Ticket Touts

[chrislfc]

I bought a Leeds ticket a few years ago. But couldn't go. Put ticket on eBay with a buy it now of the purchase price plus booking fee. A lad bought it, simples.

That's how it should work.

[chrislfc]

You can't ban touts whilst the box offices refuse to give refunds on unwanted tickets.

Many a time i've had to get rid of a spare ticket for less than face value outside a venue because the box office do not offer refunds.

Touts provide a service to us, they buy and sell and might make a few quid in the process mostly on a mark up for a ticket they've bought for less than face.

Buying a £50 ticket for £25 and selling it for £40 to someone else for example.

Online sales could be prevented I suppose but fellas standing outside venues buying and selling is always going to exist.whilst venues refuse to offer refunds.

Many football clubs are in cahoots with Thomas Cook who are basically legalised touts so it's going to be hard to regulate this one.

[Guest]

You can't ban touts whilst the box offices refuse to give refunds on unwanted tickets.

Many a time i've had to get rid of a spare ticket for less than face value outside a venue because the box office do not offer refunds.

Touts provide a service to us, they buy and sell and might make a few quid in the process mostly on a mark up for a ticket they've bought for less than face.

Buying a £50 ticket for £25 and selling it for £40 to someone else for example.

Online sales could be prevented I suppose but fellas standing outside venues buying and selling is always going to exist.whilst venues refuse to offer refunds.

Many football clubs are in cahoots with Thomas Cook who are basically legalised touts so it's going to be hard to regulate this one.

Edited October 17, 2013 by tonyblair

[russycarps]

You can't ban touts whilst the box offices refuse to give refunds on unwanted tickets.

Many a time i've had to get rid of a spare ticket for less than face value outside a venue because the box office do not offer refunds.

Touts provide a service to us, they buy and sell and might make a few quid in the process mostly on a mark up for a ticket they've bought for less than face.

Buying a £50 ticket for £25 and selling it for £40 to someone else for example.

Online sales could be prevented I suppose but fellas standing outside venues buying and selling is always going to exist.whilst venues refuse to offer refunds.

Many football clubs are in cahoots with Thomas Cook who are basically legalised touts so it's going to be hard to regulate this one.

[frostypaw]

Well of course the box office could handle returns - but inserting this extra layer of obsfucation means more chances to make money. Creates an opportunity for profit - wonderfully right wing

As usual paying no respect to actual need or how all the extra layers end up leaving us all poorer

[Vacant0]

Hasn't the government got better things to debate?

I don't see the problem. Ticket touts generally have the same chance of obtaining tickets regular punters do come ticket sale day, if the punter isn't organised enough to know when they go on sale first time round then they should fully expect to pay the free market rate for the product.

Shall we ban people buying art and classic cars simply to make a profit as well while we're at it?

[Glastoboy]

Bit dramatic. It's just how people work, they see something selling for under what it's worth then they buy it and sell it. Simple as. We don't live in a world where everyone just gets along nicely, borrowing sugar from each other and lending each other a tenner to get groceries.

Like it or not, it's about making money and if you can do that then you will.

[Guest]

Well of course the box office could handle returns - but inserting this extra layer of obsfucation means more chances to make money. Creates an opportunity for profit - wonderfully right wing

As usual paying no respect to actual need or how all the extra layers end up leaving us all poorer

[mrtourette]

how does refunding a ticket become a way to make money?

[Riggins]

And this ladies and gentlemen is precisely the reason I have fallen out of love with Glastonbury... and this country.

It is full to the brim of self-centred arseholes like this idiot. Have we really bred an entire nation of Thatchers ideological, money-grabbing children?

We have well and truly lost the battle and are beginning to lose the war. I'm off round my neighbours for a spliff now to see if I can borrow some sugar and see if she needs some money for groceries this week.

I fucking despair.

[russycarps]

Give it a rest will you, I don't create society I just have to live by it

[mrtourette]

And this ladies and gentlemen is precisely the reason I have fallen out of love with Glastonbury... and this country.

It is full to the brim of self-centred arseholes like this idiot. Have we really bred an entire nation of Thatchers ideological, money-grabbing children?

We have well and truly lost the battle and are beginning to lose the war. I'm off round my neighbours for a spliff now to see if I can borrow some sugar and see if she needs some money for groceries this week.

I fucking despair.

[frostypaw]

how does refunding a ticket become a way to make money?

[Guest]

Give it a rest will you, I don't create society I just have to live by it

Edited October 18, 2013 by tonyblair

[frostypaw]

But if they took returns, there's all kinds of situations which could make the venues lose loads of money. Supposing a concert is sold out, and a review for a show from a previous night means lots of people now don't want to go... how would that work... for example. People just changing their mind, etc.

[jimmyk83]

The value of your investment may go down as well as up.

No business is important enough that it deserves a gold plated pass to eternal profitability. If they make a poor booking then they have made a poor booking - that is their problem, their career and their professional judgement that have failed - why should someone else pay for it?

[mrtourette]

How would it eliminate touting though?

[jimmyk83]

Well, not by itself obviously, but if you ban resale websites, don't allow sales on gumtree (I think ebay don't do it anymore after stubhub launched), you're just left with outside the venue touts. Was chucking out a suggestion to help with the above problem of people hawking cheap tickets outside and marking them up. Probably should have said 'reduce' rather than 'eliminate' as well

[pjadnoo]

Some method of resale (at face value) or ticekt return is vital to be fair when tickets are sold months in advance. This sort of thing isn't unusual with other music/theatre (e.g. getting back the face value for your tickets if the venue can resell them, ala Royal Opera House), so it shouldn't be difficult to do for this to work elsewhere.

Having said that, I doubt it would have much of an impact on touting; Those tickets that go onto ebay/viagogo seconds after sell out at 10x costs are clearly being sold by individuals interested in making a profit, rather than people who've realised they can no longer go and have no other way to get their money back. Touting really needs to be stopped with legislation (waste of time imo), or with photo-ID tickets.

[Guest]

The value of your investment may go down as well as up.

No business is important enough that it deserves a gold plated pass to eternal profitability. If they make a poor booking then they have made a poor booking - that is their problem, their career and their professional judgement that have failed - why should someone else pay for it?

[mrtourette]

Investment? How did investing become part of the equation?

it was just an example anyway. Refunding tickets could never work.

A show is sold out, then loads of possible punters can't get tickets. Then, for whatever reason, there's a late rush of refunds and the place is half empty...?

It simply couldn't work.

Edited October 18, 2013 by mrtourette

[formed a band]

Don't see what the fuss is, anything in demand can be sold for a premium. Both the buyer and seller know and expect it. I'm not really sure why ethics come into it more with tickets ?

This new internet touting however is a different kettle of fish isn't it.

[Guest]

I think the argument from the left is that it should be made to work because then it completely protects the individual, if the venue/promoter/artist lost out due to people being able to return tickets then it's their fault for being capitalist money-hungry pigs.

[jimmyk83]

Would you be happy if gfl decided that due to high demand in recent years they could charge £500 a head?

edit- comment aimed at formedaband

Edited October 18, 2013 by jimmyk83

[mrtourette]

who says they're all money hungry pigs?

If you want to go down that path, then it should all be free and the venue and artist get paid by passing the hat round?