Hamilton Cancellation Line- Page 18
Hamilton Cancellation Line
#425Hamilton Cancellation Line
Posted: 3/12/16 at 11:25am
hcamille said: "Hey all, I've been keeping up with this thread for a few months but have never posted. Friend and I got in line this morning around 5am and I think we're 16/17 in line. First 6-7 people are line sitters with the exception of maybe one person.
Last night, we walked by after our evening show and the line sitters were already out around 10:45/11 pm.
My hopes aren't high for the matinee but we're likely sticking around for the evening.
"
Keep us updated & good luck!
#426Hamilton Cancellation Line
Posted: 3/12/16 at 11:33am
vdirects said: ""Sorry, vdirects, this would have happened with or without paid line sitters. MAYBE not quite as fast, but it still would have happened."
I agree with you so no need to "apologize,":
I wrote in comment #327:
"What's going to end up happening will be a "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" culture in which people will either try to beat the line sitters in line and push the start time up until people are lining up at midnight or even the night before (just wait until the summer), or everyone starts trying to hire line-sitters, thus encouraging this second market that uses the Richard Rodgers fairly priced tickets as a commodity they will use to fill their own pockets.
Updated On: 2/22/16 at 02:18 AM"
Yeah, it would have happened anyway, but the line sitters are in fact the reason it's happened so rapidly, considering several people who have arrived at 12 or 1 to find themselves 6 or 7 in line have said that the first several people in line are line sitters.
"
But the line sitters are hired by PEOPLE, it's not like line sitters just say "oh, I'll go sit at RR for 3 days ". You have disdain for the employees but not the employers. I get your frustration but I urge you to be mindful of the anger you're trying to generate bc it could lead to abuse of people who are only going to work. It's a legal business and you're free to find it unfair but they are already sitting outside for hours for not much $ IMO so just let it be. The sitters aren't doing anything but working
LinesittersRUS
Swing Joined: 3/12/16
#427Hamilton Cancellation Line
Posted: 3/12/16 at 11:35am
Hello we are J & W Linesitters!! WE will wait on the Hamilton Cancellation line for you!!!! This will give u a wonderful chance at getting into see the show. We strive to be at the front of the line for you! We will wait and swap out with you at anytime so you can buy your tickets or we can wait buy your tickets and you reimburse us for cost of tickets plus our linesitting fee. Please contact us thru linewaiters76@gmail.com for more info. We have over 10 years of experience working all different lines throughout the city. We know how to make our customers happy!
#428Hamilton Cancellation Line
Posted: 3/12/16 at 11:40am
Wow, this is incredible. I knew the show would do well, but this is beyond my wildest dreams.
Notadiva2
Swing Joined: 3/8/16
#429Hamilton Cancellation Line
Posted: 3/12/16 at 12:24pm
Hellob said: "But the line sitters are hired by PEOPLE, it's not like line sitters just say "oh, I'll go sit at RR for 3 days ". You have disdain for the employees but not the employers. I get your frustration but I urge you to be mindful of the anger you're trying to generate bc it could lead to abuse of people who are only going to work. It's a legal business and you're free to find it unfair but they are already sitting outside for hours for not much $ IMO so just let it be. The sitters aren't doing anything but working ."
Well said. And this is still a much more reasonable process than trying to get crazily priced resale tickets for the last row of the rear mezzanine. I'm wondering if the issue some have with the line-sitters is the exchange of money. Would they feel better if it was a college-aged nephew holding a place for a visiting aunt and uncle for 12 hours? Or if friends rotated in and out for each other? The result is the same and really it is no more "fair" because everyone doesn't have someone who can help them out like that. This situation is what it is. These folks are just trying to make some money and people are willing to pay them. At least this is a legitimate business; in DC, lawyers were paying homeless people to wait in Supreme Court lines a few years ago. That did not go over well.
vdirects
Stand-by Joined: 2/13/16
#430Hamilton Cancellation Line
Posted: 3/12/16 at 1:26pm
I outline exactly why I don't like line sitting earlier in the thread. I don't know the #
"But the line sitters are hired by PEOPLE, it's not like line sitters just say "oh, I'll go sit at RR for 3 days ""
But if it weren't for line sitters, these people would be getting in line at normal times, like 7, 6, maybe 5 or 4...2, 1, night before is ridiculous. It was bound to happen but line sitters have accelerated it.
