Kulturudvalget 2017-18
KUU Alm.del Bilag 141
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Consumers & the ticket resale industry
SOLD OUT:
August 2017
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ABOUT THIS REPORT
This report was jointly produced by:
Set up by consumers for consumers, CHOICE is the consumer advocate that provides
Australians with information and advice, free from commercial bias. By mobilising
Australia’s largest and loudest consumer movement, CHOICE fights to hold industry and
government accountable and achieve real change on the issues that matter most.
To find out more about CHOICE’s campaign work visit www.choice.com.au/campaigns and
to support our campaigns, sign up at www.choice.com.au/campaignsupporter
Consumer NZ is New Zealand’s leading independent consumer organisation, helping
New Zealanders get a fair deal. We’ve been around since 1959 and have a reputation for
independence and fairness as a provider of impartial and comprehensive advice.
Most of what we do is funded by our members, not by government.
Visit consumer.org.nz to find out about the work we do on behalf of all
consumers to make the market fair.
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CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
Who are the players?
Collecting case studies:
ticket resale
Ticketing problems
Supply and demand in the ticketing industry
Ticket resale: who are the major players?
What tickets end up on resale websites?
The rise of the bots
Consumer confusion
Improving transparency
on ticket resale websites
Sold out? The questionable
selling practices of resale websites
Expensive tickets
What’s that price?
Customer service in the resale industry
At the venue: resale tickets denied
A global concern:
enforcement and the law
3
5
6
7
8
8
10
11
12
14
16
18
19
20
21
23
INTRODUCTION
The ticket resale industry has a legitimate reason to exist – many consumers purchase tickets for events months
in advance and there should be clear and transparent ways for them to on-sell tickets should their plans change.
Others want the convenience of purchasing unwanted tickets last minute, either prepared to pay a premium or
waiting to snag a bargain. However, there are significant problems with the way this market is functioning, often
resulting in harm to consumers.
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The ticket resale industry is booming, and estimated
to be worth over $US15 billion globally.
1
The industry,
however, is beset with problems including sneaky hidden
fees, lacklustre customer service and unfair sales
tactics. While a thriving and fair ticket resale market
should be a boon for consumers, the problems can, and
do, outweigh the benefits. Urgent reform is needed.
The ticket resale market is driven by opaque practices
in the primary market where the limited release of
tickets to the hottest events creates stiff competition.
Events, by their very nature, are “one-off” activities
and tickets are often an emotive purchase for
consumers. This is particularly true for consumers in
Australia and New Zealand, where touring acts may
only visit a few times during their careers. For some
consumers, the desire to purchase tickets – at any cost
– is strong and resale websites exploit this.
We heard from consumers across markets that the
ticket resale industry wasn’t working for them. After
receiving complaints about the conduct of the ticket
resale market, consumer organisations CHOICE
(Australia) and Consumer NZ (New Zealand) decided
to collect case studies from consumers who had
purchased tickets in the resale or secondary market.
Which? (UK) also collected and shared case studies,
which are included in this report. Consumers told us
that their top problems in this industry are steep prices,
hidden fees and confusion about who they’re dealing
with. Consumers also complained about poor customer
service, tickets never arriving and fraudulent tickets.
European consumer organisations and the Hong
Kong Consumer Council shared information about
consumers’ experiences of the resale market. Industry
was also invited to provide feedback, by completing a
separate questionnaire and meeting with consumer
organisations to share knowledge.
Measures to improve transparency and curb bad
behavior in online booking processes will help to clean
up the resale market and create a fairer marketplace
for consumers. Effective change in this market will
need to come from industry initiatives (both in the
primary and secondary markets), effective legislative
fixes and proactive enforcement. Without strong action
in all three areas, there cannot be effective change in
this market.
Changes consumers need in the ticket resale market:
●
Consumers need better information to help them
decide if they want to use a resale site. Promoters,
venues, and ticketing companies should specify the
number of tickets available for pre-sale and general
sale, the number of events scheduled for a tour and
the number of seats in a venue.
●
Ticketing companies should develop and invest
in new technologies to distribute tickets, such as
“verified fans” programs, to curb the business of
professional scalpers.
●
Ticketing companies, artists and promoters should
invest in innovations to reduce fraud, for example by
allowing name changes on tickets or by developing
better ticketing systems.
●
Resale websites should clearly state they are ticket
resellers and remove any dubious “official” claims
in advertising. Resale websites should also remove
misleading statements such as “last tickets left”
and “selling fast”.
●
Resale websites should clearly state tickets’ details
during the booking process, including, where
relevant, the seat and row number, venue, original
price, and restrictions.
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Who are the players?
