Ticketek transaction fees outrageous

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wreck90

780 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#72335 24-Nov-2010 14:16

U2 just released a few more seats.

Ticketek are charging $19.25 transaction fee, and that is for ticket pickup at the event.

This really sucks, as the cheapest ticket is $40. So the transaction 'fee' is half the cost of the ticket.

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19282 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#408921 24-Nov-2010 14:33

How dare they make a profit

NonprayingMantis

6434 posts

Uber Geek

#408932 24-Nov-2010 14:54

would you be complaining if the ticket was $60 with no transaction fee?

If not, why not? the cost is identical and the product you recieve is identical.

wellygary

8321 posts

Uber Geek

#408936 24-Nov-2010 14:57

Not new but yeah it does appear to be a worldwide issues,

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=ticket+booking+fee+rip+off

Asmodeus

1015 posts

Uber Geek

#408938 24-Nov-2010 15:04

johnr: How dare they make a profit

Still a rip off if they trumpet about how the tickets are "ONLY $40" when they aint

$20 for pickup is bull crap

ArcticSilver

729 posts

Ultimate Geek

#408944 24-Nov-2010 15:11

johnr: How dare they make a profit

Constructive feedback? No need to be rude.

I agree its over the top. The fee should be in the ticket price, not in a later "transaction fee". Its like all the cheap online retailers that make their money marking up the shipping cost. I personally find it very misleading.

It also leads to very misleading advertising.

wreck90

780 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#408947 24-Nov-2010 15:15

These ticketek booking fees seem to have exceeded the rate of inflation many times over.

I wonder, if the band receives a share of the ticket 'booking fees?

This guy seems to be on the money...

http://lancewiggs.com/2010/04/28/your-time-is-nigh-ticketek-react-or-die/

I see, back in April , they were charging a $8 pickup fee. Why so much for U2?

[Mod (N8): Edited]

johnr

19282 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#408948 24-Nov-2010 15:16

ArcticSilver:
johnr: How dare they make a profit

Constructive feedback? No need to be rude.

I agree its over the top. The fee should be in the ticket price, not in a later "transaction fee". Its like all the cheap online retailers that make their money marking up the shipping cost. I personally find it very misleading.

It also leads to very misleading advertising.

Its not misleading as the OP saw the fee

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NonprayingMantis

6434 posts

Uber Geek

#408952 24-Nov-2010 15:24

Asmodeus:
johnr: How dare they make a profit

Still a rip off if they trumpet about how the tickets are "ONLY $40" when they aint

$20 for pickup is bull crap

presumably then you are an accountant or senior manager who has worked at Ticketek and is fully aware of their cost structure and how much profit they make.

If you aren't, I don't really see how you can possibly be qualified to say that $20 is a ripoff.

Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. But it seems rather presumptuous to make that claim if you have no knowledge of their P&L.

ockel

2031 posts

Uber Geek

#408960 24-Nov-2010 15:34

Is that like finding a fare from Auckland to Sydney/Melbourne for $128 one way and finding out that theres another $96 of fees/taxes on top of that?

How dare they advertise in such a way! *

*unless they add that little extra star that says "plus applicable fees/taxes/other charges".

Kinda of like an advertised price + booking fee.

Sixth Labour Government - "Vision without Execution is just Hallucination"

jaymz

1133 posts

Uber Geek

#408967 24-Nov-2010 15:46

Personally I don't really care.

My recent experience with them (Metallica) was above good. I had put the wrong address in (brain fade!) and within about an hour of emailing them to change the details they were on the phone confirming the change. They also informed me at the same time that the printed tickets would not be sent out till September which was good to know.

I don't mind paying a "higher than other sites" fee if it means I get good customer service.

As Johnr said, there is nothing wrong with making a profit. If you don't like it, buy your tickets off TradeMe or other means.

dclegg

2806 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#408993 24-Nov-2010 16:23

I'm with you wreck90, and think a $20 transaction fee is price gouging, plain and simple.

While I don't know anything about Ticketek's operational costs, if this fee is to largely recoup these I would suggest that they may have some pretty inefficient operational processes in place. The last few tickets I purchased were for concerts and events at Vector Arena (and therefore were purchased through TicketMaster), and I paid about $7 to have them posted to me.

