Question about Ticketmaster

[kcdist]

How positively, absolutely irritating.

Just booked tickets online through Ticketmaster for a concert. 

Purchase price was $49.00 each. Yikes!

Then comes the faculty fee of $1.00 per ticket. What? The promoter doesn't pay enough in rent?

Now comes the aggravating part. Each ticket has a 'Convenience Fee' of $8.50. I don't want to pay this fee. I would prefer to be inconvenienced. How can I avoid this? Can I pick up the tickets in person? Can I buy the tickets direct without Ticketmaster conveniencing me? Hours (okay minutes) of research later determines I must be convenienced against my will if I want to see the concert.

Now, the salt in the open wound. The fingernails down the chalkboard. The wife crapping over me for not taking out the garbage the day after I missed the hockey game so she could watch American Idol. The....the ....you get the idea.. ....NOW.....NOW....after I rationalized for hours and finally talked myself into being 'Convenienced' for the sake of going to some stupid concert that I likely won't enjoy anyways 'cause I'll be thinking of the $17.00 ransom I had to pay....NOW...Ticketmaster has the gall to charge me an ADDITIONAL  fee of $3.50 to 'process' my order!!!!

What the heck. I can understand the $3.50 (just barely), allthough it would seem reasonable that the promoter pay the fee out of my $49.00 ticket. But the question is:


If the Artist is getting $49.00 to perform in the concert,

If Ticketmaster is getting $3.50 to process my order,

If the Saddledome is getting $1.00, 'cause they didn't charge the performer enough rent,

And if the Government of Canada is getting 7% on all of the above because they can,

Then WHO is getting my $8.50 Convenience Fee and what the heck are they doing to earn it?


The crap I have to put up to see Nana Mouskouri's farewell tour. Sheesh

 

[muffin]

As per the Ticketmaster FAQ

Ticket Prices Explained

Ticket prices are based on the following:

Face Value of a Ticket
The face value of a ticket is determined by the promoter, venue, or artist. Ticketmaster does not determine the face value of tickets.

Facility Charge
The purpose for this charge varies from venue to venue. Not all venues charge a facility charge. Ticketmaster does not determine the facility charge. The facility charge is not retained by Ticketmaster; it is remitted to the venue.

Convenience Charge
This fee covers costs that allow Ticketmaster to provide the widest range of available tickets while giving you multiple ways to purchase. Tickets are available in many neighborhoods via local ticket outlet locations, our telephone reservation system and ticketmaster.com. Tickets can be purchased through at least one distribution channel virtually 24 hours a day. The convenience charge varies by event and is determined by negotiations with arena operators, promoters and others, based on costs for each event.

Is the convenience charge always the same no matter where I buy my tickets?
No, the convenience charge will vary depending upon where you purchase the tickets. There is typically no convenience charge when you drive to a box office to purchase tickets. A convenience charge is applied when you purchase from the Internet, phone or ticket outlet (e.g., at your local department store), and this charge may vary depending upon Ticketmaster's local agreements with its venue, promoter and outlet partners.

Order Processing Fee
The order processing fee covers the cost to fulfill your ticket request when you purchase the tickets online or by phone. This charge includes services, such as taking and maintaining your order on our ticketing systems, arranging for shipping and/or coordinating with the box office will call. It is applied to an entire order. Both the venue or promoter and Ticketmaster determine the charge on an event-by-event basis. In almost all cases, additional delivery prices may be charged based on the delivery method that you choose.

Taxes
City, state, and local taxes (and for Canada, provincial and Federal Goods and Services taxes) are typically included in the face value of the ticket.

Delivery Price
A variety of delivery options are available for most events. For more detailed information on the delivery of tickets, please review Delivery Methods. Delivery prices will be displayed during the purchase process at the point where you select the shipping method. Generally, standard mail and will call (but not international will call for US events), as well as Canadian Ticket Centre pick up, will all be free, although there will still be an order processing fee, and occasionally, delivery prices may in fact be charged (i.e., occasionally the delivery price for these options will not be free). Consequently, we recommend that you carefully review the delivery prices in the delivery method section of the purchase process before selecting these options to be sure. All other delivery options, including, but not limited to, FedEx, UPS, Canada Post Priority Courier, ticketFast and International Will Call, generally require the payment of a delivery price, which will be reflected during the purchase process, at the point where you select the shipping method.