Suggestion for PB

[completejohn]

I, apparently along with everyone in the entire universe, tried to buy Nightgrass tickets this morning.  It was frustrating, to say the least.  I had to start over about 7 times after getting farther and farther along.  I kept getting "loading" messages.  I totally understand that the PB site got hit, really hard, all at once.

Suggestion:  sell ALL the Nightgrass tickets by lottery.  It was SO easy to fill out the ticket lottery for the FLy and Sheridan shows, and even tho I got totally boned on the deal, at least I didn't have to spend 30 frustrating minutes screaming at my computer (poor guy, but he'll get over it).

Even if the tickets don't sell out on that first day, it would certainly help.  And after that big rush, you can put the rest of the unsold tix up on your regular site.

Yeah, I was not happy about getting ZERO Sheridan tickets, but this morning little adventure wasn't much fun either.  Just a suggestion - What do ya think?

 Listening to: my computer sobbing "I'm sorry, OK?!?!"

[dgott2000]

Were you eventually able to get tickets? I believe they are still on sale (for yonder's wed kick-off party)

 Listening to: Mumford and Sons

[dayton]

i am against all lotteries, even though i got the nightgrass tickets i hoped for...
at least with the wait this morning, you know what you're getting...

i feel that lotteries just encourage scalping, because people end up with tickets they may not use, and sad as it is, not everyone is as honest as the people on this forum when it comes to selling tickets after the fact...

i vote first come, first serve...  and the dedicated will show up, wait in line, and get the tickets that are out there...  plus, those who are that dedicated (in my mind) will hold onto to those tickets alot more tightly than the others who end up with extras or unwanted lotto tickets saved for trade...

i know i've waited overnight outside venues before for tickets, been shut out and disappointed, but at least i was in the same boat with my fellow music lovers, instead of competeing with a cyberspace lotto and losing...  with that said, i've also waited for tickets, and had success, and that was as sweet as gold

[Debbiefromtucson]

LOL Dayton- I'm assuming you mean for Nightgrass shows.. I'm getting a mental image of us all lining up outside the gates of Town park around Sept and staying until June...LOL

[Hot Sugar]

I think the nightgrass sales are done as smoothly as they can be. Organizing something like this can't be easy and moving everything to a lottery doesn't seem like the answer, in my opinion.

[BillyBeru]

I think the Planet should invest more in their eCommerce technology and this will be a done deal.

[erick4cheesysalmon]

I am not opposed to the Lottery system; however, it goes against the "open-ness" and accessibility that TBGF prides itself on.

Having equal opportunity to purchase tickets via online sales results in frustrating times, but some of that frustration stems from a poor ticketing system that is not robust enough to handle 10,000 people trying to log-on and purchase tickets all at once. Planet Bluegrass should really look into upgrades to the server in anticipation of these high volume events. This happened 3 years ago for Nightgrass 2008 tickets, I had all of them in my basket, went to check out....GONE even though they were in my cart. But the site didn't crash over...and over...and over again like it did today. Sometimes it is the nature of the beast with coveted nightgrass tickets, but at least we ALL had a chance to purchase...we ALL had the same problems, and once the crash fixed itself (or enough people gave up trying) I was able to get in and get all the tickets I needed...plus extra.

So who has got my YMSB Sheridan tickets to TRADE for ENB or YMSB pre-party????

Hope everyone got what they wanted! See you in JUNE!

[ShatteredArm]

I think the Planet should invest more in their eCommerce technology and this will be a done deal.

I agree with this.  Just buy/build a system that doesn't encourage everybody to refresh repeatedly in each of their five browser windows (thereby exacerbating the problem), and the whole process would be much smoother.

[erndog]

The server/site crashing you speak of has been an on-going issue with the Planet for some time.

Same thing happened to me a few years back with Nightgrass shows - I don't know if the issue has ever been directly addressed by the folks at the Planet, but it is frustrating to say the least!

[delusionsofbanjer]

PB should make NIghtgrass tickets "will call" only. That would cut down greatly on scalping and then people wouldn't tie up all the tickets for shows they don't plan on attending.

 Listening to: Slim Whitman

[dayton]

LOL Dayton- I'm assuming you mean for Nightgrass shows.. I'm getting a mental image of us all lining up outside the gates of Town park around Sept and staying until June...LOL

yeh... you assume correctly, nightgrass shows is what i mean
and to be real about what i feel in regards to lottery, this could possibly apply to town park tickets too... 
a ticket for-sale early bird option, open for maybe 1 hour in september online, first come, first serve for town park tickets could be something to consider...  then open up regular sales in march for all the remaining tickets...

or yeh, we'll just line up outside the post office in september and wait...  could be some fun waiting, maybe take turns skiing and waiting with all the other festivarians...

 Listening to: del mccoury band - your a flower in the wildwood

[FaceOnMars]

I think a lot of the "speculative purchases" would be curbed by will call only tix - whether it's a lottery or first come first serve (online).    As nostolgic as it may be remembering having to sleep out in line overnight, it's still a major hassle ... much more so vs. the server load issue we experienced this morning.

I spent a few hours in line for Phish @ Telluride & I think the last time before that was for when Dylan first played two nights in Telluride for KOTO's doo dah (2001?)

[Cunn]

I'm against the Nightgrass lottery. I entered for all but (1) show, (2) tickets each, and got shut out 100%. So did my GF. At least with today's fiasco those that were willing to jump right on it at 9am were rewarded. I feel I would have had a better shot at the Sheridan shows if they would have been done the same way.

 Listening to: My Coworker Ramble

[dayton]

I spent a few hours in line for Phish @ Telluride & I think the last time before that was for when Dylan first played two nights in Telluride for KOTO's doo dah (2001?)

yeh, when phish came back after their hiatus, there was literally a spontaneous campground that erupted a full day before the tickets went on sale on the sidewalk and parking lot of the thomas wolfe auditorium in asheville...  it was like a 'show' lot with music being played, beers being shared, and everyone hoping to get tickets the next morning.  unfortunately i was not one of the lucky ones to get tickets that day, there were alot of people in line... but a friend of mine did, and i was able to get one in the long run

 Listening to: infamous strindusters - lovin you

[laughingflyinglemur]

Even though I didn't get all the tickets I was hoping for, I prefer the lottery because I have a job that interferes with my ability to drop everything and deal with ticket purchases at 9am on a Tuesday.  I talked a friend into buying Yonder and Emmitt tix for me this morning.  Without her I wouldn't have tix to either Yonder show.  Is the scalping situation really that bad?  I mean, I'll be happy to go to Cornmeal.  I love them, actually.  But RRE is my first choice.  Is it wrong to offer two Cornmeal tix for one RRE?  I am essentially offering $15 over price.  RRE seems so popular that I'll likely bring a friend to Cornmeal and have a great time.

Keep the lottery for those of us who have jobs.  I like that the system is part lottery and part first served.