The Aftermarket Ticket Racket

#1
crusse10

crusse10

THIS MAN IS A PERVERT
Joined
Apr 28, 2008
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#1
Does this annoy anyone else as much as it annoys me? Feels like the dickbags who buy up all the popular toys at Christmas just to make easy money off parents who love their kids.
 
#2
#2
Yes - My brother paid 450 for 2 Paul McCartney tix for this Sat at Busch Stadium from an Ebayer - my daughter was upset last week because something she wanted from Japan sold out in less than 5 seconds ( I think there was 100 available and she hit the purchase button the exact time it was released, oh and it claimed a limit of 1 per address, really ?) About an hour later some crook on Ebay had 3 for triple the price
 
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#3
#3
My tickets to the A&M game had almost $100 in fees total. 2 tickets at $159 each ended up being over $400 total.
 
#4
#4
Well, according to Stubhub the Appy State game won't be sold out.

As for the concert tickets stuff. Yes, it's ridiculous. It's become a real problem.
 
#5
#5
They do provide a service. No different than you throwing someone some cash to stand in line for you. And while you do pay a premium, at least they are on the market and available. If just 'the fans' got all the tickets, you wouldn't even have the option to attend after it sells out.

However, I do think Ticketmaster's racket is mind boggling. How they are allowed to do what they do is just amazing. And it's not helping 'the fans' at all. Click buy a minute after an on-sale and their secondary tickets are all that's available at inflated prices. I just see having both at the same point of purchase being a conflict of interest and shady when it's happening that fast.
 
#6
#6
It goes both ways, really. I just got four good field level seats for Sunday's game at Dodger Stadium for nearly half off face value. My guess is it's a season ticket holder that only goes to so many games and puts the rest up for a cut rate (which is still more than their per game rate) to make sure most of them sell. That way they get to go to a bunch of games each year and probably don't spend much (if any) to do so. Without Stubhub that's not a very functional plan.

That said, though, I've been on the pissed off side of it too. And the fees are always irksome. How's that for sitting on the fence?
 
#7
#7
selling what you can't use just so you don't lose money is one thing

buying what you have no use for, then selling at an exorbitant markup just to force your way into existence as a middle man just pisses me off
 
#8
#8
They allocate tickets to people willing to pay the most. Like someone else said, not everybody can wait in line...they would have 0 options if there were no aftermarket.
 
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#9
#9
n_huffhines said:
They allocate tickets to people willing to pay the most. Like someone else said, not everybody can wait in line...they would have 0 options if there were no aftermarket.
Click to expand...

is waiting in line for tickets still a thing?
 
#10
#10
Only partially on topic, but I remember back in '91 or '92 I had a morning class on the hill and wanted to get to TBA as soon as they opened to get some concert tickets that were going on sale that day. I had just a few minutes margin after class and I knew there would be a line, and the show was at the Bijou so seating was limited, so as soon as class was over I sprinted over to TBA lugging my 900-lb. backpack and came bursting through the ticket office door, sweating and panting, and found I was the only one there. I ran up to a ticket window and said with some urgency, "I need three tickets for Mel Torme at the Bijou!" The guy looked at me, confused. "Who? Is that a show we have?"

By the time he figured it out and sold me some tickets, I was happy to see that I was on the front row and sad to see that I was the only person on campus who gave half a ****.
 
#11
#11
Wasn't there some suit that claimed that high demand concerts like Beyoncé or Adele were only releasing 20-25% of the tickets to the public? The rest were reserved for credit card rewards or corporate accounts. Add in the bots buying the millisecond a show goes on sale and there's not much chance for the average person.
 
#12
#12
The Tool concert in Nashville was ridiculous. It sold out in about 2 minutes and I lucked out getting tickets through Ticketmaster, but I had to log on right when they went on sale and still had to refresh about 5 times. Immediately after the tickets on StubHub were ridiculous.
 
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#13
#13
If just the fans got the tickets is the point. You wouldn't have to pay extra because you got it from the source.

