Viagogo fake tickets- advice needed

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3702 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#1968332 5-Mar-2018 16:20

Oblivian:

Ticketmaster isn't the only seller. There is Ticketek too. And both have their own reseller market now. So even with them its hard to tell if the price you are paying is fair or not. (usually NOT)

Yes, their commission is high and people sometimes also put up ridiculous prices, not arguing with that. But I assume that if you really want to rebuy tickets, then if you buy ticketmaster tickets off the ticketmaster resale site and ticketek tickets off their resale site you should be "safe" from getting fake tickets or tickets that have been resold multiple times. And I think the ticketmaster resale site shows the face values of the tickets so you can see how "fair" the price is and decide if you want to pay it.

"I was born not knowing and have had only a little time to change that here and there." | Octopus Energy | Sharesies
- Richard Feynman

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mattwnz

20043 posts

Uber Geek

#1968336 5-Mar-2018 16:35

sidefx:

you should be "safe" from getting fake tickets or tickets that have been resold multiple times. And I think the ticketmaster resale site shows the face values of the tickets so you can see how "fair" the price is and decide if you want to pay it.

Although how are consumers supposed to know whether that is the case or not, and what sites are the official ones, especially as some of the sites have similar sounding names, logos and colours? Also unless they offer some for of guarantee that 100% protects consumers, then it still could be a gamble. I think this is one area where there need to be regulation of the market. It could also stop scalpers in their tracks. Personally I don't buy tickets that often, but last time I did, I found it a pretty terrible experience.

Paparangi

166 posts

Master Geek

#1968339 5-Mar-2018 16:38

mattwnz:

If this is a problem, why are they allowing resellers to sell though their website at all?

Who are you referring to? Ticketmaster/Ticketek? If so, then their resale products require you to enter the unique ticket details, and actually re-issue the ticket to the new purchaser, so you know its legit. Viagogo does not do this as they have no way of re-issuing tickets.

Maybe there needs to be a better system to actually check on things. I mean it is hardly rocket science, if we can land people on the moon, surely they can work out a solution to prevent people buying the same resold ticket multiple times.

Sounds like you are asking someone to make a way to avoid people photocopying/sharing a PDF. Good luck to that.

Maybe tickets have to be tied to the purchasers name, and if they need to resell it, it has to go back to the issuer. This will also solve the problem of people ending up paying inflated prices. Legislation maybe needed.

Only way this would work is buy having to present ID with tickets, you'd be in the queue forever in this case.

Although how are consumers supposed to know whether that is the case or not, and what sites are the official ones, especially as some of the sites have similar sounding names, logos and colours? Also unless they offer some for of guarantee that 100% protects consumers, then it still could be a gamble. I think this is one area where there need to be regulation of the market. It could also stop scalpers in their tracks. Personally I don't buy tickets that often, but last time I did, I found it a pretty terrible experience.

How do you know any site you visit is legitimate? You have to do some research.

mattwnz

20043 posts

Uber Geek

#1968341 5-Mar-2018 16:40

Paparangi:

Only way this would work is buy having to present ID with tickets, you'd be in the queue forever in this case.

That is likely only because there aren't systems in place to deal with it as efficiently as there could be. Technology should be able to solve this, but more investment in this area is needed to make the customer experience better. Iris scanning as you walk in without a ticket, and using some universal database like realme potentially could do it. But that is very minority report, but is becoming the reality. But I think the bottleneck these days will be security checkpoints.

Oblivian

7275 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#1968377 5-Mar-2018 18:26

The Project are revisiting this tonight

FYI, even with all the suggestions supporting the 'official' reseller sites.. they too are under Consumer scrutiny. Because most of the tickets are from 'in trade' sellers like I pointed out earlier. And if you watch the video in the article from a few years back I posted it shows how much of an inside market there is driving the average cost for profit.

Dial111

972 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1968409 5-Mar-2018 19:37

What if Ticketmaster or who ever the agent is selling the tickets have a system where if you purchase tickets they are "held" until you confirm you want them downloaded.

Once downloaded they are considered ready to use cannot be onsold at zero risk. If you decide to onsell them before "Confirming download" you enter your details back in with the credit card used to purchase them and get issued with a unique code where you pass onto the next buyer who then enters the code, pays for the tickets at an agreed price (within the realms of a fair resale price) and the payment gets transferred to you by the ticket agent who would obviously clip the ticket on the way through as a transfer fee charged to the new purchaser.

If you buy outside the agent, there is no guarantee that the tickets are legit and you run the risk of buying fake tickets.

