if i buy tickets at the box office in the city do they charge a service fee?
Chorus Member Joined: 9/23/06
No.
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
No, they don't. That's why I try to purchase all my tickets at the box office.
I think service fees are obsurd. Its like 18 dollars per ticket. Then shipping. Not worth it online.
Comparing that 18 dollars to like a 25 dollar lottery/rush ticket, it really is crazy.
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/12/05
It is crazy.
If you want to purchase a ticket and can't go to the box office, it's ridiculous.
Are we using 18$ worth of service...?
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/25/04
"Are we using 18$ worth of service...?"
Considering a computer is doing most of the work, I say no. It costs that much for a person to stuff your envelope basically. But how else will ticketmaster pay their employees if they don't charge us extra? I hate paying the fee, but most of the time, I have to.
Much as I dislike the service charges, sometimes it is not possible for many of us to get to the box office (unless, of course, something is playing in our city). Thus, the concept of online/telephone ordering comes into view, and of course, the service charges. But I guess nowadays, we have to pay for convenience one way or another.
Where are people paying $18 a ticket? I usually pay no more than $10 on telecharge.com by doing a box office pickup.
Either way, to play devil's advocate...booking systems like telecharge or ticketmaster don't make any money off a ticket sale if a product stays a box office price, as there's rarely any sort of inside commissions. So they have to make money by charging a booking fee. CC processing fees themselves are 3% at least. They are also powering and maintaining said booking software and website. And booking companies have staff too, call centre, IT staff, etc.
If we should get mad at someone, get mad at theatre owners for raising the ticket prices themselves!
I think I paid around $10 to have my ticket mailed to me. Where $18 is coming from, your guess is as good as mine--that is definitely robbery.
As we all know, it's very convenient to be able to purchase tickets online or over the phone--sometimes you just have to--but I agree that the service charges are outrageous. The biggest bummer is that getting tickets at the box office is not just cheaper, it's quite a bit more fun than typing in a crazy word like "nosebag" and clicking a few buttons.
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/12/05
"The biggest bummer is that getting tickets at the box office is not just cheaper, it's quite a bit more fun than typing in a crazy word like "nosebag" and clicking a few buttons."
That was great. Priceless. Nosebag! lol
Videos