Advice on Buying Tickets and Touting/Scalping

[matt1il]

I have to say it's fecking disgraceful that ebay is full of Muse tickets for the tour, it's the same with other big acts as well not just Muse. It doesn't happen with football tickets so why the feck does this happen with concert tickets.

 

I tried to get tickets this morning at work in vain, unfortunately I couldn't and I was too busy to keep persisting. I got tickets in 2006 for Manchester and was really keen to go again.

 

You'll have to excuse me if other posters have mentioned this already, I haven't had time to go through the threads.

 

because footie tickets are tret very seriously in this issue due to fakes and banned ppl gettin in

 

the rules were brought in after the tradegy of '89 and the taylor report

 

i wudnt mind if they brought in the same rules like - i just hope it doesnt take the same thing

[Gemsy]

Hello Gemseh of Win,

 

Thanks for letting us know about tickets.

 

The sale of tickets on eBay is legal, however I appreciate your concerns

about touting.

 

I would like to briefly explain the difference between ticket touting

and the auction of tickets on eBay.

 

In the spirit of our worldwide community, when someone bids for an item

on eBay, they do so by their own choice. Every buyer can choose the

price they may be willing to pay and from what seller they prefer to

buy.

 

I know this may not have been the answer you were hoping for, but I hope

I've at least been able to explain things clearly.

 

Kind regards,

 

Susan Jacob

eBay Trust & Safety

[matt1il]

Hello Gemseh of Win,

 

Thanks for letting us know about tickets.

 

The sale of tickets on eBay is legal, however I appreciate your concerns

about touting.

 

I would like to briefly explain the difference between ticket touting

and the auction of tickets on eBay.

 

In the spirit of our worldwide community, when someone bids for an item

on eBay, they do so by their own choice. Every buyer can choose the

price they may be willing to pay and from what seller they prefer to

buy.

 

I know this may not have been the answer you were hoping for, but I hope

I've at least been able to explain things clearly.

 

Kind regards,

 

Susan Jacob

eBay Trust & Safety

 

Haha that's the loopiest of loopholes in the loopiest of universes ever!!!

 

So they're pretty much saying that they are just an advertising site that doesn't care what is advertised on it's site and it's up to users to sort out what's on it

 

There is no difference between that and touting btw, with touting you choose what price you are willing to go up to and if outside who you are willing to pay

[bILLOO]

Exactly! The only reason people buy from touts is that they have no other option.

 

When asked many make the excuse of 'oh I can't go now but I thought I'd stick 'em on eBay to see how much I could get for them'. Yeah right.

[matt1il]

Exactly! The only reason people buy from touts is that they have no other option.

 

When asked many make the excuse of 'oh I can't go now but I thought I'd stick 'em on eBay to see how much I could get for them'. Yeah right.

 

i hate it when i see that - especially when its from geniune ppl cos they just get snapped up by touts if theyre face value

 

i mean every band no has a fourm and altho most arent as good as he for stuff like that u can always make a thread offerin tickets at face value - ive needed to do this and got good responses back

[davetoms]

Nobody cares about people selling above face value

 

The promoters don't care. It helps build up the hype of "sold out" events

The ticket agencies don't care - they have their cut anyway

The bands don't care - or their record labels won't allow them to care

The fans don't care - given a choice a large number would rather pay a premium then not go (and that includes me I'm ashamed to say)

The Government doesn't care - nobody is injured or has died.

 

Sad but true.

[Gemsy]

It's bollocks really.

[matt1il]

Nobody cares about people selling above face value

 

The promoters don't care. It helps build up the hype of "sold out" events

The ticket agencies don't care - they have their cut anyway

The bands don't care - or their record labels won't allow them to care

The fans don't care - given a choice a large number would rather pay a premium then not go (and that includes me I'm ashamed to say)

The Government doesn't care - nobody is injured or has died.

 

Sad but true.

 

very true sadly

 

i have paid over the odds for certain gigs but wudnt for a normal album tour

[Gemsy]

Nobody cares about people selling above face value

 

The promoters don't care. It helps build up the hype of "sold out" events

The ticket agencies don't care - they have their cut anyway

The bands don't care - or their record labels won't allow them to care

The fans don't care - given a choice a large number would rather pay a premium then not go (and that includes me I'm ashamed to say)

The Government doesn't care - nobody is injured or has died.