Puts the scalper out of the market unless you are super desperate and gives peace of mind purchasing tickets.

But you know what, this has probably been thought of and is most likely flawed, and to be honest I haven't thought it right through enough to find loop holes but you get the idea. Something needs to be done.

surfisup1000

5288 posts

Uber Geek

#1968537 5-Mar-2018 21:44

Paparangi:

I’m sorry, but how on earth do you expect Ticketmaster/Ticketek/whoever else to validate that a eTicket hasn’t been printed and onsold several times to several different people??

blockchain technology, seems to be the way to go. . .

Jeez i'm good.

mattwnz

20043 posts

Uber Geek

#1968610 5-Mar-2018 23:34

Dial111:

But you know what, this has probably been thought of and is most likely flawed, and to be honest I haven't thought it right through enough to find loop holes but you get the idea. Something needs to be done.

With anything someone will try to find the loopholes, and to try to take advantage. It happens with almost everything. The fact is that there are many well paid people who can come up with systems. I think it is more that it costs a lot to change the systems, and established businesses don't like change, as change is very costly. Maybe we need a disruptive new business, of the likes of like uber, netflix or airbnb to come up with a system. But it is very difficult for a new company to break into a market like this. Maybe NZ post could do it with kiwibank, since they have lots of agencies around NZ, and a lot of tech behind them.

firefuze

510 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1968649 6-Mar-2018 08:01

I would stay well clear of Viagogo!, Like the OP - Lesson also learnt for me.

See my previous thread detailing my struggles to get a CC chargeback for suspect dodging tickets. - Could be helpful for your friend when they raise a chargeback through their bank. However, eventually I got a full refund in the end!

BTR

1527 posts

Uber Geek

#1968681 6-Mar-2018 08:50

This site has been in the news for over a year now with people complaining each time there is a big concernt, when will people learn.....

Oblivian

7275 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#1968695 6-Mar-2018 09:17

BTR:

This site has been in the news for over a year now with people complaining each time there is a big concernt, when will people learn.....

You mean like not giving money away to someone calling with an accent and suggesting your machine is breaking the internet thats been advertised even more so for the past 3 years?

Tui.

A lot of the time in this case it's perceived deception. Last minute thought, and head to Dr google where you find Words Official everywhere, 2 pages of search hits. And spare of moment force tactics making them think they are missing out over giving time to actually go 'is this site legit?'. It's preying on those exact customers.

MikeAqua

7769 posts

Uber Geek

#1968759 6-Mar-2018 09:53

I simply don't buy resold ticket and I have never resold tickets myself. I miss out sometimes, but I don't get ripped off or support something I disagree with.

I have given a few tickets away to friends when I couldn't use them.

Mike

sidefx

3702 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#1968788 6-Mar-2018 10:43

MikeAqua:

I simply don't buy resold ticket and I have never resold tickets myself. I miss out sometimes, but I don't get ripped off or support something I disagree with.

I have given a few tickets away to friends when I couldn't use them.

You're a kind man. I recently looked at reselling a ticket after breaking my leg a few weeks before the foo fighters. I ultimately decided to exchange the ticket for an "accessible" ticket which was nowhere near as good as standing up near the stage but I was keen to go and still had a blast. But I did do a bit of research and looked at ways to resell the ticket.

My impression of their resale platform is that it's a reasonable compromise for protecting those who want to rebuy\resell tickets and have a legitimate reason to do so, without having to reinvent their entire tech stack (and presumably business process too for venues etc?) to support something like blockchain or require IDing everyone, etc... My only complaint would probably be that their commission looked way too high for me to sell the ticket at what I felt was a reasonable price for both buyer and seller, which was the main reason I ultimately decided not to.

"I was born not knowing and have had only a little time to change that here and there." | Octopus Energy | Sharesies
- Richard Feynman

cadman

1014 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#1968913 6-Mar-2018 14:12

No worries, guys! The Comcom is onto it!

"Expert legal advice was being sought as to whether the commission had the power to enforce Kiwi consumer laws against Viagogo, which is based in Switzerland."

What a joke. They're only a marketplace and the NZ Commerce Commission has no teeth here, much less in Switzerland.

MikeAqua

7769 posts

Uber Geek

#1968931 6-Mar-2018 14:17

sidefx:

MikeAqua:

I have given a few tickets away to friends when I couldn't use them.

You're a kind man.

I'm actually just lazy. Can't be bothered with he hassle of on-selling. I have the same attitude to for lower value second hand stuff. Easier and faster to give it away than sell it.

Mike

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