ARTIST/TEAM
The main
drawcard
performing or
playing at
a venue
PROMOTER
The organisation
responsible for
coordinating
the artist or
team and their
tour, including
organising
the venue and
negotiating
contracts
VENUE
The location
of the event
TICKET SELLER TICKET
RESELLERS
Primary market
tickets to fans
and collect
money (for a
fee) on behalf of
the artist/team,
promoter and
venue
sellers distribute
Secondary
market sellers
act as a platform
for tickets to be
resold, collecting
a fee for each
transaction
CONSUMER
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Collecting case studies:
ticket resale
To better understand the problems faced by
consumers in the secondary ticketing market, three
major consumer organisations asked for purchasers’
experiences of the ticket resale industry. Case
studies were collected online from April to June
2017 by CHOICE (Australia) and Consumer NZ (New
Zealand). Case studies were also collected by Which?
(UK) from May to June 2017. Participants were
recruited through social media posts, links from
articles in mainstream media and by engaging with
members and supporters of these organisations.
Across the three organisations, 1051 participants
told us about their interactions with the ticket resale
industry.
2
While we asked people broadly about their experience
with the secondary ticketing market, due to the nature of
the campaign and industry most respondents reported
having at least one problem with their ticket. Therefore,
although this sample is not necessarily representative
of the population, it does highlight a number of common
problems for consumers in the secondary ticket market.
Results from the three organisations were then
collated and analysed for this report.
INTERNATIONAL TICKETING COMPLAINTS
Total
number of
complaints
1051
The online form collected case studies of consumers
who had purchased a ticket through the secondary
ticketing industry and asked consumers:
●
●
Total
number of
countries named
in complaints
353
Other
countries
76
Highest
ticket mark-up
27
438
184
Events with the most complaints
The event type, location and name
The amount paid for the resold ticket, and the face
value of the ticket (if known)
(Sporting event,
Perth)
900%
●
●
How they found the ticket
Whether they knew if they were purchasing a
resold ticket
●
●
The problem they encountered with the ticket
How they tried to resolve their problem
Ed Sheeran (N=96)
Adele (N=64)
Event type with the
most complaints
Stadium concert (N=465)
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Ticketing problems
We asked consumers to identify all problems they had
with a ticket reseller, including problems with pricing,
customer service, fraudulent tickets, and confusing
aspects of the ticket resale industry. Many consumers
faced more than one problem in their interaction with
the ticket resale industry.
The biggest issues for consumers were high ticket
prices, hidden fees and charges, and confusion
between the primary and secondary markets.
CONSUMER PROBLEMS IN THE TICKET RESALE INDUSTRY
What was the main problem(s) with your ticket?
Paid more than the face value of the ticket
Charged hidden fees
Thought website was an official ticket seller and
not a resale website
Seat or area wasn't as described
Something went wrong and customer service
didn't help
Credit card was overcharged
Ticket never arrived
Ticket was a fake
Denied access at the venue because they knew
the ticket was purchased on a resale website
Had a different problem
Didn't have a problem
%
75%
56%
48%
15%
13%
11%
11%
8%
3%
11%
5%
Total
792
589
506
159
139
119
115
82
32
116
53
CHOICE
432
352
321
95
79
74
64
61
21
59
11
Consumer NZ
99
70
74
28
23
26
25
11
4
16
0
Which?
261
167
111
36
37
19
26
10
7
41
42
*Many participants experienced multiple problems. Figures above represent each instance a consumer said they
experienced a problem.
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Supply and demand
in the ticketing industry
It is impossible to talk about the secondary ticket
market without discussing the primary market’s
supply and demand conundrum. Often, a limited
number of tickets are released for general sale,
which means popular events can sell out almost
instantaneously. The sell-out of tickets to high profile
acts like Ed Sheeran, Adele, Coldplay and Harry Styles
gained international media attention in the UK, Europe,
Australia, and New Zealand. As fans tried to purchase
tickets in pre-sale and in general sale they were met
with sold-out notifications, with tickets appearing
hours, if not minutes, later on ticket resale websites
like Viagogo, Stubhub and TicketmasterResale.
There are natural limits on the number of tickets that
can be sold for any event – only so many people can
fit in a venue. However, in some cases promoters are
using tactics that create artificial scarcity and increase
demand for tickets. These tactics create confusion
about the number of tickets available and fuel sales
on the secondary ticketing market, leaving consumers
open to harm.
A 2016 report by the New York Attorney General’s office
found the majority of tickets for popular shows did not
even go on sale to the general public.
3
Approximately
38% of tickets to the most popular shows were sold
in the show’s “pre-sale” and large numbers of tickets
were held for industry “insiders” – including one Kanye
West concert, which held 29% of its tickets for insiders.
This can lead to very small numbers of tickets being
available for general sale without the public being
aware of this. There is then a high level of competition
for a small number of tickets, without the public being
aware of the true demand for the event. One Katy Perry
concert at the Barclays Centre in NY only released 1200
tickets in its initial public sale, or 12% of total tickets
for that concert.
4
The number of tickets available at
general release isn’t meeting consumer demand, and
promoters are actively creating hype without providing
sufficient supply to the general public.
Ticket resale: who are the major players?
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“I’ve got psychological
trauma at being taken for
a mug. Minutes after I’d
bought my tickets for
a ‘one-off gig’ seven more
nights were released.”
