lines move pretty fast for bconn ticket pickup now (it took a few years to sort out) - fast in that it now takes less than an hour to get your tickets, they also set aside all day Thursday now just for ticket pickups, took me 20 minutes last time iirc
oh and it in no way stops ticket scalping (there as many threads about this on bconn forums as there are on here every year and just check ebay minutes after tickets go on sale...) you have until June to change the names then on the day you can go into a separate ticket pickup queue to change the names or hey you can leave all 4 tickets in your name and pick them all up and sell them outside (only difference is you need to be across the street in cali i think) and even after all that security on the convention centre don't actually do any name or ID checking (unless there is a problem), as per the gazillion other threads on here about changing ticketing methods this is just a slightly different way of doing things it doesn't 'fix' any of the 'issues' just moves them around
If I recall correctly, Dragon*Con tickets also sell at about the same time as PAX tickets as well. However that is a con that is also on Labor Day, so I know for a fact none of us are going to that.
Honestly, if I don't get PAX tickets, I'll have to think about D*C. My guild has started having a big meetup there every year. I would have to deal with plane tickets and hotel, which I don't for PAX Prime, but it might be worth the pain.
After 2 years of PAX and 5 years of Blizzcon I don't buy into the 'scalper problem' being a problem anymore. I view them as ticket guarantee. Granted, I would rather pay face value. I will pay a markup if it means I don't miss-out. (Buy a booster and hope I open a Brimaz or buy a Brimaz?)
Instead of trying to fight scalpers, I'd rather they take measures to combat counterfeits. From what I've seen of my PAX badges, this is something they've done a great job on.
That said, I hope they're not delaying the posting of bobcat sales to shorten the window re-sellers have to re-sell.
I think they run out of swag bags because people take multiple. No one wants just 1 mtg deck, they want all 5 colors. Or no one wants just 1 set of the cah cards, they want extra for friends at home. It's too easy for people to take multiple.
I think they run out of swag bags because people take multiple. No one wants just 1 mtg deck, they want all 5 colors. Or no one wants just 1 set of the cah cards, they want extra for friends at home. It's too easy for people to take multiple.
The way they allowed the CAH packs last year at Prime actually encouraged people to take more than their share. "Let's create 44 cards, put them in packs of 25, and make some of them rare!". While I love CAH, I found that approach to be horrible and hopefully it won't be repeated. I know for a FACT that there were people who took a total of 10-15 swag bags per person in an attempt to get the full set of cards.
I know many suggestions have been made on how to "fix" this, but the easy answer is to simply make sure all swag bags contain exactly the same thing.
+1
madtygerLover of BricksSide 3Registered Userregular
I think they run out of swag bags because people take multiple. No one wants just 1 mtg deck, they want all 5 colors. Or no one wants just 1 set of the cah cards, they want extra for friends at home. It's too easy for people to take multiple.
Which is totally sad. Saw that happen at PAX '12. People were taking multiple swag bags and then just trashing what they didn't want. Made a huge mess. Heard '13 was similar.
2012 I found many empty bags stacked up in the bathroom. We took them because they were fantastic bags. I didn't know about the swag bags until my third day at PAX.
I think they run out of swag bags because people take multiple. No one wants just 1 mtg deck, they want all 5 colors. Or no one wants just 1 set of the cah cards, they want extra for friends at home. It's too easy for people to take multiple.
Which is totally sad. Saw that happen at PAX '12. People were taking multiple swag bags and then just trashing what they didn't want. Made a huge mess. Heard '13 was similar.
In 2011, there was a massive counterfeit badge issue. That appears to have been mostly solved, although I don't have access to any statistics to prove it one way or the other. Only that, that year, there were a reported at least 5000 counterfeit 3-days and I haven't heard of anything like that since.
I generally think that the swag bag thing is just people taking more than one.
Find people with kids and trade MTG cards for their CAH tickets. That is what someone did with us. I know people like CAH, but it won't be played in my house.
The way they allowed the CAH packs last year at Prime actually encouraged people to take more than their share. "Let's create 44 cards, put them in packs of 25, and make some of them rare!". While I love CAH, I found that approach to be horrible and hopefully it won't be repeated. I know for a FACT that there were people who took a total of 10-15 swag bags per person in an attempt to get the full set of cards.
Unfortunately then only way around that is to start stamping badges. This would still just cause long lines though and wouldn't work on individual day badges.
