Burning Man 2012 Tickets FAQ

[Nipple]

Just tried to register for the 'pre-lottery'. 'TRIED' being the key word. lol I've never attended or purchased tickets to Burning Man before so my answers to questions 2 & 3 would be 0, zero. Zero isn't an option, so I either LIE and choose a number (which, to me, goes against participating in Burning Man to begin with), or I don't get to page two until the system is fixed. Hoping very much that ticketing system gets fixed before opportunity to register is lost.

jayell

You should choose "Previously Purchased None".

It's at the bottom of the list.

If you enter in 0, it will cause a divide by zero error, which will crash Burning Man.

It's happened before at which was held every year in , Wisconsin. (I know it LOOKS like I didn't type anything there, but I did. The error crashed and destroyed . Please for the love of everything good and pure, don't try to put 0 in that spot.)

[Savannah]

Just tried to register for the 'pre-lottery'. 'TRIED' being the key word. lol I've never attended or purchased tickets to Burning Man before so my answers to questions 2 & 3 would be 0, zero. Zero isn't an option, so I either LIE and choose a number (which, to me, goes against participating in Burning Man to begin with), or I don't get to page two until the system is fixed. Hoping very much that ticketing system gets fixed before opportunity to register is lost.

jayell

Select "previously purchased none". That's zero.

It's at the bottom of all the choices, rather than next to "1" where one might expect to see it.

[wh..sh]

NONE = ZERO, ZERO = NONE

I am guessing the madness has begun...

[Eric]

Just tried to register for the 'pre-lottery'. 'TRIED' being the key word. lol I've never attended or purchased tickets to Burning Man before so my answers to questions 2 & 3 would be 0, zero. Zero isn't an option, so I either LIE and choose a number (which, to me, goes against participating in Burning Man to begin with), or I don't get to page two until the system is fixed. Hoping very much that ticketing system gets fixed before opportunity to register is lost.

jayell

Found this for you in another thread:

"Previously purchased none" is the answer for "zero". It's at the bottom of the drop-down menu.

[remi]

Hahaha.. I guess people expect 'previous purchase none' to be before one, not at the end. I was able to look down the list and see an obvious line stick out. Some people read 1...2... AHHHH.. time to freak out!

[trilobyte]

NONE = ZERO, ZERO = NONE

I am guessing the madness has begun...

Think of it as the first of many tests in radical self reliance

[DanusLight]

Had to reregister. YAY! got the email almost immediately. Thank You Trilo for your reassuring words

@DanusLight - If you don't receive an email confirmation within a few minutes, your registration was not accepted. No worries, you can register when you get home this evening, everyone registering at any time during the two week window has an equal chance.

[theCryptofishist]

Is there a "I don't remember how many I've purchased in my own name?" because I know last year it came from the Berkeley Hat Company, and I'm hazy on previous tickets.

[trilobyte]

I think it's just anecdotal/informational, to help get a better sense of who's participating in this stage. Best guesstimates work.

[jcliff]

I'm really sorry if this has already been answered, but I've read through most of the thread and didn't see my question addressed. I registered for 1 pre-sale ticket for myself. I would hope that I would squeak out that one ticket through pre-sale or the 40,000 sale in Jan. I had really hoped to buy a gift ticket this year, but I didn't have enough to purchase 2 tickets right now before Christmas. If I'm awarded my one ticket in the presale or the 40,000 sale.....will I be allowed to purchase one more ticket in the 10,000 left-over sale?

[theCryptofishist]

I don't think so. I think you get one shot at ticket buying.

But it's probably better to wait for Trilo to clarify...

[trilobyte]

@jcliff - no worries, there's a lot of info to pore through. It's covered in the FAQ (last question in the pre-sale questions section). If you purchase tickets through the main sale, you will not be eligible to purchase tickets in the open sale.

