Tickets , Tips and Tricks

[parsonjack]

25 minutes ago, Avalon_Fields said:

@parsonjack this is probably a dumb question: if the ticket window is automatically opened at precisely 09:00 (By computer not man I mean), how long might it take from you hitting the button to that request being received, therefore is there any real benefit in trying your first attempt at some exact point just before 

The 'latency' of a simple ping over a reasonably efficient link will be likely be less than 50ms in normal circumstances.  Even adding on overheads for DNS lookup will still only increase it to say 200ms....but it all depends on network congestion etc and the packet you've sent will get discarded after a set time if it does not get acknowledged as received by the destination.

Assuming the sale starts automatically then there's prob little point in refreshing much before 0859, ssuming you have your device clock in sync with See's that is, but knowing the exact point is impossible to determine given all the factors in play.

There's some possibility that the sale is manually started though by an admin making an internal DNS change to direct requests to the application layer....as such he/she may do this a few seconds either side of 0900....so although luck is definitely the main factor it could be beneficial to start refreshing at say 0858...which the response time at that point from previous sales suggests that's what most everyone else is doing.

[Crazyfool01]

do we think it locks the registration numbers once payment is confirmed or once we get to the payment section with the clock ? 

[parsonjack]

6 minutes ago, crazyfool1 said:

do we think it locks the registration numbers once payment is confirmed or once we get to the payment section with the clock ? 

My guess is that it locks the reg numbers for use once they have been looked up on the second screen. So even though the first person to use them may not have yet got to the payment stage no one else can use them in a separate session.

Edited September 29, 2019 by parsonjack

[Crazyfool01]

3 minutes ago, parsonjack said:

My guess is that it locks the reg numbers for use once they have been looked up on the second screen.

yep that makes sense ... still quite a bit before the golden tickets are secure ... nervy times 

[parsonjack]

1 minute ago, crazyfool1 said:

yep that makes sense ... still quite a bit before the golden tickets are secure ... nervy times 

Yeah...I have the butterflies this morning thinking about it.  

[Mr.Tease]

Something I've always wondered: does the ticket page become active at exactly 9am on Sundays or is it sometimes a few seconds before? I never know whether it's best to start refreshing a few seconds before (the problem being if you refresh just before 9am, then you have to wait a second or two while it tries to load)

[Crazyfool01]

Just now, Mr.Tease said:

Something I've always wondered: does the ticket page become active at exactly 9am on Sundays or is it sometimes a few seconds before? I never know whether it's best to start refreshing a few seconds before (the problem being if you refresh just before 9am, then you have to wait a second or two while it tries to load)

given the numbers trying at that point and as nobody knows its all luck there is no way anybody will know the exact millisecond to hit the button .. there have been reports of people getting in before though 

[Mr.Tease]

28 minutes ago, crazyfool1 said:

given the numbers trying at that point and as nobody knows its all luck there is no way anybody will know the exact millisecond to hit the button .. there have been reports of people getting in before though 

Curses! I can never decide whether to take the gamble and start the refresh process at 8.59:53, or whether to try and start it at exactly 9.00:00 in order to plumpen my chances. Not that I've ever got through straight away- think the quickest I ever managed it was about 3mins after 9

[vintagelaureate]

47 minutes ago, parsonjack said:

My guess is that it locks the reg numbers for use once they have been looked up on the second screen. So even though the first person to use them may not have yet got to the payment stage no one else can use them in a separate session.

Imagine... two groups of the same people get through, one enters the details incorrectly and locks the other out. 

Theoretically, that would have happened to me last year. I had three people get through at the same time. Whilst I was on the payment screen, my friend entered my details wrong on the ticket screen. This year that would end me, if I've read it right?

[parsonjack]

13 minutes ago, vintagelaureate said:

Imagine... two groups of the same people get through, one enters the details incorrectly and locks the other out. 

Theoretically, that would have happened to me last year. I had three people get through at the same time. Whilst I was on the payment screen, my friend entered my details wrong on the ticket screen. This year that would end me, if I've read it right?

Difficult to say and depends how its coded.  I'd hope that once someone has looked up the reg numbers and locked them any attempt to use them elsewhere would simply be refused....including any numbers entered incorrectly...and it wouldn't affect the first session.

