Poll - Should people tout their 'spare' campervan pass for silly money?

Roo · #1 19-04-2011, 04:27 PM

Campervan tickets sold out very quickly this year and lots of people are unfortunate enough not to have been able to get one, some who'd already even hired a campervan for the weekend already!
Though on ebay there are already at least 3 people selling campervan passes, which have not yet been delivered, so if the buyer doesn;t get them they are very unlikely to be able to claim a refund from paypal or ebay.
Doing a private deal with a mate is a little different from what these guys are doing and to me it seems they are purely after making a quick buck at the expense of others - in other words, touting.

You can see a selection of the current auctions Here

What do people think should be done?

zakmatt · #2 19-04-2011, 04:35 PM

Surely they can put a photo of the purchaser on the campervan tickets too .. Like the entry tickets .. Otherwise it makes a mockery of the whole "Anti Touting" ticket idea.

David · #3 19-04-2011, 04:45 PM

Originally Posted by Roo

What do people think should be done?

They should put the vehicle registration on the CV ticket. Simple.

Roo · #4 19-04-2011, 04:52 PM

Originally Posted by David

They should put the vehicle registration on the CV ticket. Simple.

Not so simple for those who are hiring, borrowing or have yet to buy or confirm details for a new bus. Imagine if carpark tickets had to have the reg on?

Though as one person does have to buy, the idea of having their photo put on the campervan ticket does sound reasonable. You would kinda expect they'd be the one doing the driving etc.

Seems like people are buying up campervan tickets with the plan of touting them by the looks of it, which is kinda depriving those genuinely wanting to go in a campervan of tickets and profiteering from those who can afford to pay 5x the face value of them!

tort · #5 19-04-2011, 05:00 PM

Difficult one this because, whilst I agree it’s contemptible that some people obviously only buy a campervan pass for profiteering purposes, I don’t actually believe there is an awful lot that can be done about it. GFL are able to get eBay to remove auctions of festival tickets because the ticket is effectively worthless unless you are the person whose photo appears on it and any attempt to sell it is therefore fraudulent. But Campervan passes are not individually identifiable and legally the owner is totally within his rights to sell it to the highest bidder.

It would also be difficult to apply photos to the passes. For a start they aren’t actually tickets but stickers you place in your windscreen so that the stewards can see you are authorised to enter the campervan fields as you approach the gates. Also with the ability to buy up to 8 tickets in a single transaction, what happens if the person who buys the ticket isn’t actually the person who is going to be driving the van? Imagine how complicated & confusing the booking page would have to be to get round that one.

I know this is of very little comfort to people who have missed out but the problem is currently a very small one when you look at the overall numbers involved, so when you consider the difficulty involved in counteracting it I’m afraid that I can’t imagine GFL will be expending a huge amount of time and effort on addressing the issue anytime soon.

David · #6 19-04-2011, 05:06 PM

Originally Posted by Roo

Not so simple for those who are hiring, borrowing or have yet to buy or confirm details for a new bus. Imagine if carpark tickets had to have the reg on?

Seems to me those hardest hit are those who already have a 'van arranged, suddenly panicking as they can't now get a ticket.

I'm not sure exactly how close to the festival the tickets are sent out (two weeks?) but I'm sure it's plenty of time to have the details on.

There's no control over car parking though, it's general admission / pay on the gate.

David · #7 19-04-2011, 05:09 PM

Originally Posted by tort

It would also be difficult to apply photos to the passes. For a start they aren’t actually tickets but stickers you place in your windscreen so that the stewards can see you are authorised to enter the campervan fields as you approach the gates.

Indeed, but you also get a receipt for your campervan sticker printed on a Glasto "ticket" so you could put the identification on that and need to present both to get in (a bit like needing your wristband and pass out to get back on site every morning).

Roo · #8 19-04-2011, 05:09 PM

Doubly contemptible as currently they could still cancel the cv pass & get refunded.

As for legal "legally the owner is totally within his rights to sell it to the highest bidder." Nope, tickets are not transferable - it's in conditions of purchase etc.

Difficult to apply, not very. Just issue a paper ticket to go with the sticker, with the 'driver' on it. Even if in a purchase of 8 tickets & 2 CV tickets you could provide the reg number of those who were going to be driving or in the CV.

Who says it would be a huge amount of effort? Also, unless tackled, people will be buying CV passes when not needed in future years if they can see they will be getting £300+ for them on ebay! Meaning less genuine tickets available at face value for those wanting and more touts/touting.

Roo · #9 19-04-2011, 05:14 PM

GlastoFest
Several hundred campervan places have just been added - if you have a festival ticket, call See on 0844 412 4626 to book one (they're £75).

from twitter a few moments ago --- http://twitter.com/GlastoFest/status/60373878421200896

Roo · #10 26-04-2011, 08:53 PM

Not sure if the additional passes have sold out or not, but just spotted another 'tout' on ebay wanting £200 for their pass, but the generous souls are donating a whole 10% (£20) of the auction to 'charidee!'

(and why have so few voted in the poll too?)

Roo · #11 04-05-2011, 07:35 PM

Currently, only 1 pass on ebay, with less than 24hours to go. Generous souls have reduced the price to £150 too!

IF there is a further resale, expect CV tickets to also be available, and am not even sure after the extra allocation they released if all of those sold out!

But it does seem that the festival is content to let people tout campervan passes on ebay as no action seems to have been taken against any of the auctions listed above!

kit · #12 04-05-2011, 08:10 PM

What has happened in previous years they have waited to gauge response and hired more fields from the local farmers if needed.

tort · #13 05-05-2011, 09:55 AM

Originally Posted by kit

What has happened in previous years they have waited to gauge response and hired more fields from the local farmers if needed.

I'm guessing that's what happened this year after all the campervan tickets sold out & a few started appearing on eBay. If more people are willing to shell out £75 then why not make hay while the sun shines.

stardustjunkie · #14 06-05-2011, 12:31 PM

Another reason why I love Glasto so much is because the tickets can be sold only to people who genuinely want to go.

It never occurred to me that the campervan tickets were different, I don't drive so it wouldn't =P

But I do agree that something needs to be done, touting is ridiculous.

I think a photo could work. Maybe have a seperate CV registration complete with photo, so for each CV ticket you buy, you put in a different reg number. That way each CV ticket is associated with a picture of the driver.

Roo · #15 11-05-2011, 10:30 PM

Cheapest camper van ticket being touted on ebay at £125 and open to offers! http://bit.ly/eRMDEq
Go on, bombard them with offers at face value!

Also, whilst on the topic, have they actually stated campervan tickets are sold out yet?

Roo · #16 13-05-2011, 08:42 AM

This seller has got a choice of east or west tickets for sale and has even posted a pic of one!
http://bit.ly/jeoxqQ
Though 3 days left on the auction and both still at 99p, he may regret trying to tout them!

acidliam · #17 14-05-2011, 04:04 PM

Originally Posted by Roo

This seller has got a choice of east or west tickets for sale and has even posted a pic of one!
http://bit.ly/jeoxqQ
Though 3 days left on the auction and both still at 99p, he may regret trying to tout them!

What exactly are the bits of paper covering up I wonder?

acidliam · #18 14-05-2011, 04:06 PM

Oh and in answer I've got no problem people trying to sell tehm but ripping folk off is another thing. Were in a tricky situation, a mate does campers up, buys and sells then, he has one for sale now which if it doesnt sell we can borrow, or if he gets a new project we can borrow that, but theres a chance he might not have a van on the exact date we need it. £75 is a lot of money to gamble with, I'd like to buy one but not if I can't recoup my loss.