[CosmicShadow]

As someone who has been saving my ticket stubs for 20+ years I was very frustrated by the disappearance of physical tickets. I paid the extra fee to have them mailed to me, but eventually that went away. Printed emails are not the same.

I eventually figured out how to make the most realistic replica ticket stubs possible to add to my ticket stub album. I spent several thousands dollars on professional printers and real stock as well as months building my own software to customize and print tickets, all to scratch my own itch. Now my collection continues to grow with the 20 or so shows I go to every year and I've helped over 16,000+ people do the same with my website https://stubforge.com, which I'm now lucky enough to run full time.

A lot of people don't get it, and that's ok, but for those that do, they really get it.

People buy our tickets to give as gifts (because it's not easy to do anymore in a non-awkward or non-art project fashion), to add to their collections, to frame with posters, to use as surprise proposals, to invite people to their weddings, to announce their pregnancies and more things I never would have imagined when I started.

There are people that do miss ephemera. Even if you don't look at it that often, it's something precious to you. It doesn't matter if your kids will get it or just chuck it, it's there for you to enjoy and remember in the fashion that you want to.

[sho_hn]

I definitely do get it, as someone with a (loose and not organized) physical ticket collection. That said, I think it's partly the authentic object I'm attached to. While I'm absolutely amazed at the length you went to create facsimiles, I'm not sure a recreation does it for me.

That said, I think it's a nifty gift idea to create e.g. fake tickets to your birthday party or something.

[CosmicShadow]

I've got a stub binder that started having print outs of tickets in it or post-it notes. When I would go back to see what I've been to and get a burst of nostalgia, I'd just get mad at the lack of ticket instead of the good memory. Having one that looks and feels like the real thing let me move on from that.

There are a lot of folks who feel like the object obtains some "magical aura" by physically being at a concert with you, and that's ok, but for me, it's just a way to remember the show and keep track of everything I've been to. I go to enough shows that a single ticket isn't like a massive special memento, which may be the case for the person who goes to like one show a year.

Gifting is huge for us as well as parties, retirements, anniversaries, you name it!

[CRConrad]

> There are a lot of folks who feel like the object obtains some "magical aura" by physically being at a concert with you

Or at an Arnold Braunschweiger action movie.

[beng-nl]

Wow, I must say, what a great business idea (even though the business aspect may have been accidental And I’m not in the target audience personally) and how well-deserved the success is, given such an authentic origin. Best of luck to you!

[CosmicShadow]

Thanks, I appreciate it! After many startups and business ventures to not get anywhere, it was nice to have one finally hit, and one that I actually care about too!

[madaxe_again]

I don’t get it.

Isn’t the point of an experience… the experience?

Not to be able to have evidence that you were there? Even if you weren’t?

I feel like the whole thing is like some kind of cognitive hangover - “this ticket is important and I must not lose it before the show” turns into “I can never, ever dispose of this piece of paper”.

[robertlagrant]

I understand. I struggle to get rid of things, not because I like the stuff, but because I don't have a great memory, and things are what trigger memories for me.

[CosmicShadow]

The point of an experience is totally about the experience, it's why I don't even take my phone out to take pictures or videos at a show. People get hung up thinking this is about "proving" you were at a show, they even get surprisingly angry in comments about this on my ads, but it's totally not the point.

This has nothing to do with the actual concert experience or proof, it has to do with your tradition of collecting ticket stubs that you can go back to for that nostalgia bump and/or to keep track of every event you went to. It's about having a jar/box/album of memories.

If you've been collecting for 20 years and suddenly someone takes away your ability to add to your collection, you are going to get pissed off, and trust me, people definitely do.

Sure you can do anything else to collect, but the power of a streak/tradition/collection is real. It drove me to create this entire business because looking at a printed email or post-it note just made me mad instead of nostalgic.

Going through my binder and remembering that I saw Nine Inch Nails at a 1000 person venue is awesome, or when we saw Sabaton with 40 people and the singer just came into the audience to put his arm around me while singing, and it's not like I'm going to stop going to 10-30 concerts a year for the rest of my life, so more cool things will happen, memories will need to be preserved and it's nice to have them all fit into one album instead of anything else. I've got tickets for shows I've forgotten I've even seen, but it's in there with the mix which is handy. Forgotten venues, crazy low prices, "holy shit this massive band opened for these guys back then???".

Some people see tickets as trash and clutter, that's fine, for others it's a precious memento, despite how useless, wasteful, or unnecessary it is. I've got room for junk in my house that's meaningful for me, so it doesn't bother me to have, quite the opposite.

[bfdm]

The token, whatever it is, is a cue or an index card for those experiences and memories. I have a few stashes of old concert tickets and others in scattered drawers, pockets and containers. Stumbling on one is a great rush of memories, and I move it to the aggregated collection.

We really lost something with Print At Home tickets, it's just garbage afterwards, not a permanent thing tied to that event.

I love this idea and want to backfill some select tickets into my bucket of memory cues.

[diegolas]

you could say the same about taking a picture of a special moment, it's a souvenir, people have been keeping things that remind them of past experiences since like forever

[dfxm12]

There are a lot of ways to produce a souvenir. This means that tickets, specifically, are unimportant.

To go back to the GP post, why buy a fake ticket for this reason when you can print a real photo, buy official merch, etc.?

[CosmicShadow]

Well if you've got a pile of ticket stubs that you've been collecting for 20 years and suddenly you can't keep that tradition alive, it kind of ticks you off. Sure you can start adding printed photos or something else, but it ruins your consistent collection and/or your streak.

I specifically have a ticket stub binder and seeing blank spots, or print outs or post it notes just made me mad instead of nostalgic. I can't shove tour posters or tshirts in there, so this was the solution for me. I have over 200 band tshirts, but I don't buy one at every show.

Never discount the power of a streak or continuing a tradition or collection. I just talked to a guy the other day whose jar of ticket stubs is his prized collection, even if he never opens it to reflect. Some people go to one concert every few years, others go to shows and games every week.

[madaxe_again]

I guess this is why cigarette cards were a thing.

[nulbyte]

Yes, the experience is the point. But the memory afterward can be just powerful. Visual and tactical stimuli can enhance the memory of the experience, long after it occurred.

[emptiestplace]

Yeah. Interesting territory, discussing this.