Main Sale

Jackass · Post by **Jackass** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 1:47 pm

stygmah wrote:Just saw tickets at $1500 on ebay... It sucks to know this guys got and I didn't

Relax, it's typical for this day. They're only wolf tickets

Ooops, I doubled down...

pixeltrance · Post by **pixeltrance** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 1:53 pm

Got two tickets but no vehicle pass so yeah, left with two pretty useless tickets. Woohooo...

melomel · Post by **melomel** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 2:01 pm

I feel like there's something missing or I don't understand something about tickets.

So in lottery years (aka this year and 2012) I was unable to get ticket in the main sale. Fine.

But I really cannot wait until the Last minute sale and possibly not even STEP to make sure I have a ticket. Last year I displayed art in Center Camp and the application for that closed in May I believe. I can't find a link to application for this year, so I don't know what the cut off is again this year, but I'll assume May again.

Realistically, I feel like an asshole applying to bring and show art when I don't even have a ticket and I can't arrange/make people depend on me for a ride without a ticket. Yes some aspects of prep take less time after going a few times, but the ride stuff is a new challenge each year especially w/ vehicle passes involved. I still have to have vacation time off of work, arrangements for taking care of pets, etc. as well.

Everyone says the tickets will appear, but I can't 100% sure believe it is true. The world of tickets today is not the world of tickets last year or the year before and for some of us introverts, even if we've been to BM multiple times, volunteered while at BM, contributed art, etc., some subculture/backdoor ways of getting things done doesn't work.

lunasmiles · Post by **lunasmiles** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 2:03 pm

Got in, was able to choose 2 tickets, but there was never a button to "add to cart"! What the hell?

But for some reason I was able to get a vehicle pass?

This blows...

Zaxary · Post by **Zaxary** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 2:03 pm

Looks like the local burner group here did okay... seems most of us got tickets! A few are still looking but at first glance it looks like there were a lot of successes. Guess that fortune cat on our meetup table was a legit bear repellent and good luck charm.

Jackass · Post by **Jackass** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 2:08 pm

pixeltrance wrote:Got two tickets but no vehicle pass so yeah, left with two pretty useless tickets. Woohooo...

Hey, feel free to forward your "useless" tickets to this jackass. I'm resourceful like that...

some seeing eye · Post by **some seeing eye** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 2:20 pm

melomel wrote:I really cannot wait until the Last minute sale and possibly not even STEP

This is the way of the world for BM.

Reach out to your regionals and individuals in your personal network to display art and find a ticket.

Many people internationally looking at saving X in advance to buy a Y closer to time airplane reservation, or people are looking at taking a job/career decisions with that time off versus not, or even much more serious relationship decisions.

Ticket seekers, what is your mental model for getting a ticket and ultimately participating?

vargaso · Post by **vargaso** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 2:20 pm

melomel wrote:I feel like there's something missing or I don't understand something about tickets.

So in lottery years (aka this year and 2012) I was unable to get ticket in the main sale. Fine.

But I really cannot wait until the Last minute sale and possibly not even STEP to make sure I have a ticket. Last year I displayed art in Center Camp and the application for that closed in May I believe. I can't find a link to application for this year, so I don't know what the cut off is again this year, but I'll assume May again.

Realistically, I feel like an asshole applying to bring and show art when I don't even have a ticket and I can't arrange/make people depend on me for a ride without a ticket. Yes some aspects of prep take less time after going a few times, but the ride stuff is a new challenge each year especially w/ vehicle passes involved. I still have to have vacation time off of work, arrangements for taking care of pets, etc. as well.

Everyone says the tickets will appear, but I can't 100% sure believe it is true. The world of tickets today is not the world of tickets last year or the year before and for some of us introverts, even if we've been to BM multiple times, volunteered while at BM, contributed art, etc., some subculture/backdoor ways of getting things done doesn't work.

Nothing missing or to misunderstand, there's just lots of people going after a limited resource. And every year since 2011 has been a de facto lottery, as explained on another thread. There is no true "first-come/first-served" ticketing system when tens of people hit the servers at literally the same millisecond. In that kind of a scenario, the software will basically assign each user a place in line randomly. And honestly even if it were possible to line everyone up in order by the millisecond, is there really a difference in effort from one millisecond to the next?

