Ticketmaster: Old folks should avoid buying online
So I asked Ticketmaster spokesman Albert Lopez about the experience of a Baltimore grandmother who tried to by Disney on Ice tickets online from Ticketmaster. She was shocked to find out later that she had actually bought from TicketsNow, Ticketmaster's marked-up, scalper site, for much more than face value.
"I've got to tell you, I think it's a generational thing," he said. For most people, buying tickets online "is very plain and straightforward." If they aren't comfortable with the Internet, he says, older people should buy by phone or at the box office.
So it's the woman's fault that she paid $136 more than the tickets were supposed to cost. I guess the numerous young people who have told me similar stories are likewise to blame. The relationship between Ticketmaster and TicketsNow is rife with conflicts of interest. Next week there are congressional hearings on Ticketmaster's proposed merger with Live Nation. Maybe they'll get into the TicketsNow problem, too.
Comments
How is what Ticketmaster has not a Monopoly. I can't buy tickets anywhere else can I? I pay 12 dollars or so in fees for every ticket. I paid a convenience fee and had to print the tickets out at my house. It stinks.
Posted by: Neil B. | February 18, 2009 12:49 PM
Since Ticketmaster has decided to get into the resell business, they need to be more transparent as to the fact you may be paying well over the face value when you go to their website to purchase tickets
Posted by: Greg Cullen | February 18, 2009 2:22 PM
So how do you go about purchasing from Ticketmaster only? Without getting sent to Ticketsnow.
Posted by: Joe Martinak | February 19, 2009 7:22 AM
Jay, to be clear, you said older fans should not use the Web for ticket purchases.
I said if fans aren't not comfortable with e-commerce, they still have the option to purchase tickets by phone or in person.
There is a substantial difference in what I said versus what you blogged.
Posted by: Albert Lopez | February 19, 2009 12:41 PM
Jay, to be clear, it is YOU who says older fans should not purchase tickets via the Web.
I said if fans are not comfortable with e-commerce, they still have charge by phone and box office options to purchase tickets.
There is a substantial difference between what I said to you and what you blogged.
Posted by: Albert Lopez | February 19, 2009 12:43 PM
Mr. Lopez, what is clear is that Ticketmaster has a monopoly, that they are trying to steer people to their higher priced site, and that you all are a rip off that I, for one, no longer patronize. If that means that I can't buy tickets to a concert - oh well, too bad, so sad. There are other forms of entertainment available. Mmaybe once a lot of event goers realize that we need to take a stand and boycott your company, even if it means not attending events, perhaps Ticketmaster will come back to earth and stop trying to CHEAT people.
Posted by: Mar | February 19, 2009 12:52 PM