It would be helpful for consumers to understand how
many tickets and shows are available on the market for
an event or tour so they can assess likely demand and
decide whether they want to purchase tickets through
pre-sale (or soon after the event goes on sale). This
will also help consumers assess whether they want to
purchase a ticket at a premium on a resale website.
Consumers are also frustrated by artificial scarcity
created by promoters’ tour announcements. Currently,
industry practice (for many music concerts and other
touring events) is to announce one show in each city
to build hype and speculation on ticket sales. As a
result, people can end-up buying excessively priced
tickets through resale websites before second or third
shows are announced. Consumers fall victim to the
excitement created by promoters announcing one-off
shows in cities, feeling like they have little choice but
to purchase tickets at inflated prices on the resale
market. Then, they’re left disappointed when additional
shows are announced and tickets are freely available.
CONCLUSION
Consumers would benefit from greater transparency in
the primary market. Promoters, venues and ticketing
companies could increase transparency by stating:
●
The number of tickets available, for pre-sale
and general sale for each concert, relative to the
number of seats in the venue
●
●
The number of tickets sold for an event
The number of events in a tour, at the beginning of
the tour
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What tickets end up
on resale websites?
There is speculation that a large number of tickets
available on the secondary market are from
professional traders. In March 2017, Stubhub chief
executive Scott Cutler said that only around 50% of
tickets on Stubhub are listed by genuine consumers
wishing to resell their tickets.
5
This means a significant
number are likely to be listed by professional touts
seeking to make a profit on the resale of tickets.
In even murkier ticket touting territory, resale
websites can also have exclusive access to tickets,
blurring the lines between primary and secondary
markets. For example, in late 2016 major promoter
Live Nation admitted to providing tickets directly to the
resale market in Italy.
6
Speculative sales on secondary
ticketing websites, where tickets are sold on the
secondary market in advance of their official release
are also problematic, and only serve to inflate demand
and extract higher prices from consumers.
Consumers need a well-functioning resale market. But
to be most effective, this market should be driven by
consumers, for consumers. While a Yougov poll found
48% of UK residents want to ban secondary ticketing
websites, there were still consumers who valued resale
options.
7
Ticket sales can be inconvenient, with the
purchaser needing to be available at the time of release
in order to secure a ticket. Some consumers who
actively choose to use resale websites want to avoid the
hysteria of the ticketing sales process, and are prepared
to pay a premium for an event that may sell out. By
using the secondary market, they avoid the hassle of
competing to purchase in-demand tickets when they
come on sale.
A proportion of resale tickets are also good value for
consumers. The UK Waterson Report found that around
30% of tickets on resale websites are priced below face
value, and represent an opportunity for consumers to
purchase tickets at competitive rates.
8
Serving these
consumers (and consumers who legitimately want to
resell a ticket) is an essential function of the resale
market.
“I was prepared to pay extra.
I am not prepared to sit on
[the] computer to get tickets
as soon as released (and I
am always late in hearing
when concerts are or won’t
know if I can go till nearer the date) so am
happy to pay more for someone else to do this.
I see it as paying for their time and my ease/
stress-free way of getting tickets.”
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The rise of the bots
Media reports and industry intelligence suggest
artificial demand for events has been generated by the
widespread use of “bots”. This automated software
9
THE BOTS ACT
In 2016, President Obama signed the Better Online
Ticket Sales Act into law. The BOTS Act makes it illegal
to “circumvent a security measure, access control
system, or other technological control or measure
on an internet website or online service that is used
by the ticket issuer to enforce posted event ticket
purchasing limits or to maintain the integrity of posted
online ticket purchasing order rules.”
11
The law also makes it illegal to sell tickets obtained in
violation of the statute if the seller participated in the
illegal purchase or knew or should have known that
the tickets were acquired in violation of the law.
The law applies to public concerts, theatre
performances, sporting events, and similar events
at venues with seating capacity of over 200, with the
law enforceable by State Attorneys General and the
Federal Trade Commission.
circumnavigates ticketing websites’ protections to
rapidly purchase tickets when an event goes on sale.
The software can also be used for ticket speculation,
where ticket scalpers put a hold on tickets until they
find a buyer on the secondary market. While the use
of bots remains a hot topic in the media, there is
little hard evidence of the extent of these bots in the
primary market.
Moves to outlaw the use of bots have already been
pursued in the USA, and were passed into law in the
UK in April 2017. While legislation may help curb ticket
scalpers using bots, enforcement will be difficult.
Scalpers using bot software can be located anywhere in
the world, and it is likely they will be adept at masking
their online identity. Software development is also
likely to be faster and smarter than any preventative
measures that can be developed. To ensure legislation
is effective, any moves to ban bots should consider
additional measures to fix supply problems, and
misleading and deceptive conduct by ticket resellers.
There are some measures that are already helping beat
the bots. Some ticketing companies are introducing
“verified fan” programs to give fans early access to
tickets as a new way of combatting bots. Ticketmaster
US signs up verified fans by registering their details and
IP address to confirm they are not a “known” scalper.
10
Ticket codes are then distributed to verified fans (or by
ballot if more fans are registered than available tickets).
