In the time that it is taking for me to purchase a ticket

Rob the Wop · Post by **Rob the Wop** » Mon Mar 01, 2004 2:40 am

15 times

Rob the Wop · Post by **Rob the Wop** » Mon Mar 01, 2004 2:42 am

16 times

Rob the Wop · Post by **Rob the Wop** » Mon Mar 01, 2004 2:44 am

17 times

Rob the Wop · Post by **Rob the Wop** » Mon Mar 01, 2004 2:45 am

18 times

Rob the Wop · Post by **Rob the Wop** » Mon Mar 01, 2004 2:46 am

19 times

Rob the Wop · Post by **Rob the Wop** » Mon Mar 01, 2004 2:47 am

20 times

Rob the Wop · Post by **Rob the Wop** » Mon Mar 01, 2004 2:53 am

21 times

That's fucking it. I don't need to spend the rest of the night hoping your fucked up ticketing system takes pity on my ass. My eyes are killing me and I need to sleep in order to function at work tomorrow.

Fry · Post by **Fry** » Mon Mar 01, 2004 2:53 am

Ditto on the netscape vs ie...

Ayup, now that it's over for me I can definitely state that I'm terrifically unhappy with this process.

And, paranoid that I am, NOT thrilled that now there is a database entry, thanks to BM, that correlates my DL with my bank acct, etc... There is absolutely NO valid reason that you MUST give a DL or SSN to purchase anything!

I wonder if Paypal is any diff in fees or info... Off to check. Hmph. Even tho' I purchased only one ticket, I get the message "Error: You are limited to only one transaction for this event price option." It appears I wouldn't have to have given up the DL, and paypal already has my bank info, so it would have prevented proliferation of that data...

Once again, live and learn.

Fry

Rob the Wop · Post by **Rob the Wop** » Mon Mar 01, 2004 3:10 am

Something must be wrong with fucking something.

I tried Netscape about 5 times and still I get squat. But the refusal page is popping up so fast that I have a feeling either the tickets are sold out or for some reason my information is being rejected.

Off to try a different payment method. After that ?

Rob the Wop · Post by **Rob the Wop** » Mon Mar 01, 2004 3:17 am

Sure enough. I went for the higher ticket price using a VISA and voila. I sure wish that InHouse Ticketing would not have been involved, or stated that they were unable to do their job in the first place. I could have simply went strictly VISA and not spent all this time fucking around.

This entire experience was bullshit folks.

III · Post by **III** » Mon Mar 01, 2004 7:29 am

>>bullshit

i dunno. the only people really inconvenienced were those dedicated enough to stay up and try for a first shot. and those people are probably not the ones who would be lots as a revenue source. by the time the iffier revenue streams attempt to use the process, load should be down to a manageable level so as to not lose their contributionn either.

it works out just fine...

III · Post by **III** » Mon Mar 01, 2004 7:30 am

>>would be lots as a revenue source

i meant "lost".

Rob the Wop · Post by **Rob the Wop** » Mon Mar 01, 2004 7:47 am

III wrote:>>bullshit

i dunno. the only people really inconvenienced were those dedicated enough to stay up and try for a first shot. and those people are probably not the ones who would be lots as a revenue source. by the time the iffier revenue streams attempt to use the process, load should be down to a manageable level so as to not lose their contributionn either.

it works out just fine...

Well yes, from that perspective- slavery was a economically feasible alternative to a European or American labor source. But from my perspective, it was a bullshit experience (yah, I know- a camping trip is a far cry from enslavement- but the perspective metaphor works). Those that came in on the right ISPs (response time) would get the low end tickets. People logging in at 1am (an hour after me) were getting tickets, but I got squat.

It was my fault for continuing to try. After the first hour, I was pissed off. Instead of saying, "Screw this- I'll get the fucking things tomorrow," I said to myself, "Screw this- I put in this much time and effort- I'm getting that damn ticket." Therein strikes the sin of pride.

III · Post by **III** » Mon Mar 01, 2004 8:58 am

but they're still getting your money, right? so it doesn't matter. and, now that the first rush is over, most people will have reasonable ticket buying experiences, so they'll get enough good feedback that they can claim "the majority of people were happy with the ticket buying experience".

Fry · Post by **Fry** » Mon Mar 01, 2004 9:11 am

More like this:

"Ticket prices actually stayed the same, but allotments have moved around significantly. This gives the perception of higher prices."

I shoveled out 18% more for a ticket this year than last.

Perceive this.

Fry

III · Post by **III** » Mon Mar 01, 2004 9:15 am

>>perception

you know burning man is all about altered perceptions, right?

zarniwoop · Post by **zarniwoop** » Mon Mar 01, 2004 10:21 am

No success after trying for two hours last night, and this morning the $165 tickets are sold out. I wonder how many people got the shaft from In House ticketing last night?

Badger · Post by **Badger** » Mon Mar 01, 2004 10:24 am

Don't know that anyone got the shaft. I think the reduced priced tickets have always been a crap shoot.

The fact that you and otheres didn't get what you wanted probably has more to do with supply and demand issues than anything else.

stuart · Post by **stuart** » Mon Mar 01, 2004 10:31 am

are you all the people I see struggling like maniacs to be the FIRST FUCKING PERSON off the plane?

Badger · Post by **Badger** » Mon Mar 01, 2004 11:11 am

are you all the people I see struggling like maniacs to be the FIRST FUCKING PERSON off the plane?

