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The Daily PollTAYLOR SWIFT HAS criticised out at Ticketmaster for the botched sale of her upcoming US tour, saying it was “excruciating” to learn that thousands of her fans had struggled to buy tickets for her tour.
The New York Times reported that the US Justice Department has opened an antitrust investigation into Ticketmaster’s parent company.
The probe, focused on whether Live Nation Entertainment has abused its power over the live music industry, predates the botched sale of Swift’s tour, two people with knowledge of the matter told the Times. The paper did not name them.
One key aspect of online ticket sales is the phenomenon of ticket resale sites. This is where tickets are bought from licenced ticket sellers and resold at a price determined by the person or company in possession of the tickets.
With all that in mind we are asking: Have you used ticket resale sites?
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Ticketmaster acts as both ticket distributor and touts having the monopoly over the supply and demand. The price for gigs is riddled with fees.
@TheKloppKop: I know. I got 2 Shania Twain tickets for €76.50 each, which totals €153.00. Total cost was €204.00 and we’re up in the belfry with the bats lol
Ticketswap is great, have sold and bought on it. Can only up the price by maximum 20%, no need to worry as a seller that you won’t get your money and the original QR code is destroyed and a new one reissued so when buying no worries that the person you bought them off will turn up first and use it. The more people that know about it, the better!
Just realised this sounds like an ad, I just really wish more people knew so I could safely get tickets for some sold out gigs coming up
@Megan Finnegan Ward: toutless is great. Not allowed sell above face value, as it should be. Anyone who tries rip someone off on the price of a ticket is disgraceful to me
@Declan Moran: it’s pure greed! The dynamic pricing on Ticketmaster in America is disgraceful too. Shouldn’t be a thing at all
@Megan Finnegan Ward: Yes, I used this once when I had 2 tickets for a show I couldn’t go to. I was only looking to recoup what I had paid (face value) they also add a fee to that, so person buying did pay more than face value, but not gouged (any more than the already too expensive ticket price).
Certainly better than going back through Ticketmaster.
@Conrad Shields: Yeah it’s really handy! I’ve only sold for face value or below myself since the events I sold for weren’t sold out, I’d feel bad looking for more but people putting them up a little bit on there doesn’t bother me so much once it’s not significant – it’s scalpers buying tickets just to resell them for hundreds more that boils my piss!
@Megan Finnegan Ward: absolutely Megan. That dynamic pricing is an utter disrace. Ticketmaster needs to be broken up, it holds too much of a monopoly. Their prices here are just as bad but hopefully we won’t see the level it has hit over there. The recent Bruce Springsteen tour is a perfect example with some tickets reaching $5,000. Mind boggling
@Declan Moran: I was looking at tickets for a gig in Canada when I was supposed to move and eyes were nearly popping out of my skull when I eventually got past the queue and the prices were skyrocketing. I’m in Australia now and it doesn’t have much of a monopoly as there are a few different ticket selling outlets, have been to a few things and haven’t had to use TM yet, concerts can still be pretty expensive but no dynamic pricing and still not as expensive as even standard North American pricing
I remember some bollox tryna sell a pair of Bruce Springsteen tickets over the summer on donedeal for €900.
@Billy Davies: only got €850 for them. Gutted
Each Venue should have its own Box office where you buy your tickets 6 months B4 You attend.
@Larry Rawson: Where does 6 months come into it?
@Larry Rawson: Several do, but they can’t reach as big an audience advertising on their own and costly for each to manage a booking system.
Toutless.ie very good
@Gareth Miskelly: Tis true… bought tickets a few times there and it has always been a positive experience.
Thank “Darth Vader” for his lovely liberty media monopoly on western music. It’s great there is no real competition cause then you can buy hotels and raise prices in advance of concerts cause you know when the concerts are on. Fantastic!
It’s called greedy boys and girls reselling tickets for way in excessive of what they paid, should be illegal and the best thing about the Olympics in Brazil few years ago remember a certain Mr hickey and co tried reselling tickets and was arrested because it’s illegal there .
I used Ticketmaster to sell tickets for upcoming The Cure gig in Belfast. Absolutely joke. My tickets were sold in December last year and only received the money in April, months of lies saying they had confirmed payment to my account and dealing with hopeless customer service who kept saying they couldn’t help as payment was confirmed. At one stage they said they could only transfer payment to a UK bank account as I paid £ for the gig and advised me to open a UK bank account. Only got payment after I suggested that they put the money back onto credit card used. Shocking behaviour and customer service
I once bought tickets for Fleetwood Mac in 2003 with the intention of selling them on for a big profit. Which I did and felt a complete a$$hole for doing it.
Only ever used Toutless since whenever I had spare tickets.
Plus in hindsight I should have just gone to the gig. Still haven’t seen the Mac.
All those people who voted “No” are either lying or never been to a gig more high profile than the local pub. We all have to go through the most prolific touts of all, Ticketmaster…
@Colm de Cleir: What would you know. You don’t know me.
No. It’s a professional organised rip-off racket.
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