Burning Man 2012 Tickets FAQ

[Sham]

^^Nice use of copy and paste... you could have just went like this:

That was tried by Eric, but it didn't seem to have an effect. Thank you for that friendly advice though.
Also, Eric and my signatures have links in them. vv

[remi]

Haha.. good point. Some people live with their eyes closed.

[theCryptofishist]

I don't know why people find it easier to ask other people questions, rather then try to find it out themselvs.

It is annoying, especially when it happens en masse.
But, remember, we are social animals. Asking is interaction, reading from an impersonal text isn't. But, we're just pasting that impersonal text! you cry. Yeah, social animals. It looks like interaction.
Also: somehow that dry, precise prose is very difficult to understand, whereas a "You sign up ahead..." isn't.

[lemur]

just think of all the people who didnt ask for help who will be on their own in 2012!!

[CaptainVic]

I have a suggestion that might help preserve lower cost tickets for those with limited resources and discourage scalping of those lower cost tickets. It might be too late to do this for 2012 tickets, but maybe it could be tried in 2013.

Require names for the lowest cost tier of tickets - print the buyer's name, or maybe photograph, on the ticket. These tickets could only be resold to Burning Man. Sure, this would cost something, so simply add a few dollars to the price of higher tier tickets or charge a return fee, or both. Doing this just for the lowest cost tier would give the B morg a chance to try out this process on a limited scale.

[trilobyte]

There are no plans to put names on tickets, or make them non-transferrable in any way.

[lemur]

lolz

i dont understand why everyone wants non transferable tickets...



ive read it 100 times by now but i dont dont get it.

[Rice]

I have a suggestion that might help preserve lower cost tickets for those with limited resources and discourage scalping of those lower cost tickets. It might be too late to do this for 2012 tickets, but maybe it could be tried in 2013.

Require names for the lowest cost tier of tickets - print the buyer's name, or maybe photograph, on the ticket. These tickets could only be resold to Burning Man. Sure, this would cost something, so simply add a few dollars to the price of higher tier tickets or charge a return fee, or both. Doing this just for the lowest cost tier would give the B morg a chance to try out this process on a limited scale.

The tickets are produced in one mass printing, with security features. Your suggestion would cause all kinds of issues.

For instance:
* Everyone would need photo ID to get into BRC (add 1 minute per person to gate entry time - best time guestimate)
* Anyone who forgets their ID would have to go home (fine if you live in Gerlach, but what if you live in New York??)
* Processing costs for returning tickets (the money from tickets sales would have to be held in case of returns, this would jeopardise the event)
* If photo's on tickets, how does that happen for 53000 people?

When at the gate I have observed people not having their tickets in hand. Having to have ID in hand as well would be, well, kinda funny (D-Lot for you...)

I bet 1/4 of the people in the gate line during opening night would not be able to get in.

You are the 30th (100th?) person to suggest this. It is not a workable idea with the volume of people and complexity of the event...

Love Rice

[Eric]

lolz

i dont understand why everyone wants non transferable tickets...

ive read it 100 times by now but i dont dont get it.

Everyone is positive that "scalpers" are the reason the event sold out last year (even though it took 6 months to do so) and are frantically trying to come up with extreme methods to end what is a minor problem at best.

It's like nuking your house to kill a fly, but as long as the persistent myth of the All Powerful Evil Scalping Empire exists this will continue. I think of it as the downside of the internet: people feeding each-others fears in an endless loop until the fear is louder than reality.

[Rice]

Everyone is positive that "scalpers" are the reason the event sold out last year (even though it took 6 months to do so) and are frantically trying to come up with extreme methods to end what is a minor problem at best.

It's like nuking your house to kill a fly, but as long as the persistent myth of the All Powerful Evil Scalping Empire exists this will continue. I think of it as the downside of the internet: people feeding each-others fears in an endless loop until the fear is louder than reality.

Eric, you are so right!!

Geeze ... The tickets went on sale in January, sold out in July. Sure 37000ish tickets sold on opening day, but there were over 53,000 tickets for sale.

Only after the tickets sold out, did I notice any scalping at all.

The ticket website did say "hey goofball, buy your tickets soon" but had no actual remaining ticket count. Any "organized" scalping ring would not have known.