[Dustdevil]

Actually, by strict interpretation of what he asked and how it is written in the FAQ's, jcliffs' question has not been answered. The FAQ's state that if you purchase ticket(S) in the main sale you are not eligible to purchase tickets in the open sale. How about if you purchase a single TICKET in the main sale? With a limit of two and have only purchased one ticket, it would seem that purchasing a second ticket should be an option.

[lemur]

those people want you to know that you neednt freak out..

And may we suggest that if you're getting in the Pre-Sale just to up your chances of getting a ticket at ALL this year, you might want to reconsider that? We've made the Pre-Sale tickets the most expensive because we wanted to discourage people from using the Pre-Sale to "game the system" ... we really do want to serve people who want to gift tickets for the holidays, and can afford to pay for more expensive tickets to subsidize our lower-cost tickets.

[tamarakay]

Those people aren't depending on a lottery to get in either.

[lemur]

Those people aren't depending on a lottery to get in either.

oh.. well then, let the freak out continue..

[trilobyte]

@Dustdevil - yes, it's been answered. ONE registration, limit of two tickets in the main sale. If you choose to register for a single ticket in the main sale, you will not be eligible to register for the secondary sale.

[burner von braun]

Trilobyte, you are doing a great job. I'm sure that there are burners everywhere who appreciate the patient, knowledgeable approach that you are providing here. Well done, sir.

[theCryptofishist]

Trilobyte, you are doing a great job. I'm sure that there are burners everywhere who appreciate the patient, knowledgeable approach that you are providing here. Well done, sir.

Trilo cannot be praised enough. (Well, at least until he reaches some place where he's out of touch with reality, but I've seen no signs of that.) He has a difficult job, with a fractious population, and he has to repeat the basics often. And he does it calmly, clearly, without condescension or snark. A shining gem in Burningman Tiara.
(And he puts up wiht my goofy metaphors.)

[Elderberry]

Yup, truly an individual with exceptional people skills. (but just wait till he gets to be my age! )

Trilobyte, you are doing a great job. I'm sure that there are burners everywhere who appreciate the patient, knowledgeable approach that you are providing here. Well done, sir.

Trilo cannot be praised enough. (Well, at least until he reaches some place where he's out of touch with reality, but I've seen no signs of that.) He has a difficult job, with a fractious population, and he has to repeat the basics often. And he does it calmly, clearly, without condescension or snark. A shining gem in Burningman Tiara.
(And he puts up wiht my goofy metaphors.)

[trilobyte]

You people and your tiny text! *shakes fist*

Thanks, I really am glad to be able to help where I can. I also can't take full credit - in addition to the rest of the mod team I've had some awesome help from the ticketing team and everybody else at the BMOrg. And a big thanks to those who've been jumping in to help answer questions, as well as having loads of patience with new members who've been freaking out in the face of fear, uncertainty, and doubt.

[chromatest]

EDIT - I was totally wrong about that last bit, you can not 'opt out' of the lower tiers.

Wow. That's the most ridiculous thing I've read about this ticket lottery so far. Is this really confirmed?

[trilobyte]

Yes, that's confirmed and correct.

[Nipple]

Perhaps taking out the rhyme or reason as to why you pay a particular ticket price could be seen as a form of decommodification.

"Rich people have $320 tickets. Poor people have $240 tickets. What kind of ticket do you have? Do you have a $240 when you could afford a $420 ticket? Shame on you!"

(Granted, a ticket IS by its very nature a commodity.)

That's just conjecture on my part. Maybe it'll help you sleep better! Probably not.

Sorry.

[chromatest]

Yes, that's confirmed and correct.

Sigh... Okay. That doesn't make sense to me at all then. If it's a low to high tier lottery, they really should just do a single price ticket lottery with 40,000 tickets priced at $325 each. There is no reason to do this, though I suppose it's their sandbox, and they can do it however they want. (It's our sand though...)

