Joe Con 2015: Registration Updates

Joe Con 2015

The dates for Joe Con 2015 are looming ever closer and potential attendees are wondering “How soon can we register for the event?”  Today, the folks at the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club sent out this update regarding the registration time table and the effect of the West Coast dock workers slowdown on the convention sets:

 

Hello everyone!

I hope you have been enjoying the images of the convention sets at GIJoeCon.com!  We are very excited to be able to bring these figures to you.

Here’s the current registration update:  We are still getting the final bugs worked out of the new version of the registration software.  We are down to 9 critical issues and the programmer is working to correct them.  As you know in development, sometimes when you fix one thing, it causes an error somewhere else.  So, no registration this week.  Unknown about next week at this time.  

We are planning to put attending and non-attending up at the same time so both will fall in line with the first day (24 hr) exclusive pin (3 3/4″ set) / jacket (12″ set).  We will also be extending the discount date for Exhibitors ordering multiple booths, so no worries.  

 

Several of you have expressed concerns about the west coast dock workers slow down.  Yes it is true that the ports are backed up for weeks maybe months.  Because of this, we are bringing in all of the convention items via air freight and it will be really tight for the final shipment as it’s coming in multiple waves.  

 

If you have not made a hotel reservation, please do so quickly as there are just a few rooms left for each night.  Use the link at GIJoeCon.com!

See you in Springfield!

Brian

Sigh…

I hate to say it but we’ve been here before.  More than once.  (Yes, those are multiple links.)  It seems that every year there’s some sort of issue with the registration system that causes continual delays and a series of “registration is coming soon” messages that are inevitably followed by “registration is REALLY coming soon.”

I know– there’s a sentiment shared in some corners of the fandom that says we should just be patient with the Club, that they’re a small business, and that they’re doing their best.  I agree that resources aren’t as plentiful for small business owners as they are for larger corporations– especially when it comes to IT support.  Still, after the massive credit card breach and the 2013 and 2014 registration delays, one would think that the Club has made registration their top priority.  After all, if you don’t register for the event, you can’t attend and spend money on the Club’s exclusive figures, right?

The cynic in me says that Joe Con isn’t the Club’s top priority and that Joe Con really serves as the beta test for the larger and likely more profitable Bot Con that will be held later this year.

I do applaud the GIJCC for the decision to air freight in the merchandise for the con sets this year but hearing that the timing will be really tight doesn’t give this Joe fan much confidence.  All it will take is a sudden surge in air freight traffic due to the dock workers labor dispute to cause the wheels to come off.

However, that’s just speculation on my part.  We’ll post any future updates as we receive them here at JBL.

More importantly– what do YOU think of all of this?  Let us know in the comments below!