My reading of this is that the Competition and Markets Authority (Monopolies Commission in new money) have taken a huge time to find only the most minor misbehaviour by these (lets be frank) utter shits, and even then can’t force the tiniest improvements.
The give away in the article is the line “Secondary ticketing websites are designed to re-sell tickets to concerts, shows and events where the original buyer can no longer attend.” – if the CMA honestly believe that’s their main business model then it’s no wonder they’ve been so useless in driving out this appalling parasitical behaviour.
I’m far from alone in being utterly fed up when a big act’s tickets go on sale, sell out in minutes, and then miraculously vast numbers of tickets appear at ransom-demand prices on these websites within the hour. I can not believe it is beyond the wit of lawmakers to outlaw such blatantly unfair actions, and this latest story makes me despair.
Am I over-reacting? Is this just one of those things we need to suck up? Or are there practical steps which regulators could make to improve this situation for genuine fans?
Gatz says
I don’t think you are over reacting. These sites are plainly scum, designed for no other purpose than to generate a profit margin where none should exist by depriving fans of the chance to buy tickets directly at face value. Like a lot of us here I don’t go to the sort of gigs these sites target, but fiends and colleagues have recently commented on how they couldn’t get tickets for gigs that do (Sheeran, Peter Kaye) even though they hammered the official ticket sites as soon as they opened, only to find that there were plenty of tickets at jacked up rices elsewhere.
I know that none of this is news to anyone here, but this sort of exploitation really annoys me and I had to get that out of my system.
metal mickey says
The trouble is that everyone in the entire chain is complicit – the acts, the management, the promoters, the venues, the ticketing agencies (primary & secondary), and it’s frankly not in their interests to change anything, especially while there is (apparently) sufficient demand to sell out these events, even at silly prices…
I vote with my wallet and never buy via these agencies, but the system certainly isn’t going to change anytime soon…
Arthur Cowslip says
That’s a good point. What do the acts and management get out of it though? I’m struggling to think of how they benefit, unless I’m missing something obvious. Is it just because they can guarantee a ‘sell out ‘ even if it’s technically not that?
Gatz says
A recent development is the artist ‘approved’ secondary ticket sellers. I have no idea if this really does benefit fans, or if it means that rip off sites can be prevented from buying up large numbers to sell at profit, which presumably is perfectly legal if unethical.
RedLemon says
I’ve read that blocks of tickets allocated the bands go on secondary sites generating large sums outside their appearance fees. Possibly some tax benefit there?
slotbadger says
Is it Taylor Swift who now insists purchasers of concert tix need to provide some evidence of listening to her music, via downloading/streaming/physical purchase? I’d prefer that to knowing the tout fuckers are making money
NE1 says
Bought Taylor Swift tickets for daughter yesterday on presale having bought album through website in order to be eligible for presale.
Got email on day of albums release to say they had insufficient stock and album would be delayed so bought second copy of album from supermarket as it wasn’t available to stream. So far not so good.
Having got presale code and logged into site to buy 4 seated tickets at Manchester Etihad yesterday I have tickets. However can’t help but think that 4 seats at the extreme opposite end of the stadium for £100 pounds each was not the best that a fan could expect when bought 1 minute into presale.
It’s these sort of ticket allocations that drive fans to buy multiple seats in an attempt to firstly get in and then get closer. Which in turn drives them to sell on the worse seats on the secondary market. Add in touts, bots and blocks of tickets being passed on and I can see how this creates artificial scarcity and doesn’t benefit the fans.
Daughter is still made up though and this will be a dream come true concert for her….. So I’m in good books at the moment.
NE1 says
Forgot to mention that buying more merch and listening to songs or video was supposed to give more chance of tickets so maybe others who had done this and had spent more cash or time got offers of better seats.I have nothing to back that up though.
Didn’t Springsteen do something similar for his Broadway run, verified fan on Ticketmaster?
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Martin S says
I think Iron Maiden are at the forefront of trying to stamp this sort of behaviour out. Simple tricks like having to have the person who paid for the ticket there at the venue with the actual card it was brought with. Limit of four tickets per purchase etc. Their London shows next year are pretty well sold out but the 02 still has a few seats up in the gods that are still available by legitimate means. God bless em!
retropath2 says
This is an increasing tend, some proof that the name on the bit of the ticket that is the receipt matches a photo ID and the punter present. Michael Kiwanuka insisted on this at the RAH this year. I’m all for it.
Mike_H says
I’ve bought quite a few tickets in recent years, for small/medium venues where they stress on the website that you must produce the card you paid with. Never once have I actually been asked to do so.
dai says
I have sold tickets on secondary websites (stubhub) because I genuinely couldn’t go. I recouped my costs only so the price was way below tickets in similar seats. They sold very fast. It is useful for this, isn’t there one in the UK that allows face value only?
Anyway the thing to do always is wait. People panic and want tickets on the day they go on sale. Tickets almost always become available (at correct price) in the days before a show. I have said this before, but I have probably gone to 1000 concerts, I would have liked to go to 1002, couldn’t get a ticket for two concerts only (Springsteen Ghost of Tom Joad tour, George Harrison tribute show)). I paid over the odds only on one occasion (Oasis, I regretted it). Have also got tickets through secondary websites for half price on occasion.
Douglas says
For the avoidance of, I don’t have any problem with the likes of @dai genuinely wanting to pass on a ticket at face price (or with a minor addition for the hassle/admin fee factor). It’s the industrial scale approach which pees me off, and it’s good to know I’m not just a lone grumpy old man on this one.
I also know the economic arguments underpinning the “approved secondary” route – if Robbie Williams sells tickets at £50 each, and sees touts selling them for £200, he’d be entitled to wonder why he couldn’t keep that extra £150 himself? But that would work if the acts could offer more for the added money – meet & greet session, preferred seating, advance bar purchases etc – look, ive just thought a few up off the top of my head, I can’t believe it’s beyond the wit of any artist/management/venue who cares.
Maybe the point is that they really don’t care, and for those big acts that’s just part of the 21st century ticketing landscape. Luckily I have musical tastes shared by very few others, so it saves me money (as well as making me look impossibly cool and sexy, of course).
Mike_H says
I imagine there are a certain amount of artists/managements/promotion companies in the biz who take the same approach as soccer teams do to cup final tickets. They get given a certain allocation of tickets as perks and immediately flog the lot to secondaries for cash.
fatima Xberg says
In Germany the situation is quite clear – it’s illegal to sell secondary tickets for more than the original price. Your only chance for a big cash-in is to go to the venue, stand in a shady corner and wait for someone desperate to pay…
dai says
As it should be.
retropath2 says
Can’t Germany make this EU law and then we’ll be covered too?
Oh….