SDCC Newbie Guide – Part II: Merchandise

For those going to SDCC for the first time this year, your expectations are that you are going to get swag. A lot of it. And you are correct. Bags, t-shirts, posters, comics and other tchotchkes handed out seemingly at every turn on the show floor. And that’s in addition to all the stuff you’re going to buy at the con, because there’s no shortage of exclusives and other hard-to-find merchandise lining vendor booth walls.

In my previous post, I offered tips for saving money for meals and for setting expectations on panel and event scheduling. This time, I’m going to help you find all that great exclusive merchandise, and, more importantly, how to get it home.

Geek’s Booty

You’ve seen here, and you’ve probably read elsewhere all the great stuff that will be available only at the con this year. And if you are budgeting based on previous years’ exclusives, you’re going to need a small fortune to get it all. That I can’t help you with, because when the blast of energy from the show floor hits you, there’s no such thing as willpower.

First, get a list of which exhibitors have the stuff you want. If Hasbro is on your list, you’ll want to hit them first because lines are long and toys go fast. Most exhibitors allocate only a certain amount of their stock per day, to ensure people have a chance to buy until the last day of the con. So if you want the awesome Marvel Masterworks Sentinel figure, and it sells out on day one, you have another shot the next day. Now here’s the bad news – since Hasbro’s exclusives are so popular, they sell out early in the day. Last year, Hasbro was one of a few exhibitors which handed out tickets before the show floor opened which would secure you a timeslot to stand in line. These tickets were hot, and would frequently be handed out hours before the doors opened. I also ran into more than a few upset ticket holders who had timeslots for later in the day, and by that time the stuff they wanted was gone for the day.

Now, there was an exception to this rule which I’ll share but won’t guarantee it will be allowed again this year. If you got to the booth within minutes of the show floor opening, line security would let a few non-ticket holders in line before it got too long. So if you aren’t able to score a ticket for a timeslot that day, try to get to the booth as fast as you can and see if they’ll let you in line anyway.

There is another way around the ticketing system that Hasbro and Mattel used. Last year, Mattel allowed attendees to pre-order their merchandise online and pick up during the show. This was a sure way to get what you wanted, but the problem was in the way Mattel handled the pick-up process. They only had one or two times during the day in which pre-orders could be picked up, and they were on the busiest days and peak hours, frequently conflicting with popular panels. The other problem was that the line to pick up the pre-ordered merchandise was longer than the line on the show floor. The positive was that you were guaranteed to get your merchandise, at the expense of a two-hour wait. I would still recommend pre-ordering any merchandise you can when it’s offered by the exhibitor, and I hope that companies can find a better way with pick-up and queue management at the con this year.

Second, plot your course. Everyone in attendance will get an events guide with a map of the convention center and layout of the show floor. The layout will list where all of the exhibitor booths are. Remember that list of exhibitors you made? Find where each of them are located on the floor and when those doors open, walk (no running allowed!) straight there – do not pass “go”, do not collect $200.

When you’ve made it to your top booth in record time, only to find a line a mile long, no doubt you’ll be wondering, “where did everyone come from?” Well, that, my True-Believers, is what I’ll share with you next. Most people line up in Sails Pavilion, on the upper level of the convention center, before the show begins. It took me a couple days of starting here and finding the line to the booth I was headed to was already cut off for the day within a couple minutes of the start of the show to realize there was a better way. Indeed there was. Around Ballroom 20 at the east side of the convention center, there is another line. If you get there at a decent hour, you’ll get a great shot of being among the front of the pack.

Up, Up and Away!

Now, for those of you who will be driving to the con, getting all of these goodies home won’t be a problem. But for those who have to get on a plane, packing up all this stuff in a suitcase is no small feat. That’s why you’ll want to bypass the airlines altogether – along with their crazy luggage handling fees and tendency to lose checked bags – and ship your stuff home.

To do this, you’ll want to first sign up for an account with one of the big shipping companies. FedEx works best, although you can call ahead to your hotel and see if they also do pick-ups from UPS, DHL or any other shippers. You don’t even need to be a business to have your own account, and it’s free to sign up. You’ll be asked to enter a credit card and billing information when you create your account, but this is a good thing. By having a billing address on file, all you have to do is write your account number on the shipment and the shipping fees are all billed to that account. No settling with the hotel or worry about how much postage you’ll need. Lots of people use this method to ship their luggage when traveling nowadays, and I’ve used this method on several occasions and swear by it.

