Blizzcon + Suvega/Velani = Fail :(

[Suvega]

After many hours of refresh (on multiple computers), me and velani have been defeated by the failoc.
Unfortunetly we have plane tix and hotel room still reserved :(. Somehow I thought that considering last year sold out in 3 days, 50% more space, and normally blizzard doing a decent job at ticket sales, that my chances of getting a ticket with the resources we have, woudl be a little bit higher.

Anyways, if any of you lucky @#$@ happen to have 2 extra tickets, we would pay a bit for em ;), figure we can at least semi-trust the people on this forum :(

[Jaese]

I considered trying to get tickets to later gouge them.

But that really isn't me (and I thought of it way after they sold out lol).

[Mudd]

I have a strange feeling there will be a lot more Blizzard fans at Disney than at Blizzcon that weekend.

[Caspian]

I don't know about last year but for Blizzcon 1 they opened up more tickets closer to the event. Of course there was the concert that year and the new tickets didn't include that and were cheaper. Which irked me since I didn't want to go anyway and would rather have had the extra $20 a ticket or whatever.

Good luck guys.

[Lyonheart]

I feel your pain. I put off work on Monday just to make sure I was there to try for tickets ( cost me hundreds when I take a day off ) Then was doing the F5 all day Tuesday. No luck. I'm a tad butt hurt to say the least! But i would have been able to drive there from Phoenix. So I am sorry for you even more with the reservations you made 8(

[Texic]

I almost considered buying more than 1 ticket (so many characters so few polar bear mounts).. I wish I had now to help people out. After going through that I feel bad for everyone who got screwed out of tickets.

[Diamndzngunz]

This is BS and by far unfair.

Its messed how some people have to hit like 15+nodes to get to their site oppose to others who have to hit like 3. They get theirs. But now for the people who do not live next door to blizzard, well you know what? FU. Its BS.
All my roomates last night, we tried, we got to like the input information page, site went down came back up, sold out.

[kadaan]

Its messed how some people have to hit like 15+nodes to get to their site oppose to others who have to hit like 3. They get theirs. But now for the people who do not live next door to blizzard, well you know what? FU. Its BS.I really don't think an extra 200ms latency gave people an advantage :P. There are about half a dozen people in my guild who live in CA and tried to buy tickets but failed. One even skipped our raid last night so he could stay at work till 8pm on their faster connection hoping to get tickets.

[puppychow]

imo there had to have been a bunch of people who bought the max tickets multiple times, and plan on reselling the mounts/goody bags. hopefully blizzard figures this out and restricts people to 2-4 accounts per address/credit card, I'm sure there are folks who have bought 20+ tickets thinking they will make a ton of money. I also hope no one buys tickets on eBay, quickest way to lose your money and get scammed.

[Vyndree]

What makes me irked is the idea that we were beaten by robots.

I mean, there are NO captcha's for the actual purchasing -- just to create a Blizzard.com account. Because the ticket date was announced so early, people planning on doing this had ages to create multiple Blizzard.com accounts and set up their robots -- particularly with the spoofed morning opening.

I should've macro'ed the "enter attendee information" page into one of my keyboard macros. Maybe then I would've gotten past the endless loop of CC CVV code entries.

[Balordragon]

Worst thing is you can't resell the tickets. that's why they did not sell them out of ticket master or one of those place's.

[raz]

I actually got mine only because I was able to refresh endlessly and Firefox on the Mac stored the name, character info for that screen then once I got to the payment screen I stored the cc code on the back so I could hit refresh endlessly as well. I think it was pure luck that I was able to get my wife and I 2 tickets. I should have bought a couple more with random names for people ;-/

[Morx]

Problem with scalping is that you have to present the credit card you used to purchase the tickets to be able to get your pass. Then you get a badge that has the purchaser name on it.

So I feel sorry for all those people buying from outside sources, because unless the scalper intends to be there, to check in and get the tickets, then they will be out of luck.

[Vyndree]

So I feel sorry for all those people buying from outside sources, because unless the scalper intends to be there, to check in and get the tickets, then they will be out of luck.

I believe the tickets are also non-transferable according to the ToU that you had to sign (lol, like anyone had time to read it) before buying the tickets.

So if you WERE found out to have a name that doesn't match your badge, they would also have the right to kick you out.

[Zseth]

I also had an epic fail with being able to get through the pages. I happen to be on post at the time and the stupid firewalls and many proxies made it a living nightmare trying to buy them. And I have my hotel and plane ticket reserved. Well, I guess, we all will be going to disneyland.

[zanthor]

So I feel sorry for all those people buying from outside sources, because unless the scalper intends to be there, to check in and get the tickets, then they will be out of luck.

