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Beware: long rant below.
Like the topic reads: I hate all ticket vendors and brokers!, and to a minor extent their families and close friends. [img]graemlins/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]
Okay, rant time!
[img]graemlins/rant.gif[/img]
The whole system of ticket sales favors companies or even individual sellers to buy them all up and RE-sell them with a high profit margin back to the public. This morning, I was in line to get Velvet Revolver tix for the Boston show which went on sale at 10 am. I haven’t seen Slash play since ’91 and I know this’ll be a killer show!
For this venue, it is usually carried by Next Ticketing (a Clear Channel-owned co.) instead of the usual TicketBastard. To save on the “handling” fees and If I have the time, I try and get them at the box office downtown which handles their tix. As a backup, I’ve got my friend on the cell at work on the computer who trying to get them just in case.
I’m like 5th in line, and figure no problem. 3 to 5 minutes later, I’m at the front and the guy pauses a hell of a long time before he gets to me, and says he can only get up 2 tix on the computer to sell to me (I requested 6, the max was 10, and the guy ahead of me just got 8). So, after trying another 1-2 minutes, which is a hell of a long time for a lot of tickets to be sold, I say I’ll just take the 2 tix. When the next person comes up to buy they say they’re sold out.
During this time, my friend at work was saying how they were being sold by both Next Ticketing and TicketMaster (I still don't know why) and was in the virtual wait room for one vendor that went no where (I forget which one) then switched to the other one and was in their wait room during which time they told me they sold out. His order did go thru for 4 tix. So, I guess we’re lucky in that we got em. But it took 2 of us and I’m at the freakin box office and I can only get 2! WTF
Turns out the Next system doesn’t have that 'word verification' like Master does that prevents automated programs from purchasing a shitload of tix. So I figure brokers bought a crapload,..and was right. Check out all the tix for the show that went up on Ebay:
http://search.ebay.com/search/search...evolver+boston
and those that sold already:
http://search-completed.ebay.com/search/search.dll?GetResult&a1=-24&a2=-24&a4=-24&a40=-24&a9=-24&alist=a40%2ca37%2ca9%2ca10%2ca1%2ca2%2ca4%2ca63 &catref=C6&from=R10&gcs=1&gotopage=& ht=1&pf_query=velvet+revolver+boston&pfid=1&sacate gory=-1&sapricehi=&sapricelo=&satitle=velvet+revolver+bo ston&sbrftog=1&so=Show+Items&sofocus=so&soitemstat us=2&soloctog=9&sosortor der=1&sosortproperty=1
BTW, this is a general admission show and the face value of each seat is $20.25. My friend with the fees paid about $108 for the 4 ($27 above the face value). So there’s a quite a bit of profit from the sellers. Also, notice most or all the brokers are outside MA. There’s a state law that limits the reselling of tix above a certain amount of the face value (I forget the exact amount), but that doesn’t hold up for out-of-state brokers. So I was fighting with brokers in Ohio and Michigan for these seats today. [img]graemlins/evilimages/icons/tongue.gif[/img]
[img]graemlins/rant.gif[/img]
I sure I’m not the only one here who has had a shit time trying to buys concert tix.
Ahh, I feel better now! [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
Like the topic reads: I hate all ticket vendors and brokers!, and to a minor extent their families and close friends. [img]graemlins/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]
Okay, rant time!
[img]graemlins/rant.gif[/img]
The whole system of ticket sales favors companies or even individual sellers to buy them all up and RE-sell them with a high profit margin back to the public. This morning, I was in line to get Velvet Revolver tix for the Boston show which went on sale at 10 am. I haven’t seen Slash play since ’91 and I know this’ll be a killer show!
For this venue, it is usually carried by Next Ticketing (a Clear Channel-owned co.) instead of the usual TicketBastard. To save on the “handling” fees and If I have the time, I try and get them at the box office downtown which handles their tix. As a backup, I’ve got my friend on the cell at work on the computer who trying to get them just in case.
I’m like 5th in line, and figure no problem. 3 to 5 minutes later, I’m at the front and the guy pauses a hell of a long time before he gets to me, and says he can only get up 2 tix on the computer to sell to me (I requested 6, the max was 10, and the guy ahead of me just got 8). So, after trying another 1-2 minutes, which is a hell of a long time for a lot of tickets to be sold, I say I’ll just take the 2 tix. When the next person comes up to buy they say they’re sold out.
During this time, my friend at work was saying how they were being sold by both Next Ticketing and TicketMaster (I still don't know why) and was in the virtual wait room for one vendor that went no where (I forget which one) then switched to the other one and was in their wait room during which time they told me they sold out. His order did go thru for 4 tix. So, I guess we’re lucky in that we got em. But it took 2 of us and I’m at the freakin box office and I can only get 2! WTF
Turns out the Next system doesn’t have that 'word verification' like Master does that prevents automated programs from purchasing a shitload of tix. So I figure brokers bought a crapload,..and was right. Check out all the tix for the show that went up on Ebay:
http://search.ebay.com/search/search...evolver+boston
and those that sold already:
http://search-completed.ebay.com/search/search.dll?GetResult&a1=-24&a2=-24&a4=-24&a40=-24&a9=-24&alist=a40%2ca37%2ca9%2ca10%2ca1%2ca2%2ca4%2ca63 &catref=C6&from=R10&gcs=1&gotopage=& ht=1&pf_query=velvet+revolver+boston&pfid=1&sacate gory=-1&sapricehi=&sapricelo=&satitle=velvet+revolver+bo ston&sbrftog=1&so=Show+Items&sofocus=so&soitemstat us=2&soloctog=9&sosortor der=1&sosortproperty=1
BTW, this is a general admission show and the face value of each seat is $20.25. My friend with the fees paid about $108 for the 4 ($27 above the face value). So there’s a quite a bit of profit from the sellers. Also, notice most or all the brokers are outside MA. There’s a state law that limits the reselling of tix above a certain amount of the face value (I forget the exact amount), but that doesn’t hold up for out-of-state brokers. So I was fighting with brokers in Ohio and Michigan for these seats today. [img]graemlins/evilimages/icons/tongue.gif[/img]
[img]graemlins/rant.gif[/img]
I sure I’m not the only one here who has had a shit time trying to buys concert tix.
Ahh, I feel better now! [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
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