Corranga
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The biggest issues in ID checking is simply that those who loose out are those who have already paid a tout 07-Oct-2017 15:34:42
| CorrsClub Time: 24-Apr-2024 06:09:55 |
The tout, or reseller website, or whatever has made their money. It's the fan who was ripped off by paying over the odds who gets the double whammy by not being able to attend the gig either.
In the longer term, ID checking would sort this out, but in the shorter term, it simply leaves those out of pocket fans who want to attend, unable to attend, and unable to get money back.
The second biggest issue, in my opinion, is that refunds are so difficult to get, meaning that no one can return their tickets if it turns out they cant go, and they then need to sell them on.
Companies like Ticketmaster have got in on the profit by setting up sister sites like GetMeIn, which is essentially touts online.
They also now set up things like premium, and front 5 row, which is just them preventing fans getting tickets at face value by putting a premium restriction on them. It's a ludicrous situation, but demand leads supply, and where there is money to be made, I don't see it changing unfortunately.
I suspect if the touting, and reselling by members of the public / traditional touts was stopped, we'd just see a continued or even expanded tiered premium selling tactics, like the front 5 row, or premium seats etc. from the main retailers in the first place.
I've seen other artists offer pre-sales to fan clubs, which is good, if you know about the gig and are a member of the fan club, and I've seen others do different ticket types, where you can pay extra for backstage Q&A, soundcheck, early entry, with tickets costing less, as you select less options - this was, in my opinion, more of a rip off thought as the standing gig I was at was £35 a ticket, but £100 would get you a ticket, a poster, and early entry.
I saw a news report this week basically saying people are wasting thousands of pounds each year paying more money to wait less time. I guess this all starts to fit into the same thing. It's easier to spend more money than to have more hassle, and buying tickets when they go on sale, is certainly a hassle!
As others have said, I salute your efforts Robin. I hope something can be done, but my suspicions are simply that things will cost more and more, especially if people continue to pay more and more..
Chris
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