I believe the tickets are also non-transferable according to the ToU that you had to sign (lol, like anyone had time to read it) before buying the tickets.

So if you WERE found out to have a name that doesn't match your badge, they would also have the right to kick you out.Oh WTF, first no account sharing, now no ticket sharing? Whats next...

[Nitro]

It started out very frusterating for me. My wifes family had planned a vacation at their lakehouse in Curlew, WA for 4 days of fishing and boating from the 9th to the 12th. So I get out there on the 9th thinkin np when the 11th comes I'll just order tickets on my iphone.

No, luck! This lake has absolutly no cell access, let alone edge access so I was freakin out wondering how i was gonna get tickets. My nephew told me he managed to check his email while in the middle of the lake stealin wifi from someone. So on the morning of the 11th at 7am I grabbed the 16ft aluminum fishing boat and went out and find some wifi. Found a decent connection for my laptop in about 10 min and was pretty happy except for the fact that it was VERY cold and i didnt bring nothing but a t-shirt out with me. So im hunched over this laptop in a lil boat in the middle of a big lake lookin like the worlds biggest nerd trying to buy blizzcon tickets and the website was nothing but fail. I stayed out there for 5 hours before i gave up and came in for lunch.

I didnt want it to ruin my lake vacation so i only checked once every 5 hours or so after that and ended up catching 20 Bass and 1 Rainbow Trout! On the 12th it was time to drive home (7 hour drive) so i slept while my wife drove and when i got in the door to our place i went directly to the pc to try again to buy tickets only to see that they had been sold out while i was on the road, talk about crushed.

After this an hour later or so i read that they will sell a few more tickets at 8pm. I waited for 8pm and at about 8:10 or so the site came online for me and I flawlessly purchased 5 tickets, I wasnt even fast about it, i filled out my toon name and faction and all the crap. Just hit it at the right time i guess.

So after over 24 hours of frusteration it worked out pretty good for me and I feel like i really earned it cause i froze my butt off on that damn boat :p

[Eteocles]

5 bucks says a large chunk of them were bought out by people that had no further intention than to sell them at a markup. Same thing the cocksuckers did to Wiis...it's getting out of hand in general.

[Talamarr]

Oh WTF, first no account sharing, now no ticket sharing? Whats next...
No spouse sharing maybe? Oh the humanity!!

[Stabface]

Oh WTF, first no account sharing, now no ticket sharing? Whats next...
No spouse sharing maybe? Oh the humanity!!

Can't trade a spouse for Blizzcon tickets?? :( :(

[Gigatron]

5 bucks says a large chunk of them were bought out by people that had no further intention than to sell them at a markup. Same thing the cocksuckers did to Wiis...it's getting out of hand in general.Yup, already seen tickets up on ebay going for $500. The one guy has 5 tickets, that's a very nice profit.

[Vyndree]

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=8994659741&postId=89230426124&sid=1

Blizzard Gamers,

On behalf of everyone at Blizzard, I want to apologize for the challenges and frustrations you experienced while trying to purchase BlizzCon tickets on Monday and Tuesday. BlizzCon is about the positive experiences you all have had with Blizzard games. As a result of this week's events, the excitement that many of you felt about the show has turned into dissatisfaction and disappointment.

Due to these circumstances, we've reevaluated our convention hall space and come up with some solutions that will allow us to offer 3,000 more tickets for sale. We know this will not be enough to satisfy the very high level of demand for tickets this year, but we want to ensure that BlizzCon remains a great experience for those of you who are able to attend. To avoid the issues many of you faced this week, we'll be selling these 3,000 via a lottery. We'll post further details once our plans are finalized. Please note that the lottery will only be open to those with an active Blizzard Account as of 9:00 PM PDT on August 12, the time that the “Sold Out” notice was posted.

I, and everyone else at Blizzard, share the frustration and disappointment that many of you have expressed as a result of this process. We'll do what it takes to avoid this type of situation in the future.

Sincerely,
Mike Morhaime

Well done, Blizz. Well done. The apology was needed and I'm impressed they actually had the guts to come out and do it. Bravo.

Any attempt to rectify the situation is a good attempt, IMO. Nobody can fix the past, but at least they're trying to make some sort of fairness into ticket distribution for their 3000 "additional" tickets. I wonder how many of those tickets were from the double-charges and incorrect quantities people were throwing in their frantic attempt to check out with their tix on Monday/Tuesday...

[Xzin]

If people are ebaying them for $500 or whatever and people are buying them then was the original price perhaps set too low?

[Wilbur]

Is it me, or are Blizz's PR/Marketing team getting a *lot* better at their jobs?

