Hamilton Cancellation Line — Page 22

I know. That family is my family! They tried to go three times last week and even after waiting 22 hours on the third try, only two of them got in.

NO WAY!  Your family?  They were so nice and pleasant.  Glad the kids got in!

I've done the cancellation line a few times, starting back in September. Not once has there ever been a maximum of 2 tickets per person

I'm not a Cancellation Line veteran, but now it MAX two tickets.  And it has to be a pair.  If they come out with two single tickets, I don't think you can say "I'll take them!"--correct me if I'm wrong anyone--please and thank you!

It was not a problem at all. It's only become a problem since linesitters started this chaos.

I don't think the it's their fault, they do put someone who is willing to wait 17 hours on line in a very handicap position.  It's a problem of supply, demand & desire.  When the Hamiton intrigue hit me, I looked on StubHub in early February for tickets.  Wanted to go for my birthday in April and thought $290 per ticket in the rear mezz was insane.  Hamiton Grammy performance on TV passed and that week when I decided YES!  I wanna be in the room where it happens, I go and look and the same date, same seats they were now $480 per ticket.  (close jaw)

How does this "rule" work exactly? Who's keeping track of who arrives, how many people, and when? 

We self-police basically.  We know who got there when and for how many tickets they are vying for.

What if when it comes down to a minute before showtime, the two people in front of you say they've both been there since 7 am? 

That would ensue a melee, They'll be sure to get a beat down!  LOL! 

Updated On: 3/15/16 at 04:43 PM

Haven’t done the Ham line, but have done Shakespeare in the Park a number of times and it sounds similar. People in these lines have been there for so many hours that everyone absolutely knows who was where in the line, who arrived late, who tried to cut the line, etc. Self policing works remarkably well when people have been sitting on a public sidewalk together during ungodly hours of the morning.

 

We can't beat the bots online and we can only try to beat the sitters in line. 

At least one has a chance against the sitters to actually get  ticket at Face Value and invest in nothing but the ticket.  Can never ever get a face value ticket trying to beat the bots.

I think in the end that is all we have in common here.  We all want that golden ticket direct from the box office into our hands with no middle man.  But the playing field isn't level so we all share our stories and experiences to educate one another with tips and times and one will know if they want to go the sitter route or not, or choose to be stationed in line or not.  

In the end, the fan is the one who always loses (crying face!)

Updated On: 3/15/16 at 05:38 PM

Cutting through the Marriott Marquis breezeway tonight at 9:45 and there were Same Old Line Dudes representatives actively peddling their services. They said "looking for Hamilton tickets?" and were handing out cards. There were about 4 people on line already, two in Same Old... tents and this was before tonight's show had even ended. wow.

Like Franklin BBQ put it (I like how someone on this thread called it 'a restaurant', it's almost as popular in Austin as Hamilton is here), it's not in the spirit of their philosophy to allow strangers to wait in line for their food and game the system. That's what line sitters do. I agree that line sitting is no different than scalping, and like other people have said, gives no guarantee that you're even getting in, whereas at least a scalped ticket usually does. Lin discourages scalpers and he should discourage line sitters, too. It's not in Hamilton's best interest to have any stain on them before the Tonys.

Either way, no one's mind is getting changed here, but I firmly believe the Richard Rodgers needs to step in and, at the VERY least, post the rules to the line (which keep changing according to the Worst Line Monitor Ever's whims) publicly. If you're not going to ban line sitters, you have to have the same rules applied equally to everyone. If normal people buying tickets can't resell without Line Monitor threatening to ban my kind, nice mother trying to give her tickets to her friend from out of town at the back of the line, then line sitters can't, either. Period.

Updated On: 3/16/16 at 12:44 AM

thomaspaine said: "Like Franklin BBQ put it (I like how someone on this thread called it 'a restaurant', it's almost as popular in Austin as Hamilton is here), 

"

Lol, I'm the one who said that. I lived in Austin for 10 years and go back every year and guess what? I don't wait AT ALL bc my BFF and I know people and she's super hot. That's how life works, so you can wait all day for brisket while we text someone that we are coming and we get right in. Btw, I'm not arguing BBQ with you but there are a few other establishments that are in the same league but only one Hamilton so franklins isn't "as big" as Hamilton and you can't relate Austin values to NYC. It's a totally different culture. 

I think the next logical event in the evolution of the cancellation line is for the line sitters to raise their hourly price.   Once the major line sitter entities are overwhelmed with reservations (which they are moving toward quickly) they may raise their hourly rates to $30/hour.  That will generate another 10 pages of comments on this thread.  Maybe it will be $40/hour by July, who knows.  

