Would you like a fairer way to buy tickets?

[jonny2mad]

3 hours ago, BadgerMatt said:

Absolutely. The first year I went (2002) was the first year of the super-fence. I walked up to a shop several weeks after they went on sale and bought three tickets over the counter. At that point the fence was public knowledge, but not everyone would have picked up on the news and no-one had a clue how effective it would be.

The following year was the first year they were all sold online and it sold out in 24 hours. But that wasn't the reason it sold out quickly. It sold out because it was the first year that people knew that they wouldn't be able to hop over the fence for free.

so the first year they had tickets selling just online was the first year they sold out really fast, before that they were still on sale in shops weeks after they went on sale,  I think people did have a clue how effective the fence would be in 2002  . but the difference was the whole hype of just selling via the internet.I am sure that and the fact people were buying tickets and putting them on ebay, was the main reason they started selling out like crazy.

[blackred]

I wouldn't be against a ballot system in principle; it's certainly 'fairer'. I'm not sure how it work out for the festival, I can see more people being turned off by the removal of agency in ticket buying than are attracted by having an easier process.

The idea of selling in shops is absolutely mental though, I live in a city and the only shops left round here that could possibly do this are supermarkets (or Primark!) - I'm not sure any of them would be interested in dealing with the hordes of people queuing outside for days either. Large cities might have shops that would be up for selling them, but that would disadvantage far more people than online sales.

[DeanoL]

2 hours ago, ourkid1984 said:

From my experiences buses run even in the country until about 5pm but your stranded after then. So would be able to get a bus as long as I was back before the last bus. I did also drop in that phone lines should be used and even the most rural areas have phone lines.

But you wouldn't be back on time if the tickets went on sale at 9pm. The issue isn't whether it's online or not, it'd be the time it was on sale.

And if you have a telephone line you can still get on the internet via dial up anyway.

[incident]

56 minutes ago, maelzoid said:

This is how it should be done:

At 6:00 a.m. on ticket day, everyone who wants a ticket has to log on to the website. At this point it would probably be oversubscribed. Everyone logged on then has to complete a captcha every five minutes. This goes on for hours. Eventually people get bored and give up and slowly the number drops.  When that number hits the amount of tickets available, everyone who persisted gets rewarded with a ticket. 

It would probably be the most stressful and exhausting 3 days imaginable but Glastonbury should be for the stubbornly persistent.

It'd be way too easy to automate a way to beat that.

[Yokel Again]

Personally think it was fairer when it took 24hours of f5 to get one - then the most persistent really did get one. Can't say it was enjoyable though!! 

[Starchild771]

Well I don't have a ticket and as heartbreaking as it is, I don't think the system could be much fairer.

[Watergirl]

Nope.  Would not be in favour of a lottery like the marathon or Wimbledon.

[clarkete]

54 minutes ago, Yokel Again said:

Personally think it was fairer when it took 24hours of f5 to get one - then the most persistent really did get one. Can't say it was enjoyable though!! 

That was such a grim experience, in my case 16 hours of just seeing an error page and then a friend who had succeeded with theirs did mine too.

[fur_q]

1 hour ago, jonny2mad said:

so the first year they had tickets selling just online was the first year they sold out really fast, before that they were still on sale in shops weeks after they went on sale,  I think people did have a clue how effective the fence would be in 2002  . but the difference was the whole hype of just selling via the internet.I am sure that and the fact people were buying tickets and putting them on ebay, was the main reason they started selling out like crazy.

Correlation =/= back in 2002 nobody (including the Eavis') really knew if the fence would work and keep people out. That year (2002) tickets did sell out relatively early and it was the first year touts started asking ridiculous amounts of money plus there where several thousand people outside the fence trying and failing to get in.

[bennyboi]

I reckon no main announcement, just people with there ears to the ground and that put in that work to be in the know. If there was like 5 random sales of like 20-30k tickets and they only way to find out was if you were privie to certain things online much like the resales now but if there is anything left then flog them off in march-April on a publicly announced date. 

[Chimps in Balaclavas]

it seems fair enough as it is to me, I was unsuccessful but a friend bagged mine. I also agree with limiting the amount of tickets per person to around 4. Less tickets per person = more chances of people getting a ticket. I think it's a bit unfair that someone could grab a load in one go, making it more difficult and less likely of securing one for everyone else.

[cb4747]

1 hour ago, Starchild771 said:

Well I don't have a ticket and as heartbreaking as it is, I don't think the system could be much fairer.

I agree. I'm without a ticket but I think they are doing the best they can. 

[bennyboi]

i think they should possibly expand the local threshold slightly, but then I literally live two villages outside of it so I would say that. Tbh I always manage ticket or no ticket. There are ways and means for the truly dedicated. 

[sheffieldlady]

I'm a no voter, the system isn't fun but you know what - it's fair. It doesn't favor anyone, it's basically whoever presses F5 at the right moment gets through to the next stage as and when a slot opens up. 

I don't think there is a fairer way. Currently we don't have a secondary ticket market which is pretty great. People get to attend, there's chances to enjoy working the festival and chances in the re-sale for returned tickets.

