AHHHHHHHHHHHH
NEVER buy ANY ticket that is not being sold at face value. This is a basic principle of Burning Man, and anyone selling any ticket over face value should be reported, and that ticket number will be invalidated by the Burning Man org. STEP is always a good idea. Register there. Have your money ready. It is the only 100% absolutely sure way to buy a ticket second-hand, because it is run by the Burning Man org. For me, I just do a lot of stuff with my local Burner community. I know a lot of people, and let people know that when they hear of a ticket, to let me know about it. By the first of August, tickets should be pretty easy to find. Keep cash on hand, set up email alerts, and watch your facebook posts closely, and jump as soon as you see a ticket available. Shit happens. People break legs, get new jobs and lose their time off, and Family Things come up that prevent people from going. There is also a seriously woo-woo hippie aspect to this that plays out for me, every.single.year, and that is, if you are supposed to be there, the World will sort out making sure you find a ticket. I know. It's silly. But it's true, and has been true for the last decade, in my experience. People overcome the most unlikely circumstances because the universe has decided they need to go this year. Other people are totally prepared, and fail to get there due to some insane circumstances. So. Make sure you are connected with your local community. You go to the local events, and volunteer to help out in some way. When people participate rather than attend, they are much more welcome.
Yeah, reported a bunch of scalpers on Ebay already. Really pissed me off they try to resell for profit when our group only got a handful. High hopes for the Step program right now, but i'll look into connecting more with the local burners. I only know a handful of people right now. Morale kind of in the gutter, but I guess it's just the initial disappointment. Will try to stay positive and prey to the Fire Gods :) Hopefully before August too because we had this whole roadtrip planned but at this point just getting to go would be already awesome. Quick question - is face value the number written on the ticket or the actual money paid by the person to buy the ticket (I hear there are some non-insignificant fees on top of the ticket price) Are you planing on attending this year?
Also, there are a lot of Burners in Montreal. Email either of these guys, show them your YouTube channel to show you are for real, and they'll totally help get you connected with regular events. http://regionals.burningman.org/regionals/canada/montreal/ Usually Burning Man communities have weekly pub meetups, or potlucks. This is a great way to connect with your local community. These guys probably also know of art projects that need extra hands or help getting built. Volunteer. Serve drinks at a fundraiser, or whatever. You will meet great people.
Yeah, I hear there are monthly potlucks, we have a fb page - but I never attended. I'll try to make it next time, and meet some new people :) Sounds like a lot of fun anyway, I just always made excuses not to go, because I don't know anybody but I should just get over that.
"Not knowing anybody" is one of the reasons people don't go to things... and one of the first things that blows people's minds when they first experience Burning Man. Go to the potluck. See what happens. I think you are going to be very surprised at how welcoming a community can be. Tell them what you want, and you will instantly have five or six people excitedly trying to help you out! It is a really cool community, and the potlucks are an easy way to find your place within that community.
Face value is what you pay. Period. There are also parking passes, but those are face value, too. There are no other fees except shipping, which to Canada is the standard $39 parcel post rate.