Post
by trilobyte » Tue Apr 21, 2015 5:37 pm
The individual purchase limits were a 2:1... well, 1:2 if we're talking about passes compared with tickets (and not the other way around). Each of the sales was pinched in the sense that an allocation of vehicle passes was roped off to be held for the OMG sale. The main sale felt it the most, because it was by far the largest of the ticket sales and so had the most removed from the pool.
I don't think that holding back some VP's or even that the presale had a higher limit is the single specific cause of your frustration or anyone else's. The number of passes being offered was reduced (to last year's actuals), so as long as there was one hoarder or one lazy person who grabbed more than they needed because they wanted to cover the bases and not have to deal with reducing their vehicle usage... then there would have been people in the main sale who would not have been able to get a vehicle pass with their tickets. And there would also of course be the numerous reports of people who forgot to put a VP in the cart when they had the chance... but there wouldn't be any bubble of supply to come later in the season.
Having seen how the OMG sales have worked out over the last few years, I've seen them as some kind of welcome pressure release valve. People who are determined will continue to look for the tickets and passes they need before that sale of course, but it affords one more chance to get things sorted out, and it feeds more face value tickets and passes into the supply at a time when those who would sell above face would normally turn the screws even tighter still.
It's also worth pointing out that we saw a lot of very similar complaints about vehicle passes last year too, and as things came together in the end. I'm not saying that to dismiss your complaint, so much as to offer some reassurance. I know the current situation is frustrating (I've got campmates still looking for tickets/passes too), but hang in there. Remember, it's still very early in the season. Generally speaking more than a quarter of Burning Man tickets change hands at least once between the time they're purchased and the time that they come through the gates, and while we don't have enough history with vehicle passes to know, I suspect it's at least that much if not slightly more. They don't usually start to become available until May/June, so keep working on your prep or projects and keep an eye on the boards (you can subscribe to the board to receive an email notification when somebody posts something in the Offered board, if you like).
