Buying a Ticket on STEP

[Eric]

The counterfeit thing is scary. Were they pretty obvious to spot?

If you've been before and weren't in a panic to buy a ticket, it's probably very easy to spot.

All the extremely thin holographic printing and printing over holographs are there for a reason - they're hard to duplicate without professional equipment. It's also one of the reasons that tickets aren't sent out until June - the late release date makes it harder for a counterfeiter to get fake tickets printed & sold before the event. Hell, scratch the printing on the holograph to see if it comes off - laser printing ink will come off a cheap fake, the ink doesn't come off a real ticket. Letterpressing is also incorporated into the design, so if you run your fingers across the ticket there will be areas that are raised or lowered, and they will be raised or lowered over a defined design area - not easy to duplicate with home equipment.

As for Gate - they just need to hit it with their scanners, super easy for them to spot...

[FossaFerox]

The tickets change every year though. Knowing what to look for on next year's ticket will be tough if you don't have a real one to compare it to. Obviously they'll know at the gate when they scan the barcode, but if you're meeting someone to buy a pair in person good luck.

Honestly I'm not sure it's a bad thing. Buying tickets third hand from an unknown source should be risky to discourage people from supporting scalping.

[Eric]

The tickets change every year though. Knowing what to look for on next year's ticket will be tough if you don't have a real one to compare it to. Obviously they'll know at the gate when they scan the barcode, but if you're meeting someone to buy a pair in person good luck.

Yes, the tickets change every year, but the design elements I listed above remain. Look at your ticket from last year - see the incredibly thin lines of holographic ink that make up the "transporter" below the spaceship? In 2012 those incredibly thin lines of holographic ink were the rays of the sun. There is always a letterpressed ("embossed") area of the design now. There is always printing on top of the holograph. Anyone going into a third-party ticket situation should know that the Burning Man tickets are high quality pieces of art, printed on a thick-stock paper, and with a multi-color design that will incorporate the elements above. Any person who goes into a third party deal thinking they have no way to spot a counterfeit is an idiot, even if they're a first timer. High quality is not easily faked.

Is there a chance they'll change it? Of course, but I wouldn't bet money on it.

[smiffman]

Patience is a virtue......so I am told.

[Dynamite Destiny]

Must have wanted to cause drama in my life and stuffed up my alarm when it was ticket purchase time. 20 minute late start, 1/2 hour refreshing page...disapointment. Have looked up when Spring starts in the USA, will spend all my time after Easter on this site, waiting for STEP to get under way to get from 'down under' to up there. Pleased to see site admin keen to follow and assist on this thread. Feeling less nervous about my chances using STEP. Thanks

[FossaFerox]

Must have wanted to cause drama in my life and stuffed up my alarm when it was ticket purchase time. 20 minute late start, 1/2 hour refreshing page...disapointment. Have looked up when Spring starts in the USA, will spend all my time after Easter on this site, waiting for STEP to get under way to get from 'down under' to up there. Pleased to see site admin keen to follow and assist on this thread. Feeling less nervous about my chances using STEP. Thanks

Radical self reliance: Learn to read and follow instructions. You were told not to refresh the page.

By refreshing the page manually you probably destroyed your chances of getting a ticket. What you did is akin to walking into a store, seeing that there's a long line, walking out of the store and back in, and acting surprised that there's a line that you are not at the front of.

To be fair, we don't know how the waiting room worked, exactly. We can't be sure whether there was any sort of line in play or the waiting rooms with the 30 second timers were partially or entirely random. What I can tell you, though, is that by manually refreshing you created a window of time where you weren't eligible to be selected randomly, and that's if you didn't give up your spot in line outright.

[BBadger]

I know that if I were coding up that ticket system, I would've added a timer on the back-end to require at least 25 seconds before the next refresh (with the browser script set for 30 seconds to give it some padding). Then if someone were to refresh before that time period, they'd be placed either at the end of the line, or at some position further back, compounded by how many times they had previously refreshed.

[nikster]

STEP is kinda late to open this year...

FWIW I was at the last 4 burns and never had a ticket after the main sale. This year was different but I actually managed to forget and logged in an hour late.

The last 2 years - those with tickets selling out - there were plenty of tickets available at or below face value in the summer, when people had to get rid of their extra tickets in a hurry. Even met some people who had to sell off their extra tickets at the gate.

Also from last year's STEP - a friend made a very late decision and signed up for STEP a month or two after it opened; he still was offered a ticket in July.

So don't panic.

[theCryptofishist]

Why doesn't eplaya have the option of a big, friendly typeface when needed?

[Dynamite Destiny]

Thanks FossaFerox. "Refreshing" not the right word, feel free to replace it with, followed instructions

[remi]

STEP is kinda late to open this year...


