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FeedS(ticket) to ya
Deconstructing those TicketMaster charges
Have you tried to buy a ticket lately through TicketMaster? Hope you’ve got deep pockets. For the convenience of not having to go to the box office, the ticket sales and distribution company tacks on a slew of extra fees to the cost of each ticket, which, as we know, are high enough already.
For example, we tried to purchase tickets to see Metallica this coming January at Nassau Coliseum in Long Island. The cheapest ticket available was already $59.50 (somewhere in the nosebleed section).
Now come the add-ons:
An $11 “convenience charge,” which TicketMaster pockets; the money from the ticket sale itself is shared by the band, advertising, the venue, etc.
A $2 building facility charge, which is determined by the venue. It goes to the general upkeep and maintenance of the specific venue.
A $3.55 order-processing fee, which helps cover the expenses for printing each ticket. The order-processing fee usually is per order though, not per ticket.
If you need the tickets now, there is a $1.75 fee for an e-ticket sent directly to your email address.
$1.50 in total taxes
GRAND TOTAL: $79.30, with fees adding 33 percent to the base ticket price.
So why use TicketMaster? Because, believe it or not, Ticketmaster is the best deal in town. That same ticket on jumbotickets.com is $112.75 after shipping. On stubhub.com, it’s $107 before shipping and taxes, and on ticketsnow.com (which TicketMaster owns!) it’s $113 before fees. Perhaps the best option is to pop in the Black Album and try to rock out in your basement.
// Jonathan Quartuccio
