I hate ticketmaster...
I just purchased tickets for M.I.A. and get this:
Quote:
Event
M.I.A.
Saint Andrews Hall, Detroit, MI
Tue, Sep 27, 2005 08:00 PM
Review Your Order
Item Charge
Tickets (M.I.A.)
Full Price Ticket US $15.00 x 3
Total Building Facility Charge(s) US $0.50 x 3
Total Convenience Charge(s)
US $5.30 x 3
Order Processing Charge(s) US $4.35
UPS Delivery
US $14.50
TOTAL CHARGES US $81.25
Will call and USPS First Class were not options for shipping. So, for 3 $15 tickets, I paid over $80!! The "fees" are almost as much as the damn show... If this thing wasn't going to sell out, I'd buy at the door, but this is crap.
Posted by: tman
Re: I hate ticketmaster... - 16/09/2005 19:08
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Well, it's a policy that ensures a healthy mix of the rich and the ignorant, sir.
Posted by: Dignan
Re: I hate ticketmaster... - 16/09/2005 19:09
Agreed. So, does anyone know the "legitimate" reason that Pearl Jam lost the court battle? I don't think I ever sought out the answer. I certainly don't see how Ticketmaster has any competition. At least, I've never seen a show where you could buy tickets from two different companies.
I was too young at the time to really notice or understand... but I'm shocked they couldn't pull it off at the time because they were the hottest act out then.
Buying from two companies for one show would be a cluster F if there were assigned seating involved but you'd think there would at least be companies trying to compete for contracts. Heck, Clear Channel owns most of the venues in this town, you'd think they would have their own company.
I usually buy at the door so this is an odd case of a really hot band coming to a small venue. I wouldn't mind if most of the money were going to the artist...
Posted by: matthew_k
Re: I hate ticketmaster... - 16/09/2005 19:33
Me too. The whole industry sure killed my interest in going to concerts. Back in high school I probably averaged one a month, and usualy drive two and a half hours to go. Perhaps I had more disposable income and more friends back then, but it certainly wasn't that much of a financial hardship. Now that I've been living half an hour from where I used to drive two hours to go for concerts, I've hardly gone to any, mainly because they're twice as expensive. (though not having a radio for four years probably contributed).
Has ticketmaster ever been investigated? I don't see how it can be legal. They've bought all their competitors, and charge larger and larger fees for providing horrible service. Ticketweb used to be great, but of course ticketmaster bought them.
Why don't any of the venues start selling the tickets themselves on the web?
Matthew
Actually, they do have competition. I just remembered that my NIN tickets were purchased via "TicketsToday.com". I'm a member of the NIN fan club, so I was able to buy tickets in advanced through them. Get this:
For $99 worth of tickets, the fees were less than $10.
Trent Reznor has been really proactive in giving his fans more, so hopefully this is a trend.
It just sucks because in the day and age were artists are getting ripped of because of downloads, it'd be nice to support them via concerts. But if you are paying through the nose in fees, you can't afford the t-shirt and cds at the show.
Posted by: wfaulk
Re: I hate ticketmaster... - 16/09/2005 19:48
Virtually the only concert venue I ever go to sells via eTix.com and I've never had a problem with them. You simply print out your ticket from the email they send you. I think there's a bar code. The fee is $1.60 per ticket for the last tickets I bought (which were $15 tickets). They also sell at the box office and some local record stores.
Posted by: DWallach
Re: I hate ticketmaster... - 16/09/2005 20:35
The real comparison is in airline tickets. If we can have a robust market in airline tickets, with multiple sites competing to sell you tickets, and with only marginal (if any) service fees, then you would expect the same would be possible for rock concerts. For a closer analog, I've seen movies where I bought the tickets online (via Moviefone) and picked them up at the theater. The service fee is something like $1/ticket. That sounds like a reasonable "convenience fee". Anything beyond that is profiteering.
Posted by: larry818
Re: I hate ticketmaster... - 16/09/2005 21:16
Watch your mail. TicketBastard will also sign you up for magazines you don't want and charge your card.
They are largely the reason I don't go to shows any more. I used to buy at the boxoffice to avoid them, but once was told at the boxoffice that I have to pay all the fees, including shipping, to Ticketbastard anyway. That was actually the last time I tried to see a show tied in any way to TM. I figure I don't wanna support them, no matter how remotely.
