Overpriced Tickets... Go Big or Go Home

So ticket prices are always going to be a hot topic and issue for fans of any outing; sports, concerts, plays, musicals, etc.  The past two decades has seem the greatest surge in rising ticket prices than ever before.  Mind you, touring concerts haven't been around since the dawn of man, but we have also seen this in other forms of tickets like sports and plays.  Both have been dazzling onlookers for centuries, so why all of a sudden do we have to decide to A) pay the mortgage or B) buy a pair of tickets for that event you have been eagerly waiting.

"At first, we only spent $350. Then, the next time, we spent $450.  "This year, it was like $650 and I was like 'I'm done ... I'm not spending any more'." - Cara Corbett (16-year-old Bieber fan)

An article from the CBC brought forth some testimonies and some interesting comments to follow.  What's the excuse for paying out the nose for ticket prices.  Now if we decided to ask ticket mogul such as Ticketmaster why the sale prices have increased...

"[In the past, there were no] massive video screens and production elements.  Whereas you look at today: [they're] massive, massive live entertainment spectacles, really." -Patti-Anne Tarlton (Ticketmaster Canada executive)

OK, so at least we got a statement from the company explaining why the prices have skyrocketed.  But what about the service fees that have continually increased over the years?  Well, TM has once again broken down some of these service fees, which include:

Service Charge – This is Ticketmaster's charge for the general service they provide and maintain. The amount paid may depend upon the method of payment (by phone, online, or in person).

Building Facility Charge – This is determined by the venue, and not Ticketmaster.

Processing Charge – This is Ticketmaster's charge for processing your order and making the tickets available to you. This is usually not a per ticket charge, but rather a per order charge.

Shipping Charge, E-Ticket Convenience Charge, Will Call Charge – Ticketmaster charges a fee for ticket delivery, whether the tickets are mailed to the customer, printed out at home, or collected from the venue. The charge for printing out the ticket at home is often higher than the fee to have the ticket physically mailed to you. In other sectors, such as airline ticketing, companies usually do not charge (and in some cases even offer a discount), for electronic ticketing.

That didn't stop a class action lawsuit from being filed over Ticketmaster's redirection to their sister site (and extremely over priced) TicketsNow...

"The lawsuit was initiated by a plaintiff who attempted to purchase tickets for Toby Keith's October 8, 2008 performance at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta on the first day the tickets went on sale. The Plaintiff made several attempts over two days purchase the tickets through Ticketmaster Canada's website. After that time, the Plaintiff managed to access the Ticketmaster Canada website, but she was automatically redirected to TicketsNow's website. She purchased one ticket, and was charged a total of $219.15, including $29.95 for "delivery" and $25.80 "service charge". The face price of the ticket was not disclosed to her before she completed the transaction. When she received the ticket, she realized that the face price was $79.95, resulting in an overcharge of $139.20. Later that month, she attempted to locate another ticket for Toby Keith's performance on Ticketmaster Canada's website. To the Plaintiff's surprise, she was able to locate a ticket for the same performance. She purchased the ticket for $97.11, including $0.26 "facility charge", $11.00 "convenience charge", $1.35 for "TicketFast delivery" and $4.35 "order processing fee". The face price of the ticket was $79.75." -Canada News Wire

I know this seems like a Ticketmaster focus hate article.  I however do not see any other companies based out of North America who run a monopoly in tickets such as this one.  If there are others out there, then feel free to drop a line and share some horror stories.

So are you satisfied with Ticketmaster's response to increasing ticket prices?  A few people who are frequent readers of CBC had some choice words to rebuttal against their (almost arrogant) reasoning.

"As someone who's been attending concert for over 40 years, I can honestly say that's the biggest load of crap I've ever heard.

Let's all be open and honest and simply accept the fact it's all about greed which is now ubiquitous in our society." -BigOilsTheEnemy (CBC commentor)

or this one...

"2 years ago AC/DC had a world tour with a massive stage 2 large video screens on stage and several around the arena's.  They set a limit for ticket prices at 90.00 for every seat in the arena's.

Their tour was the second largest grossing tour for that year. They were second only to Madonna who was charging 400.00 for some tickets.  Therefore they can make money with lower prices, this is more the promoters being greedy." -DougPW (CBC commentor)

So I think in final we have to ask ourselves what is the limit where we say "no", even if it means missing your favourite team, band, and/or performance?  Do you have any past problems with over priced ticket events?