# Thanks for the 40% mark-up, Ticket Master! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 18, 2006, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-40-mark-up-ticket-master/340550 "2006-01-18T19:56:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-40-mark-up-ticket-master/340550/1 "2006-01-18T19:56:24Z")
I decided to go to a concert this weekend because the tickets were only 10 bucks (so says the radio ad). Great, I go to the venue’s web site - we only use Ticket Master. This ass master company then charges me a $2.50 per ticket “convenience charge” plus a $3 and change service charge. Totalling over 28 bucks for 2 ten dollar tickets. That is a 40 percent markup per ticket. 40 PERCENT! That is extremely excessive in my opinion. But it gets worse. Their cheapest shipping charge is $14.95 via UPS. Fifteen bucks to mail 2 tickets totalling 20 dollars. What are these scrotal licking toads smoking to think this is fair? Please, please won’t somebody provide an alternative to Ticket Asster. I can only spring for about $72 in venture capital at this time, since these skidmark worshippers took the rest of my money. ---
**Author:** ![Bob\_Scene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Bob\_Scene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob_Scene)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-40-mark-up-ticket-master/340550/2 "2006-01-18T20:44:33Z")
They’re worse than that. The last time I tried to buy tickets on the Ticketmaster website, there was a little, inconspicuous notice on there saying that by buying tickets (which requires you to supply an e-mail address) you were agreeing to allow them to sell your e-mail address to spammers. There was no way to opt out of it. ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-40-mark-up-ticket-master/340550/3 "2006-01-18T20:45:41Z")
Ticketmaster must be one of the most hated corporations to ever exist on God’s green earth. But here’s what I don’t understand – we’re a capitalist system, right? Competitors should spring up and bring the price down, right? So who repealed the law of supply and demand without telling us? Because none of this makes sense to me any other way. ---
**Author:** ![SisterCoyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@SisterCoyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SisterCoyote)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-40-mark-up-ticket-master/340550/4 "2006-01-18T21:14:27Z")
> [@Sal Ammoniac](#): > > Ticketmaster must be one of the most hated corporations to ever exist on God’s green earth. But here’s what I don’t understand – we’re a capitalist system, right? Competitors should spring up and bring the price down, right? So who repealed the law of supply and demand without telling us? Because none of this makes sense to me any other way. TicketBastard is, in essence, a monopoly. They have driven all their competitors out of business, and short of buying tickets direct from the box office there are no alternatives but the scalpers. IMO, IME, and other acronyms. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-40-mark-up-ticket-master/340550/5 "2006-01-18T21:59:37Z")
Wasn’t there a band who was fighting the good fight against these pricks? Pearl Jam or someone? I just checked out tickets for Wicked. They’re only $32.50 but I imagine by the time I’m done I’ll be at $80 or more. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-40-mark-up-ticket-master/340550/6 "2006-01-18T22:01:00Z")
I feel your pain, **xizor**. I bought my husband tickets to see Colin James for his birthday in February at a small-ish local venue - $100 for two tickets, all told. They’re good seats, mind you, but the difference between good and bad seats was about $7 per ticket, so I splurged. :rolleyes: But what’s up with $15 to send tickets by UPS? Have they never heard of mail? I don’t fly much, but apparently the mark-ups and taxes on airplane tickets put TicketBastard to shame, so I guess it’s all relative, eh? ---
**Author:** ![scout1222](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@scout1222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scout1222)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-40-mark-up-ticket-master/340550/7 "2006-01-18T22:08:49Z")
Apparently Canada is different than the US in regard to airport taxes (in the MMP Lissla Lissar just mentioned you guys pay a lot) but for us here in the States, nobody beats the Ticket Master charges. Ugh, I feel your pain. I swear I’ve opted out of events because once you add on all the fees, it just ain’t worth it. Eddie Vedder, WHERE ARE YOU?? ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-40-mark-up-ticket-master/340550/8 "2006-01-18T22:37:40Z")
> [@Sal Ammoniac](#): > > Ticketmaster must be one of the most hated corporations to ever exist on God’s green earth. But here’s what I don’t understand – we’re a capitalist system, right? Competitors should spring up and bring the price down, right? So who repealed the law of supply and demand without telling us? Because none of this makes sense to me any other way. The courts did, when they found that TicketMaster was not a monopoly. They have exclusive agreements with most major sports teams and most large venues, but no, they’re not a monopoly. Yeah, that’s it. ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-40-mark-up-ticket-master/340550/9 "2006-01-18T22:38:40Z")
> [@SisterCoyote](#): > > TicketBastard is, in essence, a monopoly. They have driven all their competitors out of business, and short of buying tickets direct from the box office there are no alternatives but the scalpers. > > IMO, IME, and other acronyms. Right, and economic theory tells us that monopolies cause market failure. That’s what we have here. So concerts are ridiculously expensive as a result, and most of it just goes to those asswipes, rather than the musicians or venues. My hatred for Ticketmaster burns like using pepper spray as a personal lubricant. May every executive at the company develop an uncontrollable itching on their internal organs. May all their teeth fall out except one, so they can have a toothache. ---