#431Hamilton Cancellation Line
Posted: 3/12/16 at 1:41pm
More on the Friday night 3/11 line experience: I joined at 3am, a Task Rabbit was assigned at 2am and before him, a man joined the line at midnight for no other reason than to sell is his spot for $100. No one wanted it until noon when a gentleman struck up a convo with him and gave him $25 for the spot. The gentleman stood against the wall in his newly purchased lucky No 7 spot. About 30 minutes later, the two single tickets came up and the gentleman was the first to take one of the two and was on his way. $202 for 30 minutes. The line is becoming a game of luck and a gamble. So now it's hire a line sitter or buy a space in line who is doing it for this purpose. It's just getting crazy.
#432Hamilton Cancellation Line
Posted: 3/12/16 at 1:51pm
vdirects said: "I outline exactly why I don't like line sitting earlier in the thread. I don't know the #
"But the line sitters are hired by PEOPLE, it's not like line sitters just say "oh, I'll go sit at RR for 3 days ""But if it weren't for line sitters, these people would be getting in line at normal times, like 7, 6, maybe 5 or 4...2, 1, night before is ridiculous. It was bound to happen but line sitters have accelerated it.
The line sitters seem like can't leave from what I observed and wrote in post #424. They get their next line sitting assignment while on line the current line just as their clients are arriving. And as soon as their clients arrive and in line, they are back in the front of the line for the next day's cancellation tickets at 7pm
And I witnessed line spot selling so that's another form of paid line sitting.
Its just out of control and sad for the fans that truly take a day where they can tough it out like I did. Line sitters' clients generally want 2 tickets so easy to count 8 tickets if you see four in front. And if 11 tickets is all they have, then it's slim pickins.
Updated On: 3/12/16 at 01:51 PM
#433Hamilton Cancellation Line
Posted: 3/12/16 at 2:20pm
On Friday, 3/11 tickets were distributed in this order:
Man 1 (space 7 arrived at midnight and sold space at noon) single ticket at 12:30
Man 1 (space 11 arrived 8:30) single ticket at 12:30
Line sitter 1 (space 1 arrived at 7:00pm night before) pair of tickets at 7ish
Line sitter 2 (space 2 arrived at 7:00pm night before) single ticket at 7ish
Line sitter 3 (space 3 arrived at 7:00pm night before) pair of tickets bet 7-8
Line sitter 4 (space 4 arrived at 7:00pm night before) pair of tickets at 7-8
Father & Mother (space 5 arrived at 10pm night before) pair of tickets 8pm
Son & Daughter (space 6 arrived at 10pm night before) NO MORE TIX got parents tix above
Task Rabbit (space 8 arrived at 2am/swapped at 7am) NO MORE TIX
ME (space 9 arrived at 3am) NO MORE TIX
Updated On: 3/12/16 at 02:20 PM
Esgred
Understudy Joined: 1/11/16
#434Hamilton Cancellation Line
Posted: 3/12/16 at 2:43pm
"Best of luck to all the people who show actually show up for hours on the lines every night! Number 9 isn't bad! Just take whatever is offered!"
Do you know how many of the 11 sold were for $477 (premium) and how many were for the non-premium price? Thank you! :)
Esgred
Understudy Joined: 1/11/16
#435Hamilton Cancellation Line
Posted: 3/12/16 at 2:48pm
casedilla2 said: "You mean in the future the same seats through the cancellation line are going to cost more?? :/ That's concerning and upsetting."
Yes, the non-premium seats are not going to be selling for $177 anymore (if they haven't already gone up in price by today).
