Home > Gwinnett.talk > Archives > 2007 > September > 17 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USWhat’s the trick?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Handout
Jim Costelloe
3, 1461, 220-6400, 1. What do these numbers mean? No, they are not related to the sequence of numbers from “Lost.” They are actually even more puzzling.
•3 — as in three websites of so-called ticket brokers I looked at Monday morning after Hannah Montana tickets went on sale Saturday. These scalp — um, I mean, brokers — were Peachtreetickets.com, Razorgator.com (also known as Encore Tickets) and Smoothtickets.com.
•1461 — as in 1,461 — the total number of tickets these three websites (combined) had and were “selling” for the Hannah Montana concert coming to Gwinnett Center Arena in November.
•220-6400 — as in $220 to $6,400 — the price range that these tickets are selling for on these websites.
•1 — as in one family out of about 30 that we know who was actually able to get tickets to the Hannah Montana concert through the conventional means of trying to buy them through the online pre-sale as a member of Hannah’s fan club, or trying to buy them on the official sale date on Saturday morning, Sept.15.
I have puzzled over how these “brokers,” aptly named because buying tickets through these places will leave a family broke, are able to suck up the lion’s share of tickets while the vast majority of the non-broker population gets left empty-handed.
Think about these numbers, as they are truly staggering. These three places were each able to get their hands on hundreds of tickets. (There are other web sites with Hannah tickets, too; these are just the ones I checked.) That is an astounding success rate considering that there are limits on the number of tickets that can be purchased at one time, and knowing that most families with a child in the 7-10-year-old range living in Georgia were also online, on the phone or in line trying to accomplish the same thing the brokers were. I would think the odds would be stacked against the brokers.
People I know who attempted to buy tickets during the pre-sale were shut out instantly, within seconds of hitting enter on their keyboards. These same people then tried again by either attempting to purchase tickets online, by phone and by standing in line, still to no avail. People who stood in line saw that no line ever made it past the second person before being told that all the tickets were gone.
So what gives brokers such a leg up? These places can’t be sending employees into the street to wait in line with the rest of us. That wouldn’t make sense. Ticketmaster’s lottery system would not guarantee them a high enough success rate to make it profitable.
For those who do not know, the lottery system means you don’t have to camp out over night to be first in line. If tickets go on sale at 10 a.m., the outlet will hold a drawing about 9-9:30 a.m. for those people waiting to determine the order of people buying tickets. Therefore, it makes no difference if you arrive three minutes or three days before the drawing, your chances are the same.
So what could brokers be doing to gain such an enormous upper hand?
In some cases, it appears they may have technology. According to a lawsuit filed by Ticketmaster LLC in Los Angeles, four individuals in Massachusetts used sophisticated technology to circumvent Ticketmaster’s security protocols and flood the retailer with potentially hundreds of requests using multiple credit cards and E-mail addresses. The four accused individuals are alleged to have bought more than 45,000 tickets since 2003.
Other lawsuits filed in Texas, Ohio and Illinois allege that similar technology was used there to purchase 120,000 tickets in the same time span.
Of course there isn’t a single broker out there who doesn’t insist it obtains its ridiculous inventory of tickets through proper and legal channels. Go to any of these websites, and you will read essentially the same line: We obtain our tickets by maintaining extensive contacts with season ticket holders and by purchasing tickets from individual ticket purchasers.
The only problem with this stale rhetoric is that there are no season ticket holders for Hannah Montana concerts, and it would be literally impossible to obtain the number of tickets these brokers advertise from individual purchasers, let alone have them posted to their website within minutes of the concert selling out.
Maybe it’s time to go back to the old-fashioned method of selling tickets at retail outlets only and eliminating the online purchase. At least it would level the playing a field a bit more.
In the meantime, nothing changes, and our children get a first-hand lesson in disappointment.
At least we can take comfort in the fact that our children are not alone in their misery while the scalp — oops again, I mean, brokers — make money from it.
Jim Costelloe is a husband and father of two who lives in Suwanee and works in the commercial mortgage industry.
Permalink | Comments (13) | Post your comment | Categories: Entertainment
Comments
By Scott Boggio
September 18, 2007 12:16 PM | Link to this
I couldn’t agree with you more. Disney should be embarassed by the aftermarket cost of tickets for the Hannah Montanan show. I researched several websites yesterday and was astonished as some of the per ticket prices - in the $thousands$ of dollars range. Not only is it unaffordable for a majority of the population, even if you could, out of principle why would you pay that price. Superbowl tickets are less!!! Again, Disney should be ashamed.
By Shannon
September 18, 2007 8:35 PM | Link to this
AMEN!!!!!
