OFF: TicketMaster bidding

Jill Strobridge jill at THETA-ORIONIS.FREESERVE.CO.UK
Thu Sep 18 17:59:26 EDT 2003


I'm not convinced this will necessarily work at all - except perhaps for
shows that are inevitable sell-outs and maybe not even then.

If only the "best seats" are up for auction then people will know that
other seats are available at a lower price.  I'm far from sure what a
"best seat" is at a show (and in many cases standing is the preferred
option even when there are seats!) so I would guess people will pull out
of bidding and simply try and get a seat in row 5 rather than rows 1-4
(or whatever).

If all the seats are up for auction then what happens to the tickets are
aren't sold in the bidding war?    Will they be available on sale at the
door at a fixed price?   If so then people are likely to ignore the
bidding and simply turn up on the night.   Or if all the tickets must
only be sold by bidding then people will wait until the last minute in
the expectation that prices might drop or there might be "special
offers" - two tickets for the price of one - or one ticket and a free
drink - or buy three tickets and we promise you a free taxi drive home -
five tickets and get a backstage pass - as the number of unsold tickets
becomes an increasingly significant factor.   This might indeed spark a
last minute bidding flurry but that's hardly likely to offer any
financial security either to the venue or to the band.

Or am I missing something here?

jill
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Jill Strobridge <jill at theta-orionis.freeserve.co.uk>
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