Jun 19 2009
The Pros & Cons of Pre-Registering for a Convention
It is one of the age old questions about convention attendance: do I pre-register, or buy my membership/ticket at the door? There are a couple of different factors to consider, so I am going to break the choice down into a simple list of pros and cons to help you make a decision. In terms of my personal convention experiences, I’ve done both and have experienced a wide variety of outcomes - some good and some heinously bad. I want to help you avoid the bad.
The Pros of Pre-Registering for a Convention
1. You get to lock in a discounted membership price.
If you’re concerned about how expensive fandom conventions are becoming, then getting your membership at a discounted price is probably pretty important. The general rule of thumb is this: the earlier you buy, the cheaper it is. How much cheaper? Well, that completely depends on the convention. Sometimes it can be as much as $50 or more. Sometimes it’s as little as $5. Keep an eye on the convention’s website, and sign up for a mailing list if they have one. That way you’ll be alerted when tickets become available, and when pre-registration deadlines are looming on the horizon.
2. You (usually) get to skip the really long “day of” lines.
Aside from saving money, one of the big bonuses to pre-registering for a convention is that you don’t have to wait in line to purchase your membership the morning you arrive. The lines can be absolutely massive for larger cons. I’ve seen “day of” lines for Dragon*con and Otakon wrap around city blocks before. Now, you may not even have this as an incentive for smaller conventions, but for the big ones pre-registration is almost necessary if you don’t want to waste half a day in line.
3. Pre-registering guarantees you admittance.
For conventions with an attendance cap, pre-registering can be the only way to guarantee yourself entry to the convention. There simply may not be any memberships left come Saturday morning. It would really suck to travel to a con and get to the front doors only to find out the con is full. If you’re concerned about this, you should try to contact the convention’s organizers to find out a) if they have an attendance cap, and b) if they are anywhere close to hitting it. A well organized con will put that sort of information on their website, but independent verification doesn’t hurt.
The Cons of Pre-Registering for a Convention
1. Planning so far in advance can be difficult, if not impossible.
One of the inherent problems involved in pre-registration (especially if we’re talking about doing it 6+ months in advance), is that plans and circumstances change. While attending a convention might have been totally feasible financially a year ago, now you’re eating Ramen for dinner every night. Plans and finances can change a lot over a few months.
It’s worth noting that this might not be a problem for every con-goer. Some conventions allow people to transfer a membership (warning: sometimes there are fees and paperwork involved). But for those cons that don’t allow membership transfers, pre-registering can mean locking yourself into a con or simply being out the money if you can’t go. And if you’re pre-registering pretty far in advance, you’re increasing the odds of this happening to you. Always find out what a convention’s policy is before pre-registering!
2. Guests lists can change/guests can cancel last minute.
Okay, raise your hand if this has happened to you: you pre-register for a convention specifically because of one particular guest, and then they cancel. It has probably happened to most of us I’m afraid. It’s even worse when you don’t find out a guest has canceled until you’re already at the convention (it happens!). And guess what? The vast majority of conventions will not be giving you a refund either. The reason? Most guests have clauses in their appearance contracts with the convention that say they can pull out for a whole slew of different reasons. Most cons will post this on their website somewhere, right above the line that says “no refunds.” So buyer beware, that is the nature of the convention beast. A good rule of thumb: if you’re only attending a con for a specific guest, check that refund policy.
3. “Day of” membership buyers get to be the people skipping all the registration lines sometimes.
Believe it or not, sometimes buying a ticket the day of the convention means you get to be the one skipping a massive line. Depending on how well organized a convention is, pre-registration pick up can be a royal nightmare. It all depends on the con, the number of pre-registrants, and the day and time you’re doing it. It is a gamble though. You could wind up missing half the convention if you assume incorrectly. It’s best to try and find out about how registration pick up went in previous years, before deciding to forgo pre-registering (especially for one of the bigger conventions).
Important Edit:
There is something I neglected to mention, and I want to make sure I add it here. There have been some cons (new and old alike) that have folded over the past few years, leaving many pre-registered attendees without refunds or a con to attend (JumpCon comes to mind). You should always do your homework before turning over money to an event, whether it is a convention, festival, faire, etc. Find out if they have a refund policy if the convention gets cancelled. Check the Better Business Bureau. Google the organizers. It really is “buyer beware.”
On the flip side, many cons use pre-regustration funds to invest in making a convention better. They also use it as a guide to help them determine turn out. Pre-registering can make a convention easier to plan and execute, from an organizer’s standpoint.
Check out these other Pro & Con articles:
The Pros & Cons of Wearing a Costume to a Convention
The Pros & Cons of Traveling by Plane to a Convention
Pros & Cons: The Day Trip Convention
Pros & Cons: Large Conventions (The Cons)
Pros & Cons: Large Conventions (The Pros)
Pros & Cons: Small Conventions (The Cons)
Pros & Cons: Small Conventions (The Pros)
@ Kevin
Now, I’ve never run my own con… but isn’t that how we ended up with some major con companies folding in the past (relying primarily on pre-regs to fund set up of the con)? I recall reading a few articles about how having enough capital/investment to cover all of the bookings/guests BEFORE you even sell a ticket is really how it should be done, to prevent a con from folding once it has started taking money from the fans in the form of pre-regs.