Funko always has some of the most sought-after San Diego Comic-Con exclusives, and this year looks to be no different. However, the question on everyone’s minds is, how can they get their hands on these items?
Funko had previously stated that the booth procedures would work very similar to last year (with a Sails ticket distribution on Thursday-Sunday, and a online lottery both for Funko Funatics board members and the general public for Preview Night access), but it appears there will be at least one change this year.
Funko already held a lottery for qualifying Funatics board members (who are also SDCC attendees) to gain access to their booth on Preview Night, and the winners were e-mailed a ticket that gets them in the line to buy their items. Most had assumed that there would also be a public lottery as well, similar to last year, but Yoko McCann, Marketing Manager for Funko, revealed on the Funatics board that this year “there will not be a public lottery for Preview Night.”
When we reached out to Funko last week for clarification on if that meant non-Funatics would be able to enter the Funko booth at all on Preview Night, we were only told that, “We will make an official announcement regarding our SDCC booth procedures soon”. Soon after, though, McCann shared on the Funatics board that “if items are still available after [Funko goes] through the lottery line, the booth will most likely open to the public, time permitting”.
So while attendees who aren’t on Funko’s fan forums potentially aren’t completely shut out on Preview Night, it’s unfortunate that they aren’t continuing last year’s Preview Night lottery access for both Funatics and the public, as it seemed to run very smoothly. Other companies, such as Gentle Giant and Mattel, have in the past offered a first chance to their own club members to score exclusives for San Diego Comic-Con pick-up, but could this be the start of a new trend of limiting booth access on a larger scale?
If you aren’t a Funatic who already won their online lottery, it sounds like your time might be better spent aiming for a Thursday-Sunday Sails ticket distribution option, assuming that stays the same — or maybe just order them off Hot Topic, Barnes & Nobles’, and other shared retailers’ websites on Thursday morning if you don’t care if they have a different sticker. Or maybe we all just need to petition Funko to offer presales with on-site pick-up in 2018.
We’ll share more about their booth procedures when they announce it.
How do you feel about this move? Let us know in the comments.