[Zseth]

I just hope I get lucky now in the lottery. Even though techinically I think I have a better chance of winning the real lottery.



Seriously though, is anyone else already reserved and if we can't get tickets interested in going to Disneyland? I just got back from a deployment and would have fun doing either lol

[Bollwerk]

I'm still in shock about how badly Blizzard handled ticket sales this year. I can't believe they didn't have anything in place to prevent people buying multiple tickets to scalp or to prevent bots from buying. At the very least, they should have limited sales to one per active account, or per person/CC. Also, it is so completely retarded that you could have a ticket in your cart and be entering payment info, only to have that ticket sold to someone else who can click/type faster. This experience has forever tarnished my opinion of Blizzard, despite the "apology" from Mike.

[entoptic]

www.stubhub.com is your friend

http://www.stubhub.com/search/doSearch?searchStr=blizzcon&pageNumber=1&resultsPerPage=50&searchMode=event&start=0&rows=50

Also check craigslist and ebay

[entoptic]

better yet just sneak in. It's not that hard, just dress up like you are important, carry a box and be proactive not reactive.

Good Luck.

[Vyndree]

www.stubhub.com is your friend

http://www.stubhub.com/search/doSearch?searchStr=blizzcon&pageNumber=1&resultsPerPage=50&searchMode=event&start=0&rows=50

Also check craigslist and ebay

The problem with this is that it's scam-central. You'd also be promoting scalping.

To enter Blizzcon, you have to take your credit card that made the payment and show proof of ID to get your badge. You would then have to meet the seller, in person, and pick up your ticket from them. This means that those ebay, craigslist, and stubhub people could actually be selling you a bunch of air -- they can pretend they got a ticket legitimately, sell the nonexistant ticket to you, and then just leave you hanging outside the Anaheim convention center and run off with your money.

[kadaan]

I'm still in shock about how badly Blizzard handled ticket sales this year. I can't believe they didn't have anything in place to prevent people buying multiple tickets to scalp or to prevent bots from buying. At the very least, they should have limited sales to one per active account, or per person/CC. Also, it is so completely retarded that you could have a ticket in your cart and be entering payment info, only to have that ticket sold to someone else who can click/type faster. This experience has forever tarnished my opinion of Blizzard, despite the "apology" from Mike.I can't really fault them for not knowing how popular it would be. Last year it took what, 5 days to sell out? This year they had 30-40% more tickets than last year, so how where they to know that all the people who bought tickets last year in 5 days + 30-40% more would all try to buy tickets in the same 5 minutes this year? If anything, I hope next year they do this lottery system from the start to give everyone a fair chance. I think more than the apology, their willingness to change the way tickets will be distributed gives me faith that they do try their best to make the system "fair."

I'm also not so sure about these "bot" accusations. People seem to think there were tons of them buying up tickets, but since the tickets were a new item in the store and required additional information not required on normal store items (character names, server names, etc) I don't see how they could have scripted it in advance. It's a conspiracy theory imo.

[Vyndree]

People seem to think there were tons of them buying up tickets, but since the tickets were a new item in the store and required additional information not required on normal store items (character names, server names, etc) I don't see how they could have scripted it in advance. It's a conspiracy theory imo.

The store was up momentarily on Monday morning. The server crashed under the load and it was up periodically but relatively unfunctional on Monday afternoon.

During this time, people had plenty of time to edit botting scripts to the correct URL and option fields necessary -- most people at this time were stuck at either entering a CVV code or clickign the "submit" button. This on-and-off functionality existed for little under an hour. I, personally, got stuck on entering my CVV code after trying 2 different Credit Cards.

The website did not return to its functional form until Tuesday, over 24 hours later. Plenty of time to either write a new or edit an existing ticket-buying bot.

When doors opened on Tuesday at approx 1:30 PST, tickets were sold in LITERALLY minutes, according to a blue. I personally saw it available for 15 minutes (and only interactable for 5).

So it was open on Monday for almost an hour, and the tickets didn't sell out (partially due to website/credit card system errors). On tuesday, they were gone WITHIN minutes -- and those errors were still present. It reeks of bots.

[Nixi]

I'm actually quite miffed about this whole fiasco also. I haven't been back home to the US for two years. Instead of picking a nice date like, oh i dunno, Christmas, to go home I scheduled my vacation around Blizzcon. I was on the website during the big rush to buy tickets and managed to make my blizzard payement account, but i didn't get to the purchase page. I'm so pissed because all this was happening at a really awkward time and I screwed up my sleep, and, and, and I'm just pissed...

