CHRISTMAS TICKETS?

[BAS]

Two day trip each way here, too. I've only been able to make it one year, and that trip was without any hotel stays on the way out (sleeping in the car at truck stops), and a couple hour nap + shower at a Motel 6 in Winnemucca on the way back. It is true that today fuel costs are a bigger factor than the ticket prices, but every increases hurts. The average American's income has been essentially stagnant for, what?, decades? *I* haven't experienced any increase in wealth!

I *do* want to make a serious effort to get back to BRC, preferably this years, since the odds of making back seem to be decreasing every year. I don't know if it will happen, though.

[maladroit]

Haha, I just had a thought: reverse scalping might be a problem around August. Because of what happened last year, quite a few people who want to go might wait very late in the hopes of getting a ticket for $100 or less. But then there might actually be scarcity, and no one willing to sell for so low. Either way, I'm happy...people expecting to profit on others' misfortune get screwed, just like last year.

[Rice]

If I see anyone who was active in the ticket discussion last year on these here boards freak out this year, I'm going to punch you in the nose via my keyboard. We all know by now that the ticket thing will work itself out once again.

I was more than active on those discussions! I said then, and say now: "If you do not panic, you will get the ticket(s) you need at a reasonable cost!"

All those who panicked made the ticket situation worse for themselves and everyone else who needed a ticket...

I have never panicked about getting my ticket, I trust that things will work out when you let them. So far, I have never been let down

I am, however, curious about how "Burners" are going to respond to this year's ticket sales plan... Maybe, finally, they get it?? (time will tell on
that one )

Ta

[Sandstorm]

Last year after JRS announced the ticket lottery I bitched loud and hard and often at the folks I perceived to be the guilty parties in BMORG. I posted a bit here on the subject and I also posted a lot about the topic on my FB profile and BMs FB profile.

Well, after reading the most recent JRS I have to say the following:

BMORG, I like what I've read about how you are handling the ticketing situation for this year's event. My first impression is that you've learned both from the mistakes you made regarding the ticketing system/process for the most recet burn and also from how a flood of tickets became available in the weeks before the event. You folks work hard to make happen my most favorite event in the world. For now, you've got my trust that the ticketing system/process for next year's burn will unfold far better than the one many of us lived through in 2012.

And as always, thanks to the mods who run eplaya.

Happy Holidays, Burners.

[jcliff]

My two cents on the holiday presale: I have no problem with the big jump in presale ticket price, my problem is that we had no idea the price jump would be so high. I've had $500 in an old dog cookie tin in a cupboard for months waiting for the announcement of presale tickets. I've purchased a presale ticket for the last 3 years, above the cost of a normal ticket. I was actually expecting no presale this year because of the shit storm last year. I was pretty excited to see the blog announcement that there was going to be a presale, but had the wind let out of my sails when there was such a drastic jump in the price. I'm out this year on presale, bummer...but at least have I have my ducks in a row for the big sale.

I think Burning Man needs to do a better job with a couple things, A.) Communication and B.) Public perception. I would have been much less disappointed had I known ahead of time that there would be a a presale and that there would be a drastic rise in presale ticket price. Those of us who were looking towards the presale had no idea whether it was actually going to happen, and I would imagine that few of us anticipated $650. Burning Man has developed a habit of dropping bombs and they haven't gone well. A $650 presale ticket price was most definitley a bomb.

As far as public perception goes, I was not at all impressed to see a $230 rise in presale ticket cost with 3% going to Burning Man's own non-for-profit with no mention of low-income tickets. If my calculations are right, there was a 35% increase in the presale ticket cost with 3% of the total ticket cost going to the Burning Man Project. A $230 increase for a $20 donation is not philanthropic, it's a revenue boost. If Burning Man had announced that that there would be a presale at $650 with %100 of the profits above normal ticket cost going to low-income tickets, I would have purchased a presale ticket. 3% going to an in-house non-profit is laughable.

[mshaman]

$650. Seriously?

[trilobyte]

Sandstorm - thanks for the kind words, and I'll pass them along to others at HQ.

jcliff - that's my personal gripe with the situation as well. Working with a lot of folks at Burning Man throughout the year, I know first-hand that people wanted to get the information out sooner. That's especially important when either the process changes, or when the price changes (even by a little bit, in my book). There are a lot of factors and considerations (not the least of which is the Bureau of Land Management).

Last year my girlfriend surprised me by getting us tickets in the holiday pre-sale. She's already made it clear that there's no way that's happening again this year, it's just too steep an increase and not enough time to make arrangements. So we're planning on getting our tickets in the main sale, details for that are coming on January 4th.

