yeah that was an out of my a$$ type thing oops, it’s been like 10 years since I’ve lived here. But I’m glad to be back.

Slusser said in her article that the section itself seats 2500—not that there were 2500 reduced-promo-price seats available.

Honestly, I think the whole thing was a bit of a scam: I think they had about the normal/expected number of unsold seats, and figured that this would be an extremely cheap (no promotional spend, just pimping it via the on-air radio/tv talent; no backend spend … obviously) and easy way to (a) pump up attendance to maximal levels on a day when they were already projected to sell pretty well and therefore had plenty of concessions employees scheduled (and you gotta figure that folks getting discounted tickets are going to feel more free and easy about spending money on food/drinks/novelties at the game) and (b) generate free publicity.

Shrewd and marginally effective, but miserly and consumer-unfriendly. S.O.P. for the A’s marketing since I became a fan (mid-late-90s).

As soon as I receive some of this “really good customer support” of which you speak, rather than lengthy wait times and crashy web sites at times of high capacity, I’ll be sure to let you know. In the meantime, I will remain amazed that they get away with being 30-40% of my concert ticket, and 10-20% of my A’s ticket. I guess exclusive contracts with venues will let you get away with that; at least it keeps the door open for their demise:

Ticketmaster frequently obtains agreements to become the sole provider of tickets for large venues, in keeping with a business strategy it has used since the 1980s when it consolidated regional ticketing services into a single entity. In many cases, acquiring this exclusivity requires Ticketmaster to pay substantial “signing bonuses” to venues, sometimes millions of dollars. Although this practice can significantly reduce the profitability to Ticketmaster of these exclusive relationships, to date using these bonuses has enabled them to maintain venue exclusivity as a competitive strategy, though the future viability of this strategy is unclear as the Internet as the primary sales channel for tickets makes exclusivity a less attractive option for venues.

In reality, this is how it works:

Ticketmaster collects no part of advertised ticket prices. Instead it adds services fees to recoup its costs. Consumers often find these markups excessive, especially because there are many instances where no alternative purchase method is offered (allowing the purchase of tickets without incurring fees). This seemingly unfair business practice, along with a dearth of competitors, has led many to view Ticketmaster as monopolistic. However, alternative ticketing companies have entered the marketplace, alleviating Ticketmaster’s perceived “monopoly” brand status for most consumers. But because most of their competitors use much the same pricing structure, ticket buyers often find little comfort in the presence of Ticketmaster’s competition. Not all events generate the same consternation. Many ticket buyers have the option of purchasing tickets directly from venue box offices, thereby avoiding service fees from any ticketing agent. The typical fees in addition to a ticket’s face value include:

Ticketmaster Service Charge
This is Ticketmaster’s charge for the general service they provide and maintain. You will pay this charge no matter which way you buy the tickets through Ticketmaster (Phone, online or in person at a ticket center).

Building Facility Charge
This is determined by the venue, and not Ticketmaster.

Processing Charge
This is Ticketmaster’s charge for processing your order and making the tickets available to you (mail, etc.) This is usually not a per ticket charge, but rather a per order charge.

Shipping, E-Ticket Convenience, or Will Call Charge
Ticketmaster charges a fee for ticket delivery, even if the ticket is in the form of an automatically generated virtual “e-ticket”, which buyers must then print out themselves, at their own expense. Buyers may also be charged an extra fee to collect the ticket(s) from the venue. E-ticket convenience charges have been known to be issued even when purchasing a ticket directly from Ticketmaster box offices.

As an example of a fairly typical markup, a ticket to see Motörhead at Brixton Academy, London 2006, cost £25, plus £3.75 per ticket service charge, plus £4.95 postage and packing per order. In this example, the fees are approximately an additional 35% of the cost of the ticket. Tickets to see the Westminster Dog Show in New York in 2007 are $40, plus a $10 “convenience fee”, plus postage. More expensive tickets would have higher charges, but generally proportionately less relative to the total: tickets to see Pavarotti at Chatsworth House were selling for £85 for the ticket, £8 service charge per ticket, and £2.50 per order for either postal delivery or box office collection.

While 35% is typical, it can be considerably more. Take for example, a $25.00 ticket to see Symphony X at the Pearl Room, just outside Chicago, has a $7.25 service charge, no option for will call or printable ticket, and $14.50 as the least expensive method of delivery. With the final processing charge of $2.40, this makes the total $49.15. With not even a “building facility charge” at the Pearl Room, this is a 97% increase in the cost of the ticket.

Another charging practice is Parking Fees and excessive shipping. Although Ticketmaster reports this as being charged by the vendor, this is rarely the case. One example of this being a $25.00 ticket to a 2007 Dream Theater concert at the Fillmore in Detroit, MI including an $8.60 service charge, a $9.65 shipping fee (the ticket coming in an envelope with a 23.5 cent bulk stamp), and a $5 parking fee at a venue that doesn’t have parking.

Sure seems like a lot of money to make for being a glorified print shop, website, and call center.

Link.