[Vyndree]

www.blizzcon.com

BlizzCon 2008 Ticket Drawing Opt-In Begins

The BlizzCon 2008 Ticket Drawing opt-in is now live. People with eligible Blizzard Accounts who wish to enter the drawing can now do so by logging in to Blizzard Account Management. The opt-in period will last until 11:59 p.m. PDT on Sunday, August 24. After it ends, we will select 1,500 people from the opt-in pool and offer them a chance to purchase up to two tickets to BlizzCon 2008.

This is a random drawing -- everyone with an eligible Blizzard Account who opts in any time during the opt-in period will have the same chance to win. Please make sure your Blizzard Account contact information (email and phone number) is up to date. For more information, including eligibility requirements, click here or read the FAQ.


The opt-in is up! If you have a blizzard STORE account before the tickets sold out you can opt in!

[Caspian]

I can't go and I have no desire to scalp tickets to make money. If I opt in and "win the lottery" is there an issue with me selling tickets to you for my cost? Or anyone? I think I have 5 blizzard accounts too. Had to get Collector's Edition and, after getting burned by having orders reduced at Amazon and Best Buy, made multiple accounts on Blizzard's site.

I'll opt in and let everyone know if I get lucky.

[Lyonheart]

I was lucky to even get a store acnt made. It seems that if you have a beta temp acnt, it messes with you. I Made a new Bliz Store acnt and after many many tries finally got it done that first day of ticket sale. Anyway, I got my opt in done 8)

[Vyndree]

If I opt in and "win the lottery" is there an issue with me selling tickets to you for my cost? Or anyone? I think I have 5 blizzard accounts too.

You can opt in, get "chosen" in the lottery, then not buy the tickets.

From the initial store sale, I was able to fill in the "attendee information" and input any credit card I chose. I would imagine, if you get "picked" for the lotto and don't want the tickets, that you could offer to let someone else use their attendee information and credit card and you input it through your Blizzard store account.

Worse comes to worse, if you can't, you're not obligated to buy the tickets if you're picked via the lotto.

[Suvega]

Basically OPT in * 5.

If you get picked and would be gracious enough for us to buy the tickets, that would be super awesome :)
We'll just use our CC and our names to buy it, so we can actually pickup the tickets (you need the credit card you used to purchase the tickets to pick the tickets up at the gate).

And me and velani would <3 you forever and ever and ever and ever and....

[Zseth]

Everything that Suvega said, I would love you forever as well, and probably pleasure you sexually as well.

Seriously though, if you make it into the opt in and will allow me to purchase from you I would be eternally grateful.

[kadaan]

On the FAQ page it says that entering with multiple Blizzard Accounts isn't allowed and invalidates the entries, if you've already purchased tickets you're not allowed to opt-in for additional ones, and you can only purchase two tickets if you win the drawing and not 5.

[Caspian]

Had accounts in 4 separate names/emails, wife 2 kids and me. Good luck to me and everyone else.

:)

[Suvega]

On the FAQ page it says that entering with multiple Blizzard Accounts isn't allowed and invalidates the entries, if you've already purchased tickets you're not allowed to opt-in for additional ones, and you can only purchase two tickets if you win the drawing and not 5.

It doesn't invalidate them, it removes the dupes:


Does having multiple Blizzard Accounts created before 9:00 p.m. PDT on August 12, 2008 help my chances of winning tickets? No, the selection process will screen for multiple accounts registered to the same user. Any duplicate entries will be removed from the selection pool at the time of the drawing.

[kadaan]

On the FAQ page it says that entering with multiple Blizzard Accounts isn't allowed and invalidates the entries, if you've already purchased tickets you're not allowed to opt-in for additional ones, and you can only purchase two tickets if you win the drawing and not 5.

It doesn't invalidate them, it removes the dupes:


Does having multiple Blizzard Accounts created before 9:00 p.m. PDT on August 12, 2008 help my chances of winning tickets? No, the selection process will screen for multiple accounts registered to the same user. Any duplicate entries will be removed from the selection pool at the time of the drawing.
Bad wording on my part, I meant it invalidates any extra entries so you still only get one shot just like everyone else. It doesn't invalidate ALL of them :).

[Caspian]

Well it looks like emails have gone out for the drawing winners. Anyone get lucky? I was 0/4 :( Sorry, I tried.

[kadaan]

It says they sent out 1500 emails, so unless every single one of those 1500 people who opted in buys two tickets (which I doubt,) they'll probably have a second batch of emails later.

[Knytestorme]

I got woken up by a phone call from my gf asking if I really wanted to go to Blizzcon :D

Now to just hope there is accommodation left, and the mount is 100% speed....

[Vyndree]

For those still looking for tix...

I WON TICKETS!!!! Can't use them. ('http://www.dual-boxing.com/forums/index.php?page=Thread&threadID=12491')