[AlParkin03]

Does anyone know the best way to create custom keyboard shortcuts for reg details on a Chromebook? I’ve done a bit of research but found zilch
Considering just sticking with good ole’ copy and paste ?
 

 

[Sasperella]

11 hours ago, parsonjack said:

Yes...I think you're correct...the cookie is issued by the load balancer to maintain the session on the back end web server.  Again....everything points to keeping it simple.

With cookies, I've learnt from this forum that they can be quite bad, right? Thus it may be good to clear cache before the sale (or just during if you get white screen of death?)

But what if you've got tickets before. Could that mean that having cookies was good? I just wondered why my friends who get in seem to do so all the time, whereas others of us (me) have never got anywhere...

 

[Summertime]

8 minutes ago, parsonjack said:

Difficult to say and depends how its coded.  I'd hope that once someone has looked up the reg numbers and locked them any attempt to use them elsewhere would simply be refused....including any numbers entered incorrectly...and it wouldn't affect the first session.

This happened to us last year, but at the time we hadn’t read about it before the sale so couldn’t work out what had happened (turns out there was something in the ts & cs about it). One friend got through to the payment page and another got through shortly afterwards (can’t remember if it was to the payment screen or just the reg one) for the same group, then the registrations got locked and it wouldn’t accept payment on either of the sessions.

We guessed afterwards they’d been blocked for about 8 mins but it was probably the 10 that Glasto state.  It was so stressful, but incredibly our group got through one more time later and got the tickets. 

So im quite worried about this happening again now as it seems like it could happen relatively easily. But hoping See have made an enhancement since last year and the first session will be protected in the way parsonjack describes above. ?

[parsonjack]

''Please note, your registration numbers will be locked for up to 10 minutes if your details are entered incorrectly, an attempt to book is already held against your registration number, or your 5 minutes on the booking page ends. If the transaction fails and tickets are still available, your registration number will be released to give you the chance to try again.''

Re-reading it this locking thing for incorrect entry is odd....if it's referring to entry of reg number and postcode then how can it be an issue?  If I enter my number incorrectly and it's not found against my correctly entered postcode then surely it will just lock the incorrect number, and not the correct one?  There could be numerous reg numbers against a single postcode so it wouldn't be right to lock them all.

Is it actually referring to locking of reg numbers so that incorrectly entered payment details can be re-entered...or am I stating the obvious?

[Sasperella]

2 minutes ago, Summertime said:

This happened to us last year, but at the time we hadn’t read about it before the sale so couldn’t work out what had happened (turns out there was something in the ts & cs about it). One friend got through to the payment page and another got through shortly afterwards (can’t remember if it was to the payment screen or just the reg one) for the same group, then the registrations got locked and it wouldn’t accept payment on either of the sessions.

We guessed afterwards they’d been blocked for about 8 mins but it was probably the 10 that Glasto state.  It was so stressful, but incredibly our group got through one more time later and got the tickets. 

So im quite worried about this happening again now as it seems like it could happen relatively easily. But hoping See have made an enhancement since last year and the first session will be protected in the way parsonjack describes above. ?

Oh my god. 

Actually, there was one year (in the sale for 2015) when two of us got through at the same time. I remember a lot of panicking about it over WhatsApp and eventually both got booted out. But I don't know if it froze us both out on purpose or if it was just a standard fail....

Another thing to worry about

[Crazyfool01]

1 minute ago, parsonjack said:

''Please note, your registration numbers will be locked for up to 10 minutes if your details are entered incorrectly, an attempt to book is already held against your registration number, or your 5 minutes on the booking page ends. If the transaction fails and tickets are still available, your registration number will be released to give you the chance to try again.''

Re-reading it this locking thing for incorrect entry is odd....if it's referring to entry of reg number and postcode then how can it be an issue?  If I enter my number incorrectly and it's not found against my correctly entered postcode then surely it will just lock the incorrect number, and not the correct one?  There could be numerous reg numbers against a single postcode so it wouldn't be right to lock them all.