Keep the system as it is. It works. If you change it to ballot system who knows what would happen? A lot of groups would be split up, friends who are just festival friends wouldn't be able to meet up and you can change the demographic of the festival entirely. (I know people would say this has already happened though)

[eFestivals]

11 hours ago, joeltg said:

I think as long as there is more demand than tickets, it is always going to seem unfair to some unfortunately.

This ^

If you're one who loses out, you'll always think it's unfair that you've lost out.

There's no perfect way to sell over-subscribed tickets. A lottery is open to easy abuse by putting your name in more than once. A queued system rewards the first in the queue, without any basis other than being first.

The system they have doesn't make it impossible for anyone, but it does better reward those who are prepared to try harder - which ensures that (to some extent) the keenest to go have a greater chance of going.

The convo comes round every year. I've yet to see a suggestion for a better system than the one we have. A lotto or queued might be preferable to some, but they do nothing about making who gets the tickets 'fairer'.

 

[ollyrag]

6 minutes ago, eFestivals said:

The system they have doesn't make it impossible for anyone, but it does better reward those who are prepared to try harder - which ensures that (to some extent) the keenest to go have a greater chance of going.

 

 

Would take slight issue with this. Have tried unsuccessfully since 2013 in main sales, resales, secret sales and competitions.

Your comment makes me feel as though I did something wrong personnally. Which I know was not intended.

I have drawn the line at a begging email to @.

Know through experience that they are nice people and it's not their fault I didn't get a ticket.

 

Edited May 20, 2016 by ollyrag
Me stupid

[glastouser]

Maybe it shouldn't be about making the system fairer, as i don't believe it could be. But more about making it less appealing to the folk who just get a ticket just incase they decide they want to go. i know ultimately the tickets go back in the pot if they are given up, therefore going to someone who does really want to go but it would make ticket day a little more rewarding for a few. a non refundable £50 deposit might do this a little bit.

this conversation would still be happening though as demand would still massively outweigh supply even with the just incasers filtered out.

Edited May 20, 2016 by glastouser

[eFestivals]

Just now, ollyrag said:

Would take slight issue with this. Have tried unsuccessfully since 2013 in main sales, resales, secret sales and competitions.

Your comment makes me feel as though I did something wrong personnally. Which I know was not intended.

Nope, nothing wrong. Plenty of hard triers don't get tickets, too.

But the system they have makes it unlikely - while not impossible - that someone who think "oh, I'll see if I can get glasto tickets" and tries just the once will succeed.

When there's more people wanting tickets than there are tickets, some people have to miss out. No method of selling the tickets is able to change that, so it's then a case of the organisers deciding which of the various imperfect methods they'd like to use. The one they've gone with is a system that creates an advantage - but not a guarantee - for the hardest triers, the ones who want to go the most.

 

[ourkid1984]

2 hours ago, DeanoL said:

But you wouldn't be back on time if the tickets went on sale at 9pm. The issue isn't whether it's online or not, it'd be the time it was on sale.

And if you have a telephone line you can still get on the internet via dial up anyway.

I think you're getting too hung up on what I'm saying. I have also said that I personally think the current system is quite fair. 

Anyway the points you have made.... if tickets were available over the counter at box offices they wouldn't go on sale at 9pm or even if they were at least you would have the choice of getting to said box office and either pulling an all nighter or staying over night before getting the irregular bus back.

I don't think dial up would be anywhere near quick enough to be successful at getting tickets. I would love to be proved wrong.

[ollyrag]

I don't wish this on anyone, however, the good ol British weather plays it's part in demand.

IF there was a guaranteed deluge forecast for Pilton in 2016 you would soon see tickets "become" available from the faint hearted.

Also (as read elsewhere but suspected for a while) when there is a deluge the following festival (as was in 2008) is not overly subscribed

 

[clarkete]

5 minutes ago, ollyrag said:

Also (as read elsewhere but suspected for a while) when there is a deluge the following festival (as was in 2008) is not overly subscribed

 

I've seen it mentioned a few times too, but by a year later these same conversations would occur.

I've been there in years when I thought the weather was pretty crap and still they were hard to get the following year.

[ollyrag]

6 minutes ago, clarkete said:

I've seen it mentioned a few times too, but by a year later these same conversations would occur.

I've been there in years when I thought the weather was pretty crap and still they were hard to get the following year.

after 2007 - tickets for 2008 were still available 1 week before gates open by general sale through seetickets. I don't think any subsequent year has been that biblical IMHO

[GoonerRob]

17 hours ago, Lucy92 said:

The only problem with the sales is they penalise those who have slow internet connections. Although I do think it's the fairest way (and that's coming from someone who tried in every possible sale this year!)

Nope, they dont... the speed of your connection makes no difference, in theory it could limit the amount of requests you could make to the server... but anyone with a modern (broadband /3g / 4g) connection has an fairly equal shot!

[Roger1]

The current system is as fair as possible when nearly 1 million people are trying for tickets. The registration system seems to put off the touts aswell.

If going really matters (like it does to me) surely volunteering is the way to go?

I know before the tickets go on sale that I'm going the following year.

[ollyrag]

Have noticed a number of large groups often getting 20+ tickets for mates.

Clearly they are determined and organised. From outsider looking in this doesn't look like the luck of the draw.

I struggling to get 4 tickets year on year and whole teams seam to manage consistently to get quite sizaeble batches each year.

Know that this probably is not the case but you can see how it looks to the inexperienced.