Profile for goanna40

Oh noooo, I also had the date for public sale as the 18th. But  tickets are still accessible for some shows that are showing no availability if you use the American Express code (which is on the site so this is all very odd).

I'm only in NYC for the last week of previews, and could only manage a partial view seat. Might try my luck for a better ticket closer to the date.

Gah, it's a bummer to hear that tickets to anything at the Public are difficult to secure. It seems a bit ridiculous to consider paying for membership just for a better chance, right?

I was hoping I could see this while I was in the city (visiting from Australia, seeing Hamilton).

JayElle said: "Earlier this year a group of students and instructors planned a group outing.  They used the same computer to buy tickets for every so many of them.  They booked their trip and later learned all the tickets were canceled for the same reason.  The instructor said that the ticketmaster system picked up the same IP address to buy all those tickets and presumed it was a scalper or ticket bot, i.e., the software that snatches up tons of tickets before any of us can.

The story hit the papers.  I presumed they worked it out somehow.  I'm surprised that they just didn't let you keep the initial 4.  Escalate it to an executive level, but you would have to probably find that contact data online as I'm sure the call center folks are probably limited in what they can do and who they can contact.  The producers instituted those limits after the ticket broker bots snatched all the tickets in the first year.  Hasn't done much to stop the scalpers and bots because all of the cheaper seats in the mezzanine always go in seconds and the scalpers are always in front of the theater, despite police presence."

Yeah, I read that teacher's story. I'm glad they got it sorted. Can't say I'm banking on a similar miracle.

The only person I can see worth contacting in terms of executive level in the Hamilton circle is Jeffrey Seller, the lead producer who was quoted in that NYT piece on scalping and Hamilton. Besides an unverified Twitter account, there really isn't an 'official' way to reach him and I'm not sure this sort of unsolicited emailing helps.

It's great that the producers are taking a pro-active step to limit bots and scalpers, but as I've said, the system is obviously flawed. And I feel enforcing an upper limit on resale prices would probably be a better way to discourage scalpers (but free market, blah, blah, blah).

 

LizzieCurry said: "goanna40 said: "Thanks! I sent a very eloquent email to Baseline and am yet to get a reply.

I guess my last resort is spamming LMM on Twitter."

Don't; he's busy in London and this will be annoying at worst and ineffectual at best."

Sorry, that was a joke. Don't think Twitter spamming is the best way to get through to anyone.

Thanks! I sent a very eloquent email to Baseline and am yet to get a reply.

I guess my last resort is spamming LMM on Twitter.

Let me be a cautionary tale: Don't buy Hamilton tickets with a credit card that is linked to an overseas account because you look like a bot.

Fan123 said: "If no other reasonable options yield results, you or your friend could try filing a complaint with the relevant ombudsman, consumer protection agency or similar. In my limited experience this can sometimes galvanize a company when nothing else will. I'm not certain which agency (if any) would be best given that the issue crosses borders and involves theatre tickets specifically, but your local agency could at least provide you with some initial advice. Some organisation called ICPEN also seems to specialise in cross-border complaints - refer link below. The fact that your friend is US-based while you're Australia-based might give you some more options as well. Even finding out the name of the relevant US agency and mentioning it in your next interaction with Ticketmaster/whoever, might help to move things along.

https://www.accc.gov.au/contact-us/other-helpful-agencies/consumer-protection-agencies"


Thanks for the link! It's definitely on the cards, my friends has already mentioned filing a complaint with the Bureau of Consumer Protection. But first, we're going to try Baseline Theatrical.

 

In any case, I wrote about this whole ordeal here and I would greatly appreciate it if you could repost it or tweet it at LMM and the Hamilton account. I guess it's just a matter of getting it visible and having the right people to see it. Thanks for all your help everyone.

Contacting the credit card company is definitely one option to pursue- thanks for the tip.

Unfortunately, I don't think moving my trip is possible, considering I just missed the most recent release and early July is when I have time off university.

Huss417 said: "Just curious how you are calling the theatre directly? Good Luck either way."

There's a phone number listed as the Richard Rodgers box office: (212) 221-1211

While I cannot be certain it is the theatre itself, it is at least different to the Ticketmaster number listed on the official website.

Thanks for all your supportive words everyone! I had almost given hope and reading these comments really galvanised me.

Shall call the Richard Rodgers and see if they can do anything.

And I have tweeted at LMM a few times already. Don't want to push it too hard- he might block me!

Ticketmaster would have assumed that my friend would be with me (because, as you say, there would have been no way I could have picked them up myself). I have bought tickets to concerts on Ticketmaster with my friend's credit cards and as long as I was with them, I've never had any issues. We have been planning this trip for a while and I guess it never occurred to us that either of us would back out for any reason. It just was. (It's for Hamilton after all.)

 

Thanks for the insight Alexander Lamar. I do understand the people at the show are trying to cut down on scalping- LMM's fight against bots hasn't been lost on me.

I guess it's just that we've been caught up in this blunt instrument. We've been mistakenly labelled as scalpers and that's what saddens me the most.

Thanks for the offer bwayandstuff, but I won't be in NYC for the 16th of July unfortunately. But fingers crossed your tickets are safe!

 

Re: credit card, I'm sure other people have purchased tickets with other people's credit cards. I feel like if it were a fraud concern, the credit card company would have called my friend (they didn't). But yes, it's looking more likely that that might be the reason why. Gah!