Posted by: Robotic
Re: I hate ticketmaster... - 16/09/2005 21:29
I just googled the words "I hate ticketmaster" and am not surprised by
the results.
Posted by: Mataglap
Re: I hate ticketmaster... - 16/09/2005 22:10
Preach on, brother!
And I can't quickly find out if a TicketBastard show has tickets available. Had to go down to the venue Wednesday to find out that Flogging Molly was sold out. Ticketweb (for last night's New Model Army show) added $4.65 on an $18.00 ticket.
Anyway, I'm going to gloat and say I'm off to the San Diego Nine Inch Nails/Queens of the Stone Age show. Have a good night everyone!
--Nathan
Posted by: msaeger
Re: I hate ticketmaster... - 16/09/2005 23:29
Yep who doesn't hate them. I haven't been to a show for years that had tickets sold through ticketmaster. Everything have went to lately has been in some dive bar kind of place where they don't have seating anyway.
Larry is right buying at the door doesn't help they still charge all the fees anyway.
Posted by: Mataglap
Re: I hate ticketmaster... - 17/09/2005 05:52
Whoah, the NIN drummer had some kind of heart problem about halfway through the show, and they canceled the rest of the gig!
Quote:
Whoah, the NIN drummer had some kind of heart problem about halfway through the show, and they canceled the rest of the gig!
???
edit:
Quote:
[09_17_2005]
We had to cancel the show tonight. Have to cancel tomorrow as well. Feeling kind of numb right now.
Jerome is spending the night in the hospital with chest pains and an irregular heartbeat. Uncertainty abounds.
1:09am_BST
Wow, I hope all is well! He's a young guy too..
Posted by: FireFox31
Re: I hate ticketmaster... - 19/09/2005 02:16
Quote:
The real comparison is in airline tickets.
I'd say the only comparisons are late 19th century railroad and oil barrons. For airlines, consumers can choose between many companies flying to the same destination on the same date. But MIB is only coming to Brad's town on one date to one venue, so it makes unfortunate monopolistic sense that TicketMaster is the only one with tickets. Why they haven't been broken up is beyond me.
Quote:
I haven't been to a show for years that had tickets sold through ticketmaster. Everything have went to lately has been in some dive bar kind of place where they don't have seating anyway.
Amen. If the artist is big enough for Ticket Master to care, I'll skip it. And if the venue is big enough to be pwnd by TicketMaster, I'll go somewhere else. RIP - Birch Hill Nightclub, Old Bridge, NJ - 10/26/03
That being said, I snagged tickets off eBay for a big venue appearance by an obscure band where tickets were only available through our favorite ticketing service. Such an odd show sold out so quickly likely thanks to scalpers who work TicketMaster and eBay as a full time job. All this big money nonsense is a total drag for music fans.
Posted by: DWallach
Re: I hate ticketmaster... - 19/09/2005 02:44
Some bands are starting to find creative responses to keeping their core fans happy. A friend of mine is a big Matchbox 20 fan and a member of "Fanbox 20" or whatever it's called. She got apparently great tickets through the fan club. I believe U2 is similarly careful to pack the good seats with their fans. Still, as long as there's a demand to pay high dollar for the good seats, then there will be some kind of supply.
Amusing contrast: one of my big hobbies is swing dancing. The swing dancing community, as such, is notoriously cheap. You can go to a weekend event with three live bands (jazz big bands!), after-hours DJed events with food, and more and it's only going to cost you $75 for the whole weekend. But, for many of the people in the community, that's a lot of cash. If you doubled the prices, you'd slash the attendance. For contrast, you can easily spend $75 for a single ticket to a stadium rock show. If they doubled the price, at least for the good seats, they'd probably still have a full house.
(And, since when is Dead Can Dance an obscure band?)
Quote:
And if the venue is big enough to be pwnd by TicketMaster, I'll go somewhere else. .
I wish I could do that. Clearchannel came in and bought every venue in the Detroit area except the corner bars. Only local bands play there because they only hold about 200 people. I support the local bands a lot, but sometimes you want to see someone from out of town. I avoid arena shows at all costs unless it's a band I fell in love with when they were small (NIN and maybe the Cure are the only two I'll see at a stadium).
So, at least in my town, because Ticketmaster has contracts with the venues, boycotting Ticketmaster means a lot of bands signed to minor labels. I need my Peaches!
