Tickets Now is a SCAM - a fraudulent operation!!!!. I purchased six tickets to Jersey Boys on March 23 for the July 25 show. I paid $163.00 each for $99.00 tickets. I had no idea that I was buying resale tickets. NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS WOULD I BUY RE-SALE TICKETS. When I received the tickets in the mail, I was shocked - thought it had to be an error - why in the world would I buy $99 tickets for $163. .
I am in the process of disputing this with American Express where the tickets were charged and also with the Commonwealth of Mass. Department of Safety who issues the license to TicketsNow.

This is all well and good, but what has been done to stop it?

The CBC's own Vinyl Cafe is using Ticketmaster in place of the publicly-owned venue box office at the Museum of Civilization in Gatineau. CBC, you're busted.

Before the Billy Joel -- Elton John concert tickets went on sale, the Tickets Now website had them to order -- at $400-$500 a pop of course. Any Section -- any Row.

If you are only re-selling tickets that might be surplus, how can you be that specific? It's obvious that this is a first class scam. Wanna bet that they are not reporting all the income and defrauding the government of taxes too?

Went to see Kevin Smith a couple weeks ago, had to pay $70 for a $50 ticket because of all the "convenience". They are the ticketMASTER, we are the ticketSLAVES.

Is anything happening about this???? Are people getting money back because I was ripped off recently and I just saw this story on T.V. I ordered 3 tickets to Britney Spears and was over charged an outragous amount. If anybody knows anything about this please email me. Thanks

TM has had a virtual monopoly for years, Live Nation looked to be coming with competition and lo and behold, they begin the process of merging!!
There are alternatives available to entertainers and venues to keep prices of the service providers lower. One of the alternatives is White Label Box Office Solutions which allows the event holders to set the fee structure. The exact same service for less $$.

The only thing that Ticketmaster does well is rip people off! Plain and simple. I recently bought tickets to the Juno Award show at an astronomical fee because well, I really wanted to go and thought this is one of those 1 time things you don't want to miss. They only offered 4 price points; $69,$115, $149, and $189. the lowest cost were sold out, the next price got us seats at the back of the building, last row and the next price 149 got us beside the stage but just as high up.So with only a choice of the opposite end or closer but equally high up we opted for the closer. Well when they realized that no body was buying tix at those ridiculous prices and therefore were not selling out suddenly a new price point appeared. $89 - and guess what seats you got - a row up from where we were after paying 149 for. WHAT IS THAT?!!! My blood still boils at what they did.

I haven't gone to events for years, Coincidentally when the venues stopped selling their own tickets. Tickets in Halifax went up when the metro centre stopped selling their own and I stopped going.
At that time I made Min wage, now I have kids and am a middle class man. I take issue with anyone who makes crap-loads of money when our family income is 60K. It's your money people, you're too wrapped up in giving it away to people doing nothing for you and reaping millions, IE artists and corporations. You are part of the issue.

I've stopped buying tickets due to the unbelievable gouging!

I've always hated these "convenience fees" or whatever name du jour they might have. I remember paying $2.50 or so extra for Winnipeg Jets tickets & feeling incensed about it - back in the days when money was quite limited, not that it's anywhere near unlimited now. I try to buy directly from the seller where possible.

I'm more willing to buy Moose tickets now since I don't have to go through the ticket moocher website & I pay just the price on the ticket. I've always bought Blue Bomber tickets directly from the stadium while going home from work or shopping.

I rarely buy concert tickets. I've bypassed concerts by Bon Jovi, Bryan Adams, & others. Tickets are expensive enough already to be padding more fees on.

Now with TicketsNow, maybe there should be a law making it illegal to sell tickets for any event through a single seller? That or us fans bite the bullet & take our $ elsewhere.

What I'd really like to know is why, when I contacted the John Labatt Centre in London Ontario to by a Leonard Cohen ticket, I spoke with someone in Atlanta, Georgia. Where are the local ticket agents at the JLC. No wonder we are hit with the extra fees.

It blows my mind that the scalpers get away with using BOTS (see Marketplace story from last year - Feb 2008) to purchase the tickets to begin with BUT then they get to repost the tickets on TM's "Marketplace" tab (TicketsNow) *before* the main sale opens to the public and INSANE prices! At first the Marketplace tab was perfect for those who couldn't make the show, and needed to resale their own tickets.. however, when I tried to do this for one ticket becuase we didn't need it, it was more than obvious that I could not post it higher than face value - which was not an issue. BUT how can the scalpers post their own tickets for the inflated prices that we see? I once got ahold of a TM IT guy for assistance and asked him about this.. his lame answer was that the "Artist" and the "Venue" decide how much the tickets can be posted for resale! WHAT? That's a load of bull because I had indicated that my one seat was a better seat than many already posted for 8 times the price, and he argued with me that my particular seat could not be resold for more than the face value as per the "Artist" and the "venue". Oh, and then TM get their *second* cut from the sale of my ticket, outside of these so called 'service fees'. TM are more than double dipping. I ended up selling the single ticket to a real fan for less than face value just in spite of trying to do it online. This is just helping the scalpers do their 'hard work' from the warmth of their homes via the 'net than having to stand out in the cold to obtain the tickets then try to resell them to the TRUE fans. grrrrr

