropriate venue for its size. As I understand it now, this is the third year they've had this problem, and it's getting worse.

**DonC** · 04-01-2012, 08:33 AM

Originally Posted by Tyr

But I am angry at whoever organized this thing for not giving the con the appropriate venue for its size. As I understand it now, this is the third year they've had this problem, and it's getting worse.

No offense, guy, but if you knew that this was a problem in the past then you should have emailed the convention a couple days ago and asked how close they were to selling out.

**Tyr** · 04-01-2012, 09:05 AM

Originally Posted by DonC

No offense, guy, but if you knew that this was a problem in the past then you should have emailed the convention a couple days ago and asked how close they were to selling out.

I didn't know they had this problem. I wasn't aware of this until a couple people pointed this out at the con. One security guy, who told me they had this problem last year, and another guy I talked to who waited in line for Stan Lee and told me they had this problem a year before that.

Plus how would they know they had reached maximum capacity on Saturday on a Friday? I don't think they could see into the future.

**Hybrid2** · 04-01-2012, 01:40 AM

Third year?
in Montreal they had the same problem,I only heard about it after the con,since I got in early.
This year they will be at a much bigger place.

I think maybe a thousand people or more couldn't get in.
Endless lines with peoples not knowing what to tell peoples.
And someone almost first in line got his pass put wrong and didn't see him inside at all. he was very recognizable.

**JBK405** · 04-01-2012, 06:02 AM

That is poor planning on the organizers part. If you've had repeated "There's not enough room" events then you should expect a higher turnout and should get a larger space. Sure, it will cost more, but presumably you'll make that back with higher admission.

**Tyr** · 04-01-2012, 11:18 AM

Originally Posted by JBK405

That is poor planning on the organizers part. If you've had repeated "There's not enough room" events then you should expect a higher turnout and should get a larger space. Sure, it will cost more, but presumably you'll make that back with higher admission.

From one of the security guys, they said they were able to open up the line for tickets at 1 last year. But this year people were staying longer then they had anticipated, and so on.

Originally Posted by Mwstattel

This happens at all the cons now. They all pull that crap. It's impossible to get sketches from top creators or go to panels unless you're willing to camp out overnight. The organizers don't care. They just want to sell tickets. So selling more tickets than space available seems like a pretty good ploy for them.

Or buy them 16 days in advance, I thought about doing that, but I was holding off to see if my friend could make it to the show. The plan was to go with him but he had his parents coming in this week from Florida.

This whole thing blindsided me. This is the first time I've actual seen this happen in action, the con has ballooned in size over the last 3 or 4 years. 3 years ago they fit the whole thing into one or two large rooms. Now it takes up the entire center and that's still not enough room.

Honestly had I stuck around and got in I thought about buying that poor door guy a beer at the end of the show, he looked like he needed it.

**Erica J Heflin** · 04-01-2012, 09:03 AM

It also depends on if other venues are readily available and equally affordable at an accessible location. I can understand your frustration, but I don't know that I'd call it poor planning without further information. Having up-to-date sell out information on their website, twitter, and facebook would be helpful though.

**Mwstattel** · 04-01-2012, 09:50 AM

This happens at all the cons now. They all pull that crap. It's impossible to get sketches from top creators or go to panels unless you're willing to camp out overnight. The organizers don't care. They just want to sell tickets. So selling more tickets than space available seems like a pretty good ploy for them.