<howling!>

forest · Post by **forest** » Mon Mar 01, 2004 11:58 am

stuart wrote:are you all the people I see struggling like maniacs to be the FIRST FUCKING PERSON off the plane?

No, they are all the people who politely lined up to leave the plane, as instructed, and got the crap beat out of them for following instructions.

Isotopia · Post by **Isotopia** » Mon Mar 01, 2004 12:47 pm

No, they are all the people who politely lined up to leave the plane, as instructed, and got the crap beat out of them for following instructions.

Puh-leeze.

Rob the Wop · Post by **Rob the Wop** » Mon Mar 01, 2004 1:29 pm

<sigh>

OK, if you TRUELY want an accurate analogy- here's one.

An new club is opening downtown. It promises to be a mindblowing experience aka studio 54. The doors open at mindnight when they will start letting people in. You get in line at midnight to have the bouncer make you stand behind the velvet ropes. You watch as the bouncer lets person after person in ahead of you as time goes by, yet not for any fashion sense- simply on a whim.

It sucks to be the guy at the head of the line that is there all night, it's worse when the guy that strolls up at 3am off the street stops in front of you and says, "Quit whining, I mean- I got my way in."

Badger · Post by **Badger** » Mon Mar 01, 2004 1:58 pm

But Rob, in a perfect world no one would be let into Studio 54.

Rob the Wop · Post by **Rob the Wop** » Mon Mar 01, 2004 2:21 pm

Badger wrote:But Rob, in a perfect world no one would be let into Studio 54.

Hell, in a imperfect world they wouldn't let me into Studio 54.

OK, OK, dammit. You have a point. I wouldn't let me into Studio 54.

<grumble grumble>

Think maybe I have a chance to get in as someone's pet? I'll stop shaving my back- promise!

Post by **admin** » Mon Mar 01, 2004 4:55 pm

We have heard from participants that they have had trouble purchasing tickets online in the wee hours of the morning today. InHouse (the folks who manage our online ticketing) has been working to catch up on incomplete orders and respond to customer needs.

We'll be posting a Jack Rabbit Speaks by 6 pm or so today with further
instructions and information for people. Please watch your inbox or check out the Burning Man home page for updates.

If you are trying to find out the status of your order, please go through the ticketing interface, as requests are being taken care of from that point.

Duplicate requests are bogging Inhouse and Burning Man office Ticket staff down. We need to focus the requests into one direction, and people need to be patient.

Think of it as the digital equivalent of the Sunday exodus: we know you all want to go home. We will, eventually, get you there.

Like last year, we ARE taking the glitches into consideration and doing
everything we can to satisfy the needs of our participants. We are confident that people will ultimately be satisfied with the results they receive, it'll just take time.

All $165 tickets are sold out. By the time this reaches you, we'll have less
than 300 tickets at $185 available...those are expected to be gone within about an an hour. (by, oh, approx. 5:30 PM, PST).

Again, please watch the home page under "News" and your inbox for the JRS for more ticket updates.

We appreciate everyone's patience.

stuart · Post by **stuart** » Mon Mar 01, 2004 6:10 pm

to modify your analogy slightly rob...
I heard about this hot new club opening up at midnight on sunday. It was pretty much a given that it would suck trying to get in on opening night. I drove by anyway and saw a huge ass line. I waited until the next morning to see if I could get in. Imagine my surprise when I saw there was no longer a line and walked right in.

Now I, having had a decent nights sleep, smugly shake my booty.

seriously though, I am sorry to hear that people wasted many wee hours banging away at their browsers. That sucks. Again though, are you surpised? What makes me giggle and also a bit scared is when people invoke the famous 'not in the spirit of burning man' line in response to the situation.

trocar · Post by **trocar** » Mon Mar 01, 2004 6:19 pm

>>What makes me giggle and also a bit scared is when people invoke the famous 'not in the spirit of burning man' line in response to the situation.

...Indeed

Kona · Post by **Kona** » Mon Mar 01, 2004 6:52 pm

Tried several times at 1AM- using the Paypal route. Got through to the last screen (you must hit continue to complete or some such instruction) and got another error page. Since I had gotten my Paypal confirmation, I went to sleep hoping that Burning Man would not let me down, even though things are somewhat confused (just like the playa). I had not rec'd the confirmation from BM.

Called In House when I got home from work today, at the number on the Paypal confirmation. Got through in 3 rings. Explained the situation- 2 minutes later, done. Had my conffirmation of my $165 ticket in my email.

The portents are good for another great burn-

Kona

Wind_Borne · Post by **Wind_Borne** » Mon Mar 01, 2004 7:09 pm

Staying up late and waiting on an overloaded server to get $165 tickets is like camping out all night to buy concert tickets when the box office opens: it make sense for people with more time than money. Those who have the dosh buy concert tickets from ticket agents, pay some multiple of retail, and are happy to do so to save their valuable time. Likewise, burners of means will just wait and buy their tickets later at a higher price and greater convenience.

As we all learned in econ 101, goods are allocated by privelage, price, or queueing.
>No one wants tickets to go just to the privelaged.
>Many burners don't mind the ticket price.
>Those that mind the price must queue up -- so the queue moves slowly, you're saving money.

In the time that it is taking for me to purchase a ticket

<b>Sour Taste in the Mouth</b>

Corp Speak