r/SDCC • u/Vegetable_Stop_8971 • 14h ago
Badges First timer
Hi. I have never gone to SDCC and was wondering is it hard purchasing tickets? Like do they usually go pretty quick when they are open to purchase? Thanks
11
u/Frogblaster77 14h ago
There are many buying guides posted in this subreddit for this and your other questions
2
5
u/Tall-Celery-4804 14h ago
make sure you create a member ID and take on chance and joining a buy group.
1
u/Vegetable_Stop_8971 14h ago
Do you know how I do that with the buy groups
0
u/Tall-Celery-4804 14h ago
1
u/Vegetable_Stop_8971 14h ago
Thank you!
-1
7
u/MsMargo 6h ago
The regulars can move along, you've seen this many times before...
There are 2 badge sales. The first is for people who attended the previous year. That sale (Returning Registration sale) will be Saturday, October 17, 2026 (but the date moves around every year). There is a second sale that is open to everyone. The open badge sale (Open Registration sale) will be a month after the Returning Registration sale, for SDCC 2027 it will be Saturday, November 14, 2026 (but again the date moves around every year). All badge sales are a random lottery. To get a badge, you must have a Member ID. You can (and should) get that today, no need to wait: https://comic-con.configio.com/login Everyone who wants to attend must have their own Member ID, even if someone else buys their badge for them.
Once you have a Member ID, you’ll get e-mails from Comic-Con about sale dates. (Make sure that under both “My Account Information” and “My Communication Settings” that you opted-in for e-mails when you signed up – Opt-in is not the default.) Previously, about 1 week to 10 days before the badge sale you will receive an e-mail reminder with the sale date. On sale date, usually a Saturday, the online virtual waiting room opens at 7:30 AM Pacific Time. You can enter the online waiting room any time between 7:30 AM and 9:00 AM - you do NOT increase your chances by entering early. At 9:00 AM Pacific the waiting room closes and everyone who is logged in gets assigned a random number. Random number 1 gets to buy badges, then random number 2, and so on until the badges are sold out, which takes about an hour.
CCI doesn't ever say how many badges are in the open sale, but most people's guess is around 50% of the 130,000 total. Way back in 2016 it was estimated from web traffic that there were 900,000 people trying for 65,000 badges - a chance of about 1 in 11. It's only gotten much more popular since then. Most current estimates are about a 5% chance of actually getting a badge.
To increase your odds, people use buying groups. Since each person can buy badges for 3 people (self + 2 others, or just 3 others), the first person in buys for themselves + 2, the next for themselves + another 2, and so on until everyone in the group has badges. Five people will make a decent buying group, and near the sale people will post here to find others for buying groups. Everyone in the buying group will need to have the other people’s Member IDs and last names. They will need to be available at 9:00 AM Pacific on a Saturday with a strong, non-mobile internet connection, so people who work weekends are at a disadvantage. You can use separate browsers on one computer, but multiple computers is really the better idea. Also, only group with people you trust, because if you buy their badge for them, they have to pay for it or pay you back. And if you buy their badge for them and they sell it, that badge will be canceled and yours will too.
SDCC 2027 badge prices:
| BADGE TYPE | Adult | Junior | U.S. Military/Senior |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preview Night | $67.00 | $34.00 | $34.00 |
| Thursday | $88.00 | $44.00 | $44.00 |
| Friday | $88.00 | $44.00 | $44.00 |
| Saturday | $88.00 | $44.00 | $44.00 |
| Sunday | $67.00 | $34.00 | $34.00 |
Plus a $15 handling fee per member
1
u/Vegetable_Stop_8971 6h ago
Thank you so much for this! I truly appreciate it. Do you know if youre able to actually log into the queue on multiple devices though under the same member ID?
1
u/MsMargo 6h ago
There is no login for the queue. You don't enter your Member ID until/if you're randomly selected to actually buy badges.
1
u/djrainbowpixie 4h ago
Just to make sure I’m understanding correctly, the waiting room is public, so sign in required? You use multiple computers to increase your chances of getting a spot in the waiting room?
2
1
u/CheesyIdleGamer 11h ago
It’s less about difficulty, And more about luck. As long as you sign up for a member ID before the cutoff, you can join the queue
The queue ends up being like a lottery where people are randomly sorted into batches that are let in to buy the tickets
So the actual effort to rushing to get the ticket when the sale starts is no longer a thing.
1
u/Vegetable_Stop_8971 11h ago
Thank you! Any tips?
2
u/CheesyIdleGamer 11h ago
Not anything more than others have said
Make the member ID, put in your credit card info because the website can slow down during ticket sales and you don’t want to be frantically typing that info and making mistakes.
Then just go to the member ID portal between 7:30am and 8:45am on the day of sale and hope
And find a buying group if you can.
1
u/Vegetable_Stop_8971 11h ago
Dumb question but any idea if I can use debit card or does it have to be credit card?
1
1
u/BuzzBotBaloo 8h ago
To clarify, yes you can use a “check card”, the credit card-style (they will be branded like a Visa, Mastercard, etc.) debit cards linked to your bank account.
14
u/Cool-Constant4319 14h ago
Yes, they do sell out quickly, within an hour and a half. Be sure and sign up for your member id so you can participate in the upcoming open sale.