KAABOO is sold out, but you want tickets. FlipTix to the rescue

The fifth annual edition of KAABOO Del Mar officially sold out Friday morning, just hours before the 2 p.m. kick-off time for the upscale, three-day “experiential” music, comedy, art, cuisine and libations festival.

But there is still an option to legally purchase tickets on-site at the marathon event, which takes place at the Del Mar Racetrack and adjacent fairgrounds and this year features such acts as Mumford & Sons, the Dave Matthews Band, Sheryl Crow and Snoop Dogg.

For the second year in a row, Orange County’s FlipTix — an official partner of KAABOO — is offering early-departing and late-arriving attendees the chance to sell and buy two-day and three-day tickets for the festival at a discounted rate.

In essence, KAABOO attendees are “flipping” their tickets, hence the FlipTix moniker. The company re-sells two-day and three-day general Hang Loose passes and two-day and three-day Hang Five VIP passes, with prices discounted and pro-rated to reflect the remaining unused time on each KAABOO pass.

“We don’t buy or resell KAABOO’s Hang Ten and Ultimate Hang VIP passes because those require photo I.D.,” said FlipTix CEO Jaime Siegel, a former Sony executive who is on the Board of Trustees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

“People who sell us their Hang Loose and Hang Five wristbands share in (resale) revenues with us and KAABOO. The price for sellers and buyers is dependent on the specific time and demand. Our general model is that pricing declines over the passing of time. Until we came along, the only option people had was scalping and the black market.”

Where other resale companies, such as the eBay-owned StubHub, are predicated on tickets being sold and resold prior to the events they are for taking place, FlipTix appears to be the only company whose business model is predicated on buying and sell tickets after events have started.

And only FlipTix is allowed by KAABOO to circumvent the festival’s rules, which state: “Wristbands for all three days of KAABOO cannot be sold after removed. All removed wristbands are voided. If a wristband has been tampered with, it will be void.”

Because the microchip-equipped wristbands are non-transferable and re-entry is not allowed, a FlipTix employee cuts off the wristbands of departing festival-goers and the chips are destroyed. New wristbands are then issued.

“FlipTix is absolutely part of our guest service program,” said Jason Felts, KAABOO’s chief marketing and brand officer. “We recognize that our guests are adults and have responsibilities, be it church or taking their kids to a soccer game. So we like to give them freedom of choice and the ability to flip their ticket if they need to leave early. FlipTix worked very well for us last year, and we’re glad to have them back.”

Early-departing KAABOO attendees who sell their wristbands to FlipTix are compensated with electronic funds the week after the festival concludes.

Festival attendees who want to use FlipTix to buy or sell can register in advance at fliptix.com. Or they can do so in person at the FlipTix booths, which are next to the KAABOO box office at the Del Mar fairgrounds and at the Uber drop-off point.

The process has been streamlined from last year, when FlipTix-users had to click on their FlipTix app as they were leaving the festival and then turn in their wristbands. This year, they can simply go to the FlipTix booths and turn in their wristbands.

Either way, the savings can be significant, said company co-founder Siegel, who notes that FlipTix this year expanded to eight other festivals, including KAABOO Texas.

“Last year, by Saturday evening, two-day Hang Five VIP tickets could be bought for $200 (a nearly 50 percent discount),” he said.

“On day one of KAABOO last year, we were flipping three-day Hang Five VIP tickets for $600, whereas the full original price was close to $1,000.”