How much !

I have just booked tickets for Sheryl Crow, in Hammersmith through Ticketmaster. Tickets were on sale from 9.00 this morning, I was on the phone at 9.02 by the time it was answered at 9.23 all the best seats had gone !

Whats the score do people have inside information ?

In addition, something that really ground with me, I think tickets were £37 each, then it is "Sorry sir you have to pay a £4.50 per ticket booking charge” and then "Sorry Sir you have to pay a £2.50 per postage charge"

Is there a better way to buy tickets ?

 

That booking fee drives me nuts. My housemate keeps trying to explain it to me, but I still think it's a con. All the fees should be covered by face value of the ticket - only postage should be extra. TicketBastard make me sick, to be honest.

A less legal way is to buy from a tout on the night, but it's risky, and prices can go up as well as down

 

Go to the box office in person and pay cash - I think it's still true to say that this avoids all additional charges above the face value of the ticket. With booking fees you're paying for the privilege of not having to leave your house, get into a car/get on a bus or train and get into the centre of what will genenrally be a very busy major city in order to pick up the tickets personally.

Not saying that I think it's right or wrong that companies charge all the extras to be able to buy over the phone or online, but it is true that there are definite costs involved in doing this rather than accepting cash in person: secure servers cost money; accepting a credit card payment costs money; paying to have an 0870/0845 number costs money; setting up a computerised box office in order to avoid double bookings costs money;etc.

It wouldn't really be fair on those without card payment facilities, and who do still go into box offices to buy tickets, to have to pay for others to sit at home and pay by credit card, though.

 

Ring the venue directly. They usually have their own box office. At least thats how it works in the civilised North.

eg Crosby+Nash £17 at Leicester demontford this year. 3 hour set, no support, nice venue, parking, mainline station back to corblimeyguvnor.

 

The Pheonix in Exeter Charge a booking fee whether you book over the phone, pay by card or turn up in person and pay cash, doesn't seem to make any difference.

"Sheryl Crow" gig a? must be a small venue then, no accounting for taste

 

Only way to buy in Manchester is to pay the booking fee unless you don't work. So tomorrow morning I'll be bashing away on tinternet trying to buy Coldplay tickets as my missus wants to see them. Oh joy, bet the system crashes three times and then they're all sold out.

 

Then I'd be inclined to ask them how it's possible to obtain the tickets at the face value, and, if they can't give you an option to do so, suggest that you may report them to Trading Standards for falsely advertising the price. It breaks the rules, I believe, to not have an option for buying tickets without paying a booking fee, however difficult it may to actually do so(and it's obviously in their best interests to make it difficult if they are the ones charging a fee).

 

Now I like that idea !

 

So do I, since the thieving bastards took a quid off me to pay in CASH over their own box office counter yesterday to get 2 Altern-8 tickets.

AND the Phoenix are arts council funded. Grrrr...

Oh well, "watch yer bass bins I'm tellin' yer" - roll on Saturday 10th Q: what's a quid between mates for old-skool rave??? A: half a pint

 

Hum, well then I think I'll have to ask them about their "booking fee" policy then, but I guess 50p a ticket isn't too bad, do you know what ticket no you are dom, just wondered how the gig is selling, I'm kind of leaving it to the last min because my dam shoulder keeps playing up, I think bouncing around a dance floor probably isn't the right road to recovery but I could just quietly sit in the corner and listen. (everyone say arrrr )