So yeah, it sucks, I didn't get tickets in the main sale either, but like much of life, there's no meaning to it or blame to assign, it's just supply and demand.

pixeltrance · Post by **pixeltrance** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 2:25 pm

Jackass wrote:Hey, feel free to forward your "useless" tickets to this jackass. I'm resourceful like that...

Yeah, coming to BM from another country and not having a vehicle pass makes those tickets completely useless as there is no way that we can get there without a camper. Going to wait to see if we can get a pass thru STEP otherwise will sell the tickets for as much $$$ as possible and then use the profit to spend our vacation elsewhere. Yes, I know that goes against the whole "spirit" but honestly, I'm so pissed about the fact that nowadays it isn't enough to have a ticket to get in. Instead, we are forced to buy two different types of tickets and one type is useless without the other.

Elorrum · Post by **Elorrum** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 2:27 pm

interesting news from a friend who was languishing in the waiting room. Her friend "He couldn’t get into the waiting room at all, then clicked again at 12:05 and went directly to the ticketing page"

same story every year.

Jackass · Post by **Jackass** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 2:30 pm

pixeltrance wrote:
Jackass wrote:Hey, feel free to forward your "useless" tickets to this jackass. I'm resourceful like that...
Yeah, coming to BM from another country and not having a vehicle pass makes those tickets completely useless as there is no way that we can get there without a camper. Going to wait to see if we can get a pass thru STEP otherwise will sell the tickets for as much $$$ as possible and then use the profit to spend our vacation elsewhere. Yes, I know that goes against the whole "spirit" but honestly, I'm so pissed about the fact that nowadays it isn't enough to have a ticket to get in. Instead, we are forced to buy two different types of tickets and one type is useless without the other.

Sounds like we have a deal then, but I will pay you no more than face on those tickets. Don't be a disgraceful type.

Simon of the Playa · Post by **Simon of the Playa** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 2:33 pm

sleep in a fucking tent and take the goddamn burner xpress in to the event.

problem fucking solved.

melomel · Post by **melomel** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 2:34 pm

vargaso wrote:
Nothing missing or to misunderstand, there's just lots of people going after a limited resource. And every year since 2011 has been a de facto lottery, as explained on another thread. There is no true "first-come/first-served" ticketing system when tens of people hit the servers at literally the same millisecond. In that kind of a scenario, the software will basically assign each user a place in line randomly. And honestly even if it were possible to line everyone up in order by the millisecond, is there really a difference in effort from one millisecond to the next?

So yeah, it sucks, I didn't get tickets in the main sale either, but like much of life, there's no meaning to it or blame to assign, it's just supply and demand.

I mean, maybe I'm being presumptuous or adding more self importance, but I don't think I'm the only one that has these problems of wanting to contribute, but getting stuck in a loop of not wanting to put time into something and promise something I can't ensure I can follow through on and by finding out at the last minute I can go, I don't have time to contribute in the same way. I know people keep saying there's less art in the deep playa for example, and I can't help but to wonder some of these types of things are part of the reason why. Some of us actually do contribute even if we aren't officially part of a camp that result in ticket preference. There's many people I know that still only go to Burning Man to party and take, even after multiple years.

Funny enough, I'm in LA and I was supposed to show art at our Decom event last year, which was literally cancelled a couple days before the event, so I can't even make regional things work.

It feels like the universe is telling me to give up on this. Maybe it's time for me to listen.

Jackass · Post by **Jackass** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 2:38 pm

Jackass · Post by **Jackass** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 2:41 pm

Simon of the Playa wrote:sleep in a fucking tent and take the goddamn burner xpress in to the event.

problem fucking solved.

Take it easy with all of that logic you got there, someone's gonna lose an eye. Besides, I believe I have a sale pending...

Leo · Post by **Leo** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 2:41 pm

Got into the waiting room at 11:46 am and into the queue at 12:06 pm. My guy wasn't walking too fast. Finally was directed the purchase page at 12:40 pm, but tickets were sold out. I guess they are right about the random process.

