Originally Posted by fuzebox

Once and a while I get an offer from a sponsor for a free badge, sometimes too late, after I already paid for it. I've been pretty lucky in terms of free badges, but I still end up paying for some shows every year (nevermind that I travel with my wife and friends, not all 4-6 of us get free badges every show).

My point though was that a lot of people do pay for the badges every time, and I don't see the value, or a reason why I should continue going to shows.