Maximize your chances of getting tickets
Jane Purchall
NOTE: This was published last year, 2016. Updated with 2017 dates.
Hey
So, here’s a handy article I came across from last year posted on Burners.me on how to maximize your chances of getting tickets. I’ve taken the liberty of editing it so the dates are current:
How can you maximize your chances to get tickets?
1. Create your Burner profile beforehand.
2. Create a Ticketfly account beforehand.
3. Register for the individual sale – opens Wednesday, March 22 at noon (West Coast USA). Registration is open for 48 hours, ie. closes noon PDT Friday March 24.
4. On Wednesday March 29, the day the sale begins, log in as soon as possible after noon. Getting there before 12:00:00 to be in the queue early didn’t seem to help last year. Use this timezone converter to help you if you're not on the West Coast.
5. Instead of going through the web site, if you were emailed a link, click the link in the email, a few seconds after it turns noon.
6. If the link does not work, or the site crashes, don’t be disheartened. Keep trying. Even if it says “no” or “sold out”, try again a few minutes later.
7. Reboot your computer shortly before noon, and don’t have a whole bunch of other browser windows open – this may help avoid technical issues.
8. You could try using a few different browsers, if you have any technical issues. Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer – all seem to work fine.
9. Have the right debit or credit card. They accept only VISA and Mastercard, not Amex. They don’t accept PayPal or Bitcoin.
10. Make sure there is enough money in your account, or credit left on your card.
11. Notify your bank in advance of the transaction, in case it triggers a fraud warning (some Burners have reported this problem).
12. Use a US credit card if you have the luxury of choosing. Some Burners reported problems in earlier sales for overseas buyers
13. Don’t listen to Burners giving you advice on the ticketing system based on their past experiences. Ticketing changed 2 years ago to Ticketfly, so the current system is relatively new. What worked in the past, may have little bearing on your chances to get tickets today.
14. This is a strange piece of advice, take with grain of salt but the stats are intriguing enough for us to keep this in: When asked how many times you’ve been to Burning Man, say “0”. Statistically, Virgins are the largest group who get tickets – for the last 3 years, somehow there have consistently been 40% Virgins. Whether this is a pure fluke (3 times in a row and always about the same ratio), or whether the system has been designed that way, the fact is the people who say they have been to Burning Man 0 times are in the group that gets the most tickets every year. Chance favors the Virgin, in this “random” distribution.