If I had to guess, I'd say that the new price is/will be $199, because that is what the upper box seats are being sold for at the box office right now. (The lower box sets {boxes A, B, C, and D} are being sold for $239 each right now at the box office.)
bfreak
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/6/11
#436Hamilton Cancellation Line
Posted: 3/12/16 at 3:04pm
But I thought that the cancellation line sold the ticket for whatever it would have costed when someone bought a ticket for that date. Thus they shouldn't be more than $177 until like July.
#437Hamilton Cancellation Line
Posted: 3/12/16 at 4:07pm
"Do you know how many of the 11 sold were for $477 (premium) and how many were for the non-premium price? Thank you! :)"
That information I don't have. I know the parents paid $177, the singles were $177 as well. I asked to look at the coveted ticket and we all oooohed and aaaaaahed over it! LOL! I don't know what the line sitters clients paid. I wouldn't ask the clients because I never had a chance to build a rapport with them over looooong hours on line like with everyone else. I would assume they were not premium, the clients didn't pass on them. After paying what I calculated $465 in line sitting fees, if a premium ticket came up, it's still cheaper than a scalper's ticket.
At at the point of exhaustion I was at, if Premium tickets came out that were passed up, I would have taken them to get off the line! Too exhausting!
I looked at at the sitters IG page and it stated that for today, Sat 3/12 it was 5:25 am there were 20 people in line and they have slots 1, 2, 5, 6, & 7. One and Two I saw set up with my own eyes after 7pm for a fact! But what happened to lady No 5???? Did she claim spot Number 4? Or hire No 5? LOL! 5, 6 and 7 definitely set up after the cancellation line broke away at 8:10pm
"
Updated On: 3/13/16 at 04:07 PM
jared123
Chorus Member Joined: 3/2/16
#438Hamilton Cancellation Line
Posted: 3/12/16 at 8:12pm
Wow! This escalated super fast. I now feel lucky i only had to line up at 2:30AM the other day and was 1st. There was only one line sitter on Tuesday.
hes16
Stand-by Joined: 2/6/16
#439Hamilton Cancellation Line
Posted: 3/12/16 at 8:35pm
Today was a success!! After getting there at 2 am and being 11th in line (my dad was 12th). We got tickets...but it was pretty complicated. My dad and I each wanted to tickets, but being 11th and 12th in line would not help that, so we ended up buying two rear mezz row b seats to secure at least two of us seeing the show. At around 1, the first couple in the line were offered two tickets to I think orchestra center row H. They hired a line sitter to wait for them the night before into the morning. At around 1:10, everyone in front of us was offered a single ticket, orchestra center row g, which ended up being offered to us because all the parties before us were either line sitters who needed two or couples that didn't want to separate. I believe closer to 1:30-1:40 that two other couples received seats. My dad was then offered SRO at 2, making the total number of tickets sold at the matinee cancellation line 8. Lukcily, all four members of my family were able to see the show!! I'm not exactly sure about what happened in the evening, but the people who were behind us did not have tickets at 7:45 pm.
cascade
Chorus Member Joined: 4/30/15
#440Hamilton Cancellation Line
Posted: 3/12/16 at 11:08pm
hes16, my group was a few people behind you. Everyone in the line was very happy your whole family got in, in fact a cheer rose when your dad snuck in last minute!
No dice for us. I accompanied two friends from out of town, thankfully they had already seen the show earlier this week. I've seen it more than once so I was not hell bent on getting a ticket. They showed up at 5 am, I showed up around 9 am. We decided to stick through for the evening show since the line had moved up quite a bit after the matinee, but there were still three people ahead of us who didn't get tickets either by the time the evening show rolled around.
What I find annoying about the line sitting practice is I don't get why these clients don't just buy resale tickets. They're spending at least $400+ to have the line sitters camp out from 8pm through the night-- two of the line sitters were already set up again immediately to the front of the line when we left at 8:15ish. One guy actually paid for a line sitter who'd been there since the previous evening, got impatient and bought two $350 tickets which turned out to be a scam, then him and his wife got in through the line. Trying to do the math makes me think they must have spent somewhere around $1500 when all was said and done. He easily could've bought two resale tickets through Ticketmaster and avoided the hassle.
