Subscriber economicformula Posted December 13, 2014 Subscriber Share Posted December 13, 2014 Caveat : I think sometimes I and perhaps many of us, see U2.COM as actually having some pull on issues like this when in reality they are likely caught by surprise as much as we are. They are front lines so ultimately have to deal with our rants. So, I can easily see how U2.COM personalities would not have any real idea as to Management 's intentions, discussions with ticket seller's. In past years during U2 tours we have all witnessed how scalpers do change a tour environment and hold many of us hostage if you will. But at the same time, this is not re-inventing the wheel. U2 Management has been down this road before as have the ticket outlets. The resulting policy with unmovable CCE denies real fans gift, social and timing options in order to prevent manipulation from secondary seller's that are not the ticket outlets themselves. So, I buy in to the idea written by Moderators here that they are trying to figure out a solution. I hope they can. I see them as being caught off guard by U2 Management's decisions on this as much as we have been. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber mike7man Posted December 13, 2014 Subscriber Share Posted December 13, 2014 (edited) It's odd but just got an email from guest services at AXS stating it is a U2 Management decision to do CCE for this event and not their in house decision. Myron at AXS is basically saying that this option is deferred to the talent. U2.COM on the other hand seems to be suggesting they are trying to figure out a solution. I tend to believe U2.COM here, but it is curious at minimum. I'd guess (and it's obviously just a guess) that U2 management did come up w/the CCE thing, thinking it would help cut down on scalping (which it will), but without really realizing the very large downsides that everyone has been talking about. So, when the U2.com folks/mods realized these problems, they admirably got to work trying to figure a workaround. And like economicformula just said, the U2.com people aren't really U2 management; it's not like U2.com had anything to do w/these policies. Edited December 13, 2014 by mike7man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber K5Jon Posted December 18, 2014 Subscriber Share Posted December 18, 2014 (edited) What WILL happen come show time next year is there will be a number of upset fans who won't be able to get in, how big that number is remains to be seen, but chances are this whole Ticketless/Credit Card Entry thing will only cause frustration. This also will be a scalper's dream, because those who are serious about scalping tickets can and will convince people that they are offering the "real deal" when it comes to tickets, and let's face it, some people are easily duped. But then there are also those people who aren't so much "scalpers" but maybe want to sell their tickets and have zero clue about a show being Ticketless/Credit Card Entry but I would agree there has to be some sort of "personal responsbility" that comes into play too. My belief is rather than Ticketmaster trying to play watch dog and "claim" they are fighting scalpers and are there for "us fans" they should simply issue paper tickets like they always did in the past, with the bar code on each ticket and you then have your tickets in hand and have them scanned at the venue. If someone buys a ticket from a scalper, so be it. If a person owns something, regardless of what it is, if they want to sell it, that is their choice. If someone want's to buy it, regardless of price, so be it. It's the same thing about if you don't like what's on TV, either change the channel or turn it off completely. Trust me, Ticketmaster isn't doing us a favor by offering "ticketless/credit card entry" folks, they are more or less dictating to us "This is how things go, now deal with it". A person brought up the point about if they bought tickets for their kids and wanted to give them to them, which is a good point to bring up. Under the ticketless policy, that can't be done, the ticket purchaser has to go. Sure they can give the credit card to their kids to go, but what if that isn't enough? Ticketmaster/Live Nation should simply focus on selling hard copy tickets, either way they are profiting themseles, some believe profitting way too much. The percentage of tickets scalped is not as high as people make it out to be, and ticket scalpers may make a bunch of money on some tickets, but these same people are generally outside the venue the day of the concert competing with other scalpers selling tickets to fans at cost or below cost. I simply ignore them. A friend of mine last month had two tickets to see The Black Keys. He was looking forward to going having spent $200 on them when they were first announced. Something came up where he could not attend as he had to go out of town. Because it was a ticketless/credit card entry, he was unable to give the tickets away, resell the tickets, or get a refund. So he was out $200, money that still went to Ticketmaster and the band. If Live Nation/Ticketmaster want to have Ticketless/Credit Card Entry be the norm perhaps they can allow fans to return their tickets up to one week before a show and get a full refund, maybe minus a small fee. The tickets then get put back into the ticket queue for other fans to purchase. Sometimes things come up preventing a person from going to a show, be