The last time I did use Ticketek would've been for the Iron Maiden concert last year, and while I can't recall the exact price of the fees, I'm pretty sure they were nowhere near that high.

While a company does have a right to make a profit, us as consumers also have a right to tell them if we think they are charging excessively. As for the suggestion that the tickets be sourced elsewhere if you don't like the fee... it is very common for ticket T&Cs to state that tickets not purchased through the official channels may not be honoured at the event.

josephhinvest

1543 posts

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#409008 24-Nov-2010 16:46

NonprayingMantis: would you be complaining if the ticket was $60 with no transaction fee?

If not, why not? the cost is identical and the product you recieve is identical.

Actually, this would be fine!

In your example the advertised price (the BIG number) is the total price I must pay to buy the ticket.

I feel that the issue is that you cannot buy the ticket without incurring the fee.
Therefore, I think the fee is an integral part of the price.

The ticket is not $40, plus $20 fee, as you can't get it without paying the fee.

The ticket is $60.

Cheers,
Joseph.

josephhinvest

1543 posts

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#409010 24-Nov-2010 16:54

ockel: Is that like finding a fare from Auckland to Sydney/Melbourne for $128 one way and finding out that theres another $96 of fees/taxes on top of that?

How dare they advertise in such a way! *

*unless they add that little extra star that says "plus applicable fees/taxes/other charges".

Kinda of like an advertised price + booking fee.

I think this is exactially the same problem. The fees and taxes are not optional.
There is no way to purchase the fare without incurring the fees, therefore they should be incorporated into the fare price.

What if a petrol station advertises...

PETROL 65c per litre*

*plus excise tax (40%), acc levies (10%), delivery surcharge (4%) and GST (15%), total price per litre $1.72

(I know that doesn't add up, it's just an example).

Why is OK for some products/services (i.e. airfares, concert tickets) to obfuscate the total price?

Cheers,
Joseph.

ArcticSilver

729 posts

Ultimate Geek

#409012 24-Nov-2010 16:57

johnr:
ArcticSilver:
johnr: How dare they make a profit

Constructive feedback? No need to be rude.

I agree its over the top. The fee should be in the ticket price, not in a later "transaction fee". Its like all the cheap online retailers that make their money marking up the shipping cost. I personally find it very misleading.

It also leads to very misleading advertising.

Its not misleading as the OP saw the fee

But only after the advertised initial price. This would be used to suck the public in and i believe it should be illegal. Why not have the price all inclusive?

Joseph puts it brilliantly just below (quoted).

jofizz:
NonprayingMantis: would you be complaining if the ticket was $60 with no transaction fee?

If not, why not? the cost is identical and the product you recieve is identical.

Actually, this would be fine!

In your example the advertised price (the BIG number) is the total price I must pay to buy the ticket.

I feel that the issue is that you cannot buy the ticket without incurring the fee.
Therefore, I think the fee is an integral part of the price.

The ticket is not $40, plus $20 fee, as you can't get it without paying the fee.

The ticket is $60.

Cheers,
Joseph.

Couldn't of said it better myself.

ockel

2031 posts

Uber Geek

#409020 24-Nov-2010 17:00

jofizz:
ockel: Is that like finding a fare from Auckland to Sydney/Melbourne for $128 one way and finding out that theres another $96 of fees/taxes on top of that?

How dare they advertise in such a way! *

*unless they add that little extra star that says "plus applicable fees/taxes/other charges".

Kinda of like an advertised price + booking fee.

I think this is exactially the same problem. The fees and taxes are not optional.
There is no way to purchase the fare without incurring the fees, therefore they should be incorporated into the fare price.

What if a petrol station advertises...

PETROL 65c per litre*

*plus excise tax (40%), acc levies (10%), delivery surcharge (4%) and GST (15%), total price per litre $1.72

(I know that doesn't add up, it's just an example).

Why is OK for some products/services (i.e. airfares, concert tickets) to obfuscate the total price?

Cheers,
Joseph.

Really really good question. Best posed to the Commerce Commission. It did look closely at airline price advertising but I dont recall the outcome. Interestingly its required by law to quote all prices GST inclusive - which differs from most overseas countries.

I think that a petrol station should try it on and see what sort of backlash they create.

Sixth Labour Government - "Vision without Execution is just Hallucination"

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