**Author:** ![NailBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecae2f/32.png) [@NailBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NailBunny)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-40-mark-up-ticket-master/340550/10 "2006-01-18T23:19:23Z")
Yep, I used TicketMaster to buy tix for the Gogol Bordello/Cake show at House of Blues in Las Vegas at the end of this month. Tickets were 30 dollars apiece, I bought two. Total charges? 94 FUCKING DOLLARS!!! It took me like twenty minutes to explain it to my husband how it ended up being that much, between the convenience fees and the inconvenience fees and the mailing fees and the shipping fees and sacrifice-in-lieu-of-fatted-calf fees. Oodalolly. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-40-mark-up-ticket-master/340550/11 "2006-01-18T23:33:42Z")
Come the Revolution, comrades…come the Revolution. TicketMaster, meet Wall. ---
**Author:** ![SanibelMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@SanibelMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanibelMan)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-40-mark-up-ticket-master/340550/12 "2006-01-18T23:51:57Z")
> [@NailBunny](#): > > Yep, I used TicketMaster to buy tix for the Gogol Bordello/Cake show at House of Blues in Las Vegas at the end of this month. God, that sounds like it would be an awesome show. I should have gotten married in Vegas. “Dogs were barking, Guests were parking, And my WEDDING was about to START…” ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-40-mark-up-ticket-master/340550/13 "2006-01-18T23:52:45Z")
I hate Ticketmaster so much, and I’m so cheap, that I have been known to drive to concert venues to purchase my tickets from the box office, days, weeks, or even months in advance, even if the venue is half an hour or more away. ---
**Author:** ![ethanwinfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/96bed5/32.png) [@ethanwinfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ethanwinfield)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-40-mark-up-ticket-master/340550/14 "2006-01-19T00:03:59Z")
Remember the days of having to camp out in an effort to even get tickets? One of my favorites scenes in _Rock & Roll High School_ is when she has the argument about being first in line. She skips school for like 3 days to get that coveted spot. As much as I hate TM, it is so much more convenient than going to the venue. Especially when I am buying tickets for an out-of-town event. I will probably never understand the way they determine their fees. I bought 1 ticket to Tiger Army (2 people already had tickets so it was 3 people going). The face value was $15. With all the fees it was $26! ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-40-mark-up-ticket-master/340550/15 "2006-01-19T00:06:27Z")
Is “will call” not an option for these tickets? Won’t stop the ridiculous “convenience fees” (may whoever came up with that term rot in Hell) but it’ll stop the ridiculous UPS fees. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-40-mark-up-ticket-master/340550/16 "2006-01-19T00:39:15Z")
> [@SisterCoyote](#): > > TicketBastard is, in essence, a monopoly. They have driven all their competitors out of business, and short of buying tickets direct from the box office there are no alternatives but the scalpers. And even buying them from the box office won’t get you out of the “convenience charge.” Last time I went to buy tickets to a local show, I was astonished at the $7.50 per $30 ticket charge online, so I went to the venue. They tried to charge me the same fee. “Wait a minute,” I said. “Is there any way to buy a ticket to this without paying this fee?” They assured me that there was not. Shipping and any “Per order” fees are unreasonable, but at least arguable. Charging an additional fee, above the listed price, on _every single fucking ticket_ is nothing less than blatant false advertising. I filed a complaint with the California Attorney General’s office against Ticketmaster and against the theater, and I encourage everyone else to do likewise. ---
**Author:** ![NailBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecae2f/32.png) [@NailBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NailBunny)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-40-mark-up-ticket-master/340550/17 "2006-01-19T00:54:30Z")
> [@SanibelMan](#): > > God, that sounds like it would be an awesome show. I should have gotten married in Vegas. > > “Dogs were barking, > Guests were parking, > And my WEDDING was about to START…” Oh yes, we are very much looking forward to it, even if Gogol Bordello & Cake do seem kind of an odd pairing! It’s like: laid back, jazzy funk, and insane Ukranian punk rock, together at last! 😃 And I strongly recommend getting married in Vegas, I did! And **Otto** , yes I do believe they have a “will call” option, and if I’m not mistaken I think it costs _more_ than just getting the beshatted things mailed to you! Magnificent, evil bastards. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-40-mark-up-ticket-master/340550/18 "2006-01-19T01:37:23Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > Wasn’t there a band who was fighting the good fight against these pricks? Pearl Jam or someone? Yeah, they had some kind of resistance going, even calling their ticket distribution system/company “ABT”, Anything But Ticketmaster. They were assimilated, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-40-mark-up-ticket-master/340550/19 "2006-01-19T01:40:24Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > Is “will call” not an option for these tickets? Won’t stop the ridiculous “convenience fees” (may whoever came up with that term rot in Hell) but it’ll stop the ridiculous UPS fees. Yeah, I go to several college sporting events a year and will-call is quite a convenient option if you live far away. You call them up and place the order for your tickets, it’s a direct order to whatever university subdivision manages their football ticketing so there’s no bullshit ticketmaster fee or anything like that. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-40-mark-up-ticket-master/340550/20 "2006-01-19T01:41:49Z")
The other bad thing about will call nowadays, is that you often get some electronic printout of your ticket, rather than a cool ticket stub to collect and keep forever. Not a big deal, especially when it comes to saving some money, but I know people who are obsessive about lifelong ticket stub collections. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-for-the-40-mark-up-ticket-master/340550.md?page=2)