Not photography related - gig/ticket sales

[BEGM83]

I know this isn't a photography related rant but i suppose it could be manipulated into one easily enough but...

I am so so so so angry right now at ticket touts and internet outlets for tickets it's not funny. Trying to book tickets to one of 4 possible gigs (2 comedians 2 bands) but all the websites come back as sold out. One such site - ticketmaster - has a subsidary company for 'fans' to sell on unwanted extra tickets at a huge mark up. To get tickets to see one of the top comedians in the UK at the moment instead of the face value price of £28.75 the going rate is £200+ then on top of that is the booking fees of 15% of the ticket value...

It's just the same around festival time too. You go on line at 9/10am to buy your festival tickets to be told at 9:02/10:02am that they are sold out. Go to ebay and there are loads of links for tickets for sale to V or Glastonbury or Sonisphere etc.

BAH

Could you imagine any other industry operating like this?? Sell out tour but only half the tickets are actual bums on seats from the get go.

How about us photographers operating like that? Want a shoot doing? nah sorry fully booked that day mate but if you pay me 10x my normal rate i'll squeeze you in somewhere with an extorionate rate of 30x the printing fee per proof.

Pah.

Now have to rethink christmas *walks off grumbling*

[NicoleScraps]

Yeah, that sucks! It is illegal in some of the US states to sell an event ticket for more than face value, but it is really hard to enforce now that we have ebay and places like that.

[BEGM83]

Wish here in the UK they'd at least attempt to introduce such a scheme