 

Sad but true.

All too true. But - imho the bands and fans is where responsibility lies. It would be NICE if the bloody passionate fans would stop feeding the touts, but of course they're not going to. So it's up to the bands. As soon as they can (i.e. as soon as they can get out of contracts and have a big enough following that means they can go it alone Radiohead-style), they need to put on their own gigs and sort out their own fair systems. Like Glastonbury has, and like Trent has. Live music needs to be put back in the hands of the people who actually make the music and care about the music, and not those who make the money.

[leetroot]

it's disturbing that not only are tickets on sites like ebay (let's not forget it isn't the only one) but now the ticket agencies are getting in on the act with 'resale' sites of their own. the number of muse tickets plonked straight onto aloud's resale site is shameful.

 

it looks like i'm going to have to face my fear of flying to see muse this tour. i would rather spend the extra money going somewhere a bit exciting than lining some rotten f**khead's pocket.

[kazzie]

We totally failed to get 13th tickets...

 

will get some though.. always do.. somehow!

[E-Mused]

I got 4 seated tickets for the 13th at O2 arena when I asked for 4 standing (:@), would it be worth trying to swap these tickets on the day with a tout, possibly paying a bit more money to them aswell, what are the chances the tickets would be real etc.? thanks

[Mozza]

I got 4 seated tickets for the 13th at O2 arena when I asked for 4 standing (:@), would it be worth trying to swap these tickets on the day with a tout, possibly paying a bit more money to them aswell, what are the chances the tickets would be real etc.? thanks

 

I wouldn't

 

seating doesn't hinder your enjoyment of the gig

[Gemsy]

I got 4 seated tickets for the 13th at O2 arena when I asked for 4 standing (:@), would it be worth trying to swap these tickets on the day with a tout, possibly paying a bit more money to them aswell, what are the chances the tickets would be real etc.? thanks

 

No don't do it.

Swap them fairly, through here. Seating tickets =/= bad anyway, tbh.

[frankly_tart]

there are people with tickets in hand for the 02 gigs on ebay, is that possible if they went down to the venue to get them? would they have printed them right there and then?

[sazzrah]

Ticketmaster have some new service now where you print your tickets yourself so maybe thats what they mean by "tickets in hand".

[005]

This is long but please read:

 

After the pre sale fiasco & previous experiences these days in buying tickets online I knew that the chances of getting tickets online were going to be as tough as putting an egg yolk back into it shell, so I felt that I would have a much better choice by actually going to the venue.

 

I checked twice over 2 days whether or not the O2 would be selling tickets or not & at what time as they usually open at midday, so it was confirmed they would start selling them at 9am, so I decided to go there.

 

I felt if I arrived at least a good hour or so before 9am I would have a decent chance, it turns out I got there at 7.55am & there were about only 15 people in the queue ahead of me, so I knew my chances now were very good.

 

But the story unfolds………

 

There were some proper Muse fans at the start of the queue about 4/5, (trust me I could tell) then the people behind were with families & kids, a bit odd & I spotted 1 tout already. Then there were 2 typical chav girls in front of me with their babies with them, smoking, on their iphone talking about all sorts of adventures & I knew something was wrong straight away, there not fans. I just knew they wouldn't know a guitar from a machine gun.

 

I was joined 10 mins in the queue later by 2 touts. It was so obvious we’ve all seen what they look like & know they all look the same, if people didn’t know touts have their own ‘language’ in how they communicate amongst one another. I pretended to be listening to my MP3 player but I heard it all, the touts who joined the queue were calling other touts to tell them how the queue was, now, the following will make many people including me furious & sick & I felt worse as I was there.

 

How The Touts Do It:

 

The touts behind me didn’t know even know Muse were playing on the 13th but were saying amongst each other ‘If you can’t get standing’ ‘Get Level 1’ now there was one familiar character who seem to know everyone in the queue (apart from the fans/me) who was going around telling his troops in what to buy etc

 

All the women in the queue ahead of me & probably a fair few behind me were in on it, what the touts do is get the women to join the queue early for them, then after a while the touts join them, then they tell their entourage in the queue in what to buy. I counted a good 15 from what I could see & I’m 6ft. The queue by 8.30am possibly had about 80/90 people.

