Ban Ticket Broker Sites

[jerryskid89]

It is an outrage! After looking at various broker sites there are hundreds of tickets available for these shows. Prices range from $85-$190. This has got to stop. One way to stop it would be to require that all tickets are picked up at will call.

[oceanman]

Scalping is legal in many states, it's just that software they use to grab hundreds of tickets at one time is the problem.

[thagle]

Scalping is legal in many states, it's just that software they use to grab hundreds of tickets at one time is the problem.

 

 

hit the nail on the head there

that software is insane

[jerryskid89]

I have recently started to go see Wilco live with my girlfriend who is really into them. I have known their music, and enjoyed them on the radio for quite some time. We are both pretty upset right now.

 

I realize that it is legal, all I am saying is something should be done. They are swooping in and getting these tickets because its a rare event. It doesn't happen as much for the single show in Anywhere, USA. If the band is interested in their fans seeing these shows there has to be something that can be done. I am suggesting that NO ONE gets tickets from broker sites, even if it means not seeing your favorite band during a very rare event.

[thagle]

I have recently started to go see Wilco live with my girlfriend who is really into them. I have known their music, and enjoyed them on the radio for quite some time. We are both pretty upset right now.

 

I realize that it is legal, all I am saying is something should be done. They are swooping in and getting these tickets because its a rare event. It doesn't happen as much for the single show in Anywhere, USA. If the band is interested in their fans seeing these shows there has to be something that can be done. I am suggesting that NO ONE gets tickets from broker sites, even if it means not seeing your favorite band during a very rare event.

 

 

 

i like your though process, but would you really miss out on this run versus coughing up 100 bucks per ticket for one night?

i know i wont

 

maybe that makes me a bad person for not doing my part to stop scalpers, but i want to see the shwo

[hazel]

i agree with jerryspost, i know i cant afford 100 or more a ticket. it should be illegal. its not fair to the true fan. i wish wilco could do something about this.

[evil horn]

...it's just that software they use to grab hundreds of tickets at one time is the problem.

 

 

would love to know more on this and how it works. how does the software get around entering words that I've never used?

[thagle]

would love to know more on this and how it works. how does the software get around entering words that I've never used?

 

 

i dont know, i asked my broker friend about it and he didnt understand it at all

he told me thats why he pays somebody to do it for him

[evil horn]

I've always just assumed payoffs and ticket blocks set aside corruption.

 

never thought I was actually competing against machines!

 

both make me:

 

 

but the thought of some terminator-style robots doing it faster than me makes me:

[oceanman]

would love to know more on this and how it works. how does the software get around entering words that I've never used?

They just did a news special on tv and barely explained it. They said they are really trying to crack down on brokers that use this tool.

[jerryskid89]

There is power in numbers, we need to ban together!!!!!! Boycott the brokers!!!!!!!!!!!!

[insideoutoflove]

as much as i hate dave matthews band, they have a really great system to prevent scalping (my brother's been a fan for a long time, he was explaining their method to me after we both got shut out of the wilco presale ) through their fanclub type thing, they basically have a two week open ordering period where it doesnt matter WHEN you sign up..you enter all your billing stuff then, and then they do a lottery. that aside, they also police scalping of fan club tickets by keeping track of what fan member got what seats...if my brother, say, got 2nd row seats in the lottery, then tried to sell them on stubhub for $1000, they would deactivate the tickets, without telling anyone, kick him out of the club and never let him get tickets again

 

the funny part is that this system is also run by musictoday..they have a whole division that just does anti-scalping. maybe wilco should invest in such a thing..?

[Chris_H_2]

as much as i hate dave matthews band, they have a really great system to prevent scalping (my brother's been a fan for a long time, he was explaining their method to me after we both got shut out of the wilco presale ) through their fanclub type thing, they basically have a two week open ordering period where it doesnt matter WHEN you sign up..you enter all your billing stuff then, and then they do a lottery. that aside, they also police scalping of fan club tickets by keeping track of what fan member got what seats...if my brother, say, got 2nd row seats in the lottery, then tried to sell them on stubhub for $1000, they would deactivate the tickets, without telling anyone, kick him out of the club and never let him get tickets again

 

the funny part is that this system is also run by musictoday..they have a whole division that just does anti-scalping. maybe wilco should invest in such a thing..?

 

Sure, but it's also $40 a year to join.

 

They could make this all easier and just have every show be will-call.

[tugmoose]

I recall in March 05 ambling up to the ticket window at HOB in cleveland and buying tickets a few days after they went on sale. Has Wilco really gotten that much hotter in three years that it's now a mad dash for tickets?

[primitive]

I think Ticketmaster, of all sites, really needs to update its CAPTCHA method. Read this:

 

http://www.answers.com/captcha?cat=technology&ff=1

 

Pay special attention to the third paragraph.

[jerryskid89]

The Grateful Dead, Ratdog, Phil Lesh, and probably other bands out there use a mail order system. There are specific instructions on how to fill them out and what to include. You get a money order and send it in through the U.S. Postal Service. The system has always worked fairly well.