By DeAna
September 18, 2007 9:37 PM | Link to this
I totally agree!! I’m just sick to my stomach and outraged at the thought of these money hungery scalpers taking away a little kids dream! Not one person I know could get tickets. How in the world did these dogs get them? This should be against the law and who ever buys them at that high price should be ashamed too. If we all took a stand and wouldn’t pay that high price none of this would be happening. Let’s see them eat those tickets. All our kids wanted to do is see someone they love. It’s a kids program for goodness sakes. What is this world coming to. Stop this maddness!!! Disney and the whole production company and tickmaster should be ashamed and be held accountable for advertising the sale of tickets and not giving everyone equal oppertunity. Also telling people if they join the fan club for $29.95 they can get presale tickets. Forgetting to mention those ticket were already sold out too! So, alot of people are out $30 just to join a fan club and no ticket. Why do we have to pay to be in a fan club??? Let’s stop this!! Everyone let’s take a stand and say NO to the scalpers and Disney for letting this happen.
By Charley
September 18, 2007 11:35 PM | Link to this
It should be against the law to sell tickets above face value, whether a broker or a scalper. Disney should take serious action against this happening. Once again equality in America is proven to be a farce. Charley
By melbourne
September 18, 2007 11:53 PM | Link to this
right on Charley, i hope the state of georgia will pass some law restricting the ticket prices especially the ones that are meant for children…for now, we just had to explain to our daughter that unfortunately there are heartless/ souless scalpers that thrive in this world who “bought” the tickets yet they had no intention of watching it at all…
By jim
September 19, 2007 8:45 AM | Link to this
Actually, some of what you say is true, but quite a bit is untrue. The combined tickets on the three websites is not accurate. Most likely, these are the same tickets on each website. They are posted by many different brokers that are broadcast on many different websites. Not one broker could get his/her hands on 1000 tickets for any one Hannah Montana show. That would be nearly impossible!! I think you might be surprised at the many Mom’s and Dad’s that DID get tickets. They are the ones selling on Ebay. As far as the brokers being “heartless / souless”, that is just not true. Hannah just happens to be the 1 in 1000 shows that is in demand by so many people and, since it is a kids show, some parents and their kids get extremely disappointed. Brokers buy tickets for shows everyday. Some good and some bad. Nobody ever talks about the bad shows.
By Gary Stern
September 19, 2007 9:54 AM | Link to this
Most working people do not have the time or inclination to spend a day trying to stand in line or access a web site to buy tickets to a concert. Where is it written that the “real fans” are those who can only afford to pay $26 dollars a ticket. Ticket brokers exist because people are willing to pay well above face value because, otherwise” they would NEVER get to see any event. They don’t have the time, but they do have the money to pay the market price for seats. Brokers don’t set the price, the demand creates the price, otherwise brokers would wind up holding seats that could not be sold. This article is just whining by someone who thinks he has a vested right to whatever entertainment his limited budget wants. To say that the author is spoiled is a gross understatement. The US Costitution does not guaranty the Freedom Of Concert Privilege.
By Anonymous
September 20, 2007 4:44 PM | Link to this
I think it’s very interesting that the general public - who knows nothing about the business of true ticket brokers - have so many negative opinions. It’s also very interesting that ticket brokers are taking the rap because demand has exceeded supply. Here are the true facts regarding ticket resale in the U.S.:
1) Ticket brokers, on average, obtain approximately 10% of the seating in any venue for any show. 2) Ticket brokers have obtained much less than 10% for all Hannah Montana shows across the country, far less than the norm.
If Hannah Montana’s demand is so strong, how is that the fault of ticket brokers? Perhaps, the promoters should take responsibility for underscheduling the tour, thereby increasing demand. Just a thought.
Also, because of the nature of the artist, whose fan base is young girls, why then should the disappointment and outrage at ticket unavailability and pricing be any different than the Super Bowl, Final Four, World Series or Kentucky Derby, which are also high-profile events?
Of course, maybe it would be better if ticket brokers bought no tickets, giving the consumer who could not get tickets by their own means, absolutely no chance to attend the show. Perhaps that would be better…
Maybe it is time that the general public understand, as the State of New York has, that ticket resale in this country is no different than the resale of any other item in the U.S. This is, after all, a free market economy and demand affects price everywhere you go.
It is almost funny that the author of the article makes his living in the commercial mortgage industry, which we know makes money lending money. Should we be equally outraged that, in essence, a loan is reselling money at an interest rate? His salary is quite good for someone who merely shuffles paper for profit…I don’t hear any outrage against this practice, even though we know because of shady mortgages, the real estate market has collapsed. It all depends on who you ask, I guess, who the real criminals are.
