Buying a Ticket on STEP

[bakem80]

First time burner here,

I'm trying to go to Burning Man for the first time this year with a couple close friends. We've apparently missed the registration period for pre-sales and I'm pretty worried. Anyone here have any experience buying on STEP? What are the prices like? Also, what are the odds that we will be able to find tickets? Thanks in advance for the help and advice!

Cheers!

[remi]

I sense a Trilo copy n past post coming up.

[Ratty]

Slow deep breaths Bakem80. Step will happen and everyone that tries REAL hard will get a ticket.

I sense you need to read a little more on the BM homepage.

[FIGJAM]

All price samey same!

[Canoe]

... I sense you need to read a little more on the BM homepage.

and specifically, http://tickets.burningman.com/

There's STEP and the OMG sale.

[trilobyte]

Aww, remi didn't have anything useful to contribute to the discussion, so just played the 'be an ass' card

No copying or pasting from me (most of my posts aren't canned responses, btw). Yes, bakem80, you've missed the deadline for registration (it's a shame you hadn't signed up for the Jack Rabbit Speaks newsletter or been looking into it just a little longer, information about registration and ticket sales hasn't been hard to come by for a little more than a month). So long as you have a burner profile, you'll be able to sign up for STEP when that opens, and you can keep your eyes open for tickets in the after-market. Generally speaking, most people who are determined to go and put in the effort to do it are able to find tickets. The ones who I see that don't succeed are usually those who are late to the party and toss their hands up in defeat. A ticket is certainly important, but it's just one of dozens of details that you and your friends will have to work out. You can definitely do it.

[Dr. Pyro]

Also, if you look back on the 2013 tickets thread, you'll see that come summer there will be tons of tickets (if history repeats itself) available, many below face value. Let's face it, people change jobs, lifestyles change, economic hardship occasionally strikes, people flake out (as surprising as that may seem since we're talking about burners here), illness, arrests...the list goes on and on why people need to change their minds as to whether or not they can come to Burning Man. And those tickets become available. There will be plenty of ways to get to TTITD if you really want to go. And if the comparatively slow sales (in the sense that they did not sell out for several days) for the Directed Group Tickets is any indication at all, perhaps Burning Man has already jumped the shark. So I wouldn't be too worried at this early date about being aced out of tickets. And if you join a theme camp/village, and if they have their shit together like Barbie Death Village then they likely will have a ticketing system for those within their sphere of influence so they can get to the desert. As we say in our modest camp, membership indeed has its privileges.

[remi]

Aww, remi didn't have anything useful to contribute to the discussion, so just played the 'be an ass' card

What can I say... this lovely burning man community is rubbing off on me!

I was going to mention something about the after-market, and how I believe the best place to look for tickets is right here on Eplaya. Eplaya is where you're least likely to get scammed, and most likely to find them at face value.
EDIT: Unless that person on eplaya is trying to sell a ticket and they've only made 3 posts... I might watch out for that guy.

Much love!

[theCryptofishist]

An important thing to remember is that STEP closes once they mail out tickets. July? So if you don't have one by then, you know it's time to work your other plans.

[trilobyte]

STEP continues on after tickets have been mailed. The dates are still TBA, but historically the program wraps up at the end of July.

What closes up when tickets start mailing out is the ability for people to contribute tickets who have had their tickets mailed out. After mailing starts, only will call orders can contribute tickets.

[mumblemouth]

Also, if you look back on the 2013 tickets thread, you'll see that come summer there will be tons of tickets (if history repeats itself) available, many below face value. Let's face it, people change jobs, lifestyles change, economic hardship occasionally strikes, people flake out (as surprising as that may seem since we're talking about burners here), illness, arrests...the list goes on and on why people need to change their minds as to whether or not they can come to Burning Man. And those tickets become available. There will be plenty of ways to get to TTITD if you really want to go. And if the comparatively slow sales (in the sense that they did not sell out for several days) for the Directed Group Tickets is any indication at all, perhaps Burning Man has already jumped the shark. So I wouldn't be too worried at this early date about being aced out of tickets. And if you join a theme camp/village, and if they have their shit together like Barbie Death Village then they likely will have a ticketing system for those within their sphere of influence so they can get to the desert. As we say in our modest camp, membership indeed has its privileges.

sold out in 42 mins. you were close on you guess of several days tho lol

[trilobyte]

I think Dr. Pyro was off in making the assumption that Burning Man had jumped the shark based on DSG sales. He may not have realized that they took several days to sell out last year as well. In fact, this year's Directed Group Sale sold at an even faster pace - it took the same amount of time as last year to sell 50% more tickets.

