[theDarkSide]

Stubhub has the Saturday afternoon session listed ranging from $195 to $800.  Is it really worth it?  Doesn't the AHA/BA have control over tickets for their events?  I know if I post my football season tickets on one of these sites, the team can pull my tickets and ban me from having season tickets again.

I have no idea how they will fix this...and it's just going to get worse.  Definitely a problem I wouldn't want to have.

[dannoavsfan]

I totally agree!!  TM's security whole system is crap not only for this event but any event that happens at Pepsi center as well.  I have a hard time believing that every ticket for this sell out in minutes to everyday average people.  Somehow blocks of tickets are getting sold to certain groups of people and they just turn their head.  Maybe I need to start a ticket business??

[swede-murphy@bresnan.net]

Same story here, but got a ticket from a friend who did get through. Why not require ID plus Membership Card plus tickets to get in? Admit two, member plus guest, with membership card.

[udubdawg]

that's cool, we'll just agree to disagree on that one.
did you ever get the tickets back in your cart, or did you miss out?

Nope, never got them back.  It kept reloading the page on my Thursday tickets (like 20 times on it's own) and then said I didn't get them either, but then I got an e-mail with a receipt for my purchase and two tickets.

Wasn't trying to start fireworks on the ticket thing.  Here to bring insightful thoughts to the board, not troll!

no troll accusations here.  We welcome opinions and yours is valid.  I'm certainly in the minority plenty and might be here, I just don't agree.
When you look at the cost of an AHA membership you can pay for a substantial portion of it just by saving on Ticketmaster fees with being a member.  Plenty become members just for increased chance at tickets.  I'm positive the scalpers know this.  I guess I'm saying we already have a lot of the "public" in the supposed membership.  I also think the event has become slightly less great as enthusiasm increases.  I've always blamed the increased interest from the "public" but it is possible us uber beer geeks are just as to blame.

I'm sad that I'm not going but that is not due to ticketmaster issues.  I used my set-aside GABF money to attend NHC at the last minute.  It was the right decision for me but I'll still miss my annual trip.

I wouldn't mind seeing two member-only sessions next year, with the option to only attend one of them.  Or perhaps one event or sub-event where the ticket must match the AHA membership card...

good luck tomorrow on tickets
cheers--
--Michael

[j_piper]

Well the AHA needs to promote the Epic Beer Festival that was held this June in the same venue as the GABF.  Evidently they didnt sell out but had approx. 500 beers there.  I think there effort was on craft beer and not the big boys.

[dannoavsfan]

Just got done giving them a piece of my mind on the AHA facebook page.  Everybody needs to do that and maybe they will get a clue that something is wrong with this!!

[houstonvol]

What's sad is that while the "issue" was ongoing, tickets appeared on Craigslist and Ticketvenue for all sessions at around $300 each!!  I get the feeling that the "issue" allowed scalpers (yes, they had to have been members, but from a cost-benefit standpoint...) to get their tickets. 

TM says they have measures in place to prevent this, but while refreshing my browser to attempt to get afternoon tickets, I saw the same phrase at least a dozen times.  I've seen stronger security on my Yahoo! email, and that's been hacked more times than I care to recall. 

As far as I'm concerned, this was a poorly executed pre-sale.  It was intended to allow us - the card carrying members of the AHA/BA - to get tickets and access that the general public can't.  The intent failed miserably, and the organizers simply offer condolences in the form of "well, there's always next year." 

Well, I won't be renewing my membership next year.

This x1,000

That is an absolutely pathetic business strategy to acknowledge it by saying "well, maybe next year".  No, F that.  Why the hell would half the people who are here re-apply if it can't get them benefits that supposedly come with it?  As someone who sees the strategies of hundreds of businesses on a regular basis, that is really sad and a good way to fail.

[micsager]

What's sad is that while the "issue" was ongoing, tickets appeared on Craigslist and Ticketvenue for all sessions at around $300 each!!  I get the feeling that the "issue" allowed scalpers (yes, they had to have been members, but from a cost-benefit standpoint...) to get their tickets. 

TM says they have measures in place to prevent this, but while refreshing my browser to attempt to get afternoon tickets, I saw the same phrase at least a dozen times.  I've seen stronger security on my Yahoo! email, and that's been hacked more times than I care to recall. 

