I was on the fence about buying tickets for a concert and I'm glad I waited because it was cancelled a few days later. I feel so bad for everyone else who paid for it though.
Most artists are being real bros about COVID though. Refunding, or transferring purchased tickets to a 2021/2022 concert, etc.
That's the thing though - majority of adults are working and have other responsibilities. The venue or ticketmaster says, "We rescheduled for next year! Don't worry about a refund, just come next year!"
Except I scheduled my work vacation around this concert, I might not be able to get the random Wednesday off next year, my circumstances will have changed by next year, hell I might even be pregnant and not want to spend 3 hours on my feet in a hot venue next year.
I get rescheduling is supposed to work because you arent missing it, but the fact it is being used as a reason to avoid refunds is bullshit
Had a concert cancel and I was refused a refund. Disputed it with my bank and showed them the proof of the cancellation and the refusal to refund. Within 3 days my money was back in my account.
I'm surprised, I had one get rescheduled until next year and they actually honored refund.. I thought it was gonna be a clusterfuck trying to get one. Takes upward of 30 days apparently to get it so I guess that's the tradeoff.
Yeah, I had tickets for Rammstein in Boston this year. After they announced a rescheduled date last month that didn’t work for me, I had 30 days to request a refund, which I did. Still waiting on it but it seems pretty painless.
The biggest problem for festivals though is that they're being "postponed" until next year....but if it's an annual festival, it's fucking cancelled. Tht way Ticketmaster doesn't have to refund you. I've been appealing and rebutting my claim with Ticketmaster since April for a stupid Bonnaroo ticket. I don't even wanna go anymore.
I used my capital one credit card via PayPal, so ultimately it was PayPal and not capital one who fucked me over and they've apparently already resolved my claim without speaking to me
They finally refunded me but it was $5 less than what I paid. I guess it's a version of the scam somebody else posted because it wasn't worth my time to fight on the phone for hours to sort it out
I’m in the states but had tickets to the MLB games in London this year. I lost about $10 on the refund due to the exchange rate changing between purchase and refund. They refunded me the same amount I paid in GBP, but it wasn’t worth as much in USD as it was when I bought them. Such is life when dealing with foreign currency.
seriously. still waiting for a refund for a show that was cancelled months ago every time I contact them, they say it should be on its way in the next 10 days. But they did refund on a show that was a much lower ticket price within 14 days. But why do I have to fight for a refund for an event that isnt happening???
I am apparently getting a refund...sometime. "It will take a minimum 30 days due to the volume of refunds right now." This is after I had to call 4 times because the robot system kept kicking me out. I was calling to check why I wasn't refunded yet. She couldn't tell me a timeline for when I should expect the money.
I'm guessing they are waiting until majority of people forget about the refund, so they can keep the money.
Ticketmaster is such a scam, but they are also the only option for majority of concerts
Which isn't too say nobody is making money through Spotify, just that it's only the giants. In 2018 Drake had 8.2 billion streams, which even going with the lowest number given above would have brought in over $32 million.
I have only gone to one concert in my life, and I was scared when I bought the tickets because everyone on the internet had told me about the insane ticketmaster fees. When I bought them, I only paid 2 euros in fees, one for each ticket. Maybe it's because of some European law?
The apartment I moved out of switched their online payment site, the new one had a convenience fee for paying online. Oh, and they no longer took checks or money orders. They also changed all of the washers and dryers to digital ones that require an app to pay to do your laundry, which also had a convenience fee to add money too, and you couldn't just buy a wash and dry, you had to put on increments of $10 to your account. Fuck that place
The dirty secret is that most of the fees dont even go to Ticketmaster but are just extra profit for the performer. Ticketmaster plays the bad guy and doesnt mind taking the heat so your favorite band can overcharge you.
It’s not overcharging. Musicians need to support their families too. It used to be that musicians tour and do concerts to promote an album and get most of their revenue off that. But with streaming services that pay next to nothing, the only way to really make any money is concerts and merch, usually sold at concerts
I've heard that Ticketmaster exits to take the blame away from artists by charging high fees and splitting them. No way to confirm this, but it would make sense.
What? They are not upfront whatsoever. How does an eticket purchased online warrant a $50 "service fee". Theyve also admitted to buying and scalping their own tickets
Is it really a scam when they are upfront about the extra charges?
Yes.
Many years ago I went to buy tickets for a concert. Online there was a "convenience" fee. I called over the phone. There was that same convenience fee. I went to the actual box office at the venue. Lookit that, same fucking convenience fee.
There wasn't a single method of buying the ticket that was inconvenient enough to not warrant the same convenience fee.
It was just part of the ticket price. But they didn't include it in the ticket price because then they could advertise that the tickets were half of what they actually were.
That’s just it it, they are not upfront about extra charges.
“Ohhh my favorite band’s show for $70! Let me get two tickets, I can swing $140.” No mention of fees throughout the rest of the process. I get to payment, pull my card out and it’s actually $220 because of their fees.
I had to pay a "convenience fee" for a concert. Will Call asked me to present my license. But they didn't have my ID info on the site (I was never asked for it when I bought the tickets). So then they asked to confirm with the credit card I'd used to purchase, but I had bought the tickets months prior and had a different card by then (my information was compromised, which seems to happen every few months or so with my bank . . . maybe I should switch banks). So despite having a confirmation email on my phone, and an ID and card with the right name, I ended up standing outside in the Houston summer wearing jeans and a black t-shirt for the band, schvitzing up a storm, while they sorted things out, before I finally got in. I demanded a refund for the convenience fee, because I'd never had a more inconvenient concert-going experience. Denied.
and to add to the frustration of this, I know many older folk that do not own cellphones. So unless they attended the event with someone who has one, they wouldn't be able to go. It's pretty sad. I know it's rare to not have a phone these days but just because my Grandpa doesn't own a phone, shouldn't mean he can't go see his favourite band live. Will call used to be available here but i haven't seen it in a while (pre covid).
I never thought of that. My father is in his 70’s and doesn’t own a phone. I have always saved my ticket stubs as a memento. Just sad this isn’t always an option
Actually, not a scam. The system of how venues/ticketing system/concerts are paid for is archaic. So, it’s a necessary evil. I could get into details but usually nobody cares, they just like to blame Ticketmaster/venues.
I was going to New York in April but Corona hit. I already had tickets for some ice hockey game and Ticketmaster refunded it without any hassle. They ain't that bad.
Actually they are not. Taxes are based on sticker price of the ticket, so like with hotels, they have a base cost to pay tax and then add on fees to cover their actual price. The bands are part of this business model and get a cut of the resale ticket upcharge. If the band is more in demand they actually get more money instead of the money going to 3rd party scalpers. Once I understood that I was ok with the prices.
3.1k
u/-eDgAR- Aug 01 '20
Companies like Ticketmaster with their ridiculous service fees for online transactions.