Scalpers for tbf tickets SUCK

[Pete]

   Something is not right here.  Tickets sold out in 18 min. and there are scalpers selling them on line right away.  How many tickets are there?  How do the scalpers get availability to so many tickets so quickly?   They have to be buying them in blocks.  This is NOT the festivarian way.    There must be something planet bluegrass can do about this.  It really pisses me off.  I did get my tickets but it is still not right.   

 Listening to: David Grier

[Rikki22]

I agree! How is it that you can only buy 4 tickets, yet somehow scalpers are able to make it so that the festival sells out in 12 min! I had 2 tickets in my cart and when I finally got through registering and dealt with several time out issues, it was sold out...at 9:12 a.m. MST. So sad. Thankfully, we had a group of friends who were all texting at the time and my other friend got 4, and is selling them to us for FACE, because that is normal and the festivarian way. Hope you are able to find decently priced tickets!

[jlarsp]

It is pretty bizarre that all of the sudden stub hub shows tickets for sale for about $400. Given the 4 tix limit you wonder if they really have them, or what the deal is. I do trust Planet Bluegrass to do all they can to limit this kind of scalping, and those money grubbing non-festivarians will find a way.
I'm thankful my transaction went through on the Planet and I got my tickets at about 9:14.

[hancocjb]

Ugghhh, I missed out by 9:12.  Been going for 10 years with my group and not about to miss this one. If you know of any for sale at face or close to, please do let me know.

[completejohn]

Given that I didn't go through the ticket buying process this morning, I assume that everyone who did had to check off the "I won't sell these above cost" similar to the one that was on the Town Park lottery application.  I wonder if that "promise" is enough to allow Planet Bluegrass to follow the threads and cancel out any tickets trying to be scalped at a profit.  I kinda doubt the legality of it, but I hope they try.

Apparently demand has become so high for tickets that ALL tickets probably need to be sold via lottery.  I don't see any other way, except raising supply (ain't gonna happen) or diminishing demand through methods we would all hate (raising prices, lowering the level of artists, invoking huge rain or dust storms, moving the festival to the dead of winter, forbidding bacon, etc.).  

It's pretty amazing to see the growth of demand for tix.  It seems like just 5 or 7 years ago that finding tickets was easy.  It's a pretty nice position to be in for PB (although there is added pressure to keep up the quality of the overall experience).  

I'm sure there are a lot of people looking at this as a primo scalping opportunity, but any high-demand experience is going to bring out profiteering.  I just pray that all this demand isn't MAINLY from the growth of the ticket brokering and scalping businesses.

[jlarsp]

It does appear that single day tix are still available for all four days. So in a way the discount is now getting a 4 day pass and then full price is buying single day tix. At $280, for what you get, still a great deal, I think.
I wonder how many 4 day passes they sold.

 Listening to: Flecktones--Jingle all the Way

[skyrunner]

Mathematically speaking, they sold 7000 to 8000 tickets in 16 min. This is selling right at 600 tickets a minute. That's allot of tickets in a minute for only 4 at a time. It's not that I don't trust Planet Bluegrass to only sell 4 at a time. But WOW that's 150 customers a minute, which is about 2.5 costumers a second buying 4 tickets at a time. Kind of makes you feel sorry for the phone, and cable system in Lyons.

 Listening to: Railroad Earth, Lois Ann

[jlarsp]

Yeah, I was trying both by phone and online. Got through online right away, and then it kicked me out at the payment stage. Got through again in ten minutes and then it worked through the completion of the transaction. I'd have been really bummed if it came back then saying the tickets were sold out. All the while I was also dialing the phone, and only got busy signals.

[K-Lo]

  Maybe scalpers will be left holding the bag if NO ONE 'buys into' their scheme. Unfortunate though, 'cause true fans go thru a lot to get theirs legitimately. Tar and feather the scammers, I say.

[Pete]

Scalper called "beardedgitz1" on ebay.  Scumbag from Loveland.  Trying to make a profit on the festivarians back.  Anyone knows this person should give them a good ass whippin'.  Really pisses me off.   

[ShatteredArm]

Mathematically speaking, they sold 7000 to 8000 tickets in 16 min. This is selling right at 600 tickets a minute. That's allot of tickets in a minute for only 4 at a time. It's not that I don't trust Planet Bluegrass to only sell 4 at a time. But WOW that's 150 customers a minute, which is about 2.5 costumers a second buying 4 tickets at a time. Kind of makes you feel sorry for the phone, and cable system in Lyons.

Gonna play devil's advocate here... But, given the kind of experience people have at the festival year in and year out, combined with the recent history of quick sellouts, is it unreasonable to think the majority of those buying tickets right when they go onsale actually intend to attend the festival?

[skyrunner]

Oh no, I was trying to assume anything . I was just astounded by the speed of time mathematically that the tickets were sold, that's all. But yes, scalpers SUCK!!!! 

[Pete]

It's hard to believe that people will buy tickets thinking they might be going and post them at double the face value right away.. Just sayin'

 Listening to: Hot Dawg by David Grisman

[KYDeadhead]

It's pretty amazing to see the growth of demand for tix.  It seems like just 5 or 7 years ago that finding tickets was easy.  

Agreed, the previous times we attended, 06 and 09, we got tickets within a week of the fest. Thought about going last year and were suprised at how fast they went. Luckily hit the lottery this time. If it were a perfect world, no one would buy over face value and the scalpers would lose their money.

[Linds]

There's a guy on Stub Hub with a fake "listing" chastising another scalper for selling his Town Park pass so low - for a measly $600.  He's ticked that the other guy isn't gouging festivarians quite enough.  Seriously???