Now if your luggage just won’t have enough room to bring home all the stuff you’re planning to buy, or if you don’t think you’ll be able to securely pack it to survive the trip home without breaking valuable merchandise, there’s an important second part to this tip. We all know Staples, right? Well, you can order all your shipping supplies from Staples.com and have them delivered directly to your hotel in advance of your stay. This is what you’ll need:

Boxes – they usually come in bulk, so you’ll end up with more boxes than you’ll need. Also, make sure you order boxes large enough to ship home your big merchandise. I went with the 22x18x12 last year, and that size was more than adequate.
Packaging Tape – when you’re shipping valuable, exclusive merchandise that you can’t get anywhere else, you’ll want to close up the box with more than scotch tape and bubble gum, right?
Bubble Wrap and Packing Noodles – Again, some of those SDCC toys and collectibles can be pretty fragile, so you’ll want to make sure they are securely packed for a cross-country trip.
Mailing Tubes – You’re going to get tons of cool posters and prints that you won’t want to fold. That’s why the tubes are an essential shipping supply. A 24″ width is a good size – I went with the 36″ size last year and had to stuff the end to prevent my posters and prints from moving around. But it all depends on what size you’re going for, so determine what will work best for your needs.

One other thing to note, most everything you order from Staples comes in bulk, so try to find someone to go in with to save on costs.

It’s as easy as that. Just call ahead to make sure you’re hotel will receive shipments ahead of your stay. Also, if you’re hotel doesn’t offer pickup services from your shipping company of choice, just go on their website and find one in the area that will. Being in the center of the city, most likely you won’t have to go far to find one.

Like what you’ve seen so far? Then keep an eye out for my next Newbie Guide post coming soon!

Is there a specific tip you would like to learn more about? Leave a comment below or find me on Twitter at @SpotAnime!

14 Responses to "SDCC Newbie Guide – Part II: Merchandise"

Shawn Marshall says:

June 9, 2011 at 4:31 PM

Thanks for the tips! Regarding the Ballroom 20 entrance, can you elaborate a bit on how that works. Where do you enter to for that line? Relative to the other spots, when are you let in? Also, where are they allowing that line to enter the exhibit hall from?
Jeremy Rutz says:

June 10, 2011 at 6:44 AM

@Shawn: There are basically two lines before they open the convention center – one is up to Sails Pavilion, the other is for Hall H. Get in line for Sails. Once they open the doors (not to the show floor, but for the queues inside) and you reach Sails, you’ll see ahead of you and to the right many, many lines roped off. Once the show floor opens, this will usher you to the main stairwell, past the elevators, to the floor.

Now, to the left is Ballroom 20. And you’ll see many many smaller queues for stuff like autographs and Hasbro, where they hand out timeslot tickets for those particular booths/events.Go past those like you are going toward Ballroom 20. Once you go out the doors on the east side of Sails, most likely they will have roped off so you only have one way to go – right, which will take you down the long hallway past and around Ballroom 20. At the end of that, this is where the other line will form.

You’re let in at the same time as everyone else, but you stand a good chance of getting closer to the front of the pack without having to get there by 5AM.

The show is basically divided – west side is vendors and stuff, east side is all the big exhibitors. Where as the main queue for the show floor lets you out in the middle of the floor and in the back, this line around Ballroom 20 lets you in at the front and east side of the floor, closer to the big exhibitors.

Hope that helps. Good luck!
Shawn Marshall says:

June 10, 2011 at 2:44 PM

@Jeremy: Got it! Thank you so much for the elaboration!
Zach says:

June 12, 2011 at 10:06 PM

Last year on Sunday Hasbro had no line and you didnt need a ticket to wait in line. Only the huge Galactus was sold out.
JessicaM says:

June 14, 2011 at 9:32 AM

Where’s the best place to wait for Hall H? My assumption is the show I am interested in will be in that hall again. (for the last time ever) Great blog, this will be my first SDCC trip. So excited, I may need a chill pill before hand… lol
Jeremy Rutz says:

June 14, 2011 at 9:45 AM

@JessicaM: The line for Hall H is on the east of the convention center, between the Bayfront Hilton and the convention center. They’ll have ropes and tents set up for the line, but for popular panels expect it to stretch way beyond that.

Where is not as important as When – get there early, early, early and camp out. Don’t be surprised to get there at 6AM and already be a substantial line.