This non-transferable thingy is only something that someone with no actual Burning Man gate exposure would come up with.... I have talked about that concept with some gate staff and "idiotic" is one of the first words I hear

Love Rice

[karli52]

on the website, they keep talking about credit cards, but i don't see a place where you should type your bank number?
could someone please help me?

[karli52]

i really don't understand how to buy tickets for the event!
could someone please give me a instruction how to buy tickets?
thx

I hope this helps Karli. This should clear things up for you.
****************************************************
BURNING MAN 2012 TICKET INFORMATION

In an effort to create equal opportunity for participants to purchase tickets for Burning Man 2012, tickets will be sold via three different methods. There will be two rounds of tickets provided by a random-selection process, followed by one round of open ticket sales. We will also again offer a low income ticket program through special application. More information about the low income program will be posted soon.

I. PRE-SALE TICKETS -- 3,000 TICKETS SOLD VIA RANDOM SELECTION NOV/DEC 2011 -- $420 + s/h -- LIMIT 4 PER PERSON

A Pre-Sale round will be conducted in November/December 2011:

Participants seeking early access to full price tickets can register for the Pre-Sale during a two-week period from November 28 until December 11, 2011 (at 11:59pm PST).
Entrants will need to provide a valid credit or debit card number at the time of registration.
On or before December 19, a random drawing from the pool of entrants will be conducted to award 3,000 tickets at a Pre-Sale price of $420.
If you are awarded tickets, your credit card will be charged for the total amount of your tickets at that time.
Those who are awarded tickets will receive notification via email that their credit cards have been charged for their tickets, along with a gift certificate suitable for printing.
Any entrants who do not receive one of these Pre-Sale Tickets will automatically be entered into the Main Sale.

II. MAIN SALE -- 40,000 TICKETS SOLD VIA RANDOM SELECTION JANUARY 2012 -- $240/$320/$390 + s/h -- LIMIT 2 PER PERSON AT ALL TIERS

Participants will register for the Main Sale during a two-week period from January 9 until January 22 (at 11:59pm PST), 2012.
Entrants will need to provide a valid credit or debit card number at the time of registration.
On or before February 1, a random selection will be conducted to award 40,000 tickets as follows:
$240: 10,000 tickets
$320: 15,000 tickets
$390: 15,000 tickets
If you are awarded tickets, your credit card will be charged for the total amount of your tickets at that time.
All sales at all Tiers for the Main Sale are limit 2 per person.
Those who are awarded tickets will receive notification on February 1 via email that their credit cards have been charged for their tickets and at which pricing tier.
Any remaining tickets not claimed in the Main Sale will be moved into the allotment for the Secondary Open Sale.

III. SECONDARY OPEN SALE -- 10,000 TICKETS (INCLUDING ANY REMAINING TICKETS FROM MAIN SALE) -- MARCH 2012 -- $390 + s/h -- LIMIT 4 PER PERSON

Once the Main Sale is completed, 10,000 tickets will be held aside for open sale, plus any unclaimed tickets from the Main Sale.
These tickets will be sold until they are gone.

ALL physical tickets from ALL THREE sales (except those that were designated to be held at Will Call) will be mailed in June 2012.

GATE AND WALK-UP OUTLET SALES: Tickets will NOT be sold at the Gate to Black Rock City, nor at Walk-Up Outlets. We are indebted to our Outlets for their many years of service to our community - please continue to support them!

RESALE TICKETS: Burning Man plans to create a centralized online system to facilitate the resale of unwanted/unneeded tickets. More details will be announced soon.

LOW INCOME/SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMS: These separate programs will be merged into a new program designed to combine the best of each for 2012. The total number of low-income tickets will be increased (from last year's total of 3,500) to serve more participants. Further details will be released after the Main Sale has begun.

yeah i get that it is some kind of lottery but where do I sign up?

[tamarakay]

on the website, they keep talking about credit cards, but i don't see a place where you should type your bank number?
could someone please help me?

Hey there! Registration for tickets doesn't open until Monday. It is not possible to sign up or purchase anything right now.

