If you need any more proof of the rising popularity of Comic-Con, then you needn't look any further than how the Con has struggled this year to sell badges.  The rush to get badges for the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con has crashed their site twice so now Con organizers are trying something new.  In order to sell badges, Comic-Con will be using a ticket seller (TicketLeap) and a registration company (EPIC) to try and organize the traffic flow and sell badges.  Hopefully it will work better than the system they have for selling hotel rooms.

Hit the jump for more details on the new plan.  The 2011 San Diego Comic-Con will run from July 21 – 24th.

Here's how the new plan is supposed to work: TicketLeap will be responsible for managing initial badge requests while EPIC will send out unique registration log-in codes and process badge registration and payment.  Comic-Con is testing the system with 1,000 4-Day Badges on December 15th.  Here's how Comic-Con says it's supposed to work:

On December 15 at 8:00am PST, 1,000 4-Day Comic-Con badges will be available by checking www.comic-con.org for a TicketLeap registration link. Each 4-day badge will cost $105.00 for Adults and $52.00 for Juniors/Seniors and will require a $1.00 non-refundable deposit and a $2.00 non-refundable service charge per badge paid directly to TicketLeap. You will only pay the deposit and service charge at TicketLeap when you make your initial badge request. You will pay for your full Comic-Con 4-day badge separately on the EPIC registration website.

For this test, an individual may request up to two badges only. If you request two badges you will be charged a total of $6.00, a $2.00 deposit and a service charge of $4.00, that will be paid directly to TicketLeap at the time of request. If you are among the first 1,000 people to request a badge, TicketLeap will send you a confirmation e-mail that will confirm the number of badges you are able to purchase. If badges are sold out when you make your request, you will not be charged anything for participating in this test. If you receive a confirmation from TicketLeap, but decide not to purchase a badge from EPIC, your $1.00 deposit and $2.00 service charge is still non-refundable.

After you receive your TicketLeap confirmation, EPIC will send you one e-mail for each badge confirmed by TicketLeap. Be sure to add registration@epicreg.com to your e-mail contacts or address book so your registration e-mail won’t go to your SPAM folder. Check your SPAM folder if you do not receive an e-mail from EPIC within three hours after tickets have sold out on TicketLeap. The EPIC e-mail will contain one unique log-in code and additional instructions on how to pay for your badges. You are not registered at this time. You must log-in to EPIC and pay for your badges after you receive the e-mail. You will have 24 hours only from the time you receive your e-mail code from EPIC to log in to the EPIC site and purchase your badges. The badges are $105.00 for Adults and $52.00 for Juniors/Seniors, but as a thank you for participating in this test, you will receive a $3.00 credit per badge purchased upon EPIC check out.

Because this is a test you are limited to two 4-day badges without Preview Night only, but based on the results of this test we may set a different limit for future sales.

We understand the inconvenience this process has been, but we thank you sincerely for bearing with us and taking part in this test which we hope will mean a better registration experience for everyone.