I really think they CAH guys should have offered to sell card packs at their booth. When I talked with the people, they seemed almost offended at the idea that people would do anything besides trading to get a full set. Which makes no sense since the # of cards you get in a pack is like 1/4 of the total cards in the set. Plus finding people to trade with. The only place I really managed to trade at during most of the convention was the CAH line, and even then it wasn't too great, even with the influx of new cards people were getting from the little time-killing contests the CAH were so nice to put on. And I don't think people really appreciated some random dude coming up to them during the convention and asking to trade, or to buy their card pack off them.
Thankfully someone wound up setting up a table outside of the swagbag room so people could get together and trade on the last day. Managed to complete a set there.
At pax east they had a table where the full set was taped to the table. People could put a card they have down in its own pile and pick one up that they don't have. Around that table was also 1 to 1 trading. I thought it was a pretty cool system.
adambargForward the Pinglorious Basterds!Registered Userregular
I wouldn't mind seeing swag bags die off completely; the garbage situation last year was ridiculous.
+3
The Word of BirdMight be in a dreamland....Registered Userregular
Last year there were a TON of swag bags left in the afternoon of the last day. I was told they'd be tossing them in the trash, so I asked if I could rifle through them first. They let me and several others do so, and we were trading CAH cards and stacking Magic decks for people to take if they wanted. Anything else that someone wished to have, we happily gave. No idea if it'll be the same this year, but I just wanted to point this out for those who might've thought we'd "swiped" a ton of bags.
Another thing to point out: The usual thing people did in the past was grab a swag bag once each day of the con. I have no problem with this. It's more considerate and they really do have TONS and TONS of bags! What I hated was the "fill-your-own-bag" nonsense. That made time in line ridiculous and how do you honestly know that someone isn't going to grab more than one of something while you're not looking? I just hope they NEVER DO IT THAT WAY AGAIN! Yes all caps.
If they make a PAX Prime CAH set you can buy, I'd be down with that. Problem is, they might sell insanely fast on the first day, unless they play it smart and have a certain amount each day.
Gaming since 1986.
Things I need to learn: To properly knit, speak Klingon, and speak/read Japanese so I can play Final Fantasy games in their original language.
"S.o.o.n." : "'Severe Obligation to Observe' Neurosis". This Neurosis impels the subject to constantly observe an object, waiting for a change they are certain must come "Soon".
Hotel [x] Pax Badgers Fri [x] Sat [ ] Sun [x] Mon [x] Just need 2 Saturdays, and then our sets will be complete! And then...waiting for Pax.....F5F5F5F5F5F5F5....
I wouldn't mind seeing swag bags die off completely; the garbage situation last year was ridiculous.
I actually don't mind this. The bags aren't that great anymore anyway - mostly postcard ads. I remember (BACK IN MY DAY...!) they used to have like t-shirts and lanyards, buttons and fun stuff. Sad that the thing I remember most from PAX 13 was the little bottle of hand sanitizer.
"Try, try again. Then quit. There's no use being a damned fool about it."
I wouldn't mind seeing swag bags die off completely; the garbage situation last year was ridiculous.
I actually don't mind this. The bags aren't that great anymore anyway - mostly postcard ads. I remember (BACK IN MY DAY...!) they used to have like t-shirts and lanyards, buttons and fun stuff. Sad that the thing I remember most from PAX 13 was the little bottle of hand sanitizer.
They have said they will never do t-shirts in the swag bags again. You have to realize that they have to manually stuff over 50,000 swag bags before the con…and yes PA staff are there helping to do this! The year that they had the t-shirts they had to have a bunch of people rolling sifts because that is the only way everything could fit in the bag. I think now they have said that they limit the things that can be put into the swag bags because of that whole debacle.
I have friends(enforcers) who get to PAX a week early to help set up, and swag bag stuffing day is always a complete pain because of the massive number of bags.
I wouldn't mind seeing swag bags die off completely; the garbage situation last year was ridiculous.
I actually don't mind this. The bags aren't that great anymore anyway - mostly postcard ads. I remember (BACK IN MY DAY...!) they used to have like t-shirts and lanyards, buttons and fun stuff. Sad that the thing I remember most from PAX 13 was the little bottle of hand sanitizer.
Agreed aswell, I say keep the guide and maybe stuff a few things in the pages like the CAH packs and the LoL skins.
Slim, Relax, Fine Wine At The Qfc, On A Snowy Saturday Night
In between F5 PAX attempts, you can give big to Seattle charities at the seattlefoundation.org website. I hope someone adds Child's Play to the list next year. I think this is week 4 of F5ing. Good luck everyone!