Further efforts by ticketing companies to develop
solutions to distribute tickets directly to fans, instead of
into the hands of professional scalpers or touts, would
help to solve some supply and demand problems in the
primary market.
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Consumer confusion
The ticketing market is confusing for consumers.
In Australia and the UK, the ticketing market is
fragmented, and on a single tour tickets can be
distributed by a number of different primary ticket
agents, through multiple venues. In New Zealand, the
majority of tickets to large events are distributed by
one ticketing agent, with Ticketek and Ticketmaster
being the major players in the primary market.
In the United Kingdom, where one show can have
multiple ticket vendors, there can be confusion about
whether an event is sold out or whether there are
tickets available with another ticket seller. However,
this system can also provide better outcomes for
consumers, as a fan can sometimes beat the rush
by purchasing tickets from a less well known seller
(where tickets don’t sell out immediately).
This confusion extends into the secondary ticketing
market. Several major companies operate ticket resale
companies in addition to their regular ticket sales
business. For example, Ticketmaster owns TicketsNow,
Getmein, TicketmasterResale and Seatwave.
12
We found around 68% of respondents did not know
the website they used to purchase tickets was a
reseller. New Zealanders and Australians were the
least likely to know they were buying from a ticket
reseller. In the UK, where there is a more established
resale market, 40% of respondents knew they were
dealing with a reseller.
Consumers tend to confuse the primary and secondary
ticketing markets because:
●
Paid links to resale websites are placed above
official sites in Google search results
●
Resellers make claims they are “official” or disguise
their resale buttons to look similar to primary ticket
sale buttons
●
Primary sellers who engage in ticket resale on
their primary website did not clearly indicate to
consumers when an event is sold out and only
resale tickets are available
●
Resellers use social media (e.g. Facebook events) to
link to ticket resale websites
“Extremely annoyed. I did
a Google search for the
ticket and the ticket resale
company came up. Nowhere
did it say they were a third-
party dealer.”
DID YOU KNOW THEY WERE A TICKET RESELLER?
Yes
All respondents (n=1050)
26%
Australia
New Zealand
United Kingdom
17%
12%
40%
No
68%
79%
85%
52%
8%
Unsure
5%
3%
3%
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Many fans found their tickets through Google, with 66%
of case studies saying they found their tickets through
the search engine. If a consumer is unaware of the
official primary seller, they can be led to click on the
first search result – often a paid advertisement for
a ticket reseller. This leads them to the ticket resale
website, regardless of whether the event has tickets
available or if it is sold out.
How did you find your ticket?
Google search
Clicked through from the
original ticket seller website
I can't remember
Social media
Word of mouth
Other
No response
TOTAL
694
209
23
30
29
54
12
1051
66%
20%
2%
3%
3%
5%
1%
100%
CONCLUSIONS
Consumers need, and want, to know whether they are
buying from the primary or secondary market. When
consumers reach a resale website, there is often
very little to signify the website is a resale site. For
consumers to make an informed decision about their
purchase, these websites should clearly indicate they
are a secondary market website.
Search engines have an important role to play in
making sure consumers have correct information
about resale sites. For example, Google needs to
ensure that any ads for resale sites do not contain
misleading claims about sites being “official”.
Of those who clicked through from a Google search,
only 20% knew the website was a ticket reseller, and
not the primary seller.
“Viagogo was the first site to
come up in my Google search
for Harry Styles Brisbane,
and the description said
‘Official Site’ so I assumed it
was the official ticket site for
the concert.”
DID YOU KNOW THEY WERE A TICKET RESELLER?
CONSUMERS WHO FOUND THEIR TICKET BY GOOGLE SEARCH
Yes
Google search
20%
No
76%
Unsure
4%
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Improving transparency
on ticket resale websites
Ticket resale websites often lack basic information
about the tickets they’re selling, making it impossible
for consumers to make an informed purchase
decision. This lack of transparency can often lead to
disappointment and shock when the tickets received
do not match what the purchaser thought they were
buying. While laws in the UK strive to make it clearer
to buyers exactly what they’re getting when they
purchase on a resale website, Australia and New
Zealand do not have comparable legislation.
Many consumers said misleading or missing information
on ticket resale websites was frustrating and they would
not have made a purchase had they known the details of
a ticket. Problems consumers highlighted included:
●
●
●
Incorrect or missing seat and row details online
Incorrect or missing face value details of ticket
Incorrect or undisclosed restrictions applying
to the ticket (such as “over 18s”, child or
concession restrictions)
●
Information about the seat that may affect the
purchase, like visibility or proximity to stage
“I am going to Perth so
bought a ticket to the football
there. I followed the prompts
on the website and bought
a ticket at $70 which I
understood was an inflated
price but was near the front. The website said
restrictions which seemed to be ‘no smoking’
which is not an issue. When I got the ticket
several days later it was for a child and therefore
useless. It is impossible to contact the website
and resolve the problem, so I lost all my money.”
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CIRQUE DU SOLEIL TICKETS ON VIAGOGO
“My mother is 80 this year and so, as a special
treat, I purchased five tickets for Cirque du Soleil,
one for her, two for her grandchildren and one
each for my sister and myself. I did a search
for Cirque du Soleil and it came up with the site.
