To think that Ticketmaster should not be allowed to operate like this....

[itsgoodtobehome]

DH and I decided that we would like to go and see the U2 Joshua Tree concert in July. Tickets went on sale at 9am this morning. I went on the site just before 9, and at 9am exactly I hit the 'buy tickets' button. I went into a 'virtual queue' for about 5 minutes, and then the page came up where you choose your tickets. I selected 2 'at any price' and it immediately came back with 'there are no tickets available'. However, it then offers you a link to a resale site where you can get tickets 'from £200 to £800'!!

So basically, within 5 minutes of the tickets going on sale, Ticketmaster have managed to sell them all to a bunch of touts who are now flogging them on-line for upto 8x the original price. This seems to happen whenever a big gig is announced that is likely to be sold out. It just seems really unfair on the average person who is basically priced out of going to see a gig they would really like to see. I don't know how Ticketmaster are allowed to get away with this. They are just making ticket touting legal.

Angry - needing to vent!!

BTW the price I had to pay for those seats is eye watering. My mum would struggle with GA now and with my bad back I wouldn't do too well either.

However, I haven't missed a concert since I was old enough to go so I sucked the price up (or rather my credit card did). I didn't buy the tickets until an hour before the presale was about to end. It's worth checking back often, especially when the stage is set up, they often release tickets which the kept back because the thought it would be a restricted view and it isn't.

Don't buy the tickets - the problem will go away.

I thought U2 had flounced off from doing their tour on account of Trump anyway?

Seriously, if no-one paid the inflated prices, this would stop.

Yeah, if no one bought the tickets it would go away. As much as MN hates them they have a massive fan base and people like me who are long time fans will pay through the nose for them if they have to.

It isn't right, but the problem is never going to go away.

My friend is trying to get tickets to see James Arthur and people are selling a £25 ticket for £80. It happens with all concerts and moving to paperless seems the way forward.

The down fall of the Iron Maiden tickets is I bought these for my husband's Christmas. Misunderstood what paperless is and long story short I now need to go to the iron maiden concert. I hate iron maiden and someone who likes them can't go because I have a ticket.

Surely if you buy two tickets as long as the buyer is there it would be ok? Not much good if you only want one ticket.

You have to go into the concert. Not sure how this would work if you bought tickets for 16 year olds who don't have credit cards. There's no way you can change it or cancel the tickets either. I think if this is the way forward there should be flexibility re cancelling tickets.

I got Iron Maiden tickets for Dh and Dd for Christmas as well Iam please don't tell me that I need to go and one of them will miss it

I would soon chew my own arm off than watch them.

Check your confirmation Assemble - that's certainly the case for Glasgow.

Hamilton are allowing cancellations for £3 charge. The card holder has to attend.

Don't most 16 year olds have debit cards? My 15 year old does.

I would love to see the financials for a tour. Venue hire, marketing, transportation (of all that gear as well as people), roadies, insurance, hotels, paying Ticketmaster...

Not to mention all the logistics.

You can't use debit cards, only credit cards not

I went to the capital ball and had to buy resale tickets despite registering for the presale. I wanted top tier seats (so cheaper) but near the front of the tier. They were over priced but it was half bloody empty in some top areas - so the venues aren't even being attended, someone must end up out of pocket if they try to sell row zzzzz in a top tier and no one bloody buys them

I couldn't get Shawn mendes either without bankrupting myself. It's a shame when it for young people too I think

It's the fact that ticket master also own the tout tickets site really rankles me.

They know people are being conned and are actually facilitating it.

Bands like NIN or Biffy Clyro you have your name on the ticket and you have to have ID to get in.

It's a far fairer system. A gig should never be £100's

Really U2? I don't have a credit card - neither does dh.

That must be U2 rules not Ticketmaster as I've always used my debit card on ticketmaster.

I've used a debit card on Ticketmaster many times, are some gigs credit only? How does that work now that they are all Visa?

Seriously? The country is going to hell in a handbag and MP's are spending their time campaigning about who can buy tickets for GIGS?

she ain't campaigning about who can buy tickets she's got a campaign about ticket touting

www.sharonhodgson.org/ticket_touts_campaign

#putfansfirst

Thats the same thing. And not something I would expect an MP to be wasting their time with.

I'm more annoyed at U2 for announcing a "world" tour and the only UK dates are London and Dublin. The extortionate ticket prices pale into insignificance when you have to add on a flight and accommodation.

Thats the same thing. And not something I would expect an MP to be wasting their time with.

Why not? I feel very strongly about it. People need down time, makes for a happy and healthy society. It's just another thing people are being priced out of by greedy companies interested only in profit for shareholders.
Little pleasures make the drudgery of day to day life worthwhile.

Bread and Roses, sure. But in the current climate it seems to me like a seriously niche issue, and not one that I think an MP should be focusing on.
Many people can't even think about buying gig tickets at face value.

It CAN be avoided. Somebody should be accountable...

I went to the Brit Awards at the O2.
To get the tickets I had to:
Collect the tickets in person
On the Day
Take the card the tickets were paid for
AND 2 forms of ID

If I didn't want any of my 3 tickets they could be bought back BY THE VENUE only.

So far I've been absolutely scalped for Take That tickets (£451 for face value £170)
Hozier (£110 for face value £28)

But, it's swings and roundabouts.
On the first day of the Adele 10am presale, 2 hours in the queue only to get a message saying that tickets were all sold out at 12:02
Day 2 of the presale, 3 tickets paid for by 10.05!

Managed to get 2 Hamilton tickets today, row E £400!

It's not a niche issue though. It affects thousands of people every day.
I personally choose to not buy roses, or smoke, or even go on holiday. I save up for gig tickets. Why shouldn't I expect my MP to stand up for something that is very important to me?

It doesn't affect the fate of the nation who gets to go to a gig and at what price. More people want to go than is physically possible, a lot are going to be disappointed however sales are organised. If you can't go get over yourself and do something else that night.

As for online petitions being debated in the House of Commons, here's a suggestion. Only consider them for debate if the website also had an I disagree box equally prominent and then consider not how many voted yes but the excess - if any - of yes over No votes. 136,000 people, we are told, voted to close the shops on Boxing Day. I wonder what would ahve happened if there had been a "Let them trade" box to tick as well!