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Archive for category stubhub

Miley Cyrus Tour to be all paperless

Jun 5

Posted by mmiller in paperless tickets, sports tickets, stubhub, the eagles, ticketmaster, tom waits

The upcoming Miley Cyrus tour will be all paperless, in response to complains because of her her last tour being one of most sought after tickets in years, and also one of the highest priced tickets on the secondary market. Paperless ticketing means no actual tickets are issued and the buyer must attend the show, and bring their photo ID and the credit card issued. This will be the first ALL paperless tour at a scale this large. Tom Waits was the first all paperless tour, but his venues were theaters, not arenas like Miley is playing. AC/DC had the best tickets be paperless for their tour, but the majority of tickets were still standard paper tickets. What does this mean for Mileys tour?

I predict that fans will actually be hurt by paperless ticketing and this could be the last time it is used at a show like this for the following reasons:

  • Given the age group of her fans (tweens), how many have their own credit card to scan at the show? Does this mean parents will have to goto the show, too, even if they don’t want to and be forced to buy another ticket?
  • Ticket brokers will still come up with ways to resell tickets (escorting buyers in, anyone?).
  • The arenas will still sell out, and many fans will still be without tickets, however the secondary market will have a much smaller supply due to the paperless ticketing, driving prices sky high.  In the end, the same moms who were complaining about all the ticket brokers reselling Miley tickets last tour will now be wishing they would come back so her daughter could get in for under $1000/ticket.

With all the current legislation in the works for the ticket industry, I  wouldn’t be surprised if anti paperless ticketing legislation was drafted because people complain they can’t resell their tickets if they end up having to work, and because they have to buy an extra ticket for the parent even if they don’t want to attend.

It will be interesting to see how loudly parents complain and what ticketmaster does in response and what it means for the future of paperless ticketing.

The video that explains paperless ticketing for the Miley tour(an instant classic!):

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Concert ticket deals abound on the secondary market

May 2

Posted by mmiller in stubhub

For all the negative press the secondary ticketing market gets, not much is mentioned about when ticket brokers end up saving consumers money. For example, tickets for recent Bruce Springsteen shows where tickets have a face value of $75+ fees have been going for as little as $4/ticket on Stubhub. Or, another example is The Dead @ The Forum in Inglewood, tickets are going for as much as 30% off face value.

I hope that legislators and politicians keep this in mind when considering drafting new ticket laws.

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The Insanity of Stubhub’s Fan Protect 100% Guarantee

Oct 1

Posted by jjones in stubhub

Stubhub, the largest secondary market ticket seller in the world, has what they call “Stubhub‘s Fan Protect Guarantee.” In theory, this is a great thing for a ticket buyer, as it gives them peace of mind and helps quell any worries of invalid or fraudulent tickets. However, while it is great for a ticket buyer, it can also be used in unseemly ways to scam the ticket seller.

According to their site, if a buyer is refused entry to an event they must contact Stubhub within 7 calendar days following the date of the event and then upon confirmation by the venue that the tickets were invalid, Stubhub will issue the Buyer a refund for the full cost of the tickets. However, it seems they do not strictly follow these rules. Here is my recent experience with their Fan Protect Guarantee:
I sold some tickets for a Tom Petty show that took place in July. I purchased them directly from a primary ticketing source, so there is really no way they could have been invalid. A month and a half after the show, I got a call from Stubhub saying that the buyer was not allowed entry. I asked the Stubhub rep if the buyer has any proof that they were denied entry and was told there was no proof, but according to the buyer, someone at the venue told them that “6 other people tried to get in with the same tickets”. The Stubhub rep said I needed to get proof from the venue that the tickets were valid or I would have to pay for replacement tickets. I tried to contact the venue as well as LiveNation, but despite all my best efforts, I could not get anyone to help me. The Stubhub rep said that since I could not provide proof the tickets were valid, I would be charged the price of the tickets. If I had provided proof the tickets were valid, then they would have still given the buyer a refund, effectively eating the cost of the tickets themselves.

So, what have we learned? That in order to file a claim under Stubhub‘s Fan Protect Guarantee, a buyer can wait for at least 2 months before filing a claim and that Stubhub requires no proof from the buyer that the tickets were invalid, they will receive a refund no matter what. The only proof required is from the seller to determine if they will be charged the cost of the tickets.

Moral of the story? If you want to goto a concert or sporting event, but tickets are way out of your price range, just go ahead buy them from Stubhub and then anytime after the event, claim you were denied entry. You will get a refund, even without proof you were denied entry.

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