Botcon 2015 - Chicago June 18-21

[Krayt]

Gah.... They turned non attending off!

I hate unknown wait times :-(

Also, iPad on home network won't load page, but iPhone on data will..

[UltraMarginal]

Site is back up, looks fine. Got to the part to enter my credit card details really quickly.

All this extra time has made me rethink this purchase and I don't think I should buy any of the packages on my income. I'll just purchase on site registration over the weekend and check it out.

Good luck to everyone going!

If you are going it's worth at least getting the primus pack for the extra access. Traveling all that way and not seeing all of the convention would bea bit of a waste. You could always sell your box set to recover some costs.

[griffin]

I asked by email...

Once registered, is it not possible to add items with this new system, like you could with the old system?

And got this reply...

That’s in version 2 so for this year, just call next week and admin can add the items for you.

So if you are attending and you forgot something or want to add on something extra later (like the Custom class toy or an extra boxsets/loosesets, or had second thought about a class or tour), you have to ring up their office during their office hours (our midnight to about our 8am - Eastern Australia Time).
0011-1-817-448-9863

So next year we will probably be going through the same hassles then, as their planned "version 2" is to allow people to add on items themselves, and they won't work on it until it is time to start registration next year, and then all the bugs will delay it for weeks again.

[griffin]

I couldn't see anything on the botcon facebook or twitter, so I don't know if this is true (because you can't go back into this new registration program to see what is sold out)... but one person claims that 3 hours after registration started, they had sold out of the Thursday Custom Class and the Friday Welker tickets.

If true, it is expected, as the Thursday class sold out first last year (ever since they started selling the unpainted figures, people weren't as keen to be in the Wednesday class to be the first to get the toy)... while the Friday Welker tickets would be the better option, as you are less likely to miss out on any panels on Friday, as they only have them in the morning (the Dealer Room opens in the afternoon), and the Hasbro panel is not going to be on Friday either... but often is on Saturday.

I am surprised that the Welker tickets sold out so fast (if this is true)... but I guess if you are someone who wants a Megatron toy signed by him, this was the only option, and they only have about 100 VIP passes for each day (I recall them saying that it would be a little over 200 in total).

What I'm not surprised about, is not selling out on the first day... or even any mention about how well they did on the first day like they usually say in past years.
And the first day is when they do most of their business, even if this wasn't a last minute start - if they don't get at least half of their attendee packs sold on the first day, they aren't likely to sell out at all.
As they've said before at their BotCon panels, the first day of any of their items (toys & Con) is where they hope to sell out... because after that, it is a struggle to sell what's left.

It should mean a lot of non-attendee sets for the rest of you who wants one.

[fatbot]

What I'm not surprised about, is not selling out on the first day... or even any mention about how well they did on the first day like they usually say in past years.
And the first day is when they do most of their business, even if this wasn't a last minute start - if they don't get at least half of their attendee packs sold on the first day, they aren't likely to sell out at all.
As they've said before at their BotCon panels, the first day of any of their items (toys & Con) is where they hope to sell out... because after that, it is a struggle to sell what's left.

It should mean a lot of non-attendee sets for the rest of you who wants one.

I hope they don't sell out of the bagged figures, I really want to buy a set, I didn't have the cash when I registered

[jop]

If you are going it's worth at least getting the primus pack for the extra access. Traveling all that way and not seeing all of the convention would bea bit of a waste. You could always sell your box set to recover some costs.

Thanks for the advice Ultra, never thought about scalping the box set. Anyways, I've recently moved to the US and will be working here for the 2 years, so happy to just go for the weekend.

It's nice to be able to order from amazon and toys r us US site for once!

[griffin]

That's the thing really... if you have no interest in any of the toys and the boxsets sell out, you will be guaranteed to be able to resell yours at the full ($409) price you paid (and more), and end up getting all-access to the convention for free - including the extra day and evening events that are not available to walk-ins, who would end up paying more than you did just to end up with limited access. And with the bonus Attendee figure and the Club Membership toy that you'll get next year to sell on top of the Boxset, you will actually be making money from attending.

And even if you have to discount your boxset by a little to get it sold (if it was a failed year and the Club has heaps of boxsets left unsold), you should still be able to sell it off for no more than $100 off, and still make up the difference with the bonus Attendee toy and Membership toy... and even if all that doesn't sell to make up the difference of the boxset, you would still be paying less than a walk-in would for both "walk-in days" (Saturday & Sunday), plus you have access to the extra day (Friday) and all the evening events.

So if you have the money on-hand to afford it (because you won't get it back for a couple months), and you have no interest in any of the FunPub toys, there is a financial benefit to registering over being a walk-in... which could make you a fair bit of money if it is a popular year (or at the very least if it isn't a popular year, it will cover your Registration cost and you'd spend the entire 3 days there for free).

[griffin]

For those going, or buying a non-attendee set, check out you orders page on the eventman site after a couple days - if the money has finally gone through, it should show a dollar sign on the order listing, and on the order summary page it should say "approved" at the bottom with an option for "credit" next to the Delete.

[fatbot]

I was hoping for Flywheels,

Pete Sinclair was on the latest episode of the Cybercast podcast and here are some interesting bits of information that came out of the podcast. The information within:

Souvenirs this year shouldn't cost more than last year.
There is one more figure this year hinted as being part of a 4-pack (of Waspinators perhaps?).
Flywheels was confirmed as not being part of the offerings.
Also hinted was a two-pack of Diaclone figures.
The Kreons are not Microchangers, and because of this they will be just over half what last year's set cost.
There will also be a piece of art included in the Kreons which will be familiar to fans who followed the TakaraTomy comic.

[UltraMarginal]

SNIP<, you will actually be making money from attending. > SNIP

Assuming you don't go nuts in the dealer room or buying signed prints from comic artists