Someone else using your ST when you can't make it ... [Uh oh. Post 43]

[Wardy's twin]

I totally get and understand that the club should not be selling already sold tickets when there are plenty left. That would be daft.

But, they need to have the facility available for us to put out ST on the exchange before it's a sell out, so that when the sellout happens there are tickets that are available for resale.

As is the nature of the beast, a sell out is only going to happen close to the match, so there is little time for ST to be made available by their owners.

Some people will know months ahead what games they can't attend due to holidays, weddings etc.

The next game thats a possible sellout is Villa. 100's will already know they can't make it, so let them tell the club NOW that they cant go.

The season ticket exchange needs to be communicated well. For the Norwich game, unless you read NSC or were a geek like me, counting up the seats left for sale, you would not have known the ticketing site was even active.

And I've said before. But if you have a ST and you can't go, the very last part of the website you are going to visit is the bit of the website to BUY a ticket for the game you can't attend! Why on earth did the club choose this part of the site to make the facility known?
[MENTION=561]Insider[/MENTION]

If we continue with our form (and also get to the PL) then there could be a lot more games where we reach the max and yet will have several thousand empty seats - so reselling these makes sense. Split the resale price between club and STH and both parties should be happy. However for this work (be viable) it would be useful to measure what the numbers involved are i.e. we talking 10 people wanting tickets or 2000.... the club should use the Villa game as a yardstick by tracking calls where we can't supply a ticket that would of course not include people who only use the website.

 

[drew]

If we continue with our form (and also get to the PL) then there could be a lot more games where we reach the max and yet will have several thousand empty seats - so reselling these makes sense. Split the resale price between club and STH and both parties should be happy. However for this work (be viable) it would be useful to measure what the numbers involved are i.e. we talking 10 people wanting tickets or 2000.... the club should use the Villa game as a yardstick by tracking calls where we can't supply a ticket that would of course not include people who only use the website.

When the exchange is active the resale is split between club and STH. I believe that it is the pro rata price (based on the season ticket price) less an admin fee although I stand to be corrected. As has been stated by insider, why would the club re sell a season ticket seat and get less than they would selling an empty seat at full price?

 

[drew]

This is the post [MENTION=561]Insider[/MENTION] should have made in the first place.

I can't fathom why he didnt'!!!!!!

 

[Green Cross Code Man]

I can't fathom why he didnt'!!!!!!

Because the club cannot officially condone something that is apparently illegal.

 

[Giraffe]

The reality is that in this league and others someone can't go and they lend their ticket. It's breaks the rules but it gets ignored. The person taking the ticket generally doesn't go and wouldn't go at full price. They spend a bit on Harveys and Beer.

Why ? because season tickets holders generally go to all games.

If people are taking the p### find out who. It isn't that difficult.

This in a nutshell.

 

[Steve in Japan]

When the exchange is active the resale is split between club and STH. I believe that it is the pro rata price (based on the season ticket price) less an admin fee although I stand to be corrected. As has been stated by insider, why would the club re sell a season ticket seat and get less than they would selling an empty seat at full price?

I might be in a minority but if I can't use it, I'd ather the club had it back for nothing than leave the seat empty. After all, you know when you buy that you will miss games so no skin off my nose and the club get 34 quid or whatever it is.

 

[Bozza]

But, they need to have the facility available for us to put out ST on the exchange before it's a sell out, so that when the sellout happens there are tickets that are available for resale.

Very good observation that.

I suspect the answer is that as we've only needed a ticket exchange twice in two seasons (Derby last season, Norwich this) there has been very little demand for one and we don't really have one. Getting season ticket holders to fill out a Survey Monkey form suggests that behind the scenes it's highly manual and the club may not want (or, indeed, have the resources) to work through a chunk of season tickets on the chance the exchange becomes active for any given fixture.

Maybe our current ticketing system provider does not have exchange functionality. Maybe they do, but the cost of that additional module has been considered excessive given our games have rarely completely sold out. What's clear is that a ticket exchange will be required should be ever achieve this ******* promotion. I suspect the club know this.

 

[Giraffe]

If you can't go to a match and you don't have a friend who wants to use your season ticket there should be a facility where the club can sell that seat and the club keeps the money. Surely it would be easier to sell a season ticket seat than the last few remaining seats which are generally more poorly located?