As for the amount that goes to BMP, I understand that to be the minimum amount that's given in a lump payment. It seems a bit silly (to me, anyways) to specify such a weird (and low) number, but it may be some kind of regulatory thing (since BMP is a 501c3). The "LLC" entity puts a lot into BMP throughout the course of the year, but don't break it out as being a portion of ticket costs (even though that's where the LLC gets the money that it winds up putting in).

[pink]

I just got a reply back from ticketing to a question I had posted when the FAQ first went up. I was pleasantly surprised at the level of personal customer service.

So how many people suggested pricing at market in the wailing and gnashing of teeth last year? I'm thinking the presale may be an attempt at that. Hopefully the additional monies will help support more low income tix, or a slightly lower price for the main sale.

[theCryptofishist]

There was so much wailing and gnashing about every possible method of ticket sales that everyone who argued passionately against whatever's chosen will wail and gnash some more and a good third of those who got their wish will wail and gnash out of habit, or they've changed their mind, or they hate changes, or they decided that the lottery worked out pretty well after all.


Wait, what if the lottery was a deliberate pain, so that the introduction of the real plan A will be seen as a relief...

[VampireKitten]

$650. Seriously?

[Sandstorm]

...I think Burning Man needs to do a better job with a couple things, A.) Communication and B.) Public perception. I would have been much less disappointed had I known ahead of time that there would be a a presale and that there would be a drastic rise in presale ticket price. Those of us who were looking towards the presale had no idea whether it was actually going to happen, and I would imagine that few of us anticipated $650. Burning Man has developed a habit of dropping bombs and they haven't gone well. A $650 presale ticket price was most definitley a bomb.

...If Burning Man had announced that that there would be a presale at $650 with %100 of the profits above normal ticket cost going to low-income tickets, I would have purchased a presale ticket. 3% going to an in-house non-profit is laughable.

jcliff: I think that your first above quoted passage speaks directly to the issue you talk about in the latter quoted section. I for one had assumed the BMORG was not going to have a holiday ticket sale and instead wait until 2013 to announce the ticketing system/process for next year's burn. While I do feel that they've learned from last year's fiasco I think that some of the issues you wrote about in your post show that BMORG still has some learning/growing to do in terms of how they manage/deliver their PR.

[theCryptofishist]

I think it's win-win. If they don't sell out of xmas ticks, good. If they sell out of xmas ticks, good. No need for angst about it just because we're not buying them.

[Sandstorm]

Well, today's JRS did a good job of responding to some of the concerns that have been voiced in this thread about the price of the Holiday Sale tickets. It would have been nice/smart for BMORG to have included today's Holiday Ticket related info in last week's JRS that announced the Holiday Sale but the quick change in their PR regarding the Holiday Sale tickets is a HUGE improvement over last year's "We just dropped the lottery bomb on you and are now going to hide and/or be defensive and/or dismissive towards the community" fiasco. BMORG has just won back some more of my good will.

That said, I'm really curious to know if BMORG is going to do anything to fix the sound pollution issue from last year that involved some of the giant sound camps located at the far corners of Esplanade blasting TOO MUCH sound directly at The Temple. I know that this is not the thread to get an answer to that question but perhaps some brilliant Burner on the board will see this and give me an answer/point me in the right direction.

[mudpuppy000]

That said, I'm really curious to know if BMORG is going to do anything to fix the sound pollution issue from last year that involved some of the giant sound camps located at the far corners of Esplanade blasting TOO MUCH sound directly at The Temple. I know that this is not the thread to get an answer to that question but perhaps some brilliant Burner on the board will see this and give me an answer/point me in the right direction.

Speaking of pointing you in the right direction, that wowowowwowomp is handy if you find yourself wandering around in deep playa during a whiteout.

[trilobyte]

Sandstorm - that info about the ticket pricing was also in the FAQ (which was linked on the ticket page and in the blog post) from day 1. As for sound pollution issues, yeah this is the wrong thread. That topic was actually beaten (to death) a few months ago in the Experiences At Burning Man forum, you may want to go check that section out. Hopefully you also answered the call from a few months back to take that feedback survey and let Burning Man know what you think.

[zorro sings]

Well that was easy,transaction took 3 minutes.Worth the extra $200 or so not to have to run the gauntlet of the regular sale.

[trilobyte]

Congratulations!

[freud]

I have been dreaming about going to Burning Man for the last 10 years, and now I can finally make it happen. So stoked that I have a ticket! I don't care how much extra the holiday tickets are, all that matters is that I have one.

I can't wait to meet all you fine folks on the Playa!

[Dr. Pyro]

I can't wait to meet all you fine folks on the Playa!

I suspect, once you do, you'll get over that soon enough.

