After purchasing tickets from many different events, I've noticed different ticketing system and their pros and cons.
-----
1. The "Free-for-all" System
The second the tickets go on sale, millions of requests hit the server for a response back, in hopes that they get a response and then they proceed to the checkout page.
Pros:
Easiest (read: nothing) to set up. That's pretty much it.
Flaws:
Unless you have a server system set up to handle load, it's going to crash, hard. Clever users will figure out their POST request and write a script to bombard your server in hopes of getting a ticket.
2. The "Outsource" System
Instead of hosting the servers and problems yourself, why not give them to another party? Buying tickets actually redirects you to Ticketmaster or any of the corrupted ticket merchants, where they have servers set up to handle the load.
Pros:
Pretty easy to set-up. No extra load on your server so it handles pretty nicely.
Flaws:
You have to deal with 3rd party's rules and additional cuts/fees. Ticketmaster doesn't exactly have the best reputation due to it's "printing fees" and other additional incurred costs. I believe you lose a big cut as well, but I'm not sure.
3. The "Queue" System
Similar to the Free-for-all system except each request puts you into a queue, where the order is processed in the order you request. The Queue system seems to be the most popular right now with EDC 2013 and PAX Prime using it.
Pros:
Eliminates clients overflowing the server with the same request, as it doesn't benefit them in any way to make additional requests.
Flaws:
You have to deal with potential time-out errors (like I just did) and clients just sitting and waiting for their turn. Not very interactive and leaves a very bad experience.
4. The "Don't you worry" System
Swedish House Mafia popularized this after releasing their One Last Tour date (note that it's singular) in SF. The tickets were sold out in about 5 minutes, leaving many people angry and mad. What better way to increase revenue than to open more dates in SF? SHM ended up releasing 4 additional tour dates in SF, from Wednesday to Sunday. More chances to get tickets, and overall more happy people.
This incremental system is very similar to how "early-bird", "general", and "last-minute" tickets are sold, the only difference being that it's for one event rather than five.
Pros:
Gave people a better chance to get tickets by having more windows of opportunity.
Flaws:
Insulted people who "won" the ticketing system for the initial sale by watering down the event with 4 more events.
-----
I came up with a theoretical fifth system which combines the above preexisting systems. I call it:
5. The "Incremental Queue" System
It combines the queue system with the incremental release system. Instead of one giant queue for the entire set of tickets, we have a queue for smaller subsets so people who don't hound Twitter have a better chance of securing a ticket.
Pros:
More chances to get into an early queue means more of fair chance. It's less reliant on having solid internet connection, a fast browser, and so forth.
Flaws:
Requires people to pay attention for however long there are subsets there are. I can't think of any real flaws.
-----
Let me know what you think!
