No Sugarcoating & No Bullshit: May
Written by Jo Hayes
Sunday, 31 May 2015 03:20
Hello again Uber Rockers, it’s that time again for some blogging nonsense from yours truly. As always, this blog is a welcome escape from my studies – although of course I only have myself to blame.
Anyway, this month I’ll be mostly writing/ranting (of course) about ticket touts, and whether they’re a good thing, or just there to rip us off.
When tickets for L7 in London went on sale, I did intend on getting one, but on the day the tickets went on sale, I forgot until later in the day. I noticed that day on sites such as Get Me In you could buy tickets from around £75-£90! Recently I’ve seen them on sale for as much as £105 on Viagogo!
As much as I would love to see L7 play, I wouldn’t be willing to pay that much money. It pissed me off that people buy up a load of tickets, to then sell at a huge profit. On the one hand, who can blame them? A ticket at maybe £25 face value, and being able to double or triple the price and make a huge-profit – it’s a no-brainer: especially if you need to make a bit of extra cash or don’t have a job, you could potentially make a living off it.
I think the odd ticket here and there might be fine, especially if you can’t go to a gig and need to sell a ticket, but it’s the block buying which is probably the worst. Block buying means there’s less chance for fans to get a ticket to see their favourite band play, or at least it means more chance of them paying over the odds for a ticket.
I guess the only good thing about the tout sites is that there is more protection for the buyer. Often meaning a guaranteed refund if something goes wrong, which would put off a lot of touts who might otherwise sell fake tickets! Sometimes the ticket prices aren’t too bad, but that seems to be a rarity.
Ticketmaster own Get Me In, which is a nice earner for them. They make a profit on the original ticket sale, then get a commission for the re-sale (greedy fuckers). One thing I have never quite understood is not being able to get a refund for a ticket from the vendor, which would mean the vendor could resell the ticket, and thus getting rid of a sale from a tout.
I read somewhere that for tickets on their Terms & Conditions that a ticket can be voided if resold. I think in this instance, if it’s passing on the ticket to a friend, or selling the ticket because you can’t go, voiding the ticket would be harsh and unnecessary. Also, for the poor gig-goer who has innocently bought a ticket so that they can see their favourite band, to be told no: out of pocket, as well as being bitterly disappointed.
Personally, I can’t see a solution to touts, as there are pros and cons to them. If you can’t get a ticket in the first sale, and you are desperate to go to a gig, then you have another chance, but the cons are fans having to pay over the odds, sometimes being ripped off, and having tickets voided. Maybe touting is a necessary evil, whether online or the traditional dodgy bloke trying to buy and then resell your spare tickets outside the venue.
Maybe I’m thinking too much into it, or maybe I should set an alarm next time I want to buy tickets so I don’t bitch about it, but I think I have a good point.
Saying that, the one gig that I expected to be mega expensive on the tout sites was The Replacements, which I thought was sold-out on both London dates. However, there are still tickets available for the Tuesday, and on Viagogo some tickets are even on there for £10 (although bizarrely, there are also some tickets available for £200!). I kind of resent paying more for mine looking at that, but I have my tickets in hand, and can’t wait to see a band I’ve wanted to see play for years!
Until next time…
Jo