And, lastly, it is amazing that the public has no qualms in receiving a profit for reselling their tickets…and neither does TicketMaster, who themselves run auctions on their very own website at a premium - and, allow customers to post their tickets for sale on the website, sales of which TicketMaster profits again on this same ticket sale.
We should then ask ourselves, how is TicketMaster, a company who already dominates 96% of all ticket sales in the U.S., also allowed to be a ticket broker? Perhaps the outrage should begin here, then to the artists whose ticket prices are high to begin with, and the promoters, who themselves retain huge quantities of tickets for every show, never being made available to the public.
Something to consider before blaming the ticket brokers…
By Cryingmom
September 22, 2007 8:01 PM | Link to this
First just let me say that I have never posted anything on the internet before… so please bare with me. I’m glad to have found this site and felt better after reading all of the comments… O.K. not all of them(broker meanies)just kidding. I’m just a mom who tried to get Hannah tickets for her daughter’s birthday(she’s 11)and no I didn’t. I like everyone else joined Mileyworld, got my presale code, took off work the day of the presale, hit that dang button at 10:00 and got the dreaded -SORRY NO TICKETS AVAILABLE. I thought oh maybe I just hit the button too fast…Yes its very funny that I thought this. Well from that moment on, I have been going crazy trying to figure out what is going on here. I then again tried to get tickets on the day that the tickets went on sale to the public with the same result. I too saw the resale sites 1 minute after I tried to get tickets. The sites already had the tickets logged in and priced and for sale. O.K. maybe they got the tickets at the presale I don’t know.
So why is this bothering me so much? I guess because like all the other parents we just wanted to do something nice for our kids and in doing so learned that ticket sales is big dang business. Numbers please! I would feel much better if I knew that the bulk of the tickets went to fans and not the ticket broker meanies. Listen ticket brokers, don’t say you are doing us all a big favor by buying tickets for fans who can’t get off from work to get their own tickets therfore these poor people who can’t make the time to get the tickets can just pay you 10 times the price. Just say this… I’m a ticket broker and my job is to buy tickets and resell tickets to the people who have alot of money to pay for them. Broker meanie…also I’m sorry to tell you this but the Hannah concert is not the same as the superbowl. ITS FOR THE KIDS AND THATS WHY EVERYBODY IS SCREAMING>>>.
Well, no wonder I’ve never posted on the internet before…I can’t shut up. I don’t think its anyones fault…it just sucks. The broker sites seem to all have the same tickets on sale so if thats true than I guess 1000 out of 10000 tickets isn’t that much. Where’s the other 9000 tickets(just a number I picked…not sure how many Allstate Arena holds). I hope its in the hands of some very lucky little girls or boys who will have a night to remember. I don’t think parents are upset because they didn’t just get tickets. They think the tickets were sold before they had a chance…a fair chance. I wish I knew. How can we fix this? I guess Hannah will have to come back for the rest of her fans. Well Thanks for reading this… sorry I’m a rambler and broker meanie don’t hurt me.
,
By A Ticket Broker
September 24, 2007 6:59 PM | Link to this
I agree with what “Anonymous” said above. The writer and most of the general public have no idea how our industry works.
Has anyone here ever had access to look at a Ticketmaster machine and see what tickets will be available for purchase just minutes before the tickets go on sale? I have. And in the past several years the number of tickets, especially good ones, that actually go on sale to the public is declining. This is because the promoters and artists themselves are holding back more and more tickets - so that they can be sold “out the back door” to brokers at high prices. Don’t blame us. Blame the promoters and artists.
If you really hate paying high prices, band together and boycott the brokers. We have to sell the tickets at some price, and if there’s less buyers the prices go down.
By maxwell
September 25, 2007 3:12 PM | Link to this
Ticketmaster is selling these tickets for 100 times the face value go to ticketexchange.com owned by ticketmaster and see, are you people blind ??????
By steve
September 25, 2007 3:14 PM | Link to this
go to ticketexchange.com that is how ticketmaster resells their tickets, but you think it is a bunch of little brokers that have all the tickets huh?
By Jody
September 28, 2007 10:15 AM | Link to this
I was told if you join the Miley fan club you would be emailed when the advance tickets were to go on sale. I was never emailed sales dates for my area and now the tickets go on sale to the public this Saturday for Hartford, Connecticut. My daughter only joined her club to get tickets that were Im being told were really never available. I think the fan Club should return all that fan club money !!! Can you say RIP OFF. Time to get the Attorney General to look at this matter.