Can anyone offer a sensible or factual explanation of how or why exactly so many tickets end up being sold through brokers ?

Questions that remain unanswered in my mind are:

!) Is there actually a LINK between Ticketmaster and brokers ? If so, what is it; what is the relationship and how does it work ?

2) Are tickets that are being advertised by brokers actually already acquired by them (that is to say already bought and paid for), or are they (the brokers) actually "authorised" by Ticketmaster to sell tickets that have effectively been "put aside" for them, and that they are then at liberty to sell on at inflated prices ?

3) If there is no link as such, then how do they actually get hold of the supposed large quantity that they have ? Do they have an army of people sitting in a pokey little room with a bank of cheap PC's and phone lines, and to whom they're paying $5 per hour to buy as many tix as they can at the presales ?

It just does seem a bit odd to me, the way the whole thing works. Look at the list of brokers (no means complete by any means - just a sample) that between them have significant numbers of tickets for virtually ANY show, and at the very least it does make you think that there is something funny going on.

Anyway, on the plus side I have noticed that as time marches onwards, some of these absurd prices that are being asked for are plainly coming down. At the rate that some shows are still exhibiting huge numbers of tix for sale, no-one that's looking to get in to any particular show will have any trouble whatsoever, and secondly the prices that are being asked for are to a considerable extent quite evidently not being attained - because they're on their way down.

Just a few of the brokers out there .......

www.tickco.com
www.OpenSeats.com
www.premiumconcerttickets.com
www.justgreattickets.com
www.bargaintix.com
www.bestshowticketslasvegas.com
www.10best.com
www.tickets4concerts.com

some people who post on various boards have this all sussed out - i'm not one of them, but i gather lots of brokers are united in a sort of syndicate and all sell from the same pool of tickets - they're all in effect advertising the same tickets, and just scoop them up from the pool when an actual customer comes along. i also gather their arrangement is with the promoters/venues, not TM ... but any of the above might be totally incorrect - it's just what i've picked up while idly reading fanboards.


"What do you want - what?!"
- Keith



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2005-08-07 23:23 by with sssoul.

I think number 3 is a big factor. There was an article in Billboard a couple issues back, & a one in the Boston Globe around a year ago that discussed these issues re both concerts & hard-to-get red sox tickets, which are inaccessable to many people who would like to go, working class fans who get shut out...Scalpers have an easier time since the onset of interenet sales because some state laws are antiquated w/ brokers online who might be anywhere, & have people armed & ready to buy 'em up, then as BB mentioned, more tickets now get into the hands of venue people & their employees, the various sponsors, corporate perks, band people & employees (& w/ the bigger bands, that's a lot of people), the promoters & local promoters, radio stations, etc, etc.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2005-08-07 19:13 by john r.

I have monitored these homepages very closely as I was courious, because I did not get a lot of good seats in the States. I mean I have quite good seats, but for the bowl I was suprised that you get first offered way back seats with the membership then coming more into medium range, but never the more exensive ones. I do only knows persons who received singles on the terrace, but none for the garden seats. So somebody must have "pinched" these seats. on the other the tickets you see on these brokers are all the same with various rices, but they are all from the same source.
Question one: Where are all the other expensive seats
Qeustion two: Who has them
Question three: Who on earth will buy such expensive tickets???

One: The entourage receives a lot of free tickets. I know from sure as I was offered such tickets in Vredenburg that hey try to sell these seats before the show. Some friends even bought them for 600 Euros as they did not make it in.
TWO: refer to number one
Three: The brokers will have a let down on his tour. Mind you they never had much earinings in Europe anyway.

So know you know how things are working. And a lot of these brokers might have people who still have presale 9th May codes, as they new more than we did.
I would have bought also a couple. As they offer you closer tickets for cheaper prices.

Paulywaul,no link between Tic Mas & brokers.,,,brokers buy tics from promoters ,,bands family members ,,season ticket holders of that venue,,people that are employed by the venue & so on,,the presales is probly a small % of their tics,,my guess is most of their tics come from season ticket holders,,its all legal,,hope this helped ya some

Thanks people,

Ticket sales, availability and prices huh ? An interesting topic, one that continues to do the rounds and never really goes away for any length of time.

I'm actually OK for tix for the shows I'm planning on going to, but it's just that curiosity gets the better of all of us once in a while and that's typically when you'd kind of like to get the definitive answers to some of those questions that you've part figured out - but not fully.

By the way with sssoul, where DID you get that amazingly cool pic of the boys ? It's great, love it. KR looks positively resplendent I must say.

>> By the way with sssoul, where DID you get that amazingly cool pic of the boys? It's great, love it. KR looks positively resplendent I must say. <<

yes it is and yes he does! glad you can relate.
here's where i got it:
[www.msnbc.msn.com]

enjoy it ...


"What do you want - what?!"
- Keith