Simon of the Playa · Post by **Simon of the Playa** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 2:42 pm

masochist

Timezone LaFontaine · Post by **Timezone LaFontaine** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 2:44 pm

melomel wrote:It feels like the universe is telling me to give up on this. Maybe it's time for me to listen.

It's just a matter of huge numbers of people and an imperfect ticketing system... any meaning you derive is of your own design. Hopefully you'll keep making art no matter what. ((commiseratin' hug))

pixeltrance · Post by **pixeltrance** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 2:46 pm

Simon of the Playa wrote:sleep in a fucking tent and take the goddamn burner xpress in to the event.
problem fucking solved.

Ahhhh... so bringing a tent, sleeping mats, shade structure, food and everything else you need to camp is something that you see a viable option for international travel? Especially considering the amount of regular stuff as well as food and water/drinks you need to bring.
Yeah, right...
I guess when you live just around the corner of the event it's hard to imagine the logistics for someone coming from half a world away.

node88 · Post by **node88** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 2:48 pm

pixeltrance wrote:
Jackass wrote:Hey, feel free to forward your "useless" tickets to this jackass. I'm resourceful like that...
Yeah, coming to BM from another country and not having a vehicle pass makes those tickets completely useless as there is no way that we can get there without a camper. Going to wait to see if we can get a pass thru STEP otherwise will sell the tickets for as much $$$ as possible and then use the profit to spend our vacation elsewhere. Yes, I know that goes against the whole "spirit" but honestly, I'm so pissed about the fact that nowadays it isn't enough to have a ticket to get in. Instead, we are forced to buy two different types of tickets and one type is useless without the other.

Thats such fucking bullshit dude! There's lots of us coming from different countries and you should be happy you got two tickets, lots of people didn't! VPs do suck, but coming from abroad chances are you're pretty light weight compared to others, you probably don't have any big art work or theme camp or wtv, you just bring your own shit. As such you have a pretty easy mission to find someone to share a ride with, theres always plenty of posts about this. If this really is a major issue I don't think you want to go bad enough...

I got lucky in the sale... I was in the queue, loooong way to go for my little green man and the "all tickets are already in cart" message popped up. I thought "fuck it". Went to sit down at my other computer and hit the link again to see my progress out of curiosity, boom, no line! All tickets sold out though, but after a few refreshes I had my ticket! Strangely enough my green man was still slowly walking as I went back to my other computer...

There was obviously at least two major issues with this sale. First one, you could bypass the queue by hitting the link after the waiting room thing at 12.05, and second, tickets that wasn't bought didn't go back into the queue but were up for grabs for anyone who had made it to the "buy" page. The latter problem was an issue last year as well and should definitely be looked into, very frustrating!!

100ideas · Post by **100ideas** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 2:49 pm

How the queue works is described in the tips for main sale post. Basically, everyone is assigned a random number. Those with low numbers get to purchase sooner. Not sure how numbers are given to customers that join the queue late or reload. Possibly they could be assigned a lower random number than others that have been waiting longer?

stygmah · Post by **stygmah** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 2:53 pm

pixeltrance wrote:
Simon of the Playa wrote:sleep in a fucking tent and take the goddamn burner xpress in to the event.
problem fucking solved.
Ahhhh... so bringing a tent, sleeping mats, shade structure, food and everything else you need to camp is something that you see a viable option for international travel? Especially considering the amount of regular stuff as well as food and water/drinks you need to bring.
Yeah, right...
I guess when you live just around the corner of the event it's hard to imagine the logistics for someone coming from half a world away.

Actually I was coming from Barcelona and that was my plan

BBadger · Post by **BBadger** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 3:01 pm

stygmah wrote:Actually I was coming from Barcelona and that was my plan

Yup, seen quite a few international burners do that. One guy from Australia had a motorcycle too, so he didn't even need a vehicle pass.

Chowski · Post by **Chowski** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 3:02 pm

I feel really bad for all you people who got screwed on the Main Sale, but if it's any consolation, I hear that Red Nose District has a whole goddamn CACHE of tickets that they are sitting on from the Directed Group Sale! A cache!!!!!! Run, don't walk to Red Nose District - they've been gifted so many unused tickets, they don't have anybody to even taker them off their hands! You're welcome.

node88 · Post by **node88** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 3:11 pm

100ideas wrote:How the queue works is described in the tips for main sale post. Basically, everyone is assigned a random number. Those with low numbers get to purchase sooner. Not sure how numbers are given to customers that join the queue late or reload. Possibly they could be assigned a lower random number than others that have been waiting longer?

