This has been a long time coming. In the most condensed timetable in recent memory, Comic-Con International have left it until today to announce the date of the Returning Registration Badge Sale (previously known as Pre-Registration, and valid for those that physically attended San Diego Comic-Con 2016 and with proper Member ID’s in place) and that date is… SATURDAY 11th MARCH 2017, at 5pm GMT (9am PT / 12 Midday ET).

This Badge Sale will be held in the same format as in previous years, with valid CCI Member ID holders being sent a link to enter a virtual Waiting Room, ONE HOUR prior to the sale beginning at 4pm GMT (8am PT / 11am ET). No preference will be given as to when applicants enter this Waiting Room, with purchase ‘slots’ allocated at random when the sale starts – the analogy being that the CCI spoon will dip into a bowl of floating Cheerios and if you’re in the bowl, you could be one of the lucky cereals to be selected for a slot until all allocated Badges are sold. Hence the affirming phrase, ‘Be The Cheerio!’.

Badges are priced as such, an increase of $5 per Thurs-Sat badges against last years value (a total increase of $20 against a consolidated Weekend Badge):

As is our want, here on AEISD, we provide a useful USD-GBP conversion chart, based to today’s current exchange rate (as listed on Google: 0.81) as a guide to what this all means in pounds and pence:

In previous years, the Returning Registration Badge Sale has taken place in the months prior to the New Year (14th November 2015 for the 2016 convention and the 8th November 2014 for SDCC 2015, for examples) – it’s very possible that Comic-Con International are so confident in the system that they have in place, they are now trying their best to ‘put the genie back in the bottle’, shrinking the SDCC calendar to stifle some of the year-round hype over the whole event and put off the bursting of the Comic-Con bubble. However, what this has meant is that attendees now have less time to determine whether they have those prised Badges locked down and subsequently prepare for their con in terms of budgeting, flights and hotels, especially those that have to fly in to San Diego from across North America, and ourselves from overseas.

Successful North American applicants will then have their badges mailed to them prior to the convention, a massive logistical undertaking which CCI and EPIC Registration (the company charged with administrating the Badge Sales) implemented for SDCC 2016 in an attempt to combat scalping and counterfeit badges (badges are to be equipped with RFID technology, something which has been in place for other conventions in recent years). Us International Attendees will have to take our printed barcodes in person to San Diego and collect on site.

To fully acclimatise yourself with the badge buying process, you can always check out the Open Online Badge Registration video tutorial which, while uploaded as a guide for the badge sale for the general public, will give you an idea of how the process will go and what pages and forms you will see:

General attendees applying for badges for the first time, or who took a break from the show in 2016, will have to wait even a little while longer until the Open Online Badge Registration is announced – as always, turn on Notifications on the @EnglishmanSDCC Twitter for the latest news.

Here’s the official announcement by Comic-Con International as posted on the Toucan Blog of their website: http://www.comic-con.org/toucan/ready-set-phasers-stun-go-returning-registration-here

Ready, Set Phasers to Stun, Go! Returning Registration is here!

Comic-Con 2017 Returning Registration commences on Saturday, March 11, 2017! The Expo Logic waiting room opens at 8:00 AM Pacific Standard Time (PST). Attendee badges will go on sale shortly after 9:00 AM PST.

Your unique registration code, the Expo Logic waiting room link, and instructions on how to participate will be available in your Comic-Con Member ID account at least 24 hours prior to the sale. Starting March 10, 2017, you may log in to your Member ID account and select the “Registration Info” tab to view your personal registration code and link to the waiting room.

We encourage you to warp speed ahead to your Member ID account (and watch out for any nuclear wessels!) to double-check that your contact information is correct! The deadline to change the mailing address in your Member ID account is May 18, 2017. Your Comic-Con 2017 badge will be shipped to the address on file as of that date.

Make sure to bookmark us here at Toucan, the official blog of Comic-Con and WonderCon, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, for the latest registration updates. As always, Comic-Con will continue to offer one of the most generous child badge policies in the industry. Children age 12 and under are free with a paid adult!

Comic-Con International has been, and always shall be, your friend. Thank you for your continued support. Live long and prosper.