$10 for USPS Shipping?
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Posted by furyvengeance

Posted by sstalker23

If you arrive on Thursday around opening you will be waiting in line for over an hour.  I arrived last year on Wednesday and there was no line when I checked in.  Its all about when you plan to arrive and if you have better things to do with the time than stand in line. 

Personally I detest standing in line if I can avoid it.  I pay for the shipping and while my group stands in line talking about what they want to do...I grab the coupon book, hit up the vendor hall, get any last minute generics, go hang out with other groups of friends from around the country, etc. 

Posted by mrshiny

They ship Priority Mail, so its $6.65 to USPS and probably the rest is "handling."

Posted by mrshiny

They ship Priority Mail, so its $6.65 to USPS and probably the rest is "handling."

Posted by big12cowboys

I've done will-call every year and have never stood in line more than 40 mins.

Posted by wendel

The $10 shipping price gouging is just to get you ready for the gouging you will get during the convention...
Remember the $4 cans of soda?
:-)

Posted by wendel

While the Will Call lines are long due to the great work and organization of the convention staff the lines move very quickly.
If you hate to stand in lines you probably should not come to Gen Con!
 

Posted by maijstral2

I have done will call for the last 3 years due to problems with my stuff being mailed the two prior years. I've had no problems with will call despite HUGE looking lines it usually only takes about 30-40 minutes on Wednesday. This year however after everything I had 8 dollars system credit so I figured WTH and changed to priority mail for the 2 bucks extra. My problems in the past was with delayed and lost packages and with priority its tracked so I'll take a chance. Besides Customer service was awesome with my lost stuff 4 years ago, true it cost me to rebuy everything but I was able to recreate my schedule and got refunded when the package showed up literally the day before Gencon.

Posted by divachelle wendel

wendel wrote:
The $10 shipping price gouging is just to get you ready for the gouging you will get during the convention...
If you don't want to pay it, don't. Stand in line. 

I broke the costs down on page 1 of this thread. I can't see how they're gouging anyone at the $10 price point. And if you order multiples, it's still only $10 to ship everything. 

For me, it's worth it. YMMV. 

Posted by trace_sl aldctjoc

aldctjoc wrote:
Huh. I was not really thinking in terms of avoiding the will call lines when I added shipping. I was trying to satisfy my inner Gollum by getting the badge early and having some alone time with it, stroking and cuddling it while whispering "My Precious...". 
:D

:) just don't forget it when the time comes :)

Posted by trace_sl

For those that do stand in line, just remember Will Call is 24 hours, and line length is like the tide based on time of the day.  Wednesday, 12 noon line opens, around 3PM is a lot of hotel check ins, 6PM people are doing Wednesday events, 9PM people start thinking about bed and an early start.  The Will Call lines follow those times, rising and lowering with the flow of people.  Late night, is a good time to grab your badges. 

 

Posted by jedikitty aldctjoc

aldctjoc wrote:I was trying to satisfy my inner Gollum by getting the badge early and having some alone time with it, stroking and cuddling it while whispering "My Precious...". 
:D

Can confirm - doing this is fun. :D

Posted by mikeboozer

Will Call lines are optimum at 2:00 AM Thursday morning. 

Worst at about 7:00 PM Wednesday Night. 

Just saying.

Posted by mvotruba

The $10 shipping would not bother me at all.  What worries me is that the badge/tickets would be marked "delivered" and I would not have received them.  Then I'd have to pay full price for replacements.  Not having that concern IS worth standing in line for.

I live in a housing tract where the idiot developers named several streets the same name, only changing "Street," "Way," "Drive," and "Place."  Stuff gets misdelivered often.  I'm NOT risking my Gen Con badges on that.

I've always picked up my badges/tickets.  The line moves pretty quick and I pass the time chatting with friends and fellow gamers...goes by fast.

In the end, do what works best for you and your budget.

Posted by braewe

Hey fellow team Special! Just so you know, the 'marked delivered' is why they changed from FedEx. When we weren't home we had to actually go to the post office to pick it up. It's signature required, no 'drop off' allowed. And if it gets returned gencon will have it at willcall.

But we went back to will call anyway. It's just so nice to not be ABLE to forget them at home. Our family is prone to forgetting things. In my years attending, we've forgotten: adventure to be gm'd (not once but twice!), the candles for Cthulhu by Candlelight, dice, socks, pencils(I was THAT gamer that year),  the entire bag of cosplay shoes, the cooler of snacks(don't ask me how we could forget that, we had to WALK AROUND it to get outside) so I figure it was only a matter of time before we forgot the badges.

I once had to drive an hour back at the start of a three hour drive to see Paul McCartney when we left the tickets in the OTHER CAR. I had stuffed them in the glove compartment so they couldn't be left behind...and the transmission went out the day before. 

So for me the stress of maybe forgetting them is worth the will call line, which moves along at a pretty brisk pace anyway.

Posted by ytuni

I don't mind the $10 delivery fee. If your group can purchase everyone's items on one account you can get an unlimited number of badges/tickets/lanyards shipped for just $10! For me it's just my husband and I but that's only $5 each. 

My only concern with the shipping, I've noticed several people on these forums state that they did not have to sign for their package. I'm not sure where the break down was there....

I usually have to pick mine up at the post office after missing the delivery, but still worth it to have everything in hand when we arrive!

Posted by armadilloal

Between my wife and I, there is approximately a 50% chance that we'll be home to sign for a package, but a 50% chance of waiting in line for my package at the post office is better than a 100% chance of waiting in line at Will Call.

Plus, I'm not planning on being downtown at all on Wednesday, so I'd either have to make a special trip (and completely negating the cost savings in parking) or show up at way-too-early on Thursday to pick up my stuff before my 8am event.

I've done it both ways in the past, depending on what works best for my schedule, and having them mailed works best for me this year.

Posted by hahnarama

They charge you $10 because hey have yet to find a legal way to charge you for the air you breath in the Convention center.

The will call, the only way you can get your badges, at Origins was awesome. You walked up with the bar code on your email and printed out your badge. 

It's the 21st Century and GenCon is still running business like it's 1950. I'm not sure why everything is not tied to the bar-code on your badge. No paper tickets, you show up to your even and they scan your badge. 

Posted by dreamitdoit

Gen Con could definitely improve how they handle registrations / tickets by going electronic and using scanners for will call and badges, but it's expensive and they are not unique in being "behind". The American Library Association Conference this year seemed similarly lo-tech in their badge pickup and a 45 minute line on a day in the middle of the convention that circled around itself with the END of the line in the MIDDLE of the circle.

 

Posted by david campbell

I don't mind the $10 either; I get badges and tickets for myself and three other folks and have it delivered to my office where there is always someone to sign for it. Just works out; even the 20 minutes in will call is too precious for $2.50 a person...:)

That being said, they could absolutely do more to modernize. One of my biggest peeves is once pre-reg is done; the schedule is more or less locked. As new events are added moving forward now, I can only add them if there is a hole in my schedule that matches. Paizo could drop 10,0000 more Starfinder seats and I can't drop anything to make room for it; I need to wait for the Con and take my chances.

Yes, a new system would require careful planning, additional upfront expense, training and so on... it would be worth it. Not having to print and distribute paper tickets would pay for itself in a short time, and give attendees incredible new flexibilty.

 

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