Imagine, for a minute, you are an executive at Ticketmaster. You have a concert tour coming up for sale soon, say ACDC. You know there is going to be massive reselling at scalping going on with this particular artist, with huge differences from the original price, up to 10 times the value. So, with a stroke at the keyboard, some (who knows how many) of the tickets are sent right over to your own reselling site, never even being offered to the public. Instant huge profit, and how is anyone ever going to know. Thank you Bruce Sprindsteen, and let's hope some more big name artists make some noise.

I think that ticket scalping (or whatever else you want to call Ticketmaster's dubious business practices) is probably the world's third oldest profession.

As long as I can remember, there have been any number of schemes and deals like this. Does anyone remember Concert Productions International's ticket scandals in the 70's and 80's?

This is simply the same thing - just done online.

There's no easy way to bust these schemes up - but we might try an audit at the gate. This would be a boon to the acts involved too. They have been screwed just as much as the purchasers.

I just wanted to comment that Ticketmaster is not a monopoly. There are many many ticket buying services all over the web. In most cases you can buy tickets directly from the venue and will call pickup for free! Example: The John Labatt Centre in London Ontario. I go to see a show there and pay...guess what!! Ticket price! There are many Londoners who live blocks from the stadium who still log in to ticketmaster any buy tickets....and have them mailed to them!!!

Part of the problem is that Ticketmaster is a corporation...and we can only really expect corporations to do one thing. They must make profit. That is the #1 rule in their corporate charters. Profit comes before the good of the public, so can we really blame them for double dipping? If ticketsnow has operating costs.....ie: a separate web hosting, staff, shipping, online merchant security sofware (to protect you from credit card fraud and give you the convenience to buy online), and administration....then shouldn't there be a service fee? If you owned ticketsnow....wouldn't you charge for that?

So instead of worrying about how good/evil ticketmaster is.....just buy your tickets from the local venue and support local businesses. Thats the best way to keep your local economy running.

I liked your story. I think the concept of Ticketmaster is good I have used them to purchase many tickets. I'll use them in the future but I am definitely looking to buy tickets elsewhere because I think their fees are starting to become more than I am willing to spend.

Their ticket auction idea has merits but I am not sure what the legal difference between them selling tickets at inflated prices versus scalper trying to do the same in front of the venues. I'ld like to know the rules re scalpers.

Well, there are two parties to blame here. The ticket sellers trying to racking up as much profit as possible and the people who willing to pay any price to see the show. The first we need the government to step in and fine those sellers for gouging and the second well don't complain if you willing to pay for it and encourage those seller to continue their practice. If everyone stop buying higher price tickets then those practice would seize to exist.

What a load of rubbish Ticketmaster is spouting regarding resale of tickets. There is no reason why real fans need to be ripped off by scalpers (AKA “The Devil’s Spawn”). After all, it’s not as if the artist is benefitting from the higher cost of the fans ticket it’s just the ticket-broker industry that benefits.
There is a simple way to eliminate the whole concert ticket resale issue and has been practiced in concerts in many foreign locations. They simply do what the airlines do, by personalizing each ticket sold. One concert I knew about did this:
• Before buying tickets on-line, fans must have pre-registered with a individual’s (not corporate) legal name, password and credit card details.
• On day of sale the fan logs on with their log-in details and is permitted to buy no more than 4 tickets.
• The tickets are then printed by the promoter with the buyers name on the ticket and mailed out.
• On the day of the concert the fan must show up with his tickets and matching photo ID to get into the show.

Stephen Shaw wake up you live in Canada this is the home of monopolies, in fact if you don't monopolize your great idea you get kicked of the country. This is why Canada lives in the shadow of America and every time America says Canada when it talks money Canada pitches a tent. Let's put it all together, America=Rich=No Monopolies, Canada=Delussional=Rich=High Taxes=No Inovation=Monopolies.

When is the government going to step up to the plate and end this monopoly? We will continue to be gouged until there is competition! Charging a service fee to print my own tickets?? Charging a service/convenience & delivery fees for a ticket I printed myself? I can get tickets for Broadway shows (and have) for far less fees! And, now, they have become their own scalping company!

Hi ... Thanks for bringing this up..

I had a problem with www.ticketsNow.com last year

I got 2 ticket for Africanfootprint at Sony center Thursday Feb 7.08

They charged me 344 for the 2 ticket = $344
Service fee: 51,60
Delivery: 29,95

Total $425 !!!!!!!!

When I got to the show, I found out that the prize in box office was $40 EACH

Which meas I have used 345 more than necessary.

IT WAS A GREAT SHOW... BUT....

I was so angry at my self, but there was nothing I could do, except warning others.