Is it actually referring to locking of reg numbers so that incorrectly entered payment details can be re-entered...or am I stating the obvious?

no ...I actually thought the same but didn't want to appear daft on this techy thread  

[Crazyfool01]

I think by the time we get to sales ...everything should be fine  get the panic out the way early 

[parsonjack]

6 minutes ago, Sasperella said:

With cookies, I've learnt from this forum that they can be quite bad, right? Thus it may be good to clear cache before the sale (or just during if you get white screen of death?)

But what if you've got tickets before. Could that mean that having cookies was good? I just wondered why my friends who get in seem to do so all the time, whereas others of us (me) have never got anywhere...

 

Cookies are a good thing in that they are needed to maintain your connection to whichever server is processing your transaction over successive pages.  That said it's probably a good idea to clear cache before the sake so you get fresh ones....bearing in mind you will probably get prompted first click to accept them.  They only become bad when there is a tech issue with the server to which they are pointing you....in which case closing the browser should clear the cookie and request a new one...which will hopefully then point you to an active server.

[vintagelaureate]

I genuinely don't know my verified by visa password - I did a test purchase last night and it went through showing verified by visa but no password request. My MasterCard does text me a code though.

Edited September 29, 2019 by vintagelaureate

[Crazyfool01]

having a couple of cards handy is worth doing ... as long as the funds are available  

[Summertime]

13 minutes ago, parsonjack said:

''Please note, your registration numbers will be locked for up to 10 minutes if your details are entered incorrectly, an attempt to book is already held against your registration number, or your 5 minutes on the booking page ends. If the transaction fails and tickets are still available, your registration number will be released to give you the chance to try again.''

Re-reading it this locking thing for incorrect entry is odd....if it's referring to entry of reg number and postcode then how can it be an issue?  If I enter my number incorrectly and it's not found against my correctly entered postcode then surely it will just lock the incorrect number, and not the correct one?  There could be numerous reg numbers against a single postcode so it wouldn't be right to lock them all.

Is it actually referring to locking of reg numbers so that incorrectly entered payment details can be re-entered...or am I stating the obvious?

What you’re saying makes sense and I’m not sure on the answer either. 

My concern is the bit that says ‘an attempt to book is already held against your registration number’ - as you may have made no errors but still have the locked issue. I’m sure our group didn’t put the details in incorrectly last year as we all had the same shared document to copy and paste from.  Hard to say for certain I guess as things can get crazy on ticket day. 

[Sasperella]

12 minutes ago, Summertime said:

What you’re saying makes sense and I’m not sure on the answer either. 

My concern is the bit that says ‘an attempt to book is already held against your registration number’ - as you may have made no errors but still have the locked issue. I’m sure our group didn’t put the details in incorrectly last year as we all had the same shared document to copy and paste from.  Hard to say for certain I guess as things can get crazy on ticket day. 

We know that bit is true though right? That's why you don't want someone to be in more than one group....because if an attempt has been made against their details everyone else gets locked out?

[parsonjack]

11 minutes ago, Summertime said:

What you’re saying makes sense and I’m not sure on the answer either. 

My concern is the bit that says ‘an attempt to book is already held against your registration number’ - as you may have made no errors but still have the locked issue. I’m sure our group didn’t put the details in incorrectly last year as we all had the same shared document to copy and paste from.  Hard to say for certain I guess as things can get crazy on ticket day. 

To be honest I think the whole statement is simply badly worded and that the 10 minute 'lock' is designed to make the process more efficient rather than to penalise anyone....preventing duplicate transactions against same reg numbers and allowing them to re-enter payment details if incorrect.

 

[Mardy]

7 minutes ago, parsonjack said:

To be honest I think the whole statement is simply badly worded and that the 10 minute 'lock' is designed to make the process more efficient rather than to penalise anyone....preventing duplicate transactions against same reg numbers and allowing them to re-enter payment details if incorrect.

 

Yeah I agree

"Please note, your registration numbers will be locked for up to 10 minutes if your details are entered incorrectly, an attempt to book is already held against your registration number, or your 5 minutes on the booking page ends"

seems to mean to me that if your number is already in use for a transaction you can't use it, which is the same as it's been up to now pretty much.

[Diamond24]

Sorry if this has been asked before.... I thought that last year it was a maximum of 4 in a group for the coach sale and 6 in a group for the main sale. However on the ticket page it says that there is a maximum of 6 for the coach sale. Is this correct and I'm just misremembering?