Being that Funko made their first ever personal appearance last year at NYCC 2015, I know that the number of Funko fans in attendance skyrocketed from previous years. With the fan-base growing even more this year, I wanted to share with you all new policies set in place by ReedPop, who runs NYCC. These new policies could dramatically affect how the public both buys their tickets and utilizes their tickets during the convention. Here are the newest details straight from Lance over at ReedPop.
NYCC Fans,
Each year when we take over the Javits Center in October, we have one priority in mind: you, the NYCC Fans. We don’t run NYCC year after year because we love hanging out by the Hudson or we need to reach our step goal in October, we do this because we want to provide the experience of a lifetime to everyone who attends NYCC each year.
With that in mind, we want the New York Comic Con 2016 Ticket buying experience to be as smooth and fair as possible, so this year we are requiring Fan Verification. What does Fan Verification mean? It means we are requiring anyone interested in attending NYCC to fill out a profile between Friday, May 20 and Monday, June 13. We recognize that this is an extra step before buying your Tickets and requires more commitment from you, but we also know that as true Fans of the Show, you won’t mind making it tough for the supervillains out there. Here’s a quick look at nine important points for this new process:
1. Fan Verification is required for NYCC 2016. Everyone who would like to attend NYCC (whether you are buying Tickets yourself or someone is buying them for you) must fill out a Fan Verification profile. 2. Kids who will be ages 6-12 at the time of NYCC 2016 and will be using a NYCC 2016 Adult Ticket or Sunday Kids Ticket do not need a Fan Verification profile for their NYCC 2016 Ticket. 3. Fan Verification will be open from Friday, May 20 at 12:00 PM EDT to Monday, June 13 at 11:59 PM EDT. Fill out your Fan Verification profile correctly and completely – there’s no need to rush through it. 4. All NYCC 2016 Ticket Types will go on sale at the same time on a first-come, first-served basis. Fan Verification does not guarantee NYCC Tickets. 5. We will no longer be selling VIP Tickets for NYCC. 6. NYCC 2016 Tickets will only be sold online. NYCC Tickets will not be on sale at retailers or any events leading up to NYCC 2016. 7. All Fans who filled out a Fan Verification profile will be notified via email 48 hours prior to NYCC Tickets going on sale. 8. The email you receive with the NYCC on-sale date will include a unique link where you will have the opportunity to purchase Tickets first-come, first-served when they go on sale. There is a one transaction limit per link. 9. If you are purchasing Tickets for you and your friends or family, you must assign each individual Ticket to a person using the name and email address they created their Fan Verification profile with. If you are purchasing a Ticket for a kid ages 6-12, you will add their name and age to the Ticket. These changes are being done with you in mind and the hope that more of you will get the opportunity to experience NYCC. Please visit NewYorkComicCon.com/FanVerification for complete details on the NYCC Ticketing process along with other important NYCC Show news.
Thank you for your commitment and passion for the Show and willingness to take these extra steps to help us get more Tickets into your hands. We’re looking forward to giving you even more amazing content to experience with us and can’t wait to reveal more of what we’ve been working on for you. NYCC 2016 is going to be our best Show yet and it’s all going to start with Fan Verification improving the Ticket buying process for you.
Stay nerdy,
Lance
Highlights from this article for me are: the ending of VIP ticketing (which will upset a lot of my friends who have been VIPs for years), the removal of brick-and-mortar retail locations (like Midtown Comics) as an avenue for buying tickets, and (obviously) this Fan Verification step. What does this mean for the future of the convention? Sounds like, for starters, a move towards how San Diego Comic Con does their ticketing (which is a nightmare from my friends’ experiences). Also, possibly more special ticketed (more money) events, even stricter security to get in, and longer lines in general being that VIPs will not have their own line up area, lounge, etc.
I guess we will wait to see what happens and whether this step is a good one or a bad one. However, those even remotely thinking about going to NYCC will need to make sure to do the Fan Verification starting Friday. Yes, it doesn’t guarantee you tickets, but without it you don’t even have a chance.
For those of you trying to go to NYCC 2016… May the Odds be Ever in Your Favor.
Daniel Beckers
Lunario