Nobody gets a free ride. 

That said, it would be better to update and move to an electronic system, but that, too, costs money/time/labor. If GenCon did it the way the PP suggested, each GM would need a scanner. Unless they did it through an app, it seems like this would be majorly cost prohibitive.
 

A quick look at Origins numbers for attendance (17k in 2017) indicates that they have a significantly smaller amount of attendees, GMs and other moderators to deal with, so that's really comparing apples to oranges, IMO.

I've been quite impressed with the way GenCon organizes their convention, given the ridiculously high number of gamers that attend the convention and I'm looking forward to seeing my very first one in August, and I hope to see several more in the years to come!

I always just pick mine up wednesday night without problem. I don't want to forget my ticket or have it get lost (is it insured en route?). Also im sure the first year they attempt that Q code scan its going to go wrong and hold everyone up lol

shipping WORST Ever

Will Call forever!

I am surprised people are complaining about shipping charges when they have a free option available. I understand all of those who do not want to leave their badges at home & do will call. We did will call last year & it worked fine. With that said I wanted my badge in my hand early this year & so I paid the $10. My choice. No complaints. Gen Con does a great job with that will call line too. Looks crazy long, but it goes by quickly even at peak time.

Just another vote for Will Call line. The wife and I have a routine that works well, arriving in Indy on Wednesday evening and I stand in line while she enjoys some shopping/coffee nearby, lol. The line moves fast though, and I trust the line more than postal delivery. 

For those of us who work the con in some capacity the time saved is worth it. Heck i don't even get my badge in my packet, just my event tickets. 

Even with the fulfillment charge built in of having people print the tickets and then pick/pack the lanyards and plastic badge holder along with any other printed materials, shipping is still a profit center for Gen Con LLC.   Nothing wrong with that, in my opinion.  A lot of companies WISELY do it.

Will Call lines were always short for most of my Gencon life. Slowly started increasing and I waited 45 minutes to an hour 2 years ago.

Have paid the $10 since. Totally worth it.

This is the first year I shipped my badge and ticket. Yes, the Will Call long gets LONG, but it is rather quick and the people working the counters are super friendly. I always play games on Wednesday at Union Station and with me expecting larger attendance this year, I am shipping my badge for the first time. 

Some things to consider

1. in 2004 a 4 day pass cost $75 ? , now it's $100.
   
2. Events use to be $1 now $2
   
3. GenCon should have NO DEBT since declaring bankruptcy
   
4. There is a LOT of extra ca$h rolling in.
   
5. A successful business will always invest in infrastructure or tech improvements.
   
6. Scanners? How many folks own an iPhone or Android? a small app that uses a QR Scanner should do the job.
   

2. $1 inflates to less (a lot less), but it's hard to make generic tickets weird amounts.  They went up to $1.50, then up to $2.  That, actually seems reasonable.

3. Bankruptcy does not clear all debt, and even if it did GenCon has been operating for 9 years since then.  Debt accrues yearly, hopefully they are making enough to pay off their debt.  I would assume they are.

4. Is there a lot of extra cash?  the con has grown tremendously -- with that growth comes increased revenue, yes, but also increased cost.  I'm sure there is *more* cash, I don't know that it's as big as you would assume.  But, it's not a publicly traded company so we have no way of knowing.

5. True! And they have been, every year they are working on and changing the way things operate.  Do I wish they would focus on other things? Yes, but that's because it would be more convenient for *me*, not necessarily the best use of their resources.

6. I personally know some GM's who do not own smartphones or tablets.  requiring attendees, or even only GM's to own a smartphone is extremely limiting when you rely on volunteer run events.  Providing a scanner/smartphone for every event would be very expensive not just to purchase, but also store.

I gladly pay the $10 to have it shipped to me.   I drop things at the auction and that starts at 12PM Wednesday and is almost 2 hours to check through so, any time I save by not standing in the will call line allows me to get through the auction quicker which in turn allows me to get something to eat quicker and sit down for a night of gaming quicker.  So, the $10 is just a convenience for me to save time.. even an just an hour or two.

Used to have the tickets mailed to me until one year they didn't show up, fortunately they weren't lost. It was just that gencon failed to include my apartment number in my address. ( I checked and I did remember to include it when giving them my address) So I ended up waiting in the WC line anyway, which I found to not be that bad. It certainly beat the constant nagging fear that I was going to get all the way to Indy just to realize that I left my tickets at home. Since then I've always done will call. (I actually missed the Gen con that Will call was apparently terrible because I had to go to a wedding)

I'm thinking that this year I may find I regret not having it mailed though. We'll see I suppose.

Just do Will Call line...it's very long but moves very fast.  Plus, you can hang out with gamers and see gamers, and talk gaming...