 

As it is now, working 5 days a week and taking their percentage of the total hourly rate (I assume the company takes a percentage off the top) along with tips, I am guessing the individual line sitters are on track to earn at least $30,000.00/year ..... and with questionable incentive to self report their earnings for taxes.  

 

The only thing I think that could prevent a price increase is if a bunch of random people start to offer line sitting services, as has just barely begun to occur.  They are new, inexperienced and potentially less trust worthy than the more reputable companies, so they will have to undercut the price of the more expensive services.  I am not a business person, but this is really interesting economics!

MyFavoriteBrunette said: "I thought I just needed to get to the line as close to the line sitters as I possibly could.  Come to find the man that arrived at midnight was there for the sole purpose of selling his #7 space.  So the random services are out there already and yes, the plot thickens!"

 

Wow. People selling the spots they are sitting in is definitely the next level in my opinion. I'm not interested in sitting in line or hiring a sitter but I'm curious - do the Same Old Line Dudes guarantee tickets? I only ask because they were hawking their service as people who were selling tickets not spot holding. 

JPeterman said: "I think the next logical event in the evolution of the cancellation line is for the line sitters to raise their hourly price.   Once the major line sitter entities are overwhelmed with reservations (which they are moving toward quickly) they may raise their hourly rates to $30/hour.  That will generate another 10 pages of comments on this thread.  Maybe it will be $40/hour by July, who knows.  

 

As it is now, working 5 days a week and taking their percentage of the total hourly rate (I assume the company takes a percentage off the top) along with tips, I am guessing the individual line sitters are on track to earn at least $30,000.00/year ..... and with questionable incentive to self report their earnings for taxes.  

 

The only thing I think that could prevent a price increase is if a bunch of random people start to offer line sitting services, as has just barely begun to occur.  They are new, inexperienced and potentially less trust worthy than the more reputable companies, so they will have to undercut the price of the more expensive services.  I am not a business person, but this is really interesting economics!

 

"

I personally would pay more for the only LLC company because of the small chance of something going wrong, you have recourse. I wouldn't feel ok giving money to a stranger who wasn't licensed. What can you really do if they run off? I know the other guy posts/advertises his services but I'm only going with the guy who has a website, his name and face everywhere, etc because the odds of issues dwindle. Good luck if you try fly by night, hope they don't fly with your money! Lol

nicolecrowne said: "Hi all! I’m heading to New York in summer, end of June early July-ish (coming over from Sydney!!)  and i'm starting to get worried! 

 

I would expect it to get worse because of warm weather, vacations, school breaks, Tony awards, BUT anything could happen between now and your trip. The theater could change the way they distribute these tickets. Line sitters could be banned. The police could decide to disperse the line during the overnight hours. A gas leak could demolish the theater. Not saying any of this is likely, but there is a lot that could change between now and then.

 

I would suggest checking back in with the board as your visit gets closer; the information here is reliable and current. I made very last-minute changes to my plans based on information on this board. As to buying resale tickets -- that's kind of a gamble. Right now, the resale tickets available for that time period aren't as obscenely priced as the ones for this month, so buying now could be a good option. After the Tonys, those prices will most likely rise. There's always the last minute gambit, hoping that as it gets closer to showtime on the day you want to go, that prices drop because these people want to get rid of them.

 

So that was probably not the definitive answer you were looking for, but I hope it wasn't totally useless.

If you want to see the show and can afford the resale price just get a ticket now.  I live in Atlanta and will be in NYC this weekend for a half marathon.  I debated whether or not I should spend the money on a resale ticket and in the end I realized it was going to be way cheaper for me to just pay for a resale ticket compared to getting a ticket for a future when it went on sale, pay for another airline ticket and hotel.  I also don't want to spend what little time I have in NYC in line.  With the craziness that has happened since the Grammys I could probably sell my ticket now for twice what I paid for it!

Walked past the theater this morning at about 8:15. It appears that they have moved the line to the right side of the entrance.  Last week it was going through the Marriott breezeway so wonder if they made them move it?

uncageg said: "Walked past the theater this morning at about 8:15. It appears that they have moved the line to the right side of the entrance.  Last week it was going through the Marriott breezeway so wonder if they made them move it?

 

"Maybe because the line had been blocking an active driveway?"  I know we had to move out chairs quite a few times when I was in line to allow for the SUV and motorcycle that needed access.