Is Ticketmaster Actually Working WITH Scalpers?
If you buy concert tickets online, I don't need to remind you of all the lovely fees that Ticketmaster likes to hit you with. They can add twenty to thirty dollars to the price per ticket! But a new investigation has revealed something even shadier. Is Ticketmaster actually working with some scalpers?
Undercover journalists with CBS News and The Toronto Star pretended to be scalpers at a live entertainment convention this summer. They say that Ticketmaster tried to involve them in a scheme. Allegedly, the scalpers buy the tickets with bots supplied BY Ticketmaster. Then they resell the tickets for more money on a site called TradeDesk.com. That site is owned by...you guessed it...Ticketmaster. So they're literally making money off of the same ticket TWICE.
Now Ticketmaster does have what they call a 'buyer abuse' division that tries to stop scalpers from buying up tickets. But a company rep at the convention told the undercover journalists that they turn a blind eye to abuses by TradeDesk buyers. When confronted on the charges, Ticketmaster released a vague statement saying that they "offer a marketplace that provides a safe and fair place for fans to shop, buy, and sell tickets in both the primary and secondary markets."
Not exactly a 'No', is it?
[via Rolling Stone]