If you recall, Ticketmaster had been vociferous in its opposition to secondary markets, strongly arguing to the UK Parliamentary select committee that such exchanges were wrong on numerous grounds, citing profiteering and exploitation of fans amongst them. Evidently, these views have been dropped now that it owns several such exchanges.
Out of curiosity, I looked up the gigs I was interested in and saw tickets were indeed listed on Getmein for the events at prices, including a 10% mark-up for Getmein, up to £82.50. Yet the primary market, in the form of See Tickets, was offering the same tickets at £30, including their £3 fee.
Since listings are free on Getmein, silly priced sale ads can be posted on Getmein with no downside and only upside if someone gullibly buys at an inflated price - or put another way if an ignorant fan parts with more money than they need to.
Don't worry, I'm not performing an about face on secondary markets, but simply noting the hypocracy of certain companies and the lunacy surrounding the opaque nature of the ticketing market.
Most noteworthy was the accompanying T&Cs on the See Tickets booking page.
All tickets purchased on this site are governed by our terms and conditions. In particular, we draw your attention to the fact that all tickets are for personal use only and cannot be resold under any circumstances. Resale or attempted resale is grounds for seizure or cancellation without refund or other compensation. The Event Partner and its affiliates, successors, or assigns may enforce these terms in accordance with the provisions of the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 (the Act).
So Ticketmaster seems to be complicit in breaching such conditions, a matter that it presumably understands.
Separately, the US division of Ticketmaster is now issuing paperless tickets citing consumer convenience and the disruption to touts as being major reasons for their introduction. Unfortunately, this has met a considerable consumer backlash, in the main because they have continued to charge the same high level of fees despite the evident savings from paperless ticketing and because people recognise it has damaged their ability to transfer the tickets should they need to.
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