It's a shame since accessibility to this show is already very limited for those without big funds. Basically rich people have hijacked the cancellation line with the line sitters. I'm not saying it's unfair, per se, it's not technically breaking any rules, but it does truly suck for those who have no other way.
Updated On: 3/12/16 at 11:08 PM
hcamille
Swing Joined: 3/12/16
#441Hamilton Cancellation Line
Posted: 3/12/16 at 11:42pm
An update for today's line - didn't get in for the matinee at 16/17ish in line, but we were feeling optimistic about the evening until we realized the 6-7 line sitters at the very front rejected matinee tickets because they were there exclusively for evening tickets.
The line sitters' replacements showed up maybe an hour or so before showtime. I know everyone has varying opinions on the line sitters, but it's infuriating to see people who didn't put in the time or work - just the money - in front of you after a long day. Why not just buy overpriced scalped tickets and be guaranteed a seat instead of paying a line sitter the same amount of money for a chance at getting cancellation tickets?? It makes no sense. For the hours of time people are going to start paying line sitters, the price isn't going to be much different between a scalped ticket and a line sitter's hourly rate + the actual ticket price.
Everyone who had a line sitter got in for the evening show. Out of the regular people who lined up, I think only three (a couple and half a couple) got in for the evening.
All things considered, my friends and I have all seen the show (I've seen it twice now and have tickets for June). It was less about feeling sorry for ourselves and more frustrated at what it's turned into. In September, I was first in line for a Saturday after showing up at around 7am, I think. I'm not a New Yorker and I have tickets for June, so this won't impact me anymore and I'll likely never try cancellation line again. But it makes me feel for the people who are still just trying to see the show with its phenomenal original cast.
#442Hamilton Cancellation Line
Posted: 3/12/16 at 11:44pm
cascade said: "hes16, my group was a few people behind you. Everyone in the line was very happy your whole family got in, in fact a cheer rose when your dad snuck in last minute!
No dice for us. I accompanied two friends from out of town, thankfully they had already seen the show earlier this week. I've seen it more than once so I was not hell bent on getting a ticket. They showed up at 5 am, I showed up around 9 am. We decided to stick through for the evening show since the line had moved up quite a bit after the matinee, but there were still three people ahead of us who didn't get tickets either by the time the evening show rolled around.
What I find annoying about the line sitting practice is I don't get why these clients don't just buy resale tickets. They're spending at least $400+ to have the line sitters camp out from 8pm through the night-- two of the line sitters were already set up again immediately to the front of the line when we left at 8:15ish. One guy actually paid for a line sitter who'd been there since the previous evening, got impatient and bought two $350 tickets which turned out to be a scam, then him and his wife got in through the line. Trying to do the math makes me think they must have spent somewhere around $1500 when all was said and done. He easily could've bought two resale tickets through Ticketmaster and avoided the hassle.
It's a shame since accessibility to this show is already very limited for those without big funds. Basically rich people have hijacked the cancellation line with the line sitters. I'm not saying it's unfair, per se, it's not technically breaking any rules, but it does truly suck for those who have no other way.
"
You can't get 2 prime orchestra seats on resale for $1500. $1500 each might not even be enough. Eta how did the guy get scammed? He bought tickets while waiting in line off cl?
Updated On: 3/12/16 at 11:44 PM
#443Hamilton Cancellation Line
Posted: 3/12/16 at 11:51pm
You can't get 2 prime orchestra seats on resale for $1500. $1500 each might not even be enough.
I just got 2 very good orchestra seats for the first post Tony performance for $750 each. It can absolutely be done, especially if you're doing it the day of the performance. Prices go down as curtain approaches.
Updated On: 3/12/16 at 11:51 PM#444Hamilton Cancellation Line
Posted: 3/12/16 at 11:52pm
hcamille said: "An update for today's line - didn't get in for the matinee at 16/17ish in line, but we were feeling optimistic about the evening until we realized the 6-7 line sitters at the very front rejected matinee tickets because they were there exclusively for evening tickets.