Good luck!
RonnieJ says:

June 14, 2011 at 10:22 AM

@JessicaM: The best — well actually, the only — place to wait in line for Hall H is the grassy area outside and to the left of Hall H (as you’re looking at it from the street, Harbor Drive). I’ve been going to Comic-Con for over 6 years now and for the first time ever last year, the Convention Center put up large white tents to shield everyone waiting in line from the sun — very cool! Hopefully they’ll repeat that this year and for many more years to come. Last year, though, was a not-so-typically cool summer in San Diego, so the tents weren’t really as needed as previous years, but still, it was a welcome relief just the same to be under shady tent

Please note that for very popular Hall H panels, lines will form extremely early, so plan on arriving in line in the grassy area as early as possible on the day of the panel you really want to hit — I’m talking HOURS before it starts. But even then (depending on its start time), you’re not guaranteed to get into that panel even after waiting hours in line for it — it just depends on how many people are also in line ahead of you all trying to get into Hall H. When Twilight: New Moon’s panel hit Hall H a few years back, Twihards were camping out over night with their own tents and sleeping bags — craziness! But that’s the chaos and excitement of Hall H… you never know what you can, and will, see!

Keep in mind also that Hall H DOES NOT clear the auditorium after any panels which is a good and bad thing depending on your perspective: most people — myself included — will line up very early in the morning hours before Hall H and Comic-Con open to assure getting a seat in Hall H and will sit there literally all day to watch every panel. For me, that’s my thing — I love watching all the big studio panels and exclusive scenes that they show only at Comic-Con, so I’m cool with staying inside there all day. But if your time is limited and/or you want to also see other panels elsewhere and also checkout the madness of the Exhibit Floor, just still be prepared to line up hours in advance for whatever panel you want to see in Hall H and remember what I said above about Hall H not clearing seats after panels and plan accordingly. If you’re going with a bunch of friends/family, coordinate with them also and divide-and-conquer: they can save a place in line for you while you’re off doing something else, then rush back to meet up with them in line BEFORE they’re let into Hall H — once they’re inside, you cannot just go up to the front of the Hall H door and tell them you’re friends are inside and you want to meet them, they’ll deny you and tell you to get back in line. This goes for all other large panel lines (i.e. Ballroom 20, etc.).

Bottom line is to bring your patience with you when waiting in line for Hall H. For the popular panels, you’ll want to jump in line EARLY, like before Comic-Con opens, and sit through whatever early panels occur before the one you really want to see, then leave when it’s done. One cool benefit of sitting through panels you really aren’t there to see is that you may get some cool swag (or tickets to pickup cool swag outside of Hall H) that you can only get by being there for that given panel! So it’s a win-win

Hope this helps, @JessicaM… hope you have a great time in Hall H and… Welcome to Comic-Con!
RonnieJ says:

June 14, 2011 at 10:29 AM

@JessicaM: And just so you know, Hall H has 6,500 seats total. Hope one of them has your name on it
Jeremy Rutz says:

June 14, 2011 at 11:09 AM

@RonnieJ: Spoken like a true pro!
RonnieJ says:

June 14, 2011 at 12:08 PM

@Jeremy Rutz: Thanks! And kudos on the nice blog for SDCC newbies — if I had a similar resource available to me many, many years ago, it probably would’ve saved me some hard lessons learned along the way and to get my routine down solid to where it is now so much faster. But then again, I met alot of cool people in line along the way who shared the same blood, sweat and tears, so again, it was a win-win for me… no pain, no gain I suppose!

Keep up the good work, Jeremy, and see you in Hall H (longshot, I know, but ya never know!)
Jeremy Rutz says:

June 14, 2011 at 12:59 PM

@RonnieJ: if you have a Twitter account, send me a tweet and we can try to meet up at the con!
RonnieJ says:

June 14, 2011 at 5:18 PM

@Jeremy Rutz: Yep, got one… will do, thanks!
RonnieJ says:

June 14, 2011 at 5:29 PM

@Jeremy Rutz: Just tweeted you, man (in reply to the SDCC offsite Pirate-themed party… thanks for the tip!)
Serch says:

March 6, 2012 at 8:34 AM

Hi Jeremy I may go this year, and I’m interested in hasbro exclusives particulary gi joe, I have never ever been in SDCC, so where should I lined up first?. Thanks for your tips!.

Regards

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