The last 2 years - those with tickets selling out - there were plenty of tickets available at or below face value in the summer

So don't panic.

I didn't attend last year so didn't really follow the yearly ticket fiasco, but I know this was the case with 2012 (the famous lottery year,) however, I thought I read on eplaya (I believe from a Trilo post,) that last year the second market wasn't nearly as strong.. and, in fact, was almost non existent.

[FIGJAM]

Last year someone need 2 tickets.

Took me all of 45 minutes to find and purchase said tickets!

[AntiM]

I too found a ticket for a friend rather quickly late in the game.

[remi]

Perfect.. I heard that it was more difficult, and hearing this is definitely nice on the ears. I only have 1 ticket to find for my camp between now and then.. So, first step is STEP (that wasn't funny one bit,) and if we're SOL there, then we sit tight until the OMG sale. Meanwhile, all I can do is ask friends on eplaya and defaulia hoping for a spare ticket.

Most of the burners I know from my area are not attending this year because of a destination wedding between two burners that attend every year as members of the Space Gnomes camp, so I was a little worried that a second market ticket would be harder to acquire without their help. I don't really have a big group of burners in my circle of friends, and if I won't consider purchasing of kijji or craigslist (even if it's for face value,) my pool of potential helpers has diminished vastly since last year. Meh.

[FIGJAM]

Keep an eye on craig's list right after tickets are mailed.

I can't remember whether I paid 700 or 750, but they were below face.

I met the seller in a Denny's.

Told her to look for a guy in a white hat and showed up early so as not to get ambushed in the parking lot.

The embossing and holograms on the tickets made it easy to tell they were genuine.

[remi]

Keep an eye on craig's list right after tickets are mailed.

I can't remember whether I paid 700 or 750, but they were below face.

I met the seller in a Denny's.

Told her to look for a guy in a white hat and showed up early so as not to get ambushed in the parking lot.

The embossing and holograms on the tickets made it easy to tell they were genuine.

That's not a bad idea, however, the only difference I would make is I typically try to meet the seller at their house. Nobody will try to screw you out of 400$ if you know where they live. So if a seller doesn't agree to meet at their place, then I just go look elsewhere.

It's a little harder for me because typically, in Calgary Canada, if you have a ticket to the burn, you're going to the burn.
If one does become available, I'll jump on that so fast!

[Savannah]

Opting to meet a buyer/seller at a bank is my favorite idea. Security guard, video tape, and you can verify cash is real with the teller if you really want to.

You can snap photos of each other's identification if you want to exchange addresses without actually going to the house.

[Lonesomebri]

Opting to meet a buyer/seller at a bank is my favorite idea.

Oh Savannah, my favorite idea -ticket, no ticket, selling, buying- is for us to meet at my house. Bringing a security guard might be a good idea though.
Okay, I've been out for a bit, what's happening with the ticket sales?
The past several years now I've been getting tickets thru STEP or second market/at cost. It's almost funner to go this route, it adds to the adventure. Like when I tell people about sleeping in dust and shitting in a bag, they might wince but it's adventure people. What I want. Just more fun.

[BoyScoutGirl]

I'm apparently not half the dogtrainer lonesomebri is. How on Earth did you get Snowball to go in the bag?

[trilobyte]

Neither STEP nor after-market ticket sales on ePlaya have started yet. Yes, in the past STEP had launched earlier in the year, but a) ticket sales happened later this year than in the last 2 years and b) we've changed ticketing providers, which would have involved a lot of additional behind-the-scenes stuff in order to get everything just right. The ePlaya ticket boards do not open up for business until the ticket team gives us the green light (before then, ticket order changes and transfers can't be processed).

Stay tuned to the board for announcements regarding both, which should be coming very soon.

[kiilroy]

Hello!
I can't seem to find if its possible to purchase more than one ticket through step? My girlfriend and I have our tickets but two of our friends don't, and we're curious if they should plan on buying them separately.

Thank you so much!

[FossaFerox]

http://tickets.burningman.com/
Ctrl + F
(s)
Enter

[BBadger]

http://tickets.burningman.com/
Ctrl + F
(s)
Enter

Doing that turned up three different places where "(s)" appeared. Which one has the info I need?

[trilobyte]

You may care to read through this post, and visit the STEP FAQ that's linked at the bottom of the info..

[chuckularone]

Doing that turned up three different places where "(s)" appeared. Which one has the info I need?

Now that's funny right there. I don't care who you are!

[FossaFerox]

http://tickets.burningman.com/
Ctrl + F
(s)
Enter

Doing that turned up three different places where "(s)" appeared. Which one has the info I need?

The second and third.

[kiilroy]

Thank you so much! Been spinning a few years and finally have the funds to attend. Much appreciated!