I don't think this discussion is, or should be about, who is a true Blue Rodeo fan and who is not.

Or a bigger Blue Rodeo fan.

Or a more deserving Blue Rodeo fan.

How people choose to express their "fandome" by the type of activities they participate in (concerts, posting on the board, length someone has been a member of BR.COM, etc...), does not make anyone a better or worse fan. There are just too many realities in life that impact how much time / energy / resources people can dedicate to any level of participation.

I think, at least IMHO, the discussion is around how to make the pre-sale event a (1) a better experience from a usability / stability perspective and (2) create a certain fairness to the process of pre-sales. From the discussion I have seen, there are a large number of reasons why people would like to see some changes, ranging from the basic of making sure the site can support the volume of traffic to more specific ideas (ie: keeping scalpers away, allowing active board / community members have the first shot on pre-sales, etc..)

While I am not sure that there is one solution, I think there are a myriad of issues with each one... Only announce on br.com? Well, that will not stop scalpers, as they are sure to know about it and come looking. Making people pick up at will call with direct entry? Interesting idea, but I now cannot gift my tickets to a family member. Or if I have a kid who does not have a credit card, I cannot purchase the tickets for them.

I do not think there is a 1-fix solution for all the questions / concerns that have been raised.

If I were put in charge to find at a solution, there are two guiding principals I would use:

1) Ensure the solution does not discourage people from becoming part of the br.com community. Making people wait a significant amount of time before being able to participate in pre-sales, having complex purchasing rules, etc... I would somehow try to create an avenue that would encourage people to take part in the community, rather than create this one-off scenario where people just come to get first crack at tickets... Membership has its rewards, and it does not have to be a paid membership, for it to be rewarding to both BR.com and the fans.

2) Drive the solution from the core concerns being raised by the people in these posts. What are the core issues vs. all the other things people have stated as challenges that are really not core to the need to help fix thing. I am in no way attempting to diminish or trivialize anyone's concerns, but there needs to be a core consensus to build the solution around. So what are the top 2 or 3 things that we would like to see happen.

Just my thoughts. 

JDJ:

Making people pick up at will call with direct entry? Interesting idea, but I now cannot gift my tickets to a family member. Or if I have a kid who does not have a credit card, I cannot purchase the tickets for them.

The only way that would be feasible is if there was an option to include a note at purchase time like already exists at the BR.com store.

Bluegirl:

Another solution to discourage scalpers would be to bring back the "WILL CALL" for ALL venues. The purchaser's name would be printed on the ticket and the purchaser would have to provide photo ID before ticket was released. You would be given the option of specifying at time of purchase whether or not the ticket was for you or someone else (As is often the case with me - I purchase MY tix with Farmer Dan's plastic! LOL!)

Bluegirl:

JDJ:

Making people pick up at will call with direct entry? Interesting idea, but I now cannot gift my tickets to a family member. Or if I have a kid who does not have a credit card, I cannot purchase the tickets for them.

The only way that would be feasible is if there was an option to include a note at purchase time like already exists at the BR.com store.

Bluegirl:

Another solution to discourage scalpers would be to bring back the "WILL CALL" for ALL venues. The purchaser's name would be printed on the ticket and the purchaser would have to provide photo ID before ticket was released. You would be given the option of specifying at time of purchase whether or not the ticket was for you or someone else (As is often the case with me - I purchase MY tix with Farmer Dan's plastic! LOL!)

Fair enough.

And in principal, that is a good idea which makes sense. 

The challenge is that if you ever have tickets left at the will call window, they require a piece of ID and the credit card used to make the purchase (at least all the ones in Toronto and Montreal, where I have had stuff left at the will call window).

I am not sure if you are going to get large venues to buy into changing their policy for 1 band. Perhaps some of the smaller venues would work, as they'd be willing to work with an act that will generate lots of money for them.

If they can make that happen great... but it seems to me like we need a 1-size fits all solution.

Not sure that is achievable.

The other side of the coin is that you are likely going to have to wait in line for 30-45 minutes to get your tickets, before the show...

Maybe in this electronic age, there's not much that can be done. I know that Hannah Montana tickets down here were bought up by scalpers and no one can touch one for under 100 bucks...and its more like 300-1000. But Florida being the wise and caring state it is, legalized scalping.

But when someone or some organization is armed with a large amount of money and many people...well it changes the odds to be against the regular consumer and there is no way for the web site to know who is going to be scalping and who is not with the way things are now.

