Yes, the whole industry is filled to the brim with pricks. But the issue I have always had with Ticket Bastard isn't so much the fees, since that is just a matter of honesty in pricing, but in being able to buy tickets at all.
When I was younger, you dialed the phone number. If you wanted tickets to a particular show, you had to know what time the tickets first went on sale. Then you started calling in, madly hanging up and redialing the instant you heard the busy signal. Fifteen minutes later, they told you the show was sold out.
Now, you madly hit F5, and when the sale goes live, you try to choose seats and buy tickets through the website. The site always stalls out somewhere in the process and boots you back to the main page, dumping all your session details. By the time you finally get to the payment page, all the tickets have gone to the bots.
Eventually, you learn to just not bother with stadium shows. Traveling to the venue on the mere possibility that one might be able to pay at the gate and get in, rather than having a guaranteed seat ahead of time, is for young people and fools. Big names simply don't play venues in my town, since none of them are big enough for their giant tour with two or three opening acts and enough traveling stage gear to ground a C-130. I'd be driving at least 90 minutes, and probably 2 hours or more. And that possibly means hotel rooms and days off from work--the show is the centerpiece of a bona fide trip. If you can't get tickets, what's the point? You might as well stay home, with your nice, cushy chair and over-the-ear headphones.
Or you could support local bands and local venues, as they have much greater need for your money. They don't have that studio polish on their sound, but you can actually get in to hear them play.
When I was younger, you dialed the phone number. If you wanted tickets to a particular show, you had to know what time the tickets first went on sale. Then you started calling in, madly hanging up and redialing the instant you heard the busy signal. Fifteen minutes later, they told you the show was sold out.
Now, you madly hit F5, and when the sale goes live, you try to choose seats and buy tickets through the website. The site always stalls out somewhere in the process and boots you back to the main page, dumping all your session details. By the time you finally get to the payment page, all the tickets have gone to the bots.
Eventually, you learn to just not bother with stadium shows. Traveling to the venue on the mere possibility that one might be able to pay at the gate and get in, rather than having a guaranteed seat ahead of time, is for young people and fools. Big names simply don't play venues in my town, since none of them are big enough for their giant tour with two or three opening acts and enough traveling stage gear to ground a C-130. I'd be driving at least 90 minutes, and probably 2 hours or more. And that possibly means hotel rooms and days off from work--the show is the centerpiece of a bona fide trip. If you can't get tickets, what's the point? You might as well stay home, with your nice, cushy chair and over-the-ear headphones.
Or you could support local bands and local venues, as they have much greater need for your money. They don't have that studio polish on their sound, but you can actually get in to hear them play.