I think initially it stemmed from people wanting the currency to island hop to search for specific villagers. From there, people wanted them to save up to buy the villagers the former people were selling. And from there, people started using them as currency for most things so having 600 tickets from an auction means...you got some to island hop, you got some to trade on Cranny for whatever (flowers, diys, etc), you got some for turnip entry fees..so on. So, I think it's a mix of using it for all purposes for most people now.
I don't have any use for tickets unless to trade to someone requiring them. But, I have enough miles to just buy as I need so I don't really try to get them from others. I prefer IGB.
I have dabbled into NMTs, either selling them to get bells or trying to get them since it's "in"
But it does seem like some people really do island hop like CRAZY looking for their dream villagers or someone expensive.
Some don't like taking the risk of random villagers taking up plots.
There are also some who use NMTs because they prefer it over bells bc it's easier to pocket a bunch of tickets rather than making multiple trips to give someone 5mil+ in bells (multiple trips = scary cause scammers)
Mostly to island hunt for dreamies. I'm at 8/10 dreamies right now, but may end up rotating every so often 1 or 2 once I'm at my "ideal" 10. Island hunting and finding villagers is one of my favorite parts of this game by farrrr. Gonna be hard for me to stop after getting my perfect 10.
I personally don’t get it either. I think people use them to track down dreamies on the island. I don’t have the patience or inclination for that. I maybe use one or two tickets a week traveling to an island to strip mine it for resources and I can sustain that myself. I have a much bigger and greater need of bells for bridges, slopes and building relocations than I have for NMTs.
Edit: I also think it has something to do with the dupping that went on when the game was first released. A lot of people ended up with “dirty” bells because of this. However NMTs couldn’t be dupped or affected so it’s perhaps seen as a stronger currency?
I personally don't feel the need or desire for that many NMTs. I don't have an online membership right now, but when I get one, I plan to either do fair trades or trade with IGB or TBT.
I have 2 dreamies I can't get via amiibo or easily, Sherb and Reneigh. So thats why I kinda want the tickets. Also because I find bells kinda useless. I play the stalk market and its so fun to finally cash in on investments and earn the money yourself. So what can i use as payment instead? Tickets or tbt if I'm on this site.
I trade on other sites like discord too and it seems many of the traders want tickets. Hence why I usually prefer tickets too. Because the tickets have a lot of trade value to 90% of traders. People almost always accept tickets which lead them to being the most popular currency.
I don't like it myself, but its not like I can change the market. I think the only way it'll change is if Nintendo changes the way nook islands work or new amiibos come out.
