This is how con exclusives used to be. Everyone has gotten so entitled over the last few years with exclusives being so readily available. Then policies revert back to the way they used to be, everyone freaks out. SDCC itself has started to crack down on “comic con” exclusives. If it’s going to be labeled as such, they want all, or at least a majority, of the supply to actually be sold at the convention. It’s not really their exclusive if 90%+ is being sold online. People complain if the exclusive is an easy variant and people complain if it’s a must have item. People complain if it’s too easy to get or if it’s too hard to get. There is no pleasing everyone.
I prefer them to be more easily available and not must have items, but it is what it is. Most members here don’t even remember priority pre order events and we have come a long way since then. It didn’t always used to be so easy to get everything- you really had to work for some items. I guess every now and then a reminder like this is good to remind us how good we truly have it now being able to obtain most items so easily these days.