it having to go out of town, or a child being sick, etc. Before if a fan had hard copy tickets they could resell them or give them away, now the fan is pretty much screwed if they can't attend, so I am unsure how Live Nation/Ticketmaster are out looking out for the fans if this is how things are to be now when it comes to concerts. I am sure there is a middle ground that could be obtained that would please the fans and Live Nation/Ticketmaster, and bands as well. It is going to be interesting how this all pans out for the tour next year, hopefully there are no issues, but I suspect the reality of it will be there will be fan complaints and fans who can't get in to their show because of the ticket restrictions. I doubt you will see much of those complaints on the forums here as the fans here seem to know what is going for the most part. Edited December 18, 2014 by K5Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber nemesis Posted December 22, 2014 Subscriber Share Posted December 22, 2014 We don't have any CCE restrictions here, but I did talk to Ticketmaster about something (changing e-tickets for hardcopies) and they pretty much said they are forbidden from making changes to the system as per U2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber at721 Posted December 22, 2014 Subscriber Share Posted December 22, 2014 Hi Nemisis, I am curious about which shows you have tickets. I purchased a pair for MSG 7/19 and accidentally clicked e-tickets even though I meant to click standard mail at checkout. Since both delivery options were free for the NYC shows, ticketmaster had no problem switching from e-tickets to hard ones. I wonder if it varies venue to venue. I also wonder if it depends on changing from a 'free' to 'paid' delivery method and vice versa. Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber swanny66 Posted December 22, 2014 Subscriber Share Posted December 22, 2014 I like the paperless to be honest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber Kristaps Posted December 23, 2014 Subscriber Share Posted December 23, 2014 I kind of like it. I can't lose my ticket, but at the same time there is no tangible memory left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber finz_89 Posted December 23, 2014 Subscriber Share Posted December 23, 2014 im all for CCE and for expanding it to all seats. none of the negatives pointed out would be a deterrent to me to going to as many shows as possible. The only challenge today is getting lucky enough to buy a ticket once they are available to the general public. By limiting or removing ticket scalping via CCE I'd be able to get a seat more easily for myself. Many here seem to be oblivious to the ticket scams being perpetuated with paper 'print at home' tickets when thieves print up multiple copies. This issue is one of the main reasons CCE is being developed. Once the general population starts to understand CCE, the expectation of secondary grey markets will dry up and fans will get back to buying directly from the original source. Gifting would be difficult, but using that as an excuse is throwing the baby out with the bathwater (i.e. lets keep making it difficult for the masses so that a few can be accommodated). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber richie459 Posted December 23, 2014 Subscriber Share Posted December 23, 2014 Just a sign of the times I guess. I imagine seating doesn't have CCE only because of practical issues like people sat in the wrong seats etc. and with out a paper ticket for quick reference it could be troublesome to resolve any problems. It's frustrating though at this stage to think if for any genuine reason I could't go, I have no way of even getting my money back and giving the tickets to other fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber gertrude13 Posted December 23, 2014 Subscriber Share Posted December 23, 2014 The credit card entry is wrong on so many levels. It does "somewhat" deter scalpers but of course they have figured ways around it. DO NOT MISREAD THIS - I AM ALL IN FAVOR OF CURTAILING SCALPING ( even though it does fly in the face of capitalism). What it does do is take away our rights as fans and ticket holders. There is no good way for fans to swap a ga ticket with another fan for another show or for a fan to recoup their ticket cost for a show they can't attend. Many of us like to see U2 multiple times in multiple cities and sometimes life happens where we can't make a particular show. At this point, we can't even give the tickets away. This is my proposal Ticketmaster and the band need to agree that we should have the ability to: Resell GA tickets at face value only exclusively through Ticketmaster resale site. Trade/Transfer a GA ticket for one show to a customer with a GA ticket for another show. Ticketmaster could even charge a processing fee (gasp) In this scenario, everyone wins. Customers who can't attend can recoup most of their original cost. Ticketmaster wins as they collect fees on all transactions and the band gets their desire to slow down scalpers. I am investing an online petition but want to make sure I can get it to someone that cares and can make a difference. I ordered in the presale and ordered general admission for July 26th show. I received my tickets in the mail 2 days ago. hard ticketmaster tickets..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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