Article:
The Benefits and Dangers of Pre-Registering for a Fandom Convention

The vast majority of fandom conventions, whether large or small, offer their attendees the opportunity to pre-register. What is pre-registration exactly? It means the attendee commits to attend the convention in advance, and does so by paying up-front. One of the ways conventions encourage this, is to offer those who pre-register a discounted price. It seems simple enough, right? But there are some complexities to the pre-registration debate, both from the position of attendees and of organizers, and I'll attempt to address some of these below.

The Benefits of Pre-Registering for a Convention:

One of the biggest benefits of pre-registering has already been mentioned: you get your tickets (sometimes called "memberships") at a discounted price. Just how much of a discount that is really depends on the convention. For a smaller con, the price difference is probably only $5 to $10. For a larger convention, the price difference can be much more substantial (say, $30 - $40). If you want to ensure you get the best price possible, sign up for any newsletters the con offers, follow them on Twitter, and check their website regularly.

One of the other major benefits to pre-registering can be the time saved at the convention doors. Some conventions mail out tickets/badges to those who have pre-registered. That means attendees can just walk in upon arrival. Other cons do not mail them out, but will offer an "early pick-up" time, or an accelerated entry process. That being said, sometimes conventions manage to screw up the pre-reg pick up process, causing those lines to accept exceed the day-of purchase lines. I recommend checking a con's forums or past convention reports to see if the con has had trouble with pre-reg pick up lines in the past.

Another benefit of pre-registering is that the attendee is guaranteed to get in. Some conventions implement attendance caps, which means once they reach so many attendees, they cut off ticket sales. For conventions like PAX and San Diego Comic-Con, day-of sales don't even exist for weekend long passes, as they will have long since sold out. But worse that knowing you missed out on the con in advance, is finding out after waiting in line outside for an hour (or four).