As far as I'm concerned, this was a poorly executed pre-sale.  It was intended to allow us - the card carrying members of the AHA/BA - to get tickets and access that the general public can't.  The intent failed miserably, and the organizers simply offer condolences in the form of "well, there's always next year." 

Well, I won't be renewing my membership next year.

This x1,000

That is an absolutely pathetic business strategy to acknowledge it by saying "well, maybe next year".  No, F that.  Why the hell would half the people who are here re-apply if it can't get them benefits that supposedly come with it?  As someone who sees the strategies of hundreds of businesses on a regular basis, that is really sad and a good way to fail.

I couldn't disagree more.  The AHA and BA are run by good folks, trying their best.  The dues to both organizations are dirt cheap compared to other trade associations.

And remember, both organizations are really run by their members.  Get involved, run for GC.  I refuse to demonize the AHA/BA.  They do so much good for our hobby/profession.  The craft beer scene in this country would not be where it is today, without their hard work. 

Gary and Charlie - Keep up the good work!

[snowtiger87]

They just need to do a better job of assuring that the tickets to the members-only session go to members, not scalpers. Entering an 8 digit code is not adequate security, unless it gets tied back to the member's account and matches to the name, but I doubt that happened.

[micsager]

Just got done giving them a piece of my mind on the AHA facebook page.  Everybody needs to do that and maybe they will get a clue that something is wrong with this!!

Be careful what you wish for.  The solution will cost $$$$$$$$

[Furbinator409]

Just got done giving them a piece of my mind on the AHA facebook page.  Everybody needs to do that and maybe they will get a clue that something is wrong with this!!

Be careful what you wish for.  The solution will cost $$$$$$$$

Of course it will, as does anything these days!  The real issue here is that most of us buy tickets to other venues or events, and that those transactions can be tracked back to their respectful buyers.  For instance, if I were to go buy season tickets to a football game, then post them on stub hub - the sales team could trace the tickets back to my season pass, and refuse to sell me any next year.  This was obviously a problem last year, and seems to be more of one this year.  There was some technical difficulty that left many members feeling jilted.  Yet, do a search on TicketVenue or Craigslist, and you're sure to see tickets to the members-only session.  Why can't those be traced back to the offending members and future purchases be restricted?

If you said, "well, Jimmy, this here fix will cost an extra $12 per ticket non d-bag assurance fee" I'm sure that many of us would gladly pay it. 

What I believe some in this forum are saying is that their concerns have fallen on deaf ears.  Last year, some of the same outcries were made, and the leadership said they "were looking into other options." This year, the consolation thus far has been, "Well, you can still try to get tickets to the evening sessions during the public sale."  Or, "There's always next year." 

So, Micsager, please let me know whom I should contact - and in what manner - and I will gladly do so.  If the only solution otherwise is to "run for GC," then I fear the system is truly broken.

[micsager]

Let's see, GABF = $65, Seahawks Season Season tickets = $4,000

But, I do understand what you're saying.  But I know how hard the staff at the AHA works.  And I'm starting to get that same knowledge with the BA folks.  In fact I think they share some staff members. 

And I appreciate their work, even if it's not perfect.

[thebigbaker]

Let's see, GABF = $65, Seahawks Season Season tickets = $4,000

But, I do understand what you're saying.  But I know how hard the staff at the AHA works.  And I'm starting to get that same knowledge with the BA folks.  In fact I think they share some staff members. 

And I appreciate their work, even if it's not perfect.

+1!  For me personally, I get so much more out of my membership than just the GABF tickets.  I understand everyone's frustration and I'd probably be upset if I couldn't get tickets, especially if it were due to a glitch Ticketmaster's system.  The GABF tickets are a great perk, yet if the tickets were not part of the AHA membership, I'd still be a member. 

On the other hand, the GABF tickets are probably the main reason some join the AHA.  If that were the case for me, I probably would be just as upset as some have shown in this thread. 

[chemman14]

Stubhub has the Saturday afternoon session listed ranging from $195 to $800.  Is it really worth it?  Doesn't the AHA/BA have control over tickets for their events?  I know if I post my football season tickets on one of these sites, the team can pull my tickets and ban me from having season tickets again.

I have no idea how they will fix this...and it's just going to get worse.  Definitely a problem I wouldn't want to have.

Really? Why do they care? What if you couldn't attend a game, you are just supposed to eat the tickets?

[Poobah58]

It can be fixed by not buying tickets from scalpers...