It stated guaranteed satisfaction and made
some other claims so I assumed it was the
legitimate site.
I selected the tickets, noting that the site stated
that the tickets were in the ‘Most Popular Section’
and the ‘Best in this Section’. Because of this I
assumed that I would be purchasing tickets in a
good location at the venue. Once the transaction
had gone through I realised that I did not have the
location of the seats, and I needed to ensure that
they were suitable for my mother to be able to get
to and also see from.
Straight away I contacted Viagogo to confirm that
the seats were as described on their site. At first
I only received what seemed to be stock standard
replies that did not really answer my questions.
CONCLUSIONS
Where these requirements do not already exist,
consumers would benefit from rules requiring resale
websites to clearly state details of a ticket during the
booking process, including:
●
●
●
●
I then received some more
detailed replies claiming that
Viagogo did not know where the
seats were. If they did not know
where the seats were, how can
they claim that they are the
‘Best Seats’ in the section?
This went on via a few emails, more from me than
them as a lot of the time they chose not to reply. I
did actually receive the tickets (much earlier than
I expected) on May 23rd. The first thing I did was
look at the seat location. It is neither in what I would
consider the most popular section or the best seats
in that section. Once I looked at the face value of the
tickets I realised that I had been given the cheapest
seats at the venue. These are too far back and too
far to the side to get a good view.
I was absolutely gutted as this was meant to
be a special treat for my mother not a third rate
one. I had spent nearly $800 for tickets that were
worth less than half that.”
Seat and row number
Venue
Original price of the ticket
Any restrictions on the ticket
Any reseller and resale website that does not comply
should be subject to fines and other enforcement
measures by regulators.
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Sold out?
The questionable selling
practices of resale websites
Ticket resale websites are riddled with questionable
sales practices that are used to persuade a fan to
purchase tickets. A sweep of ticket resale websites
found sales tactics that created a sense of urgency to
purchase, deliberately confusing messaging and in
some cases, clearly misleading and deceptive claims.
CHOICE’s 2017 complaint to Australian regulator, the
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission,
outlined misleading and deceptive conduct in Viagogo’s
booking process, including claims it was an “official”
seller and tickets were “selling fast” when they were
still freely available on the primary market.
Viagogo makes claims it is the “official” seller using
Google advertising, with listings appearing above the
official ticket seller in search results. A Google search
for tickets to Harry Styles revealed the top three
results were for resale websites, with Viagogo’s ad
claiming “Buy Now, viagogo Official Site” appearing at
the top of the list.
VIAGOGO’S TRICKY TACTICS
●
“You’ve just scored the cheapest ticket in Section:
General Admission”
●
“Tip: These are the last tickets left at this price,
don’t wait until it’s too late!”
●
●
●
●
“Tickets for performer are in high demand”
“

Last ticket in this section!”
“

Less than 1% of tickets left for this event”
“

Only a few tickets left”
“The site kept mentioning
that tickets in that particular
area where we were looking
to sit were close to selling
out, it put pressure on you
to purchase as there was a
countdown timer as well.”
“I bought under a lot of
pressure and their website
tells you that people are
queuing and tickets are
running out to create a sense
of urgency so you don’t take
your time to think through what’s happening.”
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Reseller Viagogo also uses tricky tactics to pressure
potential customers into purchasing a ticket.
These tactics, known as “dark patterns”, hoodwink
consumers into purchasing something they might not
otherwise buy, and are rife on the reseller’s website.
The booking process appears to be deliberately
designed to confuse consumers on the availability
and cost of tickets. Consumers felt these messages
created a sense of urgency, pushing them to purchase
the tickets immediately instead of shopping around for
a better deal.
Some websites were also caught engaging in speculative
ticket sales, listing tickets that hadn’t even gone on sale.
“I was so caught up in the
moment of getting tickets
that I did not realise it until
after buying the tickets that
I had bought the tickets at
11.55am on Viagogo, when
the official tickets on Ticketmaster only went
on sale at 12pm. I realised that had happened
when I got an email time stamped 11.58am
confirming my purchase.”
CONCLUSIONS
Action should be taken to ensure websites remove any
dubious “official” claims in advertising. Enforcement
action should also be taken by regulators against
misleading statements, like claims that tickets are
the “last tickets left” or “in high demand”, and for
engaging in speculative ticket sales.
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Expensive tickets
The secondary ticketing market is said to be worth over
$USD15 billion globally per year.
13
Seventy-five percent
of case studies said one of their problems with the ticket
resale industry was that they “paid more than the face
value of the ticket” – it was the most listed problem,
followed by complaints about hidden fees and charges.
Analysis of case studies found incidents where tickets
were marked-up by up to 900%. Many of the larger
mark-ups were for sporting events, which generally
list cheaper ticket prices in primary sales (even for
very popular events), making the percentage of mark-
up large when a ticket is resold. The largest mark-up
was for a child’s ticket ($7) which was resold to an
adult at a 900% mark-up.
