The Energon Pub

For anyone who's experienced at going to Botcons, I could use a little advice. This will be my first year going, but I can only afford to go for one day with a general admission pass for Saturday. Botcon's FAQ page mentioned that it's possible that convention exclusives may run out by that point. Do they generally sell out of souvenirs and exclusive sets on Thursday & Friday, or is there usually enough left for general admission Saturday attendees (who don't have a TFCC package)?

That's the whole reason I want to go this year (to get the exclusive set & because it's in my home state)! Thanks in advance for any advice.

If you want the figures, then I suggest trying to get there as early as possible the fist day and make a bee-line straight to Hasbro's booth. You may be lucky.

Otherwise I'd suggest setting up a BigBadToyStore account and watch them like a hawk for the additional botcon figs. Their prices may be elevated but they'll go cheaper there than they would on ebay.

Thanks for the great advice, Mkall. I'll try to do that! I'm excited to go for the first time!

In my experience (the past two years), the souvenir figures usually sell out by Friday afternoon. Going to BotCon on a one-day general admission basis is really only feasible if you live in the area and are only interested in the Sales Room. If you're flying in or driving a large distance, the one day pass simply isn't enough to justify the travel expenses, IMO. The best way to get the figures is to register in advance. If you go with the Primus package, you get the boxed set. Otherwise, you can pretty much forget getting a boxed set, except on the secondary market. If you go with the cheaper Protoform package, you'll still be able to hit up the Club Booth Thursday evening and Friday morning to get the souvenir figures and other niceties (in this year's case, the ROTF figures).

Regardless, good luck in your endeavors. If you're serious about getting the souvenir figures or the ROTF figures, I would strongly advise being there no later than noon on Friday, and that's probably pushing it. The lines are going to be insane.

Thanks for your great advice! I decided to heed both of your warnings/suggestions and pre-registered for the Primus package, since I'd end up spending just as much money trying to buy the exclusive sets anyway (or more, on the after-market). I'm really excited to go for the first time!

You're going to be so glad you did. See you there, man!

goshjosh95 wrote:Thanks for your great advice! I decided to heed both of your warnings/suggestions and pre-registered for the Primus package, since I'd end up spending just as much money trying to buy the exclusive sets anyway (or more, on the after-market). I'm really excited to go for the first time!

Good call.

Look us up prior to the convention.

We'll reserve an extra hooker or two for you.

Good move. I made the mistake of waiting too long and when I got there Friday afternoon, all the Primus packages were spoken for and I got the 2005 set instead. The Primus packages will be sold out way before the event anyway, so good on you for just taking the plunge.

Now to get my set, dang bills keep preventing it.

Counterpunch wrote:

goshjosh95 wrote:Thanks for your great advice! I decided to heed both of your warnings/suggestions and pre-registered for the Primus package, since I'd end up spending just as much money trying to buy the exclusive sets anyway (or more, on the after-market). I'm really excited to go for the first time!

Good call.

Look us up prior to the convention.

We'll reserve an extra hooker or two for you.

Which is another great thing about Botcon not being in Cincy this year!