The other thing that really doesn't make sense to me is the pre-sale vs. main sale ticket limits garbage. If I were to buy 2 tickets in the Presale (with a limit of 4) I would really be barred from buy two more tickets in the main sale (also with a limit of four)? The same goes with Main Sale vs. Open Sale. If I buy two at any price in the main sale (limit two) then I can't buy any in the open sale even though the limit there is four? That doesn't make any sense either.

[trilobyte]

They did reduce the number of tiers, and in doing so created a few more at the lowest tier. I've seen enough people posting on the boards that they can't afford any higher than the lowest tier, which to me makes a strong argument for having a tiered pricing system. Those willing and able to pay more have a greater chance to go (just like they did in previous years), but on the upside the sale of those top tier tickets mean there's an opportunity for several thousand to go for what amounts to below cost.

The main sale has a limit of two tickets. The pre-sale is a program that was added a few years ago (by popular request) so that people who wanted to be able to give tickets for the holidays would be able to do so. In the past it was just at the top tier, this year they jacked it up by an extra $30 (but the proceeds go to help the low income program), which doesn't seem too unfair a premium. Ticket limits had previously been more strict during the on-sale, but more relaxed later/with the upper tiers. If it were up to me I probably would have kept the limit 2 per person for the secondary sale for consistency's sake, but I also see it as an enticement for people who are interested in paying tier 3 and would like to be able to buy 4 in a single purchase without a drawing to just sit out the main sale and wait for the secondary.

If you were able to look at sales over time for the 2011, around 30K tickets were sold in January. The remaining 20K-ish tickets took 5 months to sell, spread fairly evenly over that length of time. The odds are pretty good that when the secondary sale happens, there will be plenty of tickets to go around for those who've planned and are ready to get tickets then. Yearly increases in demand/growth are pretty steady, but in the wake of last year's sellout it's impossible to predict the impact of hoarding. If hoarding is minimal, 40K will be more than enough to cover January registrations, and there will be some additional tickets carried into the round that begins in March.

[Elderberry]

@jkisha - you can check one, two, or three ticket tiers. If you're willing to pay any price check all three boxes. You will be charged for whichever tier you get awarded tickets in. If you're in great financial shape and are willing and able to abstain from one of the lower tier drawings to help out those who have less, you can do that too.

I'm sure he can afford to cut his chances by 2/3's

HEY! A penny saved is a penny earned!!!!

[chromatest]

The main sale has a limit of two tickets. The pre-sale is a program that was added a few years ago (by popular request) so that people who wanted to be able to give tickets for the holidays would be able to do so. In the past it was just at the top tier, this year they jacked it up by an extra $30 (but the proceeds go to help the low income program), which doesn't seem too unfair a premium. Ticket limits had previously been more strict during the on-sale, but more relaxed later/with the upper tiers. If it were up to me I probably would have kept the limit 2 per person for the secondary sale for consistency's sake, but I also see it as an enticement for people who are interested in paying tier 3 and would like to be able to buy 4 in a single purchase without a drawing to just sit out the main sale and wait for the secondary.

It just seems that a person who has bought two tickets in the main sale should be allowed to purchase two more in the open sale, since the price is the highest, and that would still limit them to four (which is the limit for the open sale).

It doesn't really matter to me, since I can't afford that many tickets anyhow.

[trilobyte]

It'd be nice, but with all the concerns people have over scarcity it was decided that we only get a single registration per person. The idea being is that if the 40K people (we can ballpark that at 20K-30K humans, since a chunk of them will be buying two tickets on behalf of their significant other or a friend) get tickets in January, that takes them out of the equation for March so that other people have a chance to get tickets too. Who knows, perhaps if we get through the main sale and secondary sale and all the registration demand gets covered, they'll open things up and allow people who purchased two to come back for up to two more. But as of now, the plan is for a single registration per person.

[Raymaker]

but, whatever you buy via the new official ticket system, you will be allowed to buy tickets sold by other burners when they are put up for sale, even on the new to come 'resell our officially bought tickets here system' is put on line. right?