The refreshing convenience of Ticketmaster
Katie stumbled on what promises to be a great concert at McMenamin’s Edgefield this summer: The Decemberists with special guest Andrew Bird. Personally, I would reverse the billing, but that is just my preference. I love both bands, and we are excited to go.
It has been a long, long time since I have bought tickets to a big bill show, and I was surprised at the expense – $36/ticket. This is 30% more expensive than Portland Zoo concerts, which you would think are similar. Undaunted, I went to the Ticketmaster web site to purchase tickets, and much to my dismay, they are still charging an outrageous “convenience” fee of $7.90 per ticket. I mean, didn’t this problem come to head in the mid-1990s with the Pearl Jam lawsuit? And nearly 15 years later they are still up to the same shenanigans?
Does it really cost $7.90 per ticket to manage the web site? They even have a new option where you can print your own ticket at home, and yet they charge an additional $2.50 for this service. ($7.90 x 2) + $2.50 = $18.30 of “convenience” fees for me to log into their web site, search for a ticket, purchase it and print it myself. Yes, Ticketmaster has to pay for their web site and the administration of actually managing and delivering tickets. I find it hard to believe that it costs this much for a process that is probably entirely automated.
As is usual, I looked for alternate means to purchase the tickets and avoid Ticketmaster altogether. McMenamin’s sells tickets to their shows at Ringlers Pub for a mere $1 fee. That is convenience.