Ticketmaster Resale: A Rant (Hamilton) — Page 2

This is nothing new. Back when A Chorus Line was HOT my uncle said there would be guys out front selling $20 tickets for $80-$100 and people paid it, my uncle included. Same for Funny Girl. This is just the new technology version of that.

I completely understand the concept of supply and demand that drives prices up. I got a very good lesson from Ticketmaster several years ago. I was watching TM to see if any decent seats would pop up for a concert I wanted to attend. One day I saw several tickets within the first ten rows show up. I told a bunch of friends who were also looking for tickets and several people bought them. Within two weeks we all got emails from TM saying they "inadvertently" sold those tickets and needed to take them back. They would be happy to replace them with "comparable" seats which were in the back of the pavilion. We turned down their offer and got refunds. I checked TicketsNow (I knew they were affiliated with TM) and our tickets were being sold there for 4 times the amount of face value. I watched for a week as the tickets went unsold and then a few days before the concert some of those tickets ended up back on TM for face value. This time I was able to upgrade my seat from 5th row to 2nd. But until I picked up the ticket at Will Call I was afraid that TM would snatch it away again. I am pretty certain that most of the Reseller tickets on TM are not tickets that are being sold by someone who can't make the show. I am pretty sure that TM is moving these blocks of tickets there to be sold at a higher price like they did with those concert tickets several years ago. The "Reseller" name is a joke since many of those tickets are not being "resold". And the connecting fans with fans is also a joke - they don't give a crap about the fans from what I've experienced.

Updated On: 1/27/16 at 11:55 PM

I make money line sitting. So what. Supply and demand, Baby.

Before people go hitting me up, I have a small, by reference only, concierge service with a full client list and a very long waiting list. So I am not available.

If you are looking for a line sitter try SAMEOLDLINEDUDE.COM they will line sit and they are way less expensive than me.

Updated On: 1/28/16 at 12:55 AM

I don't just line sit now. I drop off keys for Air BNB rentals, I pick up cronuts, I walk dogs, cat sit, pick up dry cleaning, let in cleaning people/ repairmen, whatever the client needswants. It's enough that it's worth my time. And Uncle Sam gets his cut now that I booked solid. It all started part time. About to give up my full time job to do this full time. People will pay a small fortune for someone to score them tickets to Shakespeare in the Park. I charge for my time and not the tickets. Let's just say that it more than paid for our 2 week European vacation cruise last November and there is still money in the bank. And that was just line sitting 2 days a week. I just started offering the other services. People are busy. I am older reliable and responsible. I help them conserve their time.

Updated On: 1/28/16 at 01:23 AM

gypsy101 said: "Can I please be you, I love sitting

"

it is actually way more depressing then you think. not enough to comfortably live on with a family... ends up being very boring and unfulfilling... etc.

I know people who have used TaskRabbit for line sitting, and it worked out well. (I've never used TR myself.)

Hellob said: "Since they are the only licensed place, I won't say I'd never use them again but I would be a lot more careful."

Mind expanding on that? I was thinking of using them this Saturday.

JM226 said: "it is actually way more depressing then you think. not enough to comfortably live on with a family... ends up being very boring and unfulfilling... etc. "

I'd much rather have 2-week vacations in Europe, to be honest.

I haven't read all of this yet, but came across it on Gothamist and thought of this thread:

http://gothamist.com/2016/01/28/ticketmaster_live_nation_bots.php

Broadway Guru, with all due respect I don't think anyone is really complaining about what you've done. Come back and report when you've started a business and you bought up 1800 tickets to resell. Or when you go to work for Ticketmaster and you are the one responsible for pulling 60% or so of all the tickets before they go on sale to the public (people like you wanting to buy tickets when they go on sale) for the purpose of raising the advertised prices not for resale, but for first sale.

Patash said: "Broadway Guru, with all due respect I don't think anyone is really complaining about what you've done. Come back and report when you've started a business and you bought up 1800 tickets to resell. Or when you go to work for Ticketmaster and you are the one responsible for pulling 60% or so of all the tickets before they go on sale to the public (people like you wanting to buy tickets when they go on sale) for the purpose of raising the advertised prices not for resale, but for first sale. "

to be honest, BG is a small example of the problem. individuals like BG wouldn't be a huge issue if it weren't for the scalper businesses, but they're both the problem. the problem being an artificial increase in the price to pay a middleman who is rent-seeking and adds literally no value to the ticket. the artificial increase in the price comes from an artificial decrease in supply. the scalper companies are worse because they typically employ bots and other legal but annoying ways to further artificially decrease the supply.

Has anyone sold a ticket through Ticketmaster resale? The fees are super high so I'm sure the producers are getting a cut. I looked into selling a ticket I couldn't use (ended up selling it to a friend) and just for me to get my money back, Ticketmaster tacked on $60 extra in fees. I'm sure fees increase with the amount you ask for the ticket.

NJ_BroadwayGirl said: "Has anyone sold a ticket through Ticketmaster resale? "

I have sold a few (and by a few I mean less than 5). The fees amounted up to about $100 additional for the purchaser. My cut was about $300 per ticket, but it was listed for over 400 including the fees, so that's what the purchaser paid.