J. Cortes © 2023 SDCC

A. Williams © 2023 SDCC

CREDIT CARD/PAYMENT INFORMATION

To ensure a smooth checkout, log into your Member ID account before October 26 and save your credit card information. If selected for Open Registration, you’ll have 15 minutes to complete your badge purchase, and having your card pre-saved can save crucial time.

During checkout, you can use a pre-saved card or enter a new one, which will apply to all badges in your order. If you have more than one card saved to your account, you must select the pre-saved card you’d like to use for the entire order. If someone else buys your badge, their payment method will be used.

Follow the steps below to save your card before the sale.

WAITING ROOM EXPECTATIONS

On October 26, the virtual waiting room opens at 8:00 AM PDT. To enter, go to the Member ID Portal between* 8:00 AM and 9:00 AM PDT—no extra steps needed. If you’re logged in beforehand, click “Open Registration” in the top menu after 8:00 AM PDT.

Entry doesn’t guarantee a session, and not all members will be selected. The badge sale begins at 9:00 AM PDT, when everyone in the waiting room will be placed into a randomized queue. If selected, you’ll need to log in to your Member ID to continue. Only confirmed and verified Member IDs can access the sale.

*WARNING: If you arrive AT 9:00 AM PDT or later, you’ll be placed at the end of the queue.

T. Gill © 2023 SDCC

Key Things to Know When Buying for Others

Before you dive into the process of buying badges for others, keep these important points in mind:

• Everyone you’re buying badges for needs to have a valid Comic-Con Member ID before the date of Open Registration.
• If you’re selected for a registration session, you can buy badges for up to three people, as long as supplies last. If you’re buying for yourself, you can grab badges for two additional members. If you’re not purchasing a badge for yourself, you can buy for up to three other members.
• You need the Member ID and last name of each person you want to buy badges for, exactly as it appears on their account. This includes suffixes and special characters.
• Children ages 12 and under are not registered in advance. They can attend Comic-Con for free with a paying adult! Check out our Child Badge Policy to learn more.

Steps To Buy Badges for Yourself

If you want to attend Comic-Con with your friends, don’t forget to buy a badge for yourself! We recommend adding your badges to the cart first. If you’re selected for a registration session, you’ll be prompted to log in to your Member ID account. On the “Registrants” tab of the registration page, your account information will be auto-populated. Under “Registration Options,” you will select each day you’d like to attend (if available) and then press “Add to Cart.”

From there, select “Register Another Member” to purchase badges for others! Do not proceed to checkout until all badges have been added to your cart.

Steps to Buy Badges for Friends and Family

Ready to help your friends and family score Comic-Con badges? Here’s what you need to do:

1. Get organized before the sale by collecting the Member IDs and last names of the people you’re buying for. Pay close attention to suffixes, hyphens, spaces, or accent marks in their last names—these details matter when entering information into the system.
2. If you’re selected for a registration session, click on “Register Another Member ID” to start adding your friends. Be sure to include any special characters and suffixes in their last names to make sure you find the right account.
3. When the Member ID and last name match, their name will appear in a green box. From there, you can choose badges from the available inventory and add them to your cart.
4. Once badges have been added to your cart, click “Register Another Member” to keep adding more people until everyone is in your cart, then head to checkout. Once you’re there, you can edit badge selections, but you won’t be able to change the registrants.

Adding and Removing Days During the Sale

Once you’ve added someone to your cart, you can edit their badge selections directly from the cart.

IMPORTANT

Badge Availability and Waiting Room Realities

Want more information? Check out our detailed Open Registration instructions HERE.

With more people eligible than there are badges available, the competition is tough! Keep in mind, entering the waiting room does not guarantee you a badge or a registration session, so it’s good to be prepared for the possibility of not securing one during Open Registration.

If someone selects all available badges for you during their registration session, and then you enter into your own registration session, you can no longer select badges for yourself since it has already been done so by a friend. You can, however, purchase badges for up to three other members if inventory is available.

Use your 15-minute session wisely, because inventory can sell out while you have badges in your cart. Your badge selections are not secured until you successfully process your order.

What To Watch For

Badge-Buying Groups

As Open Registration gets closer, badge-buying groups are a common tactic, but they’re not without risks. If you’re considering joining one, here’s what you should know:

In short, choose your badge-buying group wisely, and make sure everyone is trustworthy and well-organized.

You secured a badge for yourself and a friend . . .

What comes next?

You’ve managed to secure a badge for yourself and a friend—congrats! Now let’s cover what you should expect next:

Payment Processing

When you check out, the total amount of your purchase will be marked as “Due Later” and payments will begin processing within 72 hours. Only the buyer will get an email to confirm if the payment went through successfully or if it was declined. If it’s declined, don’t worry—the buyer will be given the chance to resubmit payment for the entire order. The original method of payment will attempt to be charged every day for 30 days until the payment is processed successfully or a different method of payment is provided.

To be safe, we recommend checking your Member ID account one week after the badge sale—if there’s still a balance due, you can submit payment for your own badges via the “My Notifications” tab of your Member ID account.

Badge Prices–

What do they cost?

L. Staples © 2024 SDCC

N. Watkins © 2023 SDCC

C. Machado © 2024 SDCC

HOW TO PURCHASE FOR YOURSELF AND/OR OTHERS

With the Member IDs and last names of the people you want badges for, let’s go through the process step by step:

1. On September 21, you will need to visit the Member ID Portal to enter the Queue-it waiting room between 8:00 AM–9:00 AM Pacific Daylight Time (PDT).
2. The sale will begin promptly at 9:00 AM PDT. If you are randomly selected for a registration session, you’ll be prompted to log in. Then, if:
   
   
   • you are including yourself in that group of three: located at the bottom of the page, under “Registration Options”, you will select each day you’d like to attend (if available) and then press “Add to Cart.”
   • you are buying for other people: you must click the “Register Another Member ID” tab, enter their Member ID and last name, and press “Search.” From there, if they are eligible, you will be able to select the days they would like (if available) and add them to your cart. 

BADGE INVENTORY

If someone selects all available badges for you during their registration session, and then you enter into your own registration session, you can no longer select badges for yourself since it has already been done so by a friend. You can, however, purchase badges for up to three other eligible members if inventory is available.

Use your 15-minute session wisely, because inventory can sell out while you have badges in your cart. Your badge selections are not secured until you successfully process your order. 

Want more information? Check out our detailed Returning Registration instructions HERE.

PAYMENTS AND CONFIRMATIONS

Only one form of payment can be submitted with your order. If you’re purchasing for others, make sure to work out payment details ahead of time! Comic-Con can not intervene if you purchase a badge for someone and they don’t pay you back.

When you check out, the total amount of your purchase will be marked as “Due Later” and your payment will be processed within 72 hours. An Order Acknowledgement email will be sent immediately after the order is submitted. We will begin processing credit cards, and an email notification will be sent to the buyer when payment is processed successfully. No matter when you purchased your badge during Returning Registration, everyone will receive their individual badge confirmation to the email associated with their Member ID account as we get closer to the event.

If the payment submitted for your group’s badge order is declined, the buyer will receive an email notification with an opportunity to submit a different method of payment. Your original method of payment will attempt to be charged every day for 30 days until the payment is processed successfully or a different method of payment is provided.

CHILDREN

Children ages 12 and under can attend Comic-Con for free with a paying adult and cannot be registered in advance. If you successfully purchase a Comic-Con 2025 badge, you will be able to pick up a child badge on-site at the event. To determine if your child qualifies for a child’s badge or is now considered a junior who needs their own account to participate in badge sales, please head to our Child Badge Policy page to learn more.