how to not get scammed?

[steppingrazorr]

theres a lot of good deals on here, but many of the posts are from people who made eplaya accounts the DAY they posted about selling... idk, seems sorta fishy.

is there any way, aside from physically going to pick up hard tickets, to ensure that they are real?

[capjbadger]

Not sure why this hasn't been moved to the 2011 section yet...

viewtopic.php?t=33645

-Badger

[Shambala]

There are several stories every year about people getting scammed. It seems that people are lulled into some false sense of trust and then slaughtered with a traditional scam.

Here are a few hints to avoid being scammed:

1) Buy your ticket from the official BM website and get them delivered. They are still on sale.

2) Buy your tickets in person and try not to pay for tickets and hope they get sent. Scammers can sound really convincing if they try.

3) If you're selling a ticket, meet the person face to face and make the exchange.

4) ALL tickets are real tickets and not computer generated on paper with bar codes. Tickets have lots of impressive looking safety features including holograms and embossing. Know what the ticket looks like before making a transaction.

5) Craigslist seems like a good place to meet a local person who wants to sell a ticket in person. NEVER PAY ABOVE THE PRICE ON THE BACK OF THE TICKET plus the shipping charges.

6) As the time get closer, people tend to flake out and have to sell cheapie tickets. Don't panic and jump at the first one you see. Don't feel like if you don't buy a ticket now, you won't get to go.

Any other helpful hints here?

[theCryptofishist]

idk, seems sorta fishy.

Hey!

[gyre]

theres a lot of good deals on here, but many of the posts are from people who made eplaya accounts the DAY they posted about selling... idk, seems sorta fishy.

is there any way, aside from physically going to pick up hard tickets, to ensure that they are real?

I've sold most of my tickets that way.
Couldn't remember the name i used last I was on.

Person to person is unrealistic most places.

[BBadger]

theres a lot of good deals on here, but many of the posts are from people who made eplaya accounts the DAY they posted about selling... idk, seems sorta fishy.

is there any way, aside from physically going to pick up hard tickets, to ensure that they are real?

The real scams are the people with one post to their name begging for a free ticket.

[littletash]

Lots of people selling tickets will have been going for the first time, realise they can't make it and only then need to join the forum to sell their ticket. Don't see why that makes them dodgy? Obviously I fall into this category!

Also Shambala you don't mention Will Call in your advice - you can verify the ticket before hand and get confirmation of name change. Very secure no?

[gyre]

Yes, as long as you bought from the llc, easy enough to confirm the ticket ownership, will call or not.

Paypal is supposed to protect you if the ticket is lost
or not shipped.
Never had a problem, buying or selling.
People are usually very eager to send me the money without confirmation, and I usually have to tell them how they can confirm the ticket, etc.
Of course, it isn't such a big deal when the tickets hit $95, though it seemed a lot then.

Often people worry over the ticket price and then want to pay for overnight when they don't need to, just to get it sooner.
Dropped one in the box on the corner one night and it arrived in L.A. next morning, but I'm in the fedex hub.

It is possible to sell or buy days before the start.

[ygmir]

Yes, as long as you bought from the llc, easy enough to confirm the ticket ownership, will call or not.

Paypal is supposed to protect you if the ticket is lost
or not shipped.
Never had a problem, buying or selling.
People are usually very eager to send me the money without confirmation, and I usually have to tell them how they can confirm the ticket, etc.
Of course, it isn't such a big deal when the tickets hit $95, though it seemed a lot then.

Often people worry over the ticket price and then want to pay for overnight when they don't need to, just to get it sooner.
Dropped one in the box on the corner one night and it arrived in L.A. next morning, but I'm in the fedex hub.

It is possible to sell or buy days before the start.

are you a ticket broker, as well?

[FIGJAM]

Buy your ticket on jan. 19th!

[gyre]

Part of my vast internet empire?

You know I started buying tickets in the 90s.
Didn't get to go for a long time.
Just my personal ticket each year.
Then ended up buying one from someone in 2005.
So I've had to sell a lot more than I've used.
I've been on eplaya off and on from the start, but net access wasn't so easy then.
I still can't recall any of the log ins I used.


I really regret not making it out in the early days.

[Ugly Dougly]

What did W.C. Fields say?

[Savannah]

Lots of people selling tickets will have been going for the first time, realise they can't make it and only then need to join the forum to sell their ticket. Don't see why that makes them dodgy? Obviously I fall into this category!

You're right. New people aren't necessarily dishonest, just eager to sell. And long-time ePlayans aren't automatically paragons of virtue, though a long-time ePlayan has greater reinforcement to be ethical even if tempted not to be: a number of us have met each other, have mutual friends, or contact information.

Also Shambala you don't mention Will Call in your advice - you can verify the ticket before hand and get confirmation of name change. Very secure no?

Sort of. The thing that strikes me as difficult to negotiate is that the Seller of Will Call tickets has to transfer the name to the Buyer. If the seller fails, intentionally or not, it's bad news for the buyer.

I imagine people have worked out little ways to make them feel more secure in the transaction, although I admit haven't given a lot of thought to what those methods are . . . because the idea of buying Will Call tickets from a third party is too stressful for me.

[gyre]

What did W.C. Fields say?

I like children ... lightly roasted?

[gyre]

Lots of people selling tickets will have been going for the first time, realise they can't make it and only then need to join the forum to sell their ticket. Don't see why that makes them dodgy? Obviously I fall into this category!

You're right. New people aren't necessarily dishonest, just eager to sell. And long-time ePlayans aren't automatically paragons of virtue, though a long-time ePlayan has greater reinforcement to be ethical even if tempted not to be: a number of us have met each other, have mutual friends, or contact information.

Also Shambala you don't mention Will Call in your advice - you can verify the ticket before hand and get confirmation of name change. Very secure no?

Sort of. The thing that strikes me as difficult to negotiate is that the Seller of Will Call tickets has to transfer the name to the Buyer. If the seller fails, intentionally or not, it's bad news for the buyer.

I imagine people have worked out little ways to make them feel more secure in the transaction, although I admit haven't given a lot of thought to what those methods are . . . because the idea of buying Will Call tickets from a third party is too stressful for me.

You can have them contact will call before you pay.
They can rescind the transfer in case of fraud.

The only one I bought from an individual was will call.
The rest were from the llc, but one. No issues.
I had them fax paperwork as a backup, in case of computer issues etc at will call.
Think I used paypal too, maybe for the first time.

Big problem I had was replacing my I.D.
Will call is very particular about that.

I used my ticket paperwork (not good enough for will call) to replace my I.D. at the dmv.

Will call may be more secure than a hard ticket, until you actually have that ticket in hand.

The problems come from multiple tickets at will call, if you're not buying them all.

People have failed to receive tickets that were mailed and there are counterfeits out there, but easy to detect if you know what to look for.

The embossing was my suggestion, by the way.

[gyre]

Confirmation does become harder and then impossible as the llc goes to BRC.