June
25 Buyers beware scalped Comic-Con tickets

As soon as sellouts became a possibility, it was inevitable that folks would try to sell their tickets to next month's Comic-Con Intl. in San Diego at a profit.

Right now, there are about a dozen or so auctions up on eBay for Comic-Con passes. Prices on completed auctions show people willing to pay more than $100 for a sold-out one-day Saturday pass that originally sold for $35. Four-day passes, which originally cost $75 each and have been sold out for weeks, are going for as much as $300 each. Plus, there's this solicit right here in the comments section of this very blog.

But buyers should beware. It looks like many folks are selling the emailed confirmation notice that would then be presented at the con to receive a badge. Problem is, if the buyer's name doesn't match yours, you may not get what you paid for.

I checked with David Glanzer, spokesman for the Con, who emails that con-goers will need to present both their confirmation printout and a matching photo ID to pick up their badge.

Additionally, Glanzer writes this even applies to complimentary passes:

I would also discourage people from purchasing Complimentary Passes that may appear on auction sites or online community sites.  These passes can be invalid.

Each complimentary pass is encoded with a bar code/number system. Each complimentary pass has been pre-scanned with the recipients information (whether that be an individual or a group). Even if the complimentary pass is left blank (as many are) the information is still recorded in our database.

If someone tries to redeem the complimentary pass and their ID doesn't match what is on file, the pass becomes invalid.

This won't stop everyone (or perhaps even most people who want to do so) from selling their badges, though it may force a few to secure the actual badge before transferring ownership rather than just forwarding the email confirmation. There also are a number of auctions promising to "transfer" the membership, promising they've secured special permission to do even even though there apparently was a deadline for this and it's passed.

All of which makes this a definite case of buyer beware, and should prompt anyone who absolutely must attend the show to get the still-available one-day passes for Thursday, Friday and Sunday before they, too, are gone.