Comic Con 2016 continued....... (buy, best, cell phone)

[moved]

Since the original thread got hijacked, I started another one.

People were paying up to $3k for badges that they bought from Craigslist, only to discover that they got to the Con, they didn't work. My supervisor said that she caught at least 15 badges that didn't work yesterday.

Security was extremely tight, lots of police presence, explosive dogs and their handlers continually going through the convention center 24 hours per day, and there were snipers on the roof.
Next year everything will be even more hi tech, and even more interesting. I worked a lot of long hours, putting up with lots of idiots, and it's nice to have a break for a little while.

[bloom]

Why do people rip others off ?

[moved]

People want to so badly, that they'll pay that much for a badge. I heard that people were standing outside begging attendees to sell them their badges.

It's ridiculous. If I wasn't getting paid to work there, I wouldn't get near the convention center it for a week.

[Cardiff Kook]

I want to know how the wristbands for the panels work. How do you get them? Can you buy them off craigslist or is security just as tight for those?

[moved]

Wristbands for the panels are given out at the panels, and you have to put them on your wrist immediately. You can't hold them in your hand, put them on your belt, you ankle, your backpack, or anywhere else. If it comes off, and you lose it, you're out of luck.

[moved]

I worked at Exhibit Hall H when they were doing the pre-pre screenings. The only people allowed in were escorted by an approved person. Cell phones had to stay in pockets or purses, and there were security guards hidden dressed in black with night vision goggles looking for cell phone lights to come on. Even SDPD wasn't allowed in.

[AFtrEFkt]

Re: all of the above...that is nuts.

I went to 20 Comic Cons, from the '80s all the way up to the early 2010's. The 80s-90s were the best years, before things got crazy.

[Cardiff Kook]

Originally Posted by moved

I worked at Exhibit Hall H when they were doing the pre-pre screenings. The only people allowed in were escorted by an approved person. Cell phones had to stay in pockets or purses, and there were security guards hidden dressed in black with night vision goggles looking for cell phone lights to come on. Even SDPD wasn't allowed in.

So you just show up early to get a wristband?

[moved]

It's only nuts because of all the people that were duplicating badges, and giving away the wristbands to the panels, so the organizers and consultants that handle the security had to do something.

I was working at Lobby door D, and people every time the souvenir bags changed themes, people were coming back and grabbing more. So they had to resort to scanning badges, and each person got one bag per badge. So when they came back for another one, their badge would scan as invalid. I have one of each, plus some broken ones, but I have connections if I want something.