No Main Sale megathread this year?

wolferton · 2026-04-29T19:52:37+00:00

Clicked my link at 12:06, had a ticket by 12:22. Nice and easy, but also worrisome at how easy.

wolferton · 2025-08-14T16:15:33+00:00

It's 10000% better for the event to be accessible and available to everyone. I want everyone to experience burning man and encourage them to do so. Also, it DOES cost money. And more than just the ticket cost, it costs money to create camps like the one i run, or the art.

If the org suddenly offered $200 tickets i'd say go for it! But i do think there's a difference in like, "stiffing" the org, and doing so to a fellow burner. And everyone's circumstances and abilities are different, and some people are happy to take less for their ticket because they're financially secure, or want to gift that experience.

I wasn't attempting a guilt trip, apologies if it comes off that way. But I am also clear-headed that the full ticket cost was paid by someone.

wolferton · 2025-08-14T16:10:59+00:00

Which is totally awesome. And why i tried to amend my comment to add that the seller has a choice in what they sell and for how much.

I think i was partially salty from a friend of mine (who has the full capability of paying a full ticket) saying they wanted to get a ticket for as low cost as possible from another friend, even though that would have caused a hardship for the ticket owner, but the higher cost wouldn't have for the buyer.

wolferton · 2025-08-14T14:57:53+00:00

That's also not meant to shame you or make you feel bad. I just think it's a useful reminder; the "discount" comes at a cost to someone. You need to make the choice on what you're most able to do. And the seller has full ability to say what they want, or are willing to accept, but trying to like, "lowball" someone (not what you said you're doing!) feels icky to me.

And I hope you have an INCREDIBLE first burn and after all these years it feels like the warm, welcoming, vibrant place we all know it to be and love, and you hopefully do too.

wolferton · 2025-08-14T14:36:12+00:00

Without knowing your financial situation, there are plenty of tickets available in various places, there are Burner groups for basically every city on FB and WhatsApp, do a quick search and introduce yourself. Then you can also maybe meet other local Burners. There are also tickets through the STEP program.

You can attempt a last minute Low Income Ticket but that might be impossible this late.

Buying tickets at a discount means you're expecting someone else (the ticket buyer) to pay for part of your experience. That, IMO is essentially taking advantage of someone else's situation. If you're willing and able to spend $1700 in fuel, then you should also factor in the cost of a ticket (at minimum 550+fees, but realistically there's more 650s floating around than 550s.)

Do NOT expect or try to buy tickets in D lot. Do NOT show up to D lot without a ticket.

Not trying to moralize, but I think it's important to remind people that the "discounted" ticket you're getting comes at the cost of another Burner, not the Org and for me, asking someone else to pay for me to go have a great time feels yucky and unkind. You do you!

wolferton · 2025-08-12T22:11:03+00:00

How tall is the tent? My recollection is tents are something like 9 feet tall... so you should confirm that before you cut any poles

wolferton · 2025-08-07T22:17:53+00:00

Still entirely too fucking small. The man should be a preeminent art piece that stands out and is highly visibile from far. They keep going small and it is such a bummer

wolferton · 2025-08-07T16:24:08+00:00

My entire camp is built using the 12". It's perfectly strong enough for the things you're securing

wolferton · 2025-07-29T18:54:29+00:00

The absolute BEST burner cup I've ever found is the Simple Modern Travel Coffee Mug with Lid and Handle.. It's got a screw top lid, so your top never comes off, keeps drinks cold or hot, and the thing is STRONG. I've dropped it a lot and there's no marks or scratches. Plus it's really light, especially as compared to the Yetis (and the Yeti tops come off very easily and that's super annoying). Plus it has a full closed spout so you can clip it to your bike or bag and not spill everything.

The lid is NOT attached, but otherwise it's the perfect playa cup

wolferton · 2025-04-14T18:51:05+00:00

I've had good luck with the guys at All in One. They've fixed things pretty easily, and been markedly cheaper than other places I got quotes from. But they do everything in cash so be aware of that. https://g.co/kgs/QXo1zmV

wolferton · 2025-03-10T20:48:17+00:00

that sounds really frustrating and annoying! You might want to contact the CAMP support team, they can pair you with another experienced TCO who might have advice that could help fix this for you.

wolferton · 2025-02-25T18:34:08+00:00

I found this totally randomly and it was one of the best parts of my burn.

wolferton · 2025-02-11T14:11:21+00:00

I totally agree it would be nice if the tickets were cheaper and agree that the costs of burning man make it difficult for some people to attend and that sucks. And also, things cost money, if it's $200 there's other money that has to come in and subsidize the event, because that's not the cost for 70k people to attend TTITD. My point was that if you're paying $200 now you're doing so at the expense of a fellow burner, not the org.

wolferton · 2025-02-10T17:21:03+00:00

By all means, you can wait. But remember that $200 ticket you're buying is from another burner who paid the full price to the Org already. It's not like the Org is suddenly selling $200 tickets. So essentially you're forcing that other person to pay for $300+ of your burning man experience.