+2
adambargForward the Pinglorious Basterds!Registered Userregular
If they make a PAX Prime CAH set you can buy, I'd be down with that. Problem is, they might sell insanely fast on the first day, unless they play it smart and have a certain amount each day.
If they made blanks easier to come by, even then that wouldn't be a big deal. I'd happily pay $15 for an expansion-sized box of blanks.
0
bacon_avengerDefender of Pork ProductsPacific NW, USARegistered Userregular
At pax east they had a table where the full set was taped to the table. People could put a card they have down in its own pile and pick one up that they don't have. Around that table was also 1 to 1 trading. I thought it was a pretty cool system.
We ended up having to move that to the basement area of the building housing BYOB. Also, the Olive had a trade station going on as well.
Interestingly (?), at the end of the first day the table was set up, a few of the group boxed up what we had and asked the CAH people if we could store the box with them overnight and if they had any more packs. They seemed surprised that anyone was interested in them and said they considered them junk.
And yes, the swag bag thing was a mess, we were actively scanning for abandoned bags, raiding them for anything useful (CAH and magic cards mainly), then tossing them into a nearby bin/collecting them to toss later.
Unfortunately, it appears the CAH people are rather sold on this idea as they did similar with East this year with the Pwnmeal thing. Myself, I really dislike the approach for many of the reasons stated previously (multiple swag bag grabs, rubbish buildup, etc), as well as those jerks who collect them only to try to make a profit by selling them on ebay/craiglist/whatever.
PAX Prime 2022 Checklist:[ ]Hotel [ ]Time Off [ ]Bobcats [ ]Challenge Coin [ ]Forum Badge
If they make a PAX Prime CAH set you can buy, I'd be down with that. Problem is, they might sell insanely fast on the first day, unless they play it smart and have a certain amount each day.
If they made blanks easier to come by, even then that wouldn't be a big deal. I'd happily pay $15 for an expansion-sized box of blanks.
I didn't say that :P
Though I don't necessarily disagree.
Honestly, my ideal method would just be that you can buy a complete set the PAX cards at any time, even if you didn't go to the convention. Because I can't think of a single reason why someone who wasn't able to go, whether because of time, money or badge sell-out reasons, shouldn't be able to enjoy these cards for a reasonable price.
Like, I should be able to go to the CAH website right now and order PAX East 2013, PAX Prime 2013 and PAX East 2014 complete sets, because why the heck not? If you're really that particular about them being con exclusives, then put like a six month delay on them or something. Hell, slap "REPRINT" or something funny on the cards so people know they're reproductions.
But yeah, talking with them at PAX Prime last year, it really DOES seem like they don't understand people wanting a complete set of cards. Like, it's a concept that just escapes them for some reason. Combined with the fact that CAH is totally a company run on the pretense of a bunch of goofball who happened into a shitton of money, and as such, they'll run their company like goofballs and pack their cards randomly into bags of oatmeal because they think it's funny.
Man, tickets need to go on sale already, we're running out of things to talk about.
They are working on a solution to move to a bigger venue: The Seattle convention center after the expansion
Are they really working on an expansion? That would be super awesome, though I'd imagine it would be a while.
No set date for the construction, or completion; but the purchased properties would almost double the amount of available space.
Thanks for that. I definitely hadn't heard about this project though I don't pay too much attention to Seattle news. That expansion is definitely needed. Hope it gets going soon.
i walk by the purchased property all the time, and i can say that they havent lifted a single shovel for this project. they are going to build it over the transit station across from the paramount. simply looking at this property you can see that it will take at least 2 years to complete. dont expect to see a working expansion for a long time. the talk about pax looking for a new venue probably helped scare the wscc into getting off their asses. its the biggest convention
I heard somewhere (4 or 5 years ago) that it was the City of Seattle that was dragging their feet on okaying the expansion. They didn't see a need for it.
There's pretty much zero logical reason for PAX to be held in Seattle. If everyone involved wanted to, they could move it to another city that has much bigger convention space. That way they could have everything under one roof, expand things to accommodate demand, etc.
But they won't. Why? They love Seattle. It's their town, and they like doing something for it. And with all the fun things to do around PAX, it's kind of hard to disagree.
In 2011, there was a massive counterfeit badge issue. That appears to have been mostly solved, although I don't have access to any statistics to prove it one way or the other. Only that, that year, there were a reported at least 5000 counterfeit 3-days and I haven't heard of anything like that since.
I generally think that the swag bag thing is just people taking more than one.
If I remember correctly, that was the year of Halo-Fest correct? I remember walking into the Halo-Fest area to see a group of about 5-6 people being walked out by security for false badges... It was a pretty big scene.
