My NYCC16 Ticket-buying Experience...Results may vary.... #nycc

So on Wednesday I attempted, yet again, to purchase tickets to New York Comic Con (NYCC).

This is after a horrific ticket-buying experience last year (which I will get to) and after I declared after attending 2 days last year, I would not go back (because after 2 days of having to go the long way around to get to the end of the line at the actual event, I was tired of having to walk out of my way to only walk back the same way - just let me walk around the building on the other side - it would be easier!).

What happened since last October to make me change my mind?

NYCC announced Carrie Fisher would be there this year.  Yes, CARRIE FISHER.  So, yeah, the inner Star Wars fan in me said I had to get to NYCC this year.

NYCC tried something this year with ticket purchases.  It left a lot of questions, especially as the process went on.  But I think it was genuinely a great way to make sure tickets got in the hands of fans and those that went into the hands of scalpers were not honored.

First was Fan Verification.  For about a month, there was a web page open for what they were calling Fan Verification.  Literally, it was a 5 minute process that asked you to fill out your name, email address (most important), your age range, what you were most excited about on the show floor, and what show features (from a drop down menu I think) you were most looking forward to. 

NYCC had a campaign on their Facebook page with short videos answering some of the basic questions about the Fan Verification process, especially because it was something very new this year.  They posted reminders about the due date/time, and even on the last day Fan Verification was open, they posted several reminders about the approaching deadline.

But people still missed it.  And complained when they did.

So, NYCC opened the Fan Verification period for another 24 hour period.  For those people who missed the month-long reminders, emails, and other notices from NYCC.

And people still missed it.  And complained when they did.  And when they did things wrong, even though NYCC was very clear about what was expected, who needed an email address, etc.

Next was ticket purchasing, that came through a special link which was tied to your Fan Verification.

Last year was a nightmare with buying tickets.  I tried to go back in my Twitter feed to see what I was saying during the process, but my history didn't go back that far.  But I remember clicking on the ticket purchase link and waiting for a very long time before getting through the queue.  This involved being on a queue page, then a new page loading only to say "page cannot be found" followed by the queue page again.  Then, I got to the ticket buying page, chose a ticket, only to then be met with the "page cannot be found" message again.  Luckily the ticket I chose stayed in my basket and I wound up with a 4-day pass.  Others were not so lucky.

This year, I was again in a queue page.  But the page seemed very static and like it would never move to the ticket purchase page.  NYCC was very interactive on their Twitter feed, assuring fans that people were moving through the queue and purchasing tickets.  Finally after a half hour of waiting, I was able to purchase my ticket very quickly (within 5 minutes) and no "page cannot be found" messages.

Though I was initially annoyed because I clicked on the link right when I was supposed to and it didn't make sense that I was queued already....and I never got an answer to the following question:



....I was pretty happy with my overall experience.  And I have a 4-day ticket.


The next day was the last step in the process, where I had to then go to the site where I had filled out my Fan Verification and assign my email address to my ticket.  Easy, simple, took 3 minutes.


Now, fans are still upset.  They purchased multiple tickets even though not everyone they purchased tickets for were fan verified (which NYCC made clear they would have to be fan verified even if they didn't actually purchase the tickets themselves).  They purchased tickets from third party sources, which in the end won't be valid.  They had no idea there was a  Fan Verification process in place.

NYCC's response to one of many tweets about the Fan Verification process and my quoted retweet; Blacked out the identity of another person on Twitter

Honestly, if people do not want to subscribe and read the emails from NYCC, or follow them on Facebook and make sure they are getting notifications of new posts, or they are not following them on Twitter or any other social media and checking in on their last posts, then I don't know what to tell you.  I felt very informed of the process and the staff at NYCC seemed very willing to answer questions as the Fan Verification process continued.

I am not saying everything was perfect.  And not everyone who really, really, really wanted to go was able to get tickets. And I feel bad for them.  I really do.  Because I know if I was one of them, I would feel terrible.

There are still several flaws:
1) For all the tickets purchased and then being sold on places like StubHub and eBay, which will not have a proper email address attached to them - they will essentially be cancelled after mid-July.  What happens to those tickets?  There does not seem to be an answer for that, yet.

2) The queue page was too static.  Though NYCC social media repeated people were getting through the queue, it was hard to tell when you were just sitting on a text-filled page with no activity on it.  I sent them an email suggesting maybe a slideshow of pictures from the previous year's event or maybe short video clips.  Something to keep the page active so people know the page is alive.

3) There was no response from ShowClix when I associated my email address with my ticket.  I read responses from fans who went through the association process and ShowClix kept unassociating their email address from their ticket.  It would've been more helpful if there was an email confirmation sent by ShowClix saying you updated your information or something - that way if there is a problem later, you can show proof saying, "Hey, I did this!  Why didn't it take?"


However, I do have to say that the NYCC staff, particularly those handling the social media, have been nothing but patient and kind.  They must have read Likeable Social Media by Dave Kerpen.  (A great and sensible read about companies and social media.)  I am sure there are times they have felt frustrating answering the same questions over and over, and they are likely reading more negative comments than all the positive ones.  They are doing great - and I hope I get to see some of them in October as I attempt to meet Carrie Fisher, Graham McTavish, and others who have yet to be announced.