Oh well. I wasn't really expecting any solutions. I just wanted to rant.
Posted by: robricc
Re: I hate ticketmaster... - 19/09/2005 11:06
Quote:
RIP - Birch Hill Nightclub, Old Bridge, NJ - 10/26/03
Every show I've ever seen at the Birch Hill was ticketed through Ticketmaster. Yeah, you could buy tickets at the box office, but I don't exactly live close-by.
Also, The Birtch Hill wrote its own death certificate when they decided to host raves that served minors alcohol. Now, I'm not a fan of the liquor laws in this country, but when you own a titty bar with live music venue attached, you have to do what makes the most business sense.
Starland Ballroom seems to be owned by the same folks as Birtch Hill and I've been to some good shows there BTW.
Posted by: Dignan
Re: I hate ticketmaster... - 19/09/2005 14:42
I just bought two tickets to the White Stripes show. Each was $25. Each had an $8.75 service charge.
Now, I'm almost certain that you used to be able to pick the slowest delivery option for free. Apparently that now costs $20. TWENTY FREAKING DOLLARS? You also have "convenience" option. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, you can print out your own tickets for FOUR DOLLARS. Yeah, because it costs Ticketmaster thousands of dollars a show to email ticket buyers.
I went with will call, which means extra hassle at the venue and a long line of people who also didn't want to get ripped off. DAMNIT.
OTOH, the show should be amazing...
Posted by: wfaulk
Re: I hate ticketmaster... - 19/09/2005 15:18
Maybe you can pick up at Will Call before the day of the event?
Posted by: Dignan
Re: I hate ticketmaster... - 19/09/2005 15:59
Good point, I hadn't thought of that. I'd do it, but the venue is about an hour away if I'm lucky with traffic [not likely around here], so it would cost me far more in gas than shipping would.
For the show that started this, not only did they not offer the free shipping like they used ($20 being the cheapest shipping) they didn't offer Will Call.... They must have known it would sell out and saw no need to make it easy.
Posted by: Gleep
Re: I hate ticketmaster... - 12/10/2005 01:12
What REALLY gripes me is that they advertise that the tickets are only $15.00 and you CAN'T buy them anywhere for $15.00. That is FALSE advertising. If the going rate is $27 a ticket. Fine. But NO they tell you the tickets are only $15.
Posted by: tman
Re: I hate ticketmaster... - 12/10/2005 09:59
Quote:
What REALLY gripes me is that they advertise that the tickets are only $15.00 and you CAN'T buy them anywhere for $15.00. That is FALSE advertising. If the going rate is $27 a ticket. Fine. But NO they tell you the tickets are only $15.
It's a loophole. They just whack on lots and lots of fees which bumps up the price significantly. All online shops do the same thing with their delivery charges. What is advertised isn't the final price of an item. In this case, TicketMaster have suspiciously high P&P and handling fees.
Posted by: Gleep
Re: I hate ticketmaster... - 12/10/2005 10:57
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It's a loophole. They just whack on lots and lots of fees which bumps up the price significantly. All online shops do the same thing with their delivery charges. What is advertised isn't the final price of an item. In this case, TicketMaster have suspiciously high P&P and handling fees.
It's a BAD business decision. Like I said if they would advertise tickets are $27 and I want 3 then that's $81. Instead I hear tickets are $15 and I want three that's $45. They are now charging me $36 more than they said they would which makes me mad and makes me not want to do business with them. I can understand them charging a processing fee and shipping fee, but they should make their money on the processing fee and not GOUGE us with the shipping fee too. And if I go directly to the box office I should be able to buy tickets for the tickets price $15.
They are making a killing, so maybe it's a good decision... I still hate it though.
They even charge you $1.50 to print your own tickets... how lame.
Posted by: Dignan
Re: I hate ticketmaster... - 12/10/2005 20:59
Quote:
They are making a killing, so maybe it's a good decision... I still hate it though.
They even charge you $1.50 to print your own tickets... how lame.
$1.50? When I ordered a couple weeks ago, it was $4.
Posted by: Gleep
Re: I hate ticketmaster... - 12/10/2005 21:21
Quote:
They are making a killing, so maybe it's a good decision...
Unless they are getting extra ticket sales from people who would not have gotten tickets had they originally heard $27 dollars and only bought them because they thought they were $15, then NO its a BAD decision because myself and several other people I know won't buy tickets from them unless it's for something I just can't stand NOT to see.