The in line for someone else theory works, but is it fair to let someone else stand in line to buy 100 tickets they will never personally use resulting in people further back not getting regular priced tickets?
 
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#15
#15
crusse10 said:
is waiting in line for tickets still a thing?
Click to expand...

IDK, I never did it because I've always been content with either watching at home or paying market equilibrium prices.

If they were charging market equilibrium pricing, there would be no waiting in line and no selling out in seconds. If the aftermarket didn't exist, tickets would just go to people that don't value their time or are lucky. I like the idea that they can go to people who don't value their time, to people who are lucky, AND to people willing to pay extra.

Just because a sporting event exists and you want to go doesn't mean you are entitled to afford it. There are so many fans who want to go, obviously.
 
#16
#16
The way battle at Bristol tickets was handled pisses me off. Why would Bristol season ticket holders get more tickets than the two schools playing?? (If I'm wrong about that, please ignore my post)
 
#18
#18
This is not about someone standing in line before you. This is about "bots" and computer automation that have scalpers buying hundreds of tickets immediately upon being offered. Read this Confessions of a Ticket Scalper: Billboard's Candid Q&A | Billboard

It doesn't hurt the performers because they get paid. It hurts their fanbase and that's why some artists choose to sell tickets themselves. However, they cannot do so at many venues because those venues have exclusive ticketmaster contracts
 
#19
#19
DrRosenRosen said:
Snooze you lose. We aren't talking about life saving medicine here.
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I had nothing to do with snoozing. Scalpers use bots to buy the tickets. They are way faster than you and your puny mouse. By the time you've entered your CC info the tickets are all gone.

As for pricing, it pisses off a lot of artists because they price those tickets to be affordable to lots of people. Instead computers buy them and jack the prices to the point many don't get sold. Or the major allotment goes to companies wooing clients. Either way the average fan is not attending these major shows. Look at the crowd during a Super Bowl game. Many of them look like its the first time they've ever been to a football game. They're dressed for a polo match. The average fans aren't attending.
 
#20
#20
I have season tickets and live almost 6 hours away. When I can't attend, I sell them for face value or trade them for other tickets. Speaking of which, anyone interested in 2x UF tickets for 2x TA&M?
 
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#22
#22
DancingOutlaw said:
I had nothing to do with snoozing. Scalpers use bots to buy the tickets. They are way faster than you and your puny mouse. By the time you've entered your CC info the tickets are all gone.

As for pricing, it pisses off a lot of artists because they price those tickets to be affordable to lots of people. Instead computers buy them and jack the prices to the point many don't get sold. Or the major allotment goes to companies wooing clients. Either way the average fan is not attending these major shows. Look at the crowd during a Super Bowl game. Many of them look like its the first time they've ever been to a football game. They're dressed for a polo match. The average fans aren't attending.
Click to expand...

Yeah those damn corporations are also a problem - watch any Yankees game and notice all the empty seats around the infield area - and for Cubs fans IF they make the WS those longtime diehards will be watching from home while the celebrities and bandwagon bigshots go to the games
 
#23
#23
I just bought 3 tickets for the Kentucky game in the upper deck for $135. Same exact seats on vivid seats were priced cheaper, but right at $200 at check out (like $185 I think) for extra fees. I ended up getting them from the UT athletic site. $50 difference in fees for $40 tickets. I'm not complaining, just sharing what I just experienced.
 
#24
#24
9296potsguy said:
I have season tickets and live almost 6 hours away. When I can't attend, I sell them for face value or trade them for other tickets. Speaking of which, anyone interested in 2x UF tickets for 2x TA&M?
Click to expand...
Yes, please. E-mail me at awhitmer3(at) gmail.com.
 
#25
#25
joevol33 said:
I just bought 3 tickets for the Kentucky game in the upper deck for $135. Same exact seats on vivid seats were priced cheaper, but right at $200 at check out (like $185 I think) for extra fees. I ended up getting them from the UT athletic site. $50 difference in fees for $40 tickets. I'm not complaining, just sharing what I just experienced.
Click to expand...

Why Kentucky? Lower key, assured win?
 
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