So I buy 6 tickets to see the Cubs in Cincinatti this Wendesday and on the last screen you have 2 choices on how to have them delivered.
Will Call which is free. You just go by and pick them up when you get there.
Or Print Out at Home. Which is 2 FUCKING DOLLARS!!!
What the fuck are they charging me for? Am I not saving them money by using my own printer to print the tickets? By not making them have some goon checking my ID and printing tickets at the park?
Charging what the market will bear. . .Capitalism at work.
Alternatively, the tickets, printed in bulk cost them almost nothing per piece, but spending the extra energy to ensure that the tickets held at the counter are correctly disposed if they are also printed on-line so that the usher is not faced with two patrons holding tickets to the same seat along with the software employed to prevent people from cracking the system and printing their own tickets may bear a cost they are attempting to retrieve, (particularly if the security and printing software is held and maintained by a third party, in which case they may be simply passing along the cost (or cost plus a bit) to the consumer, directly.
All of the above is a WAG, but it is not an unsupportable WAG.
And while I realize the new Congress has a six-year backlog of stuff they’ve got to catch up on, I’d be deeply appreciative if, once they’ve addressed Iraq, global warming, the minimum wage, and a host of BushCo corruption, they could squeeze in a hearing on why this particular monopoly is allowed to persist.
They use the scanners on all tickets, print at home and even sent through the mail. It is just Ticketron making a little extra money at the fans expense.
That’s not true at all. I just got back from a week of Spring Training games. They merely tear the stub off the traditional paper tickets, but had to scan the print-out ones.
They are paying ticket-takers in either case, but scanners cost extra money, tearing paper does not.
I meant regular season, major league games. I thought that was what we were talking about. Yankees, WhiteSox and Baltimore all charge the extra fee IRC, despite scanning every ticket.
What you said is probably also true for many minor league parks.
It might be that you have to pay for emailed tickets because that service is provided by Ticketmaster. Those assholes find a way to charge for every single step in the process of selling tickets. Processing fees, convenience fees, transaction fees, emailing fees; you name it, and they’ll find a way to rape you in hip pocket.
But “Will Call” is not a service provided by Ticketmaster; it’s provided by the box office at the stadium. It might even be that the ballparks, or even MLB, have told Ticketmaster that they’re not allowed to charge extra for “Will Call” tickets.
Because you can be sure that, if Ticketmaster could charge you for it, they would.
Hmm, you may be right. I have tickets to 3 or 4 regular season, MLB games this summer, both paper and print-out. I’ll have to check it out and see if they scan the paper ones, too.
But, think of it this way. They’re not basing their charge on their costs, they’re basing it on the convenience to you. Because you printing out your tickets is a benefit to you (as opposed to having to stand in line at the game), they’re charging. And people who want the convenience of having their tickets ahead of time will pay.
I’d almost agree with you, but standing in line at the Will Call is nothing like standing in line to buy tickets. I’m cheap enough that I’d rather get to the ballpark early enough to stand and wait to get my tickets at the Will Call. Besides, even if you’re a little too early, you can always sit down, grab a beer (or whatever), get your scorecard ready for the game, and watch a little batting practice. You don’t have to worry about getting good seats or even getting seats to begin with.