[primitive]

I read an article in the paper the other day saying that it is now illegal for software companies to produce that auto ticket software in any way. However, what about the brokers? Why can't it be made illegal for them to use such software, since most of them probably already had it by the time it became illegal to distribute / produce it.

 

Otherwise, the damage has already been done.

[evil horn]

U2's old propaganda service, was a pay service, that worked fairly well as well. once a tour was announced you would could basically lay claim to the right to buy any two shows (and gave them alternates). the seats were good. and you also got the old fanzine that came every once in a while. they got too big for that style-- and it got squashed when they launched their website (and had a ticket disaster with it initially)... but even then, they did try and make good to the original members.

 

I think wilco is big enough and smart enough to figure out some cool way of rewarding and providing value to some kind of a pay fan club.

[Gewee]

Here's how bad it is though: On e-bay there are people selling the PASSWOIRDS --that's right the passwords that are free on Wilco's site and Ticketmasters site-- for $1.95!! I emailed teh guy for kicks and asked him if the password was the same as the free oneon the wilco site, and he said it was. Judging from teh 50 or so comments on the transactions for this, he'd raked in $100 for selling a publically-available word. Oy!

[solace]

the sad thing is... something different should have been done for these 5 shows. the band should have known the demand would be higher than if they were just 5 regular Wilco shows. by announcing ahead of time their intentions to "dust off the shelves" they created demand for people wanting to come in from all around the world for these 5 shows.

 

they should have limited tickets to 2 for one thing, and if they really wanted to be sticklers, go the will call route (which sucks for people coming in from out of town I realize, but still).

[Sarahd84]

I recall in March 05 ambling up to the ticket window at HOB in cleveland and buying tickets a few days after they went on sale. Has Wilco really gotten that much hotter in three years that it's now a mad dash for tickets?

 

 

I was wondering the same thing. I've been a wilco fan for some time. I used to be able to buy tickets the day of a show with no worries. I'm frustrated and proud at the same time. I'm happy they are so successful, and that more and more people are on board. But, i'm sad that the "old days" of just walking up to the box office and going to a show are gone. That's why I got into them in the first place, and for Chicago shows that is probably gone forever.

 

I agree w/ Jerry's kid. Why not make the show a will-call only ticket? The Riv is a great venue, but it isn't huge. It's not like it would take hours to get into the door. If they prepared for will-call only it would be a graet why to ensure that only people GOING to the show would be able to buy tickets.

 

Anyhow, I'm one of the poor saps who tried at each ticket sale (wilco pre-sale, xrt pre-sale, and public sale) to get seats and couldn't .

 

I need help: Do I A) stick to my morals and not buy from a broker and miss my favorite band in my home town for five nights, or B ) suck it up and buy over priced tickets from some jerk who screwed me out of getting them the first time around? Any ideas?

[jerryskid89]

Don't Do It!!!!!!!!

[chitaper]

I need help: Do I A) stick to my morals and not buy from a broker and miss my favorite band in my home town for five nights, or B ) suck it up and buy over priced tickets from some jerk who screwed me out of getting them the first time around? Any ideas?

The brokers will always have them, so if I were you I'd wait. I have never been shut out from Wilco tickets and have never bought from a scalper. Odds are either someone here will have extras, and I'd bet that more tickets will be released through Ticketbastard a week or 2 before the show, check it often! I got every Auditorium show ticket I ever had* through late releases from Ticketbastard, though I have to admit it's stressful waiting until the last minute like that! And the late release tickets in seated shows are usually very good!

 

*with the exception of the first show of the last run, which I bought on Craigslist the day of show for face value from a roadie who was working the show.

[JRiordan]

100% agreed they should do will-call ONLY, especially for a special run like this. I posted this in the other thread:

 

http://forums.viachicago.org/index.php?sho...t&p=1012052

 

To virtually eliminate scalping' date=' they really should make all ticket buyers only be able to pick up tickets with their IDs at will call as they enter the venue (that means get ticket, have ticket immediately scanned, and walk in -- once a ticket is scanned they cannot walk outside and sell it because it will not scan a second time). It is terrible that scalpers make money from real fans who couldn't get through for tickets. If they used this ticket distribution policy, scalpers would not even try for tickets, thus allowing more fans to get through.

 

Smashing Pumpkins did this for their 9 nights in Asheville, NC and 12 nights in San Francisco this past summer. Worked perfectly. The only disadvantage is if someone buys tickets and then somehow finds out they can't go, they have no way of selling the tickets (to another fan) because they do not have them in their possession. But since most people who buy DO end up being able to go, I think fans overall would be in favor of the policy.

 

Thoughts?[/quote']

[Gewee]

My guess is that tickets will free up as we get closer. remember we have almost 60 days before the shows and some peoples plans will change, especially out of towners. You'll see the midweek tickets free up. Post your need on VC and hold on..