Posted in: Comics | Tagged: comic con, Comics, eccc, entertainment

The Organised Comic Con Scalpers Of Seattle

Ian Melton and Alyssa Pack wrote from Emerald City Comic-Con a few weeks ago. But this issue is beginning to affect more and more shows…

Emerald City Comic-Con has grown ever year, and 2014's convention was no exception, however 2013 was the convention's first major sellout year and with its second sellout year another element become very prevalent, scalpers. Hanging outside the Washington State Convention Center, mere feet from the doors, eight to ten individuals, spanning from the block of the center to two blocks away, could be seen holding up signs saying "need tickets" "want tickets?" and "tickets wanted" on simple colored cardboard signs. Seen by convention goers all day Saturday and Sunday, asking every person leaving the convention, calling out "done with your tickets?", these people were a new convention stable showing the popularity ECCC has gained.

Some of these people might have been hopeful convention goers who hoped to get in by catching a leaving con-goer, but three individuals when approached by Bleeding Cool reporters about if they would like to speak with Bleeding Cool, what they wanted the tickets for, and who they were excited to be able to meet the gentlemen, and one lady, walked away, apparently not wanting to comment. The same approach to making the signs suggests the people were all together in the same group, but this couldn't be confirmed by Bleeding Cool. The scalpers were both men and women carrying the signs, were of various races, and age ranges, with the most noticeable being an elderly woman spotted at the corner of Pike and 7th constantly during the convention. The individuals were seen outside the convention from before the convention opening until after the convention ended. This marks a very different type of "vendor" outside the convention and a sign of just how big ECCC has gotten.

The dubious legal nature of this activity makes it a concern, and a nuisance that ECCC con-goers dealt with all weekend long. While other conventions obviously have this issue, a sell-out of tickets apparently created a market place for these scalpers in Seattle. The process may have been made easier this year with ECCC badges becoming more generic and not featuring con-goer names or even numbers. The main issue that con-goers had with the scalpers was more of annoyance, being constantly pestered if they walked outside the main convention exit by these individuals. However, if another sell-out year occurs the presence of scalpers is again almost guaranteed, and the price that ECCC pays for its popularity.

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