Attended: PAX Prime 2010, PAX Prime 2011, PAX Prime 2012, PAX Prime 2014.
Attending: PAX Prime 2016
Twitter @Pogoplay
Does anyone know if they ask for credit card info before queue or after queue?
IIRC, last year it was after. Myself, I'd love to be able to store a card in the showclix system. Less time spent typing in my info and hoping the reserve token on my order doesn't expire before I finish typing in the number. :P
PAX Prime 2022 Checklist:[ ]Hotel [ ]Time Off [ ]Bobcats [ ]Challenge Coin [ ]Forum Badge
I'm fortunate enough to work in a place that allows me to be online during my shift, but all this waiting is murder on my focus. XD How are the rest of you doing, hanging in there? Be strong friends!
It's unfortunate but I think pax is considering waiting this one out. Catch us off guard while the hype is low and not when people expect tickets to go on sale.
+1
madtygerLover of BricksSide 3Registered Userregular
It's unfortunate but I think pax is considering waiting this one out. Catch us off guard while the hype is low and not when people expect tickets to go on sale.
Oh, I really hope that doesn't happen but I see your point.
It's unfortunate but I think pax is considering waiting this one out. Catch us off guard while the hype is low and not when people expect tickets to go on sale.
I could definitely see that happening... oh well, better safe than sorry and it's worth it to get to go. I just hope my boss understands... ^-^'
The anticipation is kind of fun, but this is exhausting, so I think everyone wants it done. I don't see PAX thinking in terms of trying to psych out fans who want to buy tickets.
First, that would be a dick move.
Second, that would be dick move.
Third…
Well, I don’t think they are dicks, is what I’m saying.
I can see PAX minions waiting on their own issues and ShowClix staff and infrastructure optimizations. We can’t know how many necessary people are sick, dealing with unplanned personal issues, or are busy fixing broken equipment, etc..
I hope it happens soon, so I can cut the umbilical to my notifications.
Posts
oh and it in no way stops ticket scalping (there as many threads about this on bconn forums as there are on here every year and just check ebay minutes after tickets go on sale...) you have until June to change the names then on the day you can go into a separate ticket pickup queue to change the names or hey you can leave all 4 tickets in your name and pick them all up and sell them outside (only difference is you need to be across the street in cali i think) and even after all that security on the convention centre don't actually do any name or ID checking (unless there is a problem), as per the gazillion other threads on here about changing ticketing methods this is just a slightly different way of doing things it doesn't 'fix' any of the 'issues' just moves them around
Honestly, if I don't get PAX tickets, I'll have to think about D*C. My guild has started having a big meetup there every year. I would have to deal with plane tickets and hotel, which I don't for PAX Prime, but it might be worth the pain.
Instead of trying to fight scalpers, I'd rather they take measures to combat counterfeits. From what I've seen of my PAX badges, this is something they've done a great job on.
That said, I hope they're not delaying the posting of bobcat sales to shorten the window re-sellers have to re-sell.
The way they allowed the CAH packs last year at Prime actually encouraged people to take more than their share. "Let's create 44 cards, put them in packs of 25, and make some of them rare!". While I love CAH, I found that approach to be horrible and hopefully it won't be repeated. I know for a FACT that there were people who took a total of 10-15 swag bags per person in an attempt to get the full set of cards.
I know many suggestions have been made on how to "fix" this, but the easy answer is to simply make sure all swag bags contain exactly the same thing.
Which is totally sad. Saw that happen at PAX '12. People were taking multiple swag bags and then just trashing what they didn't want. Made a huge mess. Heard '13 was similar.
I generally think that the swag bag thing is just people taking more than one.
Thankfully someone wound up setting up a table outside of the swagbag room so people could get together and trade on the last day. Managed to complete a set there.
Another thing to point out: The usual thing people did in the past was grab a swag bag once each day of the con. I have no problem with this. It's more considerate and they really do have TONS and TONS of bags! What I hated was the "fill-your-own-bag" nonsense. That made time in line ridiculous and how do you honestly know that someone isn't going to grab more than one of something while you're not looking? I just hope they NEVER DO IT THAT WAY AGAIN! Yes all caps.
If they make a PAX Prime CAH set you can buy, I'd be down with that. Problem is, they might sell insanely fast on the first day, unless they play it smart and have a certain amount each day.
Things I need to learn: To properly knit, speak Klingon, and speak/read Japanese so I can play Final Fantasy games in their original language.
