Back in November, we reported on Jam Productions' decision to sue Ticketmaster to get out from under an arrangement that was far from "customer friendly". While not their main purpose for going after the ticketing giant, Jam Productions did site the company's outrageous ticketing fees (better known as "convenience fees") as one of the factors in deciding to sever ties.
Ticketmaster, for example, charged a convenience fee of $12.08 when Cake appeared in Chicago last December. For the band's return to the Windy City in May, Jam Productions is selling tickets online vie etix.com. Anyone hoping for a break, though, will be sorely disappointed.
On a $34.00 ticket, etix.com adds a nice little "convenience fee" of $7.75 per ticket, a $1.00 "facility fee", and an "order fee" of $3.00 that is tacked onto the end of your online ticket purchase.
While Ticketmaster charged a 3.00 order fee per ticket and higher convenience and facility fees, the fact that etix.com is playing the same game as Ticketmaster makes Jam Productions' look less than respectable in this affair.
Let's face it, a $7.75 "convenience fee" added to a ticket of any price is exorbitant. If a company such as etix.com (or Ticketmaster) need such fees in order to maintain staff and infrastructure, then they should get out of the ticketing business, plain and simple.
When you consider the fact that most venues provide a traditional, fully-staffed box office that utilizes much the same technology to process your transaction, but also offers you the option of paying in cash (something no online ticketing system can do) AND gives you an actual ticket without the need for additional charges, it only amplifies how completely outrageous the reasons are for companies such as Ticketmaster and etix.com to add such charges.
The simple truth is that such charges are completely unnecessary and offensive to the customer's intelligence. Even more insulting is the fact that they call such fees "convenience charges" when, in most cases, the customer has to print out the ticket themselves or face another fee for being sent a traditional ticket.
What these online ticketing systems should call it is an "inconvenience fee". After all, their whole mentality says, in essence, that your desire to procure tickets online is such an inconvenience to them that they must tack on as many fees as possible in order to make the transaction worth their time.
Normally, such an attitude would lead customers to go elsewhere, but there are no other options. Online sales for a Jam Productions event were once handled exclusively by Ticketmaster, but are now handled solely by etix.com, giving the customer only one choice for making an online purchase.
Um, don't they call that a monopoly?
Regardless, it's a shitty way of doing business and this reporter says that it's time for such bullshit business tactics to stop. Of course, the only way companies such as Jam Productions, Ticketmaster, and etix.com will listen is if you (yes you) stop buying tickets online.
Sure, it's a pain in the ass getting in the car in the middle of February to drive across town to buy tickets for a concert in May, but who says it can't also be a fun diversion? Hell, take the $20 or so you'd have spent on "convenience fees" and the like and treat yourself. Grab a cup of coffee, or a nice meal somewhere - hell, get your ass waxed, if you so desire. Whatever you do, don't fucking give the money to those greedy goddamn crooks looking to extort you when you go online to buy concert tickets.
If you do, you're just letting these concert terrorists bomb your fucking wallet. Just say no, baby. It's time we take back our power, people!
I would love to buy a ticket directly from the box office to avoid these absurd fees, but that also happens to be an hour and a half away from me. These ticketing websites take the most advantage of people who live in smaller towns that have to travel to big cities to see their favorite artists perform, which (besides buying the tickets online) only leaves us with the option of either making a long trip before the show just to buy tickets (which would render the point moot) or we're at the mercy of the music God's at the door of the venue hoping there are some tickets left The fact of the matter is that there should be an alternative way to protest these stupid fees without buying the ticket directly from the box office.
ReplyDeleteHa, the price has gone up two bucks since this.
ReplyDeleteHi All, There's an awesome ticketeting platform called MainGateTickets.com They have a flat $1 fee (even if the ticket is $100), so non of that BS. Some venues charge a facility fee so that isnt on eTix, but the rest is crazy. Get your venues to switch to Main Gate.
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