Has the Tour become a ticket tout fest?

[ali101]

I read the article on that poor ladies Glasgow nightmare :

Go your own way — Ticket agency leaves Fleetwood Mac fans disappointed

By Alan Wilson, 2 October 2013 3.05pm.


A Dundee mother has spoken out angrily after two tickets she bought for Thursday night’s Fleetwood Mac concert at Glasgow’s Hydro failed to materialise.


Gwen Louden paid three times the face value from secondary ticket agency Seatwave, which claimed to give a 100% guarantee of securing tickets for customers.

Despite paying more than £360 for two tickets in February, they still had not turned up by last Thursday so Gwen called the company and was sent an email which told her the tickets would arrive soon.

When they still had not turned up on Monday, she called again only to be told: “Sorry, the seller didn’t get back to us.”

Gwen said: “All he could say was they would cancel the sale and refund the money.

“I told him ‘That’s not on. I paid for four tickets and there were four of us going through. We have to get hotel rooms and train tickets booked and now you’re telling me we’re not getting the tickets’?

“I told them it was cruel to do that to people — we’re devastated. He said they are just an intermediary, but that isn’t the point. Their email said not to worry, the tickets would be sent out.

“Now two of my pals are left without tickets and I feel awful for them. We’ve all been looking forward to it since February.

“I usually go on to official selling sites like Ticketmaster but they didn’t have any left and we checked out Seatwave.

“It seemed to be a reputable agent and we knew we had to pay over the odds but to say they’re 100% guaranteed is just a lie.

“The manager told me tonight she was sorry they had fallen short of their own high standards and they were trying to source more tickets for us but I don’t hold out any hope at all. I would advise anybody thinking about buying tickets through Seatwave not to do it.”

Seatwave were asked for a comment but had not done so at time of going to press.

Tickets for Thursday night’s gig have been selling for four figures as fans rush to see the legendary group in Glasgow’s new concert venue.

and this one....

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/sc...ow-gig-2321828
Greedy Fleetwood Mac fans cashing in on Glasgow gig by flogging tickets for £1100
30 Sep 2013 00:01

TICKETS for this week's gig at the Hydro are being sold online for up to 10 times their face value. The band will take to the stage in Glasgow on Thursday.


GREEDY fans are raking in huge profits by selling their tickets for this week’s Fleetwood Mac gig in Glasgow at almost 10 times the price.

The band, celebrating the 36th anniversary of the release of their classic album Rumours, play the new SSE Hydro venue on Thursday.

The face value for tickets is £45-£125 but some fans are offering theirs for sale online at up to £1000 – more than it costs to see the band play Vegas later this year.

On Ticketmaster site Get Me In, which describes itself as a safe and secure marketplace for sales, Row Z tickets were available yesterday for £1100.

Over at Stub Hub, run by eBay, £125 tickets had been bid up to £343.86, while on Viagogo, tickets were priced between £249.99 and £699.

Meanwhile, Viagogo also had tickets to see Stevie Nicks and Co at the famed MGM Grand Garden Arena Hotel in Las Vegas from only £91.44.

Kirsten McAlonan, communications manager at the Hydro, said: “It’s nice to be compared to Vegas but, unfortunately, secondary ticketing is something we have no control over.

“Our best suggestion to fans is to make sure that they register with www.thehydro.com for access to our presale tickets for all upcoming gigs.”

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/sc...ow-gig-2321828

Whilst it happens all the time now I cant help but wish that they just added a one or two extra dates at one of the venues outside London.

I couldn't get a ticket last for last night but I was quite confident of getting one of the late releases and sure enough they went on sale throughthe official ticket channel. They dumped them out the basket before I had chance to input payment details and the time held hadn't run out. Not to be phased I rang them up expecting a computer problem but was told they had sold out. And than at 7.24pm curiosity got the better of me and I checked online and guess what - tickets for sale all over the place so I went through the process and ended up with the exact same tickets I tried to purchase (same row and set numbers) earlier. "What a bummer!"
My travel time would have been 40 mins so it was too late and I was so frustrated.
I have been able to get to see the tour this time but not as many as I would have liked and judging from the articles in the press it has been a problem for quite a few.

[Phil Lee]

There were loads of what looked like touts picking up tickets from the box office before the show last night.

[ali101]

I can never work out how they get away with it really -they are so obvious. And that's why I believe pre sales should go back to being fan based. Most other artists do it.

[mtkad]

Touts can still get into fan pre sales. A few bands enforce more secure procedures like having the card/i.d with you, but it's a lot of effort. Here's hoping some law or price cap comes into place, touting is getting worse for sure!

[louielouie2000]

Ahh, so a "tout" must be what us Americans call "scalpers." Pretty much any paid, ticketed event here in the states is riddled with scalpers/touts buying & selling tickets. Capitalism it it's finest!

[WildHearted]

Originally Posted by louielouie2000

Ahh, so a "tout" must be what us Americans call "scalpers." Pretty much any paid, ticketed event here in the states is riddled with scalpers/touts buying & selling tickets. Capitalism it it's finest!

I had to infer what a "tout" was as well.

And yeah they are rampart over here.

[HomerMcvie]

Originally Posted by louielouie2000

Ahh, so a "tout" must be what us Americans call "scalpers." Pretty much any paid, ticketed event here in the states is riddled with scalpers/touts buying & selling tickets. Capitalism it it's finest!

Yeah, I kept trying to figure out what a tout was!

[UnwoundDreams]

There were quite a few ticket scalpers outside the LG Arena Sunday night with wads of tickets in their hands. One came up to my father and asked him if he would sell him our tickets for better seats, and he told him to "F*** off".

[ali101]

Originally Posted by UnwoundDreams

There were quite a few ticket scalpers outside the LG Arena Sunday night with wads of tickets in their hands. One came up to my father and asked him if he would sell him our tickets for better seats, and he told him to "F*** off".

Good for him - I saw them too. There are too many with their villas in spain paid for in cash for my liking.

[ali101]

Originally Posted by louielouie2000

Ahh, so a "tout" must be what us Americans call "scalpers." Pretty much any paid, ticketed event here in the states is riddled with scalpers/touts buying & selling tickets. Capitalism it it's finest!

Who would have thought a little bit of water would leave us with such language anomalies?

Scalper/tout = wads of cash in all languages!

[julieannboo]

it all a get up.

ticketmaster also owns one of those tout ticket agencies.

they all in it together.

all a scam.

also just cause they were asking for $$$$ for rubbish seats do you think people could afford to pay that? Apart from that woman in the story - i reckon loads of seats went unsold.

who can honestly afford £1000 for two tickets?

Mind losing.

[ali101]

Originally Posted by Phil Lee

There were loads of what looked like touts picking up tickets from the box office before the show last night.

Hey Phil if i'd been in Salford I could have got there Lickety split!
I looked at your photos and I reckon I must have been stood in front of you at the Arena in 03! Weird! Our photos are so similar!

Fleetwood Mac Men Arena 4.12.03 110reee.jpg