[Sandstorm]

Sandstorm - that info about the ticket pricing was also in the FAQ (which was linked on the ticket page and in the blog post) from day 1. As for sound pollution issues, yeah this is the wrong thread. That topic was actually beaten (to death) a few months ago in the Experiences At Burning Man forum, you may want to go check that section out. Hopefully you also answered the call from a few months back to take that feedback survey and let Burning Man know what you think.

trilo: Let me clarify what I meant in my earlier post about the differences between the information that BMORG gave in last week's and this week's JRS about the holiday ticket. (BTW, I just went back and re-read both of those emails just to confirm that I was not crazy when I wrote my last post). In this week's JRS BMORG speaks in detail about how the extra funds raised from the holiday ticket sale will benefit the Burning Man Project. It's clear that between last week and this week the folks at BMORG saw that people were questioning both the $650 ticket price and the 3% donation figures mentioned in last week's JRS. This week's JRS went out of it's way to expand upon the limited info in last JRS about how the elevated prices of the holiday tickets would benefit the non-profit. It is that additional information that I was speaking about when I wrote my last post in this thread.

As for the "Experiences At Burning Man" thread you spoke of I added my 2 cents in a post-burn thread that was centered around the sound pollution issue I mentioned in my earlier post.

As for the feedback survey you mentioned, my brain, as usual, was soup post-burn and thus my ability to properly interface with my email was at that time was severely compromised. Honestly, I tend to not start looking at BM related email until November or December because I usually can't focus on the concept of BM for a while once I've started my personal decompression.

[Hille]

Congrats to the people with tickets!

[moonwatcher]

Well, what a difference a year makes... I have my tickets for 2013!

Last year, my first burn, was a tough year ticket-wise.
Didn't score in the lottery. Couldn't find a ticket by networking.
Was on STEP until the very LAST day of STEP (no kidding). I received my STEP email just days after I finally bought a ticket (face value + S/H) - something like 4-5 weeks before the event.
Then had to rush like mad to get ready.

This year, I can prepare something special. And I'll have time to look for volunteer opportunities.

I am deeply thankful that I can afford the extra money for the Xmas tickets.
I am sending loving thoughts and positive vibrations to all burners and burners-to-be out there. See you on the Playa!

[Ratty]

Dr Pyro are you a Sugar Plump Fairy?

[Heyu]

K, so I got my gift tickets. (easy as pie, took less than 10 mins)
Since there are no physical tickets till June, they usually have a "You're going to Burning Man" print-out
These are gifts, so I want to do the printout and put them in cards

I can't remember if this was a second e-mail, but, is there a link, Trilobyte?

[trilobyte]

I've just checked with the ticket team and no, there is no printable graphic or certificate for this year's pre-sale.

[pink]

You get a confirm email, print that & make up your own cool certificate.

[Heyu]

K, this was last years

This was last year


Just looking for some free "Gift wrapping""

[Sandstorm]

Well, what a difference a year makes... I have my tickets for 2013!

...This year, I can prepare something special. And I'll have time to look for volunteer opportunities.

I am deeply thankful that I can afford the extra money for the Xmas tickets.
I am sending loving thoughts and positive vibrations to all burners and burners-to-be out there. See you on the Playa!

moonwatcher: Your words resonate with me. I am incredibly thankful to be able to say that I just bought 2 tickets via the holiday sale. I was thrilled that there were still tickets available when I logged in this morning. During the past week someone in my family unexpectedly gave me a very nice gift and that allowed me to participate in the Holiday Sale.

Last year I was fortunate enough to score 2 tickets from friends who could not make the burn. I eventually found a great theme camp and did a lot of volunteering with both them and The Temple Guardians. My burn was a great experience. That said, it was also intense due to a lot of the very focused energy that I brought from the default world to BRC. I learned the limits of what I can and should give while I'm out there. This year will be the first time that I've purchased tickets via the holiday sale and I'm looking forward to calmly planning out my next burn. That will be a big change from most of my past burns.

BMORG: thanks for making the Holiday Sale a reality!

[VultureChow]

Made this. Just for the heck of it.

[DnLBurners]

As one who has gone to regional events, and my wife and I will be at Interfuse in May, I am VERY happy that we were able to get 2 tickets yesterday for what will be our first Burning Man. I have seen a lot of comments about the pricing of the holiday tickets, but I also remember hearing it said regarding tiers that you should buy the tickets you can afford, and let the cheaper tickets go for those who need them. Well, my wife and I could afford these, so it wasn't a big deal to me. And like others have mentioned, it allows us ample time to learn and prepare. I can see lots of supplies needing to be found and/or purchased between now and this summer, but I am glad we do not need to worry about a lottery or anything like that. This also gives us some peace of mind so that we can register for our theme camp on March 1 and already have our main tickets covered.

Hope everyone has a great holiday season, and we hope to meet lots of amazing people out on the Playa!

Dave & Lisa