A small number of our case studies (5%) reported
paying under face value for their tickets. These
consumers reported being happy with the price, but
sometimes had other issues (such as wrong seating
information or other issues with the venue).
Price caps have been instituted in some countries
and states. South Africa and New Zealand, and some
states in Australia, for example, have price caps for
major events (usually sporting events), which mean
tickets cannot be resold for more than the face value
of the original ticket.
Some parts of the industry have tried to combat inflated
prices on resold tickets. Some measures have included:
●
Artists banning resale for tours, including
cancelling any tickets found to be resold
●
The establishment of ticket resale companies that
only charge up to 10% above face value (e.g. Twickets)
(see page 22)
●
Promotion and media coverage of official ticket
sellers to drive traffic away from resale websites
It is difficult to see how price caps will be enforced in
a real world context without any measures to improve
transparency in the secondary market. With variations
in ticket pricing within events, policing any price cap
without being able to verify section or seat number
would be impossible. A strong plan for enforcement
SAMPLE OF TICKET PRICES
FROM THE SECONDARY MARKET
Event
Geelong v West Coast (AFL)
DFB-Pokalfinale
Crusaders v Hurricanes
Cricket World Cup
Adele
Ed Sheeran
Maori All Blacks v Lions
Ed Sheeran
Tom Segura (Comedy)
Elton John
Face value
$AUD7
$AUD70
$NZD7.50
£45
£120
$AUD70
$NZD37.99
£80
$AUD60
$AUD129
would need to exist in a market that capped the prices
of resale tickets.
Resale value
$AUD70
$AUD650
$NZD60
£350
£928
$AUD530
$NZD251
£512
$AUD383.33
$AUD800
% mark-up
900%
829%
700%
678%
673%
657%
561%
540%
539%
520%
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What’s that price?
Hidden fees and charges were a major problem for
consumers who had purchased resale tickets, with
56% of case studies citing it as one of the problems
they had with the reseller.
Hidden fees included:
●
●
●
Taxes (including VAT)
Booking fees
Handling/delivery fees (even for electronic ticket
delivery)
“I purchased the ticket
unaware that Ticket City are
a re-seller and charged over
face value. Their website
displayed the ticket price only
($70/ticket) and requested
credit card information which I entered. Once the
transaction was complete I received a notification
of payment including additional fees and
charges ($51/ticket) not displayed at the time of
purchase. At no time was there any indication that
additional fees would be applicable, that postage
was payable or that the tickets were being sold
significantly over face value.”
56% of case studies were
charged hidden fees
Most consumer complaints about hidden fees were
where the ticket had been purchased from Viagogo.
These fees were all added on throughout the booking
process or hidden completely until the purchase
was finalised. A CHOICE investigation in March 2017
identified drip pricing on Viagogo’s website, finding
that additional, unavoidable fees of over 25% were
added throughout the checkout process. Some
14
were appearing on the receipt or credit card after their
purchase was complete.
Other problems with fees and charges highlighted by
consumers included:
●
Drip pricing, where unavoidable fees and charges
are “dripped” throughout the purchase process
instead of being clearly advertised at the outset
●
Where the purchase process did not clearly state
whether the price displayed was the price per ticket,
or if it was the price per transaction
consumers even reported that these extra charges
●
Final charges for tickets were in foreign currencies,
rather than in the local currency
REPORTS OF WEBSITES CHARGING HIDDEN FEES
Websites charging hidden fees
Viagogo
TicketmasterResale/GETMEIN
Seatwave
Stubhub
Other
TOTAL
523
43
4
8
11
589
%
89%
7%
1%
1%
2%
100%
“I realised that I had been
billed in British Pounds and
not in NZ Dollars at a hugely
inflated price – $3000 for 4
tickets!! I thought the price
quoted was in NZ dollars.”
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Customer service
in the resale industry
“I contacted the customer
service contact email several
times and explained that
the ticket was invalid as it
needed to have the name of
the person attending as well
as their date of birth, they did reply and tell me
the ticket could be used at the venue. This was not
the case, which I knew beforehand. After replying
to my emails twice and telling me I could use the
ticket, they stopped responding to my emails.”
“The website [Viagogo]
apologised on phone but
said they were only the
reseller and were not
responsible for multiple
resale of same ticket.”
Some of the customer service problems identified by
consumers were:
●
●
Difficult to find, or non-existent, contact details
Specific and overly restrictive time frames for
contacting customer service to resolve issues
●
Long phone waiting time to speak to a customer
service agent
Poor customer service is also a problem in the ticket
resale business. Thirteen percent of case studies
told us they had a problem that was not dealt with
adequately by customer service. This included the
customer service of the online ticket reseller and the
venue on the day of the event.
Viagogo overwhelmingly accounted for the majority of
customer service problems. Almost 20% of Viagogo
consumer complaints included a complaint that
something went wrong and customer service didn’t
help. Consumers, at best, had difficultly speaking
with the reseller and at worst were not able to
contact the ticket reseller at all.