 

They were even giving them phone calls/texts messages in what to say & the Box Office because they know its something these women don’t do often & they can’t afford to get it wrong, one of the women & blokes was repeating ‘6 standing Muse’ but morons you can only get 4!!!! Either way my rage was building through this whole time I waited. The more I saw them, the more I was swearing under the sun.

 

I hate to say it my friends but at least a good 60 standing tickets that I saw went into the hands of pure scum & evil, hence why tickets are in hand as I got mine. I don't know how many more fell into the wrong hands but they did.

 

As I left at about 9.10am & walked back to the station I gave the slime in front of me the dirtiest look possible & looked a few of them dead in the eye with pure hatred, as much as I was happy in getting tickets I was in pure rage & hate for them & sad for the fans who wanted to be there, if only measures were taken into stopping them buying them at the Box Office, many fans would have been better off! I mean, I'd give them a quick 2/3 question test at the box office just to be sure! I mean fans would queue early not women with kids.

 

If people didn’t even know me & they were Muse fans, bloody hell I’d say yea, join me in the queue!!! But the only way to beat them is to not buy them, it’s the only way we can stop this. I hate to say it but there were more touts in that queue than fans.

 

Thanks for reading

 

Mods/Admin can you leave this thread here for awhile then merge it with 'Advice' later, I'd like people to know/read this.

Edited June 6, 2009 by 005

[jo-an]

Unfortunately this is quite common.

I've read these stories on many other bandforums.

Indeed, a trick question before buying tickets would be excellent. something like what was Muse's first album called or something like that.

Scum of the earth, touts are.

But as long as people buy tickets off them, be it on ebay or outside the venue on the day of the gig, the will be around.

[Melissaaa]

Makes me really angry to think of the people on here, genuine fans, that weren't able to get tickets. And yet there's these effing touts everywhere snapping up our tickets. I say our tickets, because as fans of the band, I see live shows almost as a thanks-for-the-support kind of thing. We support the band, really enjoy the shows, and aren't just out to make a profit off of the ticket sales.

 

Unfortunately, a lot of profit can be made from gigs, especially sold out ones. It's why I think eBay should be monitoring ticket sales, so that tickets can only be re-sold at the value they were bought at.

[005]

Ebay only act when it suits them ie Princess Diana's Tribute Concert in 2007 was prohibited...(Big Deal)

 

Remember Ebay make 10% profit now from each sale plus insertion fees where they apply its bucks to them big time, they won't clamp down cause it's raking in £££$$$ for them!

 

Morons!

[E-Mused]

I wouldn't

 

seating doesn't hinder your enjoyment of the gig

 

Lol, it shouldn't be so bad this time, as I'm sitting with friends rather than family, and I cn buy drinks by then

[The Dying~Atheist]

I wouldn't

 

seating doesn't hinder your enjoyment of the gig

 

Well I couldn't get a ticket but can't agree with that Mozza, I'm 45 but sitting at a gig would seriously hinder my enjoyment, I like to be where the action is because being in the crowd is pretty much what live music is about.

If I'm honest though sitting for a Muse gig would be far better than not going at all, which looks very probable at the moment.

[Vivlia]

Hey there!

 

I'll be coming to London from Athens, Greece (got a standing ticket for Thursday).

Anything I should know??? Like, what time I should be out there waiting or such?

I'll be traveling alone... (well, as far as I know at the moment).

[E-Mused]

Hey there!

 

I'll be coming to London from Athens, Greece (got a standing ticket for Thursday).

Anything I should know??? Like, what time I should be out there waiting or such?

I'll be traveling alone... (well, as far as I know at the moment).

 

well done getting a ticket btw! and thats dedication coming from greece!

 

what time to get there, i don't really have any experience of that muse-wise, but maybe get there an hour/hour and a half before doors open to get to the front? you'll probably be better off asking other people lol.

[Vivlia]

well done getting a ticket btw! and thats dedication coming from greece!

 

 

what time to get there, i don't really have any experience of that muse-wise, but maybe get there an hour/hour and a half before doors open to get to the front? you'll probably be better off asking other people lol.

 

thanks ayway, you're kind