quote:

Originally posted by chesspieceface:
True.

The first two years I went (96 & 97), I went as an employee of our local comic store who had a booth there. (I didn't work at the store, they just needed to beef up the team for Comic Con). I just had to do a few hours of work each day, and the rest was mine to do as I pleased. I mention that, because I don't remember how much it cost to attend those years.

However in 1998, my first year on my own, I remember one could go in the morning and easily get a ticket for that same day and then park right next to the convention for $4 or so (first, in the area Hall H now occupies and then in the space the Hilton Hotel now occupies once Hall H was built).

And not only could you get your ticket and parking on the same day, but Sunday sales must have been really slow back then as I distinctly remember once being given a Sunday pass for free with the purchase of a Saturday pass. That was in 1998 and/or 1999.

And in the year 2000, I believe it was $15 for Saturday and all other days were $10 (no Preview night yet), but you could stil get a Saturday/Sunday combo for $20 total.

This year, by contrast, if you didn't get parking under the center or in the Hilton Garage and need to park in one of the outer spots for Thursday through Sunday, the cost of parking alone is $110+ including the nebulous "handling" fees" on an internet transaction that takes a few clicks from your own computer and your own printer to deliver to you what you have purchased.

But it is a pretty incredible show these days and you can see where the money goes, and why it attracts a significantly wider and more diverse group of fans than it did even 10 years ago.

But from the point of view of a card collector, it was already an incredible show even back in 1996, and a WHOLE lot cheaper! Now I would say, if your interest is primarily in cards, there are many abetter ways to spend your money. (Still a LOT of stuff for comics fans, though).

I actually wasn't going to go this year, having decided to "retire" after my 16th consecutuve trip in 2011, but my girlfriend (who I used to have to drag to it in the early 2000's) talked me into going. She likes to see the movie stars, you see.

sigh...

quote:

Originally posted by John Tirohn:
I never did understand service fees. I purchased several days and had the service fee applied for each day, sholud have been only once IMHO!

quote:

Originally posted by MrBlueofnyc:

quote:

Originally posted by John Tirohn:
I never did understand service fees. I purchased several days and had the service fee applied for each day, sholud have been only once IMHO!

You have to hit CTR-Shift to highlight all of the days in order to buy them all at once, if you did that you would only get charged the fee once.