November 29, 2007
Boitano! + Manilow! = $27 in Convenience Fees :(
What would Brian Boitano do about convenience fees?
Let's say you want to take your honey to see the "Aflac Presents Brian Boitano Skating Spectacular" starring musical guest Barry Manilow on Wednesday, December 5, 2007 at 8:00 PM at AT&T Park. Even though this official graphic shows Brian to be quite tall, you're worried that he's not actually the 20 feet in height portrayed. So you might as well spring for floor seating for a nice view, right? It's for a good cause after all -- the George Mark Children's House.
But after you make the call or go online for tickets, you're hit with thirty-something dollars in total fees. Is that a lot? Details after the jump.
Well of course, you make the call. This miraculous pairing will be joined by all the people listed below as well so factor that in. But convenience fees are designed to compensate the online vendor for the cost of online ticket vending, non?
Does it actually cost $27 to process an order online? Does it cost more money to process an online order for more expensive tickets versus cheaper tickets? The sale of event tickets is not taxed directly in California, so maybe people are habituated to fork over a certain percentage more for almost everything they buy, so this is O.K.? Is driving down to the ballpark to the Giants Dugout Store to avoid the added charge carbon neutral?
So many questions. Certain online vendors might want to consider that other states are pondering regulations to limit fees associated with ticket sales. It could happen here, especially during this time of middle class rage over the Hannah Montana tour that recently alighted in the Bay Area. How about $3 a ticket max? Is that fair?
As always, you make the call.
"Olympic Gold Medalists Brian Boitano, Kristi Yamaguchi [really? Not sure about this one], and Dorothy Hamill [or this one] will perform live on the ice for the first time in AT&T Park in San Francisco to be taped live for NBC and aired on Sunday, December 22, 2007. The program will feature Music of the 70's with live guest artist, Barry Manilow featuring his new album being released on Arista Records."
"Joining Olympic Gold Medalist Boitano and music legend Manilow will be Olympic gold medalists Dorothy Hamill, David Pelletier and Viktor Petrenko as well as world and Olympic skaters, including world champion Yuka Sato, two-time U.S. pairs champion and Olympian Jason Dungjen and eight-time British champion and Olympian Steven Cousins. In addition, ice acrobats Vladamir Besedin and Oleksiy Polishuk will perform."
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WTF? $27. Hell no. It's ridiculous to pay those extra fees - I know there has to be some to pay the poor ticketmaster.com workers but $27. No. Way.
It's the ticketmaster profit fee. Ticketmaster pays the promoter/venue $$$ upfront to be the exclusive ticket seller. Then they can add all the fees they want because you can't buy the tickets anywhere else.
Free markets at work...
Her name was Lola, she was a showgirl
With yellow feathers in her hair and a convenience charge in there
She would merengue and do the cha-cha
but you had to pay the fee
Because you couldn't book for free
You had to go online, refresh from time to time
And even then you could not be sure
If you'd get in the door
CHORUS:
At the copa (CO!) Copacabana (Copacabana)
the hottest spot north of Havana (here)
at the copa (CO!) Copacabana
music and fashion were marked up with a passion
At the copa.... just pay the fee
There should be a class-action lawsuit against Ticketmaster if the tickets are not available without service charge.
Can someone please explain to me why there is a convenience fee AND an order processing fee on Ticketmaster? So annoying.
Somebody has to say it, so here it is- what would Brian Boitano do? Why, overcharge on ticket fees!
usc0cat: It's called "abuse of monopoly power," "price gouging," and possibly "false advertising." See: US vs. Microsoft.
this is the kind of minor irritant that keeps me from going to concerts. It sticks in my craw and this is one system I won't buy into.
I can listen to Copacabana at home. Without all the drunken idiots acting like fools. (although fizzandpop's version will be stuck in my head for quite some time).
$27 in fees? Hell no!
If you see Cirque, they charge about $10 in fees, but f--ks you in the ass when you park in the parking lot and pay a $20 fee.