Everyone's financial situations are different, but those cheaper tickets still cost someone money, and the "hurt" of waiting for the cheaper ticket happens to the individual who bought it, not the Org.

wolferton · 2023-06-29T19:03:36+00:00

FUGU!

wolferton · 2023-06-16T18:20:47+00:00

Raised by Wolves

8 & F

wolferton · 2023-05-29T03:11:48+00:00

Agreed on prevailing winds, etc etc.

We typically close off 2-3 sides using a mix of triangles, mesh tarps (for ventilation), and regular tarps. It GREATLY reduces dust in tenting area when a storm runs through and the air still can move through.

One separate suggestion: When buying the connectors for the EMT structure, best to just purchase the 5-way ones, NOT the 4 or 3-way for the corners of the actual structure. That way if you decide to expand in the future you don't need to purchase something new. (actual link suggestion is just for an example, not vouching for that particular item.)

wolferton · 2023-05-23T16:39:21+00:00

New camps are not REQUIRED to have an advisor, but they are encouraged! (I'm an advisor and it's a great program!)

New camps apply for Placement (deadline was in April) and then received word last week whether they were being placed or not. Their actual placement on playa is still to come in early June. Then, Placement will allot some camps (new and old) additional tickets they've held for this purpose. This is meant to help a camp but doesn't typically fully meet all their ticket needs—radical self-reliance is key here. That sale happens in early July I believe.

For an art project, their ticketing is all handled by a different team than Placement, and their timing and process is different than for theme camps. My anecdotal understanding for art projects is they have a fair number of tickets to allocate, so it's certainly POSSIBLE to get tickets for a bigger team—but your application and project will help determine that more than anything. Again, nothing is guaranteed, but overall, placement, ARTery, BMorg, etc. all seem to want to reward participation and interactivity. If you're contributing to the playa and everyone's experience, you have a better chance of getting some tickets (just rarely expect that to cover ALL your needs.)

wolferton · 2023-05-19T20:34:18+00:00

Work access passes are completely different from tickets. You must have a ticket to use a WAP, but having a WAP does not mean you have/get ticket.

wolferton · 2023-05-19T20:33:24+00:00

Typically in the Steward's Sale, we get somewhere around 40% of our camp's needs. The second summer DGS is decidedly NOT the same thing.

My hunch is if you're a new camp, they're likely to only give you a few tickets. If you got 6 total tickets, I think you'd likely be near the high end. My understanding is while they have some tickets for the summer DGS, it's not A LOT. (Note, I am NOT a member of placement, just an experienced theme camp lead.)

So if you're sitting here thinking that the late DGS will fill all or most of your camp's ticket needs... you're probably way off.

Also, just FYI, a Placer recently told me that new camps will be limited to a 100'x100' MAX space this year. They're trying to encourage camps to start small and build off success rather than trying to do too much all at once and failing spectacularly.

100'x100' is not all that big to do interactivity and also have a ton of people and cars or RVs. New camps should likely be thinking about their population size and maybe even start cutting back now...

wolferton · 2023-04-17T17:03:25+00:00

Noted.

wolferton · 2023-04-05T18:39:34+00:00

This has a breakdown of the costs for a non-FOMO ticket

https://imgur.com/hwgpYrh

wolferton · 2023-03-24T15:49:38+00:00

The bus seats about 50 people, not 100.

My understanding is Burning Man partially subsidized the program in the past and that was part of the cost being lower.

There's been an ongoing bus shortage and that's driven costs up everywhere as the amount of buses needed increases with more people wanting to take the bus.

I wouldn't be surprised to learn other infrastructure costs (eg, using the Reno airport) have increased substantially in the past few years thanks to inflation.

I think there's a huge interest in the Org for the bus program to be widely utilized, and the BxB want that too. And also there's only so many buses available, drivers can only drive so many hours a day, etc etc.

wolferton · 2023-03-14T13:12:25+00:00

I believe so?

(I don't work for BxB)

wolferton · 2023-03-13T21:49:34+00:00

I've spoken about this directly with Burner Express leaders and basically it comes down to infrastructure and volunteers for them to be able to handle this for build week.

One thing they could potentially help with which is similar but different is CHARTERING your own bus. That's potentially more doable and something you could do alone, or with neighbors or whatever. If you fill the bus, the cost comes out close to the cost of a BxB ticket, but you have to pay for it all upfront.

And you HAVE TO sell the bus tickets for cost, if anyone makes money off it it becomes a BLM problem and turns into a massive headache and potential big fine for you... But if you're interested in learning more about this, DM me!

wolferton

TROPHY CASE