As long as they only lose one sale for every 2 that they keep, they are still making more money. Actually, I assume the 15 goes to the venue, so if they charge $12 in fees instead of $3 in fees, they are making 400% more profilt.
The ones that may be losing out are the venues. But if they dumped Ticketmaster, they'd have to rely on box office sales.
Please don't take this as defending them. Considering Ticketmaster does little more than run a database and a website, I don't know how they explain their fees except to say they can get away with it. They don't even advertise the shows.
Quote:
Some bands are starting to find creative responses to keeping their core fans happy. A friend of mine is a big Matchbox 20 fan and a member of "Fanbox 20" or whatever it's called. She got apparently great tickets through the fan club. I believe U2 is similarly careful to pack the good seats with their fans. Still, as long as there's a demand to pay high dollar for the good seats, then there will be some kind of supply.
Amusing contrast: one of my big hobbies is swing dancing. The swing dancing community, as such, is notoriously cheap. You can go to a weekend event with three live bands (jazz big bands!), after-hours DJed events with food, and more and it's only going to cost you $75 for the whole weekend. But, for many of the people in the community, that's a lot of cash. If you doubled the prices, you'd slash the attendance. For contrast, you can easily spend $75 for a single ticket to a stadium rock show. If they doubled the price, at least for the good seats, they'd probably still have a full house.
(And, since when is Dead Can Dance an obscure band?)
I love Dead Can Dance but I have to admit they are pretty obsure. Most people don't know who they are and their "hit" was in the early 90s.
I'm a member of the NIN fan club and we get access to advanced tickets (through MusicToday or something - lower fees), meet & greets, soundchecks, etc. It seems to be the way to go.
Posted by: JeffS
Re: I hate ticketmaster... - 13/10/2005 00:32
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Considering Ticketmaster does little more than run a database and a website, I don't know how they explain their fees except to say they can get away with it.
Well ticketmaster is still around when others failed (tickettron comes to mind), so I can only assume that there is some kind of trick to making their business work.
I also fear that as expensive as they are, the prices are probably what the market can bare. In fact, as long as there is ticket scalping ticket prices are too low.
I don't mean to defend Ticketmaster, but I don't see them as price gouging the way many do. They are providing a service, and while in this age of the internet I'm not sure how much longer it'll be needed, it's still a valuable service.
HOWEVER, this whole thing of killing you with fees rather than just calling the ticket price what it is, that is pure crap. It's even worse than my cell phone bill. I agree with the rest of you on this point- that kind of false advertising (and by "false advertising", I mean it in the practical sense, not the legal sense) makes me not what to do business with them. A band pretty much has to be Rush for me to buy tickets these days.
Posted by: wfaulk
Re: I hate ticketmaster... - 13/10/2005 13:45
Like I said, I've been buying tickets online for about the only venue I go to, the Cat's Cradle, probably the biggest indie venue in eastern NC, for a few years now at eTix.com. They charge $1.40 per ticket. (I have to print them out, but big deal.) I can also buy at the box office and at a collection of local record stores. I've never had any problem. There's no reason that Ticketmaster needs to charge that much. I understand, but disagree with, your "what the market can bear" standpoint.
Posted by: JeffS
Re: I hate ticketmaster... - 13/10/2005 20:42
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There's no reason that Ticketmaster needs to charge that much.
Perhaps, but it's probably about what they CAN do rather than what they NEED to do. If people are willing to pay $45 for a concert ticket, why charge them less?
An interesting side perspective is that I go to mostly Christian concerts these days (unless it is the aforementioned Rush) and even the really big acts (Michael W. Smith, Steven Curtis Chapman) don't use ticketmaster- tickets are usually sold at Christian bookstores. And they are NOT playing small venues either- the bigger acts play the outdoor theaters that the secular acts do and charge three times as much for. Of course, it is likely that the secular acts are getting paid more, but I think a lot of it boils down to what people are willing to pay, and there are simply more fans of secular music that Christian music, so the prices are higher. Also, having the Christian book stores to distribute tickets helps as well I think (no ticketmaster).
Posted by: wfaulk
Re: I hate ticketmaster... - 14/10/2005 17:01
Yeah, but people are paying to see the show, not to get tickets. The price of the ticket should go up, not the price of the fees. It's not so much that they're gouging us as that they're gouging the artists.