●
●
●
●
●
No, or slow, response to email enquiries
Incorrect advice given on consumer rights
Difficulties obtaining refunds for fraudulent tickets
Late delivery of refunds
Limited assistance when there was a problem with
the tickets
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VIAGOGO REFUSES TO REFUND
“Initially, despite tickets
being available and having
paid well above the odds
for the tickets, they just
promised me they would
send the tickets. (It was a week before any
tickets arrived and they were in the name of
someone else.) We didn’t trust them and actually
wanted to see the show and tickets were selling
fast so we bought two legitimate tickets and
used those tickets on the night.
My Viagogo tickets were in the row behind
me. There were people sitting in my seats so
the same seats had been sold twice. If I had
have used them then they either would not have
worked on the night or those people would have
been denied a seat as the show was a sell-out.
An email to Viagogo complaining about the
tickets not working (after the event) solicited a
phone call from Viagogo but they said it was my
fault that I didn’t trust the tickets and didn’t use
them and the fact that other people were sitting
in the seats was irrelevant.
I rang the Regent Theatre to see if they could
give me proof that the seats had been taken
on the night but they wouldn’t tell me due to
privacy constraints because I had bought from
a reseller. They would only talk to the person
whose name was on the tickets. Since the price
when I received them was in Czechoslovakian
Kronor I don’t think he was around to consult.
It was like the Regent was treating me like
a scalper rather than a pensioner who,
unaccustomed to buying tickets online was
duped by a company using immoral methods.”
At the venue:
resale tickets denied
Consumers who had problems on the day of the
event represent a smaller number of respondents
experiencing problems (only 3% of our case studies were
denied entry to the venue). A small number of consumers
said they had been turned away at the venue because
of fraudulent tickets. This typically occurred because
a seller had sold a ticket barcode multiple times on a
resale website but sometimes occurred because of a
venue’s policy to cancel all resold tickets.
Consumers often outlay significant amounts when
purchasing tickets. The financial costs of an event
aren’t limited to purchasing the resale ticket itself, but
also includes transportation to and from the venue,
and accommodation. Consumers who had not yet
attended their event were very worried about whether
they would be denied entry to the venue, and about the
amounts they were outlaying to get there even though
entry to the event was not certain.
“I am worried about my
ticket coming as many of the
reviews about the site are
saying that they have never
received their overpriced
tickets. I will be devastated if
I book my bus tickets and motel and my concert
tickets do not show. They have told me that I will
receive my tickets 3 days before the event which
is not enough time to organise accommodation
and bus tickets.”
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Where venues are aware tickets have been resold,
consumers reported some venues and ticketing agents
actively cancelling resale tickets. This has occurred
where a venue has a specific policy banning resale
(such as at the Sydney Opera House) or where an artist
has prohibited resale for their tour (such as Adele or
Ed Sheeran).
Punishing consumers for purchasing a resold ticket
results in significant financial and emotional harm for
many who have bought legitimate resale tickets. If a
ticket is cancelled by the venue or agent, the likelihood
that a consumer will be able to obtain a refund from
the reseller is very low, particularly in the case of
sales on social media or on overseas platforms
like Viagogo. The only party that is penalised in this
scenario is the consumer.
Instead of enforcement options that punish consumers,
regulators and lawmakers should consider enforcement
mechanisms that place responsibility on resale sites
to ensure that tickets are genuine and comply with any
relevant laws or regulations.
tickets being sold on resale websites, including more
secure storage of tickets in mobile phone apps or online
accounts that could be transferred from seller to buyer
by facilitating name changes on tickets.
Ticketing agencies could also consider incentives
to reduce the number of tickets available on the
secondary market, such as allowing fully refundable
ticket cancellations for popular events. Mobile ticket
app DICE in the UK offers this service to consumers for
sold out events.
15
A consumer who is unable to attend
an event may choose to seek a refund instead of listing
a ticket on a resale website. This ticket could then be
allocated back onto the market or to a waiting list of
consumers wanting to purchase a ticket.
CONCLUSIONS
Options that punish consumers by allowing venues to
cancel resold tickets should not be pursued. Instead,
legislation should place responsibility on ticket resale
sites when they sell products that don’t deliver value to
consumers.
Ticket companies, artists and promoters also have a
Industry also has a role to play to prevent ticket fraud
and place sensible limits on the secondary market. Use
of better ticketing technology could stop fraudulent
role to play in preventing consumer harm. They should
invest in innovations to reduce fraud, for example by
allowing name changes on tickets or developing better
ticketing systems.
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A global concern:
enforcement and the law
Good regulation can only achieve the best results for
consumers where there is effective enforcement.
Enforcing consumer law and any specific ticketing laws
is vital to ensuring a fair and transparent secondary
ticketing market. Currently, secondary ticketing
websites continue to offer fake tickets and mislead
consumers as there is no real enforcement. There
have been calls from many consumer organisations
globally for regulators to take action against
companies in the secondary ticketing market.