"S.o.o.n." : "'Severe Obligation to Observe' Neurosis". This Neurosis impels the subject to constantly observe an object, waiting for a change they are certain must come "Soon".
Hotel [x] Pax Badgers Fri [x] Sat [ ] Sun [x] Mon [x] Just need 2 Saturdays, and then our sets will be complete! And then...waiting for Pax.....F5F5F5F5F5F5F5....
I actually don't mind this. The bags aren't that great anymore anyway - mostly postcard ads. I remember (BACK IN MY DAY...!) they used to have like t-shirts and lanyards, buttons and fun stuff. Sad that the thing I remember most from PAX 13 was the little bottle of hand sanitizer.
They have said they will never do t-shirts in the swag bags again. You have to realize that they have to manually stuff over 50,000 swag bags before the con…and yes PA staff are there helping to do this! The year that they had the t-shirts they had to have a bunch of people rolling sifts because that is the only way everything could fit in the bag. I think now they have said that they limit the things that can be put into the swag bags because of that whole debacle.
I have friends(enforcers) who get to PAX a week early to help set up, and swag bag stuffing day is always a complete pain because of the massive number of bags.
Agreed aswell, I say keep the guide and maybe stuff a few things in the pages like the CAH packs and the LoL skins.
My Body Is always Reggie
If they made blanks easier to come by, even then that wouldn't be a big deal. I'd happily pay $15 for an expansion-sized box of blanks.
Interestingly (?), at the end of the first day the table was set up, a few of the group boxed up what we had and asked the CAH people if we could store the box with them overnight and if they had any more packs. They seemed surprised that anyone was interested in them and said they considered them junk.
And yes, the swag bag thing was a mess, we were actively scanning for abandoned bags, raiding them for anything useful (CAH and magic cards mainly), then tossing them into a nearby bin/collecting them to toss later.
Unfortunately, it appears the CAH people are rather sold on this idea as they did similar with East this year with the Pwnmeal thing. Myself, I really dislike the approach for many of the reasons stated previously (multiple swag bag grabs, rubbish buildup, etc), as well as those jerks who collect them only to try to make a profit by selling them on ebay/craiglist/whatever.
I didn't say that :P
Though I don't necessarily disagree.
Honestly, my ideal method would just be that you can buy a complete set the PAX cards at any time, even if you didn't go to the convention. Because I can't think of a single reason why someone who wasn't able to go, whether because of time, money or badge sell-out reasons, shouldn't be able to enjoy these cards for a reasonable price.
Like, I should be able to go to the CAH website right now and order PAX East 2013, PAX Prime 2013 and PAX East 2014 complete sets, because why the heck not? If you're really that particular about them being con exclusives, then put like a six month delay on them or something. Hell, slap "REPRINT" or something funny on the cards so people know they're reproductions.
But yeah, talking with them at PAX Prime last year, it really DOES seem like they don't understand people wanting a complete set of cards. Like, it's a concept that just escapes them for some reason. Combined with the fact that CAH is totally a company run on the pretense of a bunch of goofball who happened into a shitton of money, and as such, they'll run their company like goofballs and pack their cards randomly into bags of oatmeal because they think it's funny.
Man, tickets need to go on sale already, we're running out of things to talk about.
i walk by the purchased property all the time, and i can say that they havent lifted a single shovel for this project. they are going to build it over the transit station across from the paramount. simply looking at this property you can see that it will take at least 2 years to complete. dont expect to see a working expansion for a long time. the talk about pax looking for a new venue probably helped scare the wscc into getting off their asses. its the biggest convention
But they won't. Why? They love Seattle. It's their town, and they like doing something for it. And with all the fun things to do around PAX, it's kind of hard to disagree.
If I remember correctly, that was the year of Halo-Fest correct? I remember walking into the Halo-Fest area to see a group of about 5-6 people being walked out by security for false badges... It was a pretty big scene.
Attending: PAX Prime 2016
Twitter @Pogoplay
Oh, I really hope that doesn't happen but I see your point.
The anticipation is kind of fun, but this is exhausting, so I think everyone wants it done. I don't see PAX thinking in terms of trying to psych out fans who want to buy tickets.
First, that would be a dick move.
Second, that would be dick move.
Third…
Well, I don’t think they are dicks, is what I’m saying.
I can see PAX minions waiting on their own issues and ShowClix staff and infrastructure optimizations. We can’t know how many necessary people are sick, dealing with unplanned personal issues, or are busy fixing broken equipment, etc..
I hope it happens soon, so I can cut the umbilical to my notifications.
/sharpens knife