[CaptainVic]

The use of ID photos on event tickets has been successfully used before. The Gastonbury music feastival in England, which is roughly three times the size of Burning Man, has been printing photos on tickets since 2007. https://glastonbury.seetickets.com/Regi ... n/Register

[remi]

The use of ID photos on event tickets has been successfully used before. The Gastonbury music feastival in England, which is roughly three times the size of Burning Man, has been printing photos on tickets since 2007. https://glastonbury.seetickets.com/Regi ... n/Register

This is a great idea, and I've already seen it mentioned a half dozen times in eplaya. I think I read that lots of people like to gift tickets, and such, so to put photo on tickets would create a fiasco. Perhaps one year they may switch to that type of system, but definitely not this year.

[theCryptofishist]

on the website, they keep talking about credit cards, but i don't see a place where you should type your bank number?
could someone please help me?

Hey there! Registration for tickets doesn't open until Monday. It is not possible to sign up or purchase anything right now.

Wait, karli, are you talking about your credit card number or your bank number? Because if you're trying to do a direct transfer from your bank account, it won't work. You'll have to go out and get a "disposable" credit card, pre-loaded with cash to pay for your highest acceptable tier, plus shipping and handling, and with your name linked to it, if you don't have a credit card

[trilobyte]

Karli, read the info carefully. Registration has not yet begun. Check back during the two week window for registration, and you'll be able to enter your information then.

[enl8enmentnow]

i dont understand why everyone wants non transferable tickets...

ive read it 100 times by now but i dont dont get it.

The reason people want the tickets to be non-transferable is because it directly addresses the actual problem: over demand of tickets and scalping. If you had to be sure you are going to go before you buy it will lesson early demand. And those that are passionate about going and have their act together will be there.

The lottery system actually makes the scalping problem worse and group planning more difficult. Has any other event, ever, done a lottery system? NO! Have tons of huge successful events like Glastonbury and Mutek done non-transferable tickets? YES! Why did BM come up with this crazy idea on their own? Anyone? Anyone? What problems does it actually address??? None... just makes the process a bit more random.

[theCryptofishist]

...just makes the process a bit more random.

I find that cacophonic.

[5280MeV]

It's like nuking your house to kill a fly, but as long as the persistent myth of the All Powerful Evil Scalping Empire exists this will continue. I think of it as the downside of the internet: people feeding each-others fears in an endless loop until the fear is louder than reality.

Hmmmm.... sounds exactly like something a scalper would say.

Quick - get the ducking stool:

[trilobyte]

Non-transferrble tickets makes an attempt at addressing the issue, though it introduces significant administrative issues and costs, plus would complicate and slow down a gate process that many people already find takes too long. And yes, other events and festivals have done random draws. Of course, if you really feel that strongly against the idea of a drawing, you could abstain and wait for the secondary sale.

[Rice]

The reason people want the tickets to be non-transferable is because it directly addresses the actual problem: over demand of tickets and scalping. If you had to be sure you are going to go before you buy it will lesson early demand. And those that are passionate about going and have their act together will be there.

The lottery system actually makes the scalping problem worse and group planning more difficult. Has any other event, ever, done a lottery system? NO! Have tons of huge successful events like Glastonbury and Mutek done non-transferable tickets? YES! Why did BM come up with this crazy idea on their own? Anyone? Anyone? What problems does it actually address??? None... just makes the process a bit more random.

Non-transferable tickets do not address the demand concerns at all. If there are more people than tickets, it does not matter what you do, some people will not be able to attend. (you know, math??) As far as scalpers go, that was a small issue for 2011. An issue which only happened after the tickets sold out, 5 months after the tickets first went on sale. It certainly was not fair to those who did not or could not purchase their tickets earlier. But every event, movie, play, that has a limited space only has so many tickets. Why should Burning Man be any different?

There are many factors which affect the population limits within Black Rock City. First of all, the roads can only handle so many vehicles at one time. If 70% of the participants try to get in at midnight on the opening night there will be long waits and line ups. Secondly, the event is currently on land which is leased from the BLM - there are population limitations dictated by the lease. Thirdly, imagine if you lived in the area. During Burning Man, how inconvenienced would you be? There are other things as well, but I will leave that for another time.

Again, non-transferable tickets do not address population limits... Scalping is only a issue when people pay the outrageous prices. There is nothing that says anyone HAS to pay a scalper's inflated prices.

I will admit to an initial stomach knot when I read the words "Ticket Lottery", but now that I have more details I am not so concerned. There is an opportunity to get tickets. Complaining about a system I have never used does not make sense.