Across the world, markets are regulating ticket resale
in different ways leaving a fragmented approach to
the secondary ticket market. There are a diversity of
ticketing specific laws, including mechanisms such as:
●
●
●
●
●
●
Bans on resale for major events
Bans on “bots”
Transparency measures, on what information has to
be shown on resale websites
In areas where consumers are often travelling across
borders for events – such as in Europe – it may be more
efficient to have streamlined rules and enforcement
in secondary ticketing. Uniform laws would also make
it easier for consumers navigating this market as they
will be able to understand and interpret laws that
protect them in this industry across countries. And, in
the absence of specific ticketing laws, enforcement of
consumer laws should protect consumers dealing with
the secondary ticketing market.
Price caps
Total ban on resale
Bans on organised resale
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SNAPSHOT: ENFORCEMENT AROUND THE GLOBE
Australia
Consumer organisation CHOICE lodged a complaint with the Australian regulator in March
2017 about misleading and deceptive conduct and drip pricing practices used by ticket
resellers Viagogo and TicketmasterResale.
In the states of Queensland, South Australia and Victoria specific pricing caps and resale
measures exist. However, CHOICE investigations found they were difficult to enforce.
16
Altroconsumer made a complaint to the Italian Antitrust in October 2016 about the unfair
commercial practices used by ticket resellers when the Italian Coldplay tour went on
sale. The Autorita Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato initiated proceedings against
Italy
Spain
TicketOne and the secondary market.
17
After a number of tickets for high profile sold-out concerts appeared on resale websites,
Spanish consumer organisation OCU launched a campaign against ticket resellers, calling
for price caps, better assistance for consumers and for better technology to stop bots.
A ban exists on street trading of tickets, but there is no ban on online sales. Artists have
taken legal action against Viagogo.
18
United Kingdom
In 2015 changes were made to the Consumer Rights Act to require the secondary ticket
market to include additional information (such as seat information) about the tickets for
sale. Online ticketing bots are now outlawed, in an amendment to the Digital Economy Bill.
An independent inquiry, the Waterson review, was announced to investigate the market.
19
The finding of this report was accepted by the Government.
The Competition and Markets Authority is currently investigating the secondary market.
New Zealand
The Major Events Management Act (2007) applies to major events held in New Zealand that
provide a substantial benefit to the country such as the Rugby World Cup 2011 and the Lions
Tour 2017. Tickets for an event declared to be a major event under the Act cannot be sold for
more than the original sale price (including charges such as booking and delivery fees).
20
The Commerce Commission is currently investigating ticket reseller Viagogo following
complaints from consumers.
South Africa
The Major Events Act 2013 makes it an offence for a person to sell tickets for a declared
major event, without the permission of the organiser, at a price which exceeds the original
ticket price by more than 10%, and imposes significant fines for doing so. However, similar
to New Zealand, this is dependent on the declaration that an event is “major”, which may not
necessarily apply to all events such as concerts or sporting events.
22
USA
In December 2016, President Obama signed the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act
making it illegal to use software to purchase tickets.
21
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Notes
1
https://seatgeek.com/tba/articles/secondary-ticket-market-and-resellers/
2
This sample is not a representative sample of the population and is intended
to be a collection of case studies of 1051 consumers who had an experience
with the secondary ticketing industry. The responses have not been weighted
to represent the populations of the countries of the respondents.
3
https://ag.ny.gov/pdfs/Ticket_Sales_Report.pdf
4
https://ag.ny.gov/pdfs/Ticket_Sales_Report.pdf
5
https://www.ft.com/content/91c680ca-04dd-11e7-ace0-1ce02ef0def9
6
http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-37985565
7
https://reports.yougov.com/reportaction/ticket_reselling_17/Marketing
8
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_
data/file/525885/ind-16-7-independent-review-online-secondary-ticketing-
facilities.pdf
9
http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/ticket-bots-make-it-
harder-for-fans-should-be-banned-live-performance-industry-20170508-
gw0csr.html
10
More information about the Ticketmaster US verified fan program
is available at http://help.ticketmaster.com/how-does-a-verified-fan-
presale-work/
11
https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/3183/text
17
https://www.altroconsumo.it/vita-privata-famiglia/viaggi-tempo-libero/
news/biglietti-concerti-ticketone
18
https://www.ausleisure.com.au/news/ticket-reseller-viagogo-hit-by-
multiple-spanish-legal-actions/
19
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/consumer-protection-
measures-applying-to-ticket-resale-waterson-review
20
http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2007/0035/latest/whole.html
21
https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/3183/text
22
https://www.legislation.sa.gov.au/LZ/C/A/MAJOR%20EVENTS%20
ACT%202013.aspx
12
A summary of Live Nation subsidiaries is available at https://www.
musicbusinessworldwide.com/files/2016/02/LiveNationsubsids.pdf
13
https://seatgeek.com/tba/articles/secondary-ticket-market-and-
resellers/
14
See CHOICE complaint against ticket resellers Viagogo and
TicketmasterResale at https://www.choice.com.au/policy
15
See https://dice.fm/ for more information
16
https://www.choice.com.au/shopping/everyday-shopping/tickets/
articles/ticket-resale-websites-permitting-illegal-scalping
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