I know you. You thought, "Oh, there goes Anthony, off on another one of his 'twisted society' rants." That's OK. I understand. Sometimes I get a little ... aaaarrrrgggh ... about it all and it seems that maybe I go overboard in my pursuit of an angle for one of these posts.I understand.
Every once in a while, though, I'm not all that far off on the old Twisted Society bit.
Take those Police tickets I was ranting about before. Pretty expensive, huh? And that's just the regular price. I think I used the term "three times value" when I talked about buying them from ticket sellers.
Every once in a while, though, I'm not all that far off on the old Twisted Society bit.
Take those Police tickets I was ranting about before. Pretty expensive, huh? And that's just the regular price. I think I used the term "three times value" when I talked about buying them from ticket sellers.
One of those ticket brokers stopped by the blog on Friday. Ticket Solutions, which seems to be another sort of oxymoron, or at the very least a contradiction in terms. The Solution for getting floor seats at Giants Stadium is to cough up $2,875 each for them.
Uh Huh.
You can click on that image to enlarge it, but make sure you have a full stomach and are seated in an upright position.And, in case you were worried, they sell their tickets with a 200% guarantee. So, if you get there and the ticket is a copy, you can get double your money back, which doesn't match the 1200% mark-up on the tickets, but it's a nice gesture.
Over at good old Citizen's Bank Ballpark, where tickets aren't even on sale yet, the duckets will set you back $950 for the good spots, and $120 for Section 420 (a.k.a. Mount Everest). I guess they clogged up the pre-sale to get those.
At Fenway Park in Boston, they are charging Giants Stadium prices, with field-level seats at $2,875.
The Canadians aren't quite so ga-ga over the Police. A show at the Air Canada Center in Toronto will set you back from $850 to $115. Probably an exchange-rate deal.
Anyway, there are plenty more, but I think you get the point. If you want to see what's going on in or near your home town, click here and check the mortgage payment prices for one ticket to see 60-year old rock stars.
It's all perfectly legal, gang. At least they claim it is. The reality of the situation is that concert and big event tickets are Big Business. A racket in its purest form. Fans can see their favorite bands, but at a price. And while it might seem that I am picking on Ticket Solutions, they really aren't any different than any other ticket broker in the country. Find one, search their web site and you'll see the same thing.
Citizen's Bank Ballpark probably holds about 55,ooo for a concert. They set up a stage in center field, shit up the grass and rake it in - the money. The grass they leave. For the rest of the season, the Phillies play on an outfield with little square brown spots where the stage was.
Much like the fans, who sit with little brown spots in their pants when it comes time to pay for the privilege of seeing a band that you may have some personal connection with, and would like to re-unite yourself with over the summer. Go ahead, but the nostalgia will cost you dearly.
You have a fat rats ass of a chance to score tickets the regular way. Out of those 55,000 maybe 10,000 will get to real people who will pay face value. The rest go to Ticket Solutions and their ilk.
I scratch my head and wonder how or why it can be legal. I hate to say it, but I think it is way past time for our government to get involved in this ticket scalping practice. At the field is one thing. The real police can and do arrest scalpers. Why, then, is it legal to sell them off-site? I can understand a little profit for the effort, but Jesus!
I'm sure the Ticket Solutions web stalker will return to read this.
He's probably up all night. I would be. If I was in the business of legally raping people for money, I couldn't sleep either.
6 comments:
"I think it is way past time for our government to get involved in this ticket scalping practice"
Brother, you must be dreaming in technicolour. The Gov't couldn't give two shits about petty stuff such as this.
Sorry to disagree, but my dreams are in black and white.
I don't know how it is in Canada, but here, we have State governments that can regulate such activities.
They get involved in WAY smaller stuff than this.
The ticket racket is legalized stealing, and if the government isn't going to look after the best interests of the people, then we have no hope at all.
OMG - are those numbers SERIOUSLY for real?!?! unfreakingbelievable! i know i haven't been out to see a big show like that in a couple of years, but... there really isn't any reason for that, other than pure greed! puke.
remember when Pearl Jam tried to break ticket master and there ticket broker ilk? What happened? Ticketmaster pulled out of the places that went with the Pearl Jam idea and the little arenas were screwed. Sounds to me like collusion right there.
Yes, Pearl Jam's actions were commendable, but were only a grain of sand on the beach of ticket sales.
I think they were hoping that others would follow, but there's too much money in ticket sales to get much of a movement going. ComcastTIX tacks a $16.50 "convenience charge" on a pair of Police tickets. Who's being convenienced? Us or them?
Yea, that's why I don't go to shows or sporting events. I simply can't afford it. And I did the nosebleed seats once.......horrible and not that cheap. I only got to sit in a skybox and down behind homeplate once (for each) ONLY because the company I worked for had those tickets. I just really think someone like me won't even be able to sit in a seat that good on my own. They promise those tickets out probably years in advance.......sigh. But then again, I prefer to see the football game on tv because it's a better view, cheaper seats, free food and you get instant replays! I had season tickets to the Ravens once. Needless to say I missed a lot, and the boyfriend spent a lot on food and beer.....
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