Based on the Daily Beast article and the cancellation of ComicCon Asia 2018 last week, I predicted that Stan Lee’s “management team” would cancel his appearance at Silicon Valley Comic Con 2018. I didn’t expect the cancellation to happen the very next morning. As many fans found out this past weekend, Stan Lee’s profile and ticket listings disappeared from the SVCC website without explanation. No official confirmation from SVCC that Stan Lee has canceled his appearances. Here are your two two options for your canceled autograph and/or photo-op tickets.
Read The F.A.Q.
Based on the numerous questions asked on Facebook and on my Stan Lee videos, most attendees were unaware that the SVCC website has a Frequently Asked Questions (or F.A.Q.). While the F.A.Q. was a bit confusing as the question of cancellation is answered in several different places, I’m going to focus on “What if a guest cancels?” under Celebrity Guests.
“When a guest cancels their appearance and you already per-purchased their Photo Op or Autograph, you have the option to either swap that Photo Op or Autograph to another product of equal or greater value or request a refund.”
SVCC 2018 F.A.Q.
You have two options: swap your ticket(s) or request a refund.
Swap Tickets
“To upgrade or swap your voucher, simply open the Photo Op or Autograph voucher email that was sent to you from GrowTix and go into your order. Click the green button that says ‘Swap or Upgrade!’ Select the pass/Photo Op/Autograph you would like to exchange or upgrade to and pay the difference if applicable.”
SVCC 2018 F.A.Q.
This might be the faster of the two options.
If you paid attention to the SVCC Facebook page, many new guests have been announced this past week. The biggest announcement was David Tennant, who played the tenth doctor on the longest running science fiction TV series, Doctor Who.
- You could swap out your $120 Stan Lee autograph ticket for a $135 David Tennant personalized autograph ticket and pay the extra $15.
- You could not swap your $120 Stan Lee autograph ticket for a $105 David Tennant autograph only ticket and get $15 back.
- Yes, it’s going to cost an extra $30 to have the tenth doctor personalized his autograph with “Dear Master”.
I don’t recall how much the Stan Lee photo op ticket was, but you will have a similar choice when swapping tickets. Keep in mind that the swap must be of equal or greater value.
Otherwise, you will need to request a refund.
Request A Refund
“If you would simply like a refund, please email us at registration@svcomiccon.com.”
SVCC 2018 F.A.Q.
This might be the slower of the two options. You will have to sit tight until the official cancellation announcement gets made and more information is provided on refunds.
Depending on how many Stan Lee autograph and/or photo op tickets were sold, SVCC might experience a cash crunch and can’t issue refunds at this time. According to one rumor, Silicon Valley Comic Con has already paid out the appearance fee to Stan Lee’s “management team” and is trying to get the money back before issuing any refunds.
That might take a while.
The Daily Beast reported that a team of forensic accountants are determining how several millions of dollars were stolen from Stan Lee in the past year. Based on how the Jeff Goldblum cancellation got handled several weeks ago, it might take another week for things to get squared away. The worst case scenario is that refunds won’t be issued until just before or after the start of SVCC.
Attendees who haven’t bought advanced tickets will be paying an extra $15 per ticket at the door. No doubt to encourage attendees to buy tickets in advance and keep the coffers full of cash just in case another big name celebrity decides to cancel.