SDCC 2014: A final word for the road ...

End of Comic Con in San Diego, I hit the road on Sunday in the middle of the day, just after having once again been lucky by getting a copy of the exclusive version of Unikitty distributed by LEGO.

In the end, it's a nice experience that requires a good dose of patience (there are queues for everything) and which forces you to make choices: Impossible to do and see everything, even in four days . I had the opportunity to interact with many American visitors to the convention, some of whom knew the blog. I also met other bloggers present there, it was an opportunity to put faces on nicknames and to share our respective experiences.

Regarding LEGO and its presence at the convention: The booth was very attractive, especially for children, but the upcoming product announcements took place with a certain indifference. The brand staff present on site remained very available despite the crowds and the raffles to win the exclusive minifigs took place peacefully despite an endless queue to reach the two iPads on which you had to press a simple button to find out if these few hours of waiting would be rewarded.

I have no complaints, I consider myself extremely lucky and have obtained three of the four minifigs given out. The new minifig distribution system was also very popular with visitors who remembered last year's fiasco.

Only regret as far as I'm concerned, no really new announcements at LEGO. Everything that was presented had already been revealed on the internet for a few days.

A clarification about the people who resell their goodies on eBay that piss off LEGO fans: It's not limited to LEGO products. There are obviously teams of convention professionals, very organized, who take turns to buy or try to win all the exclusives offered by the different brands present (Mattel, Hasbro, Funko, etc ...) and who spend their days in skim the stands. I even ran into people who had spent the night outside in front of the convention center in order to access the LEGO stand as soon as it opened to be able to buy the three exclusive sets offered for sale at the rate of 200 copies per day.

Listening to the discussions of my neighbors in the different queues, I was able to realize the magnitude of the thing: Some block positions in the queues, they are then joined by other people which are there to multiply the chances of winning or buying an exclusive product. Barely out of the line, they immediately take pictures of their products and put them on sale before moving on to the next stand. They know the aftermarket of the exclusive product perfectly well, nothing escapes them.

Many transactions were also taking place within walking distance of the minifig distribution area. The losers were spending a few greenbacks to get the much-desired minifigure. All in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere where everyone made an effort to ensure that everyone is satisfied with the compromise. After all, we are in the USA, everything is sold and everything is bought, a matter of mentality.

The presence of these professionals was less obvious on Saturdays and Sundays, as families with children invaded the aisles of the convention center. Many children were also able to get their minifig and their smile or the cries of joy at the sight of Batman or Unikitty were fun to see. For the record, I also tried to exchange my Unikitty for a Batman, and the parents to whom I offered the transaction (they had won two copies of the minifig in question the day before) logically left their son decide. He preferred to keep Batman, he won. I had to try ...