Remember, DO NOT PANIC

Love Rice

[Eric]

It's like nuking your house to kill a fly, but as long as the persistent myth of the All Powerful Evil Scalping Empire exists this will continue. I think of it as the downside of the internet: people feeding each-others fears in an endless loop until the fear is louder than reality.

Hmmmm.... sounds exactly like something a scalper would say.

Nah, see the little "moderator" tag under my name? I get to be one of the cool, calm, voices of reason (as futile as it may be right now).

Has any other event, ever, done a lottery system? NO! Have tons of huge successful events like Glastonbury and Mutek done non-transferable tickets? YES!

Do you check your facts before typing? You say no event had ever done a lottery and then mention Glastonbury in the next sentence. Guess what- Glastonbury does a lottery (though they don't call it that).

To obtain tickets for Glastonbury Festival 2013 you must register. [snip]
Registration does not guarantee you a ticket.

If having to register in advance to even get a chance of getting a ticket, without a guarantee of one, isn't a lottery I don't know what is.

[A Jester]

I have a suggestion that might help preserve lower cost tickets for those with limited resources and discourage scalping of those lower cost tickets. It might be too late to do this for 2012 tickets, but maybe it could be tried in 2013.

Require names for the lowest cost tier of tickets - print the buyer's name, or maybe photograph, on the ticket. These tickets could only be resold to Burning Man. Sure, this would cost something, so simply add a few dollars to the price of higher tier tickets or charge a return fee, or both. Doing this just for the lowest cost tier would give the B morg a chance to try out this process on a limited scale.

THAT'S AN AWESOME, ORIGINAL IDEA, AND I CAN'T FIND ANY FLAWS IN IT! You should go to the BM offices and tell them your idea!

[TinkerMom]

Karli!! I fixed it for you!!

i really don't understand how to buy tickets for the event!
could someone please give me a instruction how to buy tickets?
thx

I hope this helps Karli. This should clear things up for you.
****************************************************
BURNING MAN 2012 TICKET INFORMATION

In an effort to create equal opportunity for participants to purchase tickets for Burning Man 2012, tickets will be sold via three different methods. There will be two rounds of tickets provided by a random-selection process, followed by one round of open ticket sales. We will also again offer a low income ticket program through special application. More information about the low income program will be posted soon.

I. PRE-SALE TICKETS -- 3,000 TICKETS SOLD VIA RANDOM SELECTION NOV/DEC 2011 -- $420 + s/h -- LIMIT 4 PER PERSON

A Pre-Sale round will be conducted in November/December 2011:

Participants seeking early access to full price tickets can register for the Pre-Sale during a two-week period from November 28 until December 11, 2011 (at 11:59pm PST). Entrants will need to provide a valid credit or debit card number at the time of registration.
On or before December 19, a random drawing from the pool of entrants will be conducted to award 3,000 tickets at a Pre-Sale price of $420.
If you are awarded tickets, your credit card will be charged for the total amount of your tickets at that time.
Those who are awarded tickets will receive notification via email that their credit cards have been charged for their tickets, along with a gift certificate suitable for printing.
Any entrants who do not receive one of these Pre-Sale Tickets will automatically be entered into the Main Sale.

II. MAIN SALE -- 40,000 TICKETS SOLD VIA RANDOM SELECTION JANUARY 2012 -- $240/$320/$390 + s/h -- LIMIT 2 PER PERSON AT ALL TIERS

Participants will register for the Main Sale during a two-week period from January 9 until January 22 (at 11:59pm PST), 2012.
Entrants will need to provide a valid credit or debit card number at the time of registration.
On or before February 1, a random selection will be conducted to award 40,000 tickets as follows:
$240: 10,000 tickets
$320: 15,000 tickets
$390: 15,000 tickets
If you are awarded tickets, your credit card will be charged for the total amount of your tickets at that time.
All sales at all Tiers for the Main Sale are limit 2 per person.
Those who are awarded tickets will receive notification on February 1 via email that their credit cards have been charged for their tickets and at which pricing tier.
Any remaining tickets not claimed in the Main Sale will be moved into the allotment for the Secondary Open Sale.