Ticket on-sales can be awfully difficult to predict, and when it comes to an event that's assured to sell out, it's all a double edged sword. With more server issues and hiccups and delays, tickets take longer to sell out. If the system has significantly greater capacity and there are fewer issues and hiccups and delays, tickets will sell out significantly faster (as we saw this year).

[dirty_ghost]

Are the vehicle passes going to be available through STEP?

[trilobyte]

As per the FAQ linked in my signature, no.

[kiss-o-matic]

To enter STEP, is it required to have already registered for the regular sale? I got one jack hole in my posse that forgot. :-/

[trilobyte]

That was the case in 2012, but is no longer the case. They do need to have a Burner Profile.

[kiss-o-matic]

That was the case in 2012, but is no longer the case. They do need to have a Burner Profile.

Word -- thanks for the info. I'll tell him to get off the toilet once the date is announced.

[trilobyte]

Haha - and have him jump onto ePlaya. I know message boards can be a bit clunky and let's face it, we're all a bunch of miscreants... but I noticed that most of the people who come in and participate in the site (as opposed to the drive-by ticket seekers) are able to find the tickets that they need.

[mattmilby]

Is there going to be an email sent out or an advance notice on when STEP registration begins? I'm not if this is true or not, but I heard someone say they didn't announce the dates until just before STEP registration started last year.

[Canoe]

open your eyes
now look at the post above yours
in the signature line, what does it say?
try clicking on a few of those

[mattmilby]

I've looked at those and I still don't know whether or not there will be advance notice for the STEP sale. Thanks for being a dick about it, though.

[remi]

"To be announced" as per the link on Trilo's sig.

[mattmilby]

I'm not asking about the date of the STEP sale, I'm asking how long there will be between the announcement of the sale and the sale itself and whether or not there will be an email sent out.

[amybfromcali]

Wow, one day after the sale and I am so disappointed to see StubHub's opportunistic parasites are going for the major gouge. $220 to $636 for a single vehicle pass and $839 to $1545 for a single ticket. People who do this should be ashamed of themselves for their leech-like materialism. On the bright side, none of those people will be at the burn. I hope nobody buys their tickets.

[Canoe]

I've looked at those and I still don't know whether or not there will be advance notice for the STEP sale. Thanks for being a dick about it, though.

You're welcome.
And I'm going to be a dick again.
Go back to that link and read the whole page. Particularly the part at the very bottom.

[mattmilby]

Yeah, the Jackrabbit Speaks doesn't say anything about it either, I checked.

[theCryptofishist]

The Jackrabbit will say something about it a few days to a couple of weeks before it happens.

Deep breaths. This is the long haul. There's plenty of time for needless panic later.

[Canoe]

Yeah, the Jackrabbit Speaks doesn't say anything about it either, I checked.

Sigh
Did you sign up, so you get notified, or are you going to be back asking why everyone else knew before you did.

[trilobyte]

The thing about details to be announced is that it means that the details are to be announced. When the information becomes available, we'll post it on the ticketing page, in the Jack Rabbit Speaks, on this message board, and on Twitter and Facebook.

[pumpkinpietreats]

Hello Gorgeous!

First of all, thank you for taking the time to read my post. Okay so im in a rut! I'm a virgin burner, along with my 3 friends. 3 of us were lucky to get tickets, but my buddy was not so lucky. Im hoping the STEP program will brighten our spirits so the family can go as a whole. Not really sure how it works though, or how to stay on top of it so we dont miss out chance? Thank you so much for your help, I'm very greatful. If I meet you out there in the dirt, expect a bear hug!

~Vanessa