And talk about concerts being for elitists...well like Dizzy was saying the prices he paid for Van Halen...Holy Hell...I couldn't afford that and wouldn't, though once, many moons ago...I was probably the biggest Van Halen fan in the world, I was just too young back then to go to a concert...LOL. Many performers are just way out of sight for most people to see. The most I ever paid for a concert ticket was 100 dollars for Bon Jovi, but the seat was magnificent...almost as good as I had a million years ago at a GA show in the 80's where I had to fight for my spot....hey that's an idea...make all the shows GA...survival of the fittest. Those who can wiggle or fight through a crowd get a good spot. I went to an extremely over crowded high school, so I can maneuver a crowd like no one's business...and when that doesn't work a little D-K-ing does.  

I dont' see where the tug o' fan is coming from...I think that the general consensus is to make things the fairest they can be and to limit scalpers and such.

Its nice to see an active discussion, its been a while...but maybe its not good, since it has scared some away before...I for one...Love it!

I had a sort of will call at last year's stratford show, my one ticket never came in the mail...I just gave my name and they handed it over.

But that could have been because I was either one or few who were exercising that option.

katiescarlet:

The most I ever paid for a concert ticket was 100 dollars for Bon Jovi, but the seat was magnificent...

You won't be doing that on this tour!  Don't know about the US, but here in TO, ticks for Jon Bon are $160 a pop! 

Concert prices are going up, up, up for everyone! 

I was just wondering: if the pre-sales could be made a little less stressful, would anyone have a problem with the status quo?

By and large, it's all good here. Perhaps all that's needed is a better server or two or some extra help around the place.
 

mthead:

I apologize for my behavior here, I tend to get overly sensitive when I feel I've been wronged, even if I actually wasn't.  I didn't mean to offend anyone, if I did, I'm sorry.  Dizzy, I'll join in that group hug.

Okay, what evil, offensive, oversensitive thing did you do? I don't recall much of anything except possibly a minor crossed wire or two. It's been a little heated this weekend, but surely that's just the pre-sale toxins working their way out of everybody's systems.
 

Dizzy:

katiescarlet:

The most I ever paid for a concert ticket was 100 dollars for Bon Jovi, but the seat was magnificent...

You won't be doing that on this tour!  Don't know about the US, but here in TO, ticks for Jon Bon are $160 a pop! 

Concert prices are going up, up, up for everyone! 

That's a jump, and it wasn't that long ago, maybe a 2 years.

Dizzy:

 If you can't afford $20, then you shouldn't be buying concert tickets in the first place.

$ 20.00 could be a jump for some die-hard fans Dizzy. What if you're budget only allows one concert a year & then besides all the fees you have to add another $20 to get good seat. If I only had the chance for one a year I'd sure want a good seat.

Dizzy:

So, I go back to my original idea.  Make people look for the info on the site,  It might cut down on presale traffic, and it accomplishes what BR.com is always trying to do - bring more people to the board to read.

I think this is a good one Dizzy.

Sammie:

katiescarlet:

II agree with Lori, what would be really nice is if they let the longest members have the first shot.

Works for me!!! bwahahaha!!!!

Seriously, this is all a little dangerously elitist to me. Then again there is never a need for presale stateside so maybe I should just keep my yankee trap shut on the subject.

dar:

 

Dizzy:

 If you can't afford $20, then you shouldn't be buying concert tickets in the first place.

$ 20.00 could be a jump for some die-hard fans Dizzy. What if you're budget only allows one concert a year & then besides all the fees you have to add another $20 to get good seat. If I only had the chance for one a year I'd sure want a good seat.

 

 

Dizzy:

So, I go back to my original idea.  Make people look for the info on the site,  It might cut down on presale traffic, and it accomplishes what BR.com is always trying to do - bring more people to the board to read.

I think this is a good one Dizzy.

$20 means a lot to this university student!!! I like the idea of people having to look for the information as well. And is it possible to have the eastern dates pre-sale on a different day than the western instead of all on the same day and within hours of each other? That would cut down on traffic too.

I wouldn't want to join a fan club unless something else was being offered beside first access to tickets.

 One of my other favorite bands has already gone the fan club route ($35 yearly), i can't afford it.  

LastToKnow:

dar:

 

Dizzy:

 If you can't afford $20, then you shouldn't be buying concert tickets in the first place.

$ 20.00 could be a jump for some die-hard fans Dizzy. What if you're budget only allows one concert a year & then besides all the fees you have to add another $20 to get good seat. If I only had the chance for one a year I'd sure want a good seat.

 

 

Dizzy:

So, I go back to my original idea.  Make people look for the info on the site,  It might cut down on presale traffic, and it accomplishes what BR.com is always trying to do - bring more people to the board to read.

I think this is a good one Dizzy.

 

$20 means a lot to this university student!!! I like the idea of people having to look for the information as well. And is it possible to have the eastern dates pre-sale on a different day than the western instead of all on the same day and within hours of each other? That would cut down on traffic too.

I wouldn't want to join a fan club unless something else was being offered beside first access to tickets.

 One of my other favorite bands has already gone the fan club route ($35 yearly), i can't afford it.