andrewteman.org

Bitching about Ticketmaster is about as interesting and novel as calling G.W. stupid, but I just had to share this one. There are two upcoming shows happening in the Boston area that I intend to check out. One is Athlete at TT’s in Cambridge and the other is The Decemberists at the Avalon in Boston. Together, face value of the tickets, a pair for each show, is $56.50. An average ticket price of $14.12, not bad at all.

Enter Ticketmaster. Thanks to “Convenience Charge(s)” and “Order Processing Charge(s)”, the total jumps to $80.85, a 43% markup on the original price, and brings the average ticket price to over $20. The real kick in the cyber-balls, is the charges on the $10 Athlete tickets. When you are shelling out $275 to see a post-menopausal Madonna lip synch “Like A Virgin” from the 78th row, an extra $8 or so blends right into the bottom line. When I am picking up 2 $10 tickets to see a band in Cambridge, and the extra charges equal the cost of a third ticket, it is a bit maddening.

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As if the above charges weren’t enough, Ticketmaster charges you $2.50 to print the tickets out yourself, while having them mailed to you via the USPS is free. So when I print out these full page, full color tickets, on my own printer, with my own ink, it costs me an extra $2.50? Makes sense. And this of course is Ticketmaster’s “recommended” method of delivery.

With Ticketmaster taking such a healthy margin from anyone foolish enough to buy these tickets online, it makes me wonder what the band(s) see in terms of payment at the end of the night. I am guessing not nearly enough.