# Ticketmaster **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 28, 2001, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ticketmaster/95723 "2001-11-28T16:08:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![KSO](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@KSO](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KSO)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2001, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ticketmaster/95723/1 "2001-11-28T16:08:32Z")
Really, need I say more? These cocksucking bastards deserve to be wiped off the face of the earth, if only for the $10 “convenience charge” they tack on to every ticket. God forbid a problem comes up with a ticket order that requires talking to a fucking human being since every single phone number on the planet listed under Ticketmaster results in a fucking busy signal. God forbid any of the “human beings” that are employed by Ticketmaster are capable of dealing with any such problems. God forbid that you have a human being READ the fucking e-mail that I sent explaining the goddamned problem. God forbid you follow your own fucking policies about responding to an e-mail inquiry–here’s a hint, when you say you’ll respond within 48-72 hours, that means two to three days, not EIGHT days, douche bag. By the way, if I don’t have the tickets in my hand before I get on the airplane, I’m suing your sorry ass in small claims court to recover the cost of the tickets, your “convenience charges,” my telephone charges trying to sort out this mess, and maybe I’ll throw in an unfair trade practices claim, just for fun. I don’t care if I lose so long as you have to show up and defend yourselves, just on fucking principle, assholes. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2001, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ticketmaster/95723/2 "2001-11-28T16:19:51Z")
Mr Vedder! Paging Mr Edward Vedder in the Pit! And my most outrageous incident. Mary Prankster at a good size club in DC. It holds 1300 people. Cost of ticket: $5 Service charge: $7 Argh. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2001, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ticketmaster/95723/3 "2001-11-28T16:27:53Z")
I don’t bother with getting my tickets on-line or by phone anymore, I either goto Hecht’s or right to the venue. I don’t go straight there much though unless I know it will not be sold out. Hecht’s still charges you, but not nearly as much. I just bought 3 tix for 90 bucks, two tickets were 25 and one was 27.50 so I only got charged 4 bucks each. On-line it would have been 115 or so. The worst though was I went to see ZZ Top about 4-5 years ago, got my tickets, show up and no concert. It had been moved BACK in time and to another place. Gee guess you didn’t know that when I bought the tickets AFTER the damn show huh? ---
**Author:** ![Oblong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/c0e974/32.png) [@Oblong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oblong)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2001, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ticketmaster/95723/4 "2001-11-28T16:41:43Z")
If you don’t like the service they provide, then feel free to walk down to the box office and get them yourself. Someone has to pay for all that technology to allow you to sit on your ass and order from the computer. ---
**Author:** ![KSO](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@KSO](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KSO)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2001, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ticketmaster/95723/5 "2001-11-28T16:51:30Z")
I should have just gone to the box office. Oh wait, the show is in Miami and I live in Hartford, Connecticut. Maybe YOU can afford a day trip to Miami, but I can’t. ---
**Author:** ![Zanshin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e274bd/32.png) [@Zanshin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zanshin)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2001, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ticketmaster/95723/6 "2001-11-28T16:55:41Z")
That’s a nice thought, **Oblong** , but there are actually venues out there that do not have a physical box office where you can buy tickets, or have subbed all their ticket sales to Ticketmaster, so you can’t just show up and buy tickets. (I was frankly amazed myself to find this out.) So you’re **forced** to deal with Ticketmaster, those money-grubbing fucks. Or, like **KSO** , if you’re in a different state from the show you’re seeing, it’s not possible to get to the box office. I don’t begrudge anyone the right to make money, but there’s a line between making a comfortable margin and sheer gouging – and Ticketmaster’s so far over that line, they can’t even see it from where they are. (Ya think I’ve got a little Ticketmaster bitterness myself? Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh…) ---
**Author:** ![Skerri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Skerri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skerri)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2001, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ticketmaster/95723/7 "2001-11-28T16:59:25Z")
Cost of two Pearl Jam tickets: $ 64 Cost after Ticketbastard got ahold of 'em: $96.50. Ya know, I was excited when Pearl Jam decided to use another ticket agency to do their tickets. I saw Pearl Jam on that one tour for a whopping 39.50 for two tickets, which included parking and service fees. But then, Ticketbastard starts contracts with venues that basically have a no-compete clause in them, which means the venue has to use Ticketbastard to distribute tickets to ANY event. So now, Ticketbastard charges me 16.25 per ticket in fees. Oh, and just for the record, **Oblong** ,I had to pay a _phone_ convenience fee, even though my tickets were ordered online, along with the service charge, and the one time convenience fee for using Ticketbastard. Explain that. ---
