Gord's tickets scalped?

[Auburn Annie]

From the 2/12 Minneapolis Star Tribune

Gord's Gold
We weren't surprised to hear all the complaints about Ticketmaster when it came to the hot-selling Bruce Springsteen and AC/DC concerts, but this one was downright shocking: "How, in the real world, could main floor seating be sold out in less than five minutes for Gordon Lightfoot?!" Karen Fernow of Minnetonka rightfully asked. Fernow claims she clicked to buy seats for ol' Gordo's March 22 show at the State Theatre five minutes after they went on sale, but was redirected to Ticketmaster's in-house link to ticket scalpers, TicketsNow. "This is nothing more than organized exploitation," said Fernow, who bit the bullet and paid $100 apiece for tickets originally priced at $50. If it's any consolation, Karen, we checked midweek and found those seats now priced $121-$396.

[charlene]

there's a class action lawsuit filed up here against Ticket bastard..er i mean ticketmaster. They are gouging beyond belief with this new system of 'how to rip off the concert goer'..
they take their own tickets, hold them, tell the buyer they don't have them .. but oh.. wait a minute Tickets Now does!!! it's a miracle!!!
yeah right.

[Auburn Annie]

I'm surprised there's not a law that a concert ticket can't be sold for more than a small percentage above its original sale price. And I'd add the larger the number held by the scalper for any one event, the smaller the percentage they're allowed to profit by. That might cut down on block buying. That or limit venues from selling more than say, 6-10 tickets, to any one buyer. Or hold all tickets to be picked up in person (one to a customer, maybe a pair) the day of the performance. Large volume brokers should be licensed and individual venues should have a say as to which brokers, if any, will have access to their tickets.

[Nightingale]

It's amazing the stunts they get away with. It's been this way for a long time now so I hope it changes soon.
TicketMonster...a very unethical business

[charlene]

then there's the scalpers with their methods for grabbing tix on-line;
http://www.corfid.com/vbb/showthread...t=ticketmaster

[lighthead2toe]

The total cost for the Friday, April 10th concert here in Vancouver, purchased on Jan 20/09 was: $82.25. The ticket face value: $72.50, order processing fee: $2.50, convenience fee: $5.50, facility fee: $1.75, for a total of $82.25. The ticket came by regular mail so there was no delivery fee (although one can rest assured that it's included somewhere else.)

On Monday, Feb. 9th, it was reported on the "Canada.com" website that "Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc." was hit with a $500 million (Canadian) lawsuit alleging the company broke the law by reselling tickets at inflated prices.
The story reported that a man bought two tickets advertised at $66.50 each face value and ended up paying a total of $553.65 for the pair.
The concert was held by the band "Smashing Pumpkins" November/08. and the lawsuit is seeking to be declared as a class action.
Guess I didn't do too bad at all, considering.

Also, being forced to pay such an inflated cost to attend a concert of one's favorite gig would probably put a damper on just how much enjoyment would come during the performance.

It really is getting out of hand and needs to be reined in so hopefully this lawsuit will bring it to a halt and at the same time take out those miscreants who hang out in front of concert halls gouging people as well, although I wouldn't hold my breath on that one.
Cheers, RJ.

[Nightingale]

One thing that I really detest is the production companies that take over a performers fan club.
That happened with the Moody Blues. They set up a website and you had to join, for a fee, of course.
They had presales on tickets but not for the benefit of the loyal fans. They created strange 'packages' that you had to buy and they included silly stuff like invalid backstage passes, vip parking, pictures of the band. They wouldn't tell you where your tickets actually were...just somewhere in the first ten rows.
Gee, the package only cost $300.00...what a deal.

It really disgusted me. I did buy a few scalper tickets but at least I knew where I was sitting before I handed over the money.

Sigh....it's a shame. I remember the days that you could stand outside overnight and score a good ticket.

[charlene]

http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/200...ettlement.html

Ticketmaster changes sales practices after Springsteen flap
Last Updated: Monday, February 23, 2009 | 3:45 PM ET Comments54Recommend61CBC News
Ticketmaster is changing the way it sells tickets online after a widespread backlash over allegedly inflated prices for Bruce Springsteen concert tickets.


PICTURE @ link:
New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram holds a replica of a Ticketmaster web page during a news conference in East Rutherford, N.J., on Monday. Milgram announced a settlement with Ticketmaster that changes the way the company sells tickets nationwide over the internet. (Mike Derer/Associated Press)New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram, who helped lead the investigation into whether the company broke state laws, said Monday that the two sides had reached a settlement.

The controversy began after more than 2,000 fans complained that initial attempts to buy tickets to a Feb. 2 Springsteen concert in New Jersey simply redirected them to a subsidiary, TicketsNow, which offered the tickets at an inflated price.

Under the settlement, Ticketmaster will pay the state $350,000 US to settle costs associated with the investigation, the Star-Ledger, a New Jersey paper, reported.

Monday's settlement also requires the firm to halt a previous advertising arrangement that had customers Googling Ticketmaster being automatically sent to the TicketsNow website, the Star-Ledger reported.

But the Associated Press reported Ticketmaster would not admit to any wrongdoing in the case.

Problem due to software glitch: firm
Ticketmaster said in a statement Monday that the problem was caused by a software glitch. The "voluntary agreement" with the attorney general just formalizes changes the company had already implemented, the company said.

The company will now reimburse the ticketholders who complained and will change how it handles secondary sales nationwide.

Springsteen had blasted the company in the immediate aftermath of the controversy, saying he was "furious" and that the redirect was an "abuse" of his fans.

Ticketmaster CEO Irving Azoff then issued an apology to the singer and his fans, saying the company has removed the redirect.

Similar Canadian controversy
The company has faced similar controversy in Canada. Earlier this month, Two law firms have launched class-action procedures against Ticketmaster and related parties in Ontario.

Like the U.S. complainants, the firms said they bought tickets at inflated prices from TicketsNow after first being turned away by Ticketmaster.

The law firms claim Ticketmaster and the other defendants owe a total of $500 million in damages to their client and others who were overcharged. They also allege the defendants violated Ontario law. Ticketmaster has said in response to prior complaints that the company's ticket-selling system is fair and doesn't violate the law.

[RM]

Yep...

Reminds me of the John Fogerty song "Mr.Greed"

Mr.Greed has taken down the global economy, why not Ticketmaster.....