Tsujoi wrote...
I'm not sure if there's a better way of handling digital codes for purchases at conventions, but we're open to ideas!
Back in the day, you had to mail in proofs of purchase for cereal prizes.
Seems like a photo of the receipt might be more reliable than the photo of the book, I assume the receipt would provide some unique info like time and date of purchase that might prevent people from just taking a photo of a friend's book.
Otherwise, it would have to be uniquely generated OEM code, which is probably overkill for this. Hypothetically you could print stickers since the books are sealed and have the 'access the digital content with this code' type of deal. But you would have to generate the codes and store them in the database (which isn't terrible). Put them in a spreadsheet and you can proably print them out on a sticker sheet. The printers maybe willing to apply a preprinted label on the books, otherwise, manual application would be tedious.
I worked for a small indie publisher and there was more than one project where all the non-managers were pulled into the warehouse to unwrap, sticker, and re-shrink a product. 20-30 people working to redo 5000 units can usually get it done ine less than a week. Memories...