This was obviously not the case...

I have a little theory based on the fact that this seemed to have worked for a lot of people... Once no tickets were available, that is, all of them were reserved by the system but not necessarily bought, you could hit the link and the system wouldn't place you in the queue since the event was "sold out". Instead it took you to the purchase page but it would display "No tickets available". However, if some tickets had been released between the system checking for availability and you arriving at this page, you would be able to purchase them. Same thing if you would reload that page, those tickets that are no longer reserved by the system would be visible and you could buy them (if you were fast enough to snatch them before anyone else).

melomel · Post by **melomel** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 3:14 pm

Timezone LaFontaine wrote: It's just a matter of huge numbers of people and an imperfect ticketing system... any meaning you derive is of your own design. Hopefully you'll keep making art no matter what. ((commiseratin' hug))

No worries, I won't stop creating, I just thought for a while that Burning Man would be a good place for me to share my creations, but I guess what I'm getting at is that maybe I'm wrong (although my number of views on my Burning Man related photo posts on my blogs imply to me that people seem to like my photos, but I can take my camera and skills anyplace and many places don't involve having to spend hours of my time just trying to get a ticket to go in. Wasting time chasing after tickets isn't really where I want to spend my limited time.) Today was my birthday and friends had asked to take me out to lunch, which I declined for the ticket sale. Don't I look like a dope without any tickets in hand and dissing friends. Burning Man has tried to teach me about immediacy & I ironically ignored that to try to get a ticket to go to Burning Man. Hmph.

Funny enough, I think some of my art might still make it back to Burning Man this year. I dropped off something last year with Anti-M at her home for wayward art & she asked if she could keep for herself temporarily and put it out this year.

Post by **trilobyte** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 3:17 pm

The waiting room/randomness thing only really applied to the front end of the sale. Once everyone got moved to the queue, the waiting room basically went away.

And once people started seeing or hearing about all tickets being in carts, a lot of people dropped out really quickly. I'd venture to say that in almost no time at all one would have been able to go in and access the sale (to see whether something was available or not).

nobody · Post by **nobody** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 3:25 pm

Although this might get me into trouble.

I had three computers, all with separate sources of internet sitting side-by-side.
I had three identities, trying to get three tickets and one vehicle pass.
The first computer entered the room (by accident) at 11:40, the second at 11:45 and the third at 11:50.
The first entry moved further, the second one bar less, and the last entry had the least bars.

Somebody else entered the main sale at 12:05 and proceeded directly in.

Random? I don't think so.
Fair?
Was the waiting room just to get the uninformed out of the way?

My apologies to all.

node88 · Post by **node88** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 3:25 pm

trilobyte wrote:The waiting room/randomness thing only really applied to the front end of the sale. Once everyone got moved to the queue, the waiting room basically went away.

And once people started seeing or hearing about all tickets being in carts, a lot of people dropped out really quickly. I'd venture to say that in almost no time at all one would have been able to go in and access the sale (to see whether something was available or not).

I dont think so, there was still a lot of people waiting to get to the ticket purchase page by the time I saw posts about this happening. There was a number of people who skipped past everyone waiting. That is, a bunch of friends are in line, one of them arrive late after the waiting room but hits the link anyway and gets to purchase tickets before his friends without ever being in line.

In my case all my friends little green guys were far ahead of mine, and when the message of it being (pretty much) sold out appeared I thought, "screw this, my friends will get there first and buy me a ticket if they make it in any case" and left my computer. I hit the link 5 mins later from another computer and I got a ticket, my friends did not. My first computer still had the little guy walking as if nothing had happened. Only some 45mins later did he reach his goal and was greeted with "this promo code have already been used".

nobody · Post by **nobody** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 3:28 pm

BBadger wrote:
stygmah wrote:Actually I was coming from Barcelona and that was my plan
Yup, seen quite a few international burners do that. One guy from Australia had a motorcycle too, so he didn't even need a vehicle pass.

Rent a motorcycle? Then you would not need a VP.

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