The line sitters' replacements showed up maybe an hour or so before showtime. I know everyone has varying opinions on the line sitters, but it's infuriating to see people who didn't put in the time or work - just the money - in front of you after a long day. Why not just buy overpriced scalped tickets and be guaranteed a seat instead of paying a line sitter the same amount of money for a chance at getting cancellation tickets?? It makes no sense. For the hours of time people are going to start paying line sitters, the price isn't going to be much different between a scalped ticket and a line sitter's hourly rate + the actual ticket price.
Everyone who had a line sitter got in for the evening show. Out of the regular people who lined up, I think only three (a couple and half a couple) got in for the evening.
All things considered, my friends and I have all seen the show (I've seen it twice now and have tickets for June). It was less about feeling sorry for ourselves and more frustrated at what it's turned into. In September, I was first in line for a Saturday after showing up at around 7am, I think. I'm not a New Yorker and I have tickets for June, so this won't impact me anymore and I'll likely never try cancellation line again. But it makes me feel for the people who are still just trying to see the show with its phenomenal original cast.
"
If you play a line sitter $20/hr that's $240 for 12 hours and $350 for the tickets. That's way cheaper than resale. People are asking $1500 to $5000 for a center orchestra and that doesn't include fees. Even hiring for 24 hours is a better investment than resale. That's just the truth.
#445Hamilton Cancellation Line
Posted: 3/12/16 at 11:54pm
SDV said: "You can't get 2 prime orchestra seats on resale for $1500. $1500 each might not even be enough.
I just got 2 very good orchestra seats for the first post Tony performance for $750 each. It can absolutely be done, especially if you're doing it the day of the performance. Prices go down as curtain approaches.
"
You must have found the unicorn. There's a rare person who just wants their money back but they are few and far between.
#446Hamilton Cancellation Line
Posted: 3/13/16 at 12:03am
Honestly I check stubhub almost daily. Unless you want to be second row center there are lots of tickets at that price. And $750 each is not just making your money back. These are $177 seats.
cascade
Chorus Member Joined: 4/30/15
#447Hamilton Cancellation Line
Posted: 3/13/16 at 12:05am
>>You can't get 2 prime orchestra seats on resale for $1500. $1500 each might not even be enough. Eta how did the guy get scammed? He bought tickets while waiting in line off cl?
You actually can get resale orch tickets for less than that. We were checking both Ticketmaster and Stubhub as the clock ticked down the prices dropped into the $500 range for orch seats, even in the $400s if I recall correctly. The price drops started around two hours before the show, maybe.
I'm not sure where he bought the scam tickets from. He had a printout of two tickets he bought and his line sitter advised him to see if they were legit at the box office. He came back and said they didn't scan, the line sitter asked how much he paid, he said $350.
The woman behind him-- unrelated-- then requested to try the fake tickets herself, for some reason I can't fathom. She came back a minute later. Oh, and this woman had hired THREE separate line sitters for her family of six, who had all been out there since midnight at least. On top of that she ended up buying three of those family members resale tickets anyway. I can't begin to imagine how much it cost her. This wasn't some big family out-of-towner vacation either, she said she had seen the show before already.
Updated On: 3/13/16 at 12:05 AM#448Hamilton Cancellation Line
Posted: 3/13/16 at 12:09am
To pay for the post Tony tix we sold two we bought at cost for $550 each for the week before. We weren't even the lowest price for our date and it took them a month to sell.
Esgred
Understudy Joined: 1/11/16
#449Hamilton Cancellation Line
Posted: 3/13/16 at 9:32am
"If you play a line sitter $20/hr that's $240 for 12 hours and $350 for the tickets. That's way cheaper than resale. People are asking $1500 to $5000 for a center orchestra and that doesn't include fees. Even hiring for 24 hours is a better investment than resale. That's just the truth."
If you are buying two center orchestra seats in the "cancellation line" it will not cost you $350! (They will cost you $477 each.)
Updated On: 3/13/16 at 09:32 AMVideos