III. SECONDARY OPEN SALE -- 10,000 TICKETS (INCLUDING ANY REMAINING TICKETS FROM MAIN SALE) -- MARCH 2012 -- $390 + s/h -- LIMIT 4 PER PERSON
Once the Main Sale is completed, 10,000 tickets will be held aside for open sale, plus any unclaimed tickets from the Main Sale.
These tickets will be sold until they are gone.

ALL physical tickets from ALL THREE sales (except those that were designated to be held at Will Call) will be mailed in June 2012.

GATE AND WALK-UP OUTLET SALES: Tickets will NOT be sold at the Gate to Black Rock City, nor at Walk-Up Outlets. We are indebted to our Outlets for their many years of service to our community - please continue to support them!

RESALE TICKETS: Burning Man plans to create a centralized online system to facilitate the resale of unwanted/unneeded tickets. More details will be announced soon.

LOW INCOME/SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMS: These separate programs will be merged into a new program designed to combine the best of each for 2012. The total number of low-income tickets will be increased (from last year's total of 3,500) to serve more participants. Further details will be released after the Main Sale has begun.

yeah i get that it is some kind of lottery but where do I sign up?

[TimInSilverlake]

I have a question and a little tip for those who might benefit:


QUESTION

If this has already been asked, I apologize; I did read pretty carefully and didn't see it:

1. The Pre-sale details state that, "Any entrants who do not receive one of these Pre-Sale Tickets will automatically be entered into the Main Sale." However, the details are silent as to how the registration will be carried over into the Main Sale and at what tier(s). For example, if I register for 3 tickets in the Pre-Sale and am not selected, I presume that I will be automatically registered in the Main Sale for 2 tickets at all three tiers. Is that correct? Or, in registering for the Pre-sale am I also asked to indicate which tiers I am opting for in the Main sale should I wind up being bumped into the Main Sale?

2. I'm not completely clear on whether the lottery selects TICKETS or REGISTRATIONS. So for example, if I enter the Pre-sale for three tickets, do I (a) win 3 tickets or no tickets at all; or (b) win 1, 2, or 3 or 0 tickets? (I was wondering whether the number of tickets one registers for would affect the likelihood of winning.)

TIP - possibly helpful to some...

I tend to space the details if I'm not careful, so I compensate by deliberately searching for pitfalls - so maybe this is patently obvious to everyone else, but if it helps one other Burner out there, it's worth it: check the expiration date on your card to make sure the card doesn't expire in the midst of the ticket buying window(s) you're entered in. You'll want that card valid on the day the system electronically swipes it, which could be a ways away if you enter on Monday and lose the Pre-sale. We're told that insufficient balance will be fatal to the purchase, so I would think the same could be true for expiration date, address, or any other detail that would throw the sale off. Originally I was going to go with a prepaid card, but eventually decided to avoid the unfamiliar (like Left Eye from TLC said: don't go chasing waterfalls, stick to the rivers and lakes that you're used to...) particularly after learning that prepaid cards have to be registered to a name in some way. So I went ahead and cleared space on my credit card by making a large payment last week. As I was doing so, I realized that my card expiration date was in early 2012. To make sure that doesnt mess up the sale, I talked to my card issuer and they're sending me a replacement card a couple months early. I found that it was helpful to talk directly to the issuer because they were knowledgeable about problems that can come up with automatic purchases, which in this case could be show-stoppers. Some of these ticketing systems can be finicky and unforgiving, so I'm going to be extra careful about using the right billing address, not to change my billing address mid-purchase, etc. (my card goes to a different address than my home, which I sometimes forget). Again, may seem obvious, but as they say: luck favors the prepared. I hope this helps someone out there who would otherwise be dinged out of the sale by an anal-retentive ticketing system back at intergalactic headquarters.

My fingers are crossed for you all!

[AntiM]

Yeah, I have some calling to do beforehand. My favored hard-working cashback card stalls on large single purchases over my daily limit. My card with the empty balance stalls for out of area purchases.

[delle]

Checking the expiry date for your card (like NOW to give yourself time to get a new one in a timely manner) was an excellent idea!!!!!

Wouldn't that just suck????

[TimInSilverlake]

So I guess that's another question: what is the name of the ticketing company and where is it located, so can call ahead and warn our credit card issuers not to stall out for that purchase on that date from that company in whatever city or state.

[theCryptofishist]

As far as I know, it's still Inticketing.