Sales are slow this year! WTF?

[guyzer]

I'm lucky enough to already have bought tickets last August, thinking it would be impossible tonight. Don't get me wrong, I've suffered Ticket night til the small hours since 2005, so purely out of interest I've been looking at the ticket sites over the last 3 hours, and apart from Ticketmaster, most of the official sites are still selling now! What the hell is going on? Seetickets seems impossibly easy to get on- this HAS to be a mistake surely???

Genuine apologies to anyone who is struggling, but having just looked as I write this (10pm), recommended vendors via the official site- Gigantic, Ticketqueen, and Seetickets- all seem to have plenty!!! Where's the usual panic and problems???

I know the lineup has been complained about including on this forum, but I've been going to Reading since 2003 and have never seen sales this slow before. The lineup's not THAT bad surely???

Anyone got any thoughts or comments?

[chappiepunk]

Shit lineup = Shit sales

[bennyk]

There was a presale as usual in September, then there was another (beat the VAT) presale in november, then there was the Vodafone VIP tickets from thursday. So im sure that will decrease ticket sales on the night by a couple of 1000's. Then you have an increase in capacity at Leeds + ticket prices reaching over the £200 limit mark.

Simple

[jump]

Same reaction as the 2009 line up so same slow sales. The 2009 line up was a lot better though.

[Vacant0]

Aye, Its shocking. The First time in about six years that I've had no trouble whatsoever getting on to any of the ticket sites and I've not even been wanting to buy tickets this year - was tempted to buy a Saturday ticket (as its all I could afford atm) but nearly 100 quid for basically three bands, f**k that.

Edited March 21, 2011 by Vacant0

[mooseman]

Hahaha someone I know somehow couldn't get a ticket (I've been going on seetickets for the past 2 hours with ease) and may have used getmein.com, it seems legit (linked with ticketmaster) but the tickets are £230+. Crazy idiot

[DaveElNino]

Poor line-up (in many peoples eyes) + £200+ for a ticket + uncertain economy = poor sales. I've said for a couple of weeks that you'll be able to pick up a weekend ticket for well under face value on eBay a few weeks beforehand and this supports that idea.

EDIT: In fact, looking on eBay a pair sold for £282 earlier this evening for Reading. The bedroom touts will be getting stung here.

Edited March 21, 2011 by DaveElNino

[Stylo92]

Shite lineup explains that

[guyzer]

Poor line-up (in many peoples eyes) + £200+ for a ticket + uncertain economy = poor sales. I've said for a couple of weeks that you'll be able to pick up a weekend ticket for well under face value on eBay a few weeks beforehand and this supports that idea.

EDIT: In fact, looking on eBay a pair sold for £282 earlier this evening for Reading. The bedroom touts will be getting stung here.

[chappiepunk]

Yeah at least that means that the touts will get royally f**ked up the arse this year

[guyzer]

Still cant quite fathom quite why its been so easy this year. Last year was so difficult that I ended up out of desperation on a scam website, only getting money back from credit card company 5 months later! :angry:

This lineup may be a bit weaker than some years, but its still Reading FFS! Think at this rate there's only gonna be a few thousand of us there! Just hope next year is just as easy, but somehow I doubt that!

[hatman]

the other factor is what i call 'band fatigue' Quite a lot of the bands on the bill come around far too often. even an act like muse have in the last 3 years played glasto, t in the park, their own shows twice and before that it was leeds last time out. they are not the only ones, far too many of the bands play the festival scene too much

[guyzer]

the other factor is what i call 'band fatigue' Quite a lot of the bands on the bill come around far too often. even an act like muse have in the last 3 years played glasto, t in the park, their own shows twice and before that it was leeds last time out. they are not the only ones, far too many of the bands play the festival scene too much

[Hart Attack]

It's crazy how easy it's been to get tickets today - I can't believe there hasn't been the usual mad rush and hours of tense waiting and constantly refreshing the page to try and get through. Although, what with the line-up this year, I guess I can believe it. It really isn't the same this year, in any sense.

[chappiepunk]

It's crazy how easy it's been to get tickets today - I can't believe there hasn't been the usual mad rush and hours of tense waiting and constantly refreshing the page to try and get through. Although, what with the line-up this year, I guess I can believe it. It really isn't the same this year, in any sense.

[guyzer]

It will sell out, eventually. Next year will be back to the massive rush I think, the lineup will be much better in 2012.

[mooseman]

haha still getting through on seetickets.

[guyzer]

haha still getting through on seetickets.

[danvb]

there was september pre sale,and also im sure some tickets went on sale in december aswell,and im sure i read that they would increase leeds capacity this year,so more capaity in the festival more tickets on sale.

i guess the muse-strokes/pulp headliners are the heavy/alternative rock that some people prefer.

and mcr arent hugely loved,but are popular,i guess just not with regular leeds/reading crowd.sonisphere doesnt help reading/leeds the festivals dynamic does it?.

people also arent as well off this year,a lot of people are out of uni and there are not many jobs around.and people just cant find full time jobs.

some might already be doing download or sonisphere.

im doing glasto,and can only just manage to go to leeds. i imagine some will do glasto,but not afford leeds/reading ontop of that.

[Mariner]

haha still getting through on seetickets.

[guyzer]

Has there ever been a year when weekend tickets didn't sell out?

[Rudzkii]

They didn't sell out straight away last year

[JC-Mo'Fucka]

In the end, the muse fans will suck em all up

[sloan85]

reading tickets still on sale almost 5 hours later? cant say ive seen that ever. totally shite line up.

[luckysalt]

Well, Even though the line up was awful, V has totally blew Reading and Leeds away in ticket sales this year, V was sold out in what 30 mins, hour tops. Gotta say I can't remember the last time tickets were avalible so easy, its better this way

Like I say festivals sales should go back to how they were when I started going, they all took months to sell out and festivals worked harder for your cash, now they just lazy and rely on name value [Reading and V do certainly], like the OP said I can't believe how slow ticket sales are - this is Reading! Thats exactly what they want. f**k the name value, a festival shouldn't keep selling on name value alone, it would certainly shut that smug f**k Benn up!