**Author:** ![Profane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47774/32.png) [@Profane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Profane)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2001, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ticketmaster/95723/8 "2001-11-28T17:11:13Z")
One time my husband and I went to see Mike Ness at a local club. We bought the tickets at the door as we walked in, and _had to pay the ticketmaster service charge_. Don’t try to tell me that makes any sense. I wanted see Weezer recently, the two tickets would have come to $55. Ticketmaster wanted to charge me $73. Not only that, but if you call them all they do is hawk crappy merchandise to you. I am so pissed off at how much “service” charges are I don’t go to concerts anymore. It sucks for me, but I refuse to be robbed. I refuse. I hate ticketmaster. Hate hate hate. ---
**Author:** ![Oblong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/c0e974/32.png) [@Oblong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oblong)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2001, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ticketmaster/95723/9 "2001-11-28T17:26:30Z")
If there’s no other way to get tickets other than through ticketmaster, then i’d agree on the service charge. If ticketmaster doesn’t get a cut from distributing, creating, managing the ticket sales from the actual price of the ticket then there has to be a service charge or else they won’t be in business. How else are they supposed to be paid? DOn’t blame them, blame the promotors for misleading you in the price. It’s like tires. The tires may cost $50, but you have to pay all the extras to get them on your car. If the complaint is because you paid a higher price from ordering on line or over the phone than going to a ‘ticketmaster center’, then tough shit. That’s business. Life isn’t free. It’s like ATM fees. If you don’t like it, then don’t use the convenience. Its not an entitlement. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2001, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ticketmaster/95723/10 "2001-11-28T20:11:56Z")
Ticketmaster is the only place I’ve encountered that actually charges me extra for using a credit card. Every other business on earth doesn’t care if you pay by cash, check, or a bag of gold dust, so long as they get paid. I would think Ticketmaster would be bloody thrilled that I’m not making them deal with a couple hundred in cash. Hell, the nice people on “Amazing Inventions” will give me extra free stuff if I order now with my credit card! Somebody, 'splain this to me. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2001, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ticketmaster/95723/11 "2001-11-28T21:51:42Z")
Dear God, it is my dream in life to have a monopoly. I want to be able to charge people for using my service (even if there won’t be any actual “service”). What was that line in the Simpsons about Ticketmasters’ service charges ensures a “healthy mix of the rich and the ignorant”? **Oblong** , how on earth can you justify the 140% service charge in the example by **Jonathan Chance**? ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2001, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ticketmaster/95723/12 "2001-11-28T22:19:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by adam yax \* > **Dear God, it is my dream in life to have a monopoly. I want to be able to charge people for using my service (even if there won’t be any actual “service”).** That’s the crux of it isn’t it. How Ticketmaster avoids restraint of trade accusations is beyond me. Tell you what **Oblong** …Get every venue to allow ticket purchases from three or more vendors then see where the prices land. If it really costs that much to do business with the likes of Ticketmaster then the prices will stay the same. I suspect, however, that prices would drop dramatically with a little competition. FWIW I LOATHE Ticketmaster and avoid them like the plague whenever possible. Ticket scalpers are often cheaper but they’re hard to find (and before you say I’m paying Ticketmaster for convenience make it _legal_ to scalp tickets…they’d probably be easier to find then). ---
**Author:** ![Frumious\_Bandersnatch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Frumious\_Bandersnatch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frumious_Bandersnatch)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2001, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ticketmaster/95723/13 "2001-11-28T22:21:34Z")
Pay attention. It’s a fucking MONOPOLY. You don’t pay for convienience, you pay because Ticketmaster is the ONLY PLACE to get the tickets. Yeah…Yeah… scalpers too, but even they get their tickets from Ticketmaster. These fuckers get paid even before the artist does. Their fees are out of line. Carry On. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2001, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ticketmaster/95723/14 "2001-11-28T23:02:11Z")
Well, Oblong, I guess all those businesses that offer online sales should follow Ticketmaster’s example and start grafting all kinds of obscene “service charges” onto the cost of their merchandise. After all, _someone_ has to pay for the cost of their online sales system. It’s not as if they were trying to maximize sales of their product and actually wanted to encourage you to buy from them. :rolleyes: As of recently, the Boston Red Sox had a website that included a nice system for locating potential seats and ordering them online. No Ticketmaster involved. The Houston Astros had a similar system, with Ticketmaster. Yet for some reason, there were no service charge fees on the Red Sox site to compare with the Astros’ Ticketmaster gouges. Go figure. Want to get my business, Mr. Event Promoter/Sponsor? Dump Ticketmaster.