Personally if I wasn't able to go to the match I wouldn't begrudge the club selling my seat. Isn't this effectively how it works for cup games albeit the onus is different?

 

[dazzer6666]

A truism - seats held by season ticket holders are always better than those seats not picked by season ticket holders. Therefore more desirable and much more likely to be sold.

So if the Club is not monetising the opportunity of reselling seats when STHs can't make a game - then that's a lost opportunity to shore up some of TB's losses. And as we have been told many times, every penny counts.

Hard to argue with really, isn't it? So another vote from me for a slick ticket exchange for games where we expect to sell a lot - the Cat A's I suppose. I'm not looking to make money, I'm looking to help the Club fill the seat if I can't.

Not sure that's true at all. 70% or so of the ground is already taken by STHs so they can't all be 'better', and I know some that have STs in less expensive areas to minimise cost, sit in family stand etc etc. Everyone has a different view of 'better' too - for example I really don't like being too high up, but equally I'd expect a WSU ticketholder to come on here and say they have the 'best' seat in the house.

This feels overall like a massive storm in a teacup (followed by a heavy handed, knee-jerk response) and I'm not convinced the club is being taken for a ride by very many people at all. Can't believe that most of us do no more than hand an STH to a pal if we can't make it but maybe I'm naive. Not sure I'd ever use a resale option regardless of where the money went as I can usually find someone to go (typically it will either be only one of me or junior who can't, so one of us will take someone else, with me upgrading his - maybe 2-3 times a season max)

 

[Birdie Boy]

As kingcole mentioned, if STHs were able to add their ticket to the exchange, days, weeks or even months in advance, and that game gets to the extent where there are only single seats left, the club could have the option of selling a pair that a STH has put up. The exchange doesn't need to be open but the club could sell them where they would lose a customer that only wants two, three or more seats together. This is for customers that have called the ticket line rather than online as it wouldn't necessarily work online until the exchange was open.

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[Hiney]

As kingcole mentioned, if STHs were able to add their ticket to the exchange, days, weeks or even months in advance, and that game gets to the extent where there are only single seats left, the club could have the option of selling a pair that a STH has put up. The exchange doesn't need to be open but the club could sell them where they would lose a customer that only wants two, three or more seats together. This is for customers that have called the ticket line rather than online as it wouldn't necessarily work online until the exchange was open.

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How would the club then check whether the STH hasn't changed their mind about not going?

 

[Birdie Boy]

How would the club then check whether the STH hasn't changed their mind about not going?

They would or should have removed the ticket from the exchange.

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[kingcole]

How would the club then check whether the STH hasn't changed their mind about not going?

In the same way that if you cancel an airline ticket, the airline won't check with you that you still want to fly!

 

[Buzzer]

Thanks to Insider for getting back on those points but one thing that I don't understand: It's illegal for season ticket holders to pass on their tickets to other people but it's okay if I upgrade my son's ticket and pass that onto other people. What's the difference? On the rare occasions that I've done this, the club have never asked me the name of the person who I'm upgrading it for so what checks and balances are in place there?

Another thing that doesn't ring true are these comments about a 'small minority' abusing the system. IF...it's a small minority and the club are aware of them, then why not just deal with the offenders on a case by case basis rather than issuing diktats to 25,000 other people telling us not to be naughty children? And if it is only a small minority then clearly the net loss to the club is small compared to overall income and you have to wonder if all the associated bad PR that comes from these over the top club notices that quite clearly piss off a lot of law-abiding and otherwise happy season ticket holders. Surely, there's a better way of the club trying to deal with the wrongdoers instead of lumping us all together as all under suspicion.

I reckon that most people who pass on their tickets do so to friends or family who otherwise would not go and overwhelmingly this is not a regular occurrence. But those people that then do go are likely to spend money in the club shop and at the kiosks. When you knock out scarves at £10 and pies at over £4 I think we can see that there is ample profit there to the club from people who would otherwise have not spent any money at all.

Why not run the same system as the club already do for upgrades whereby they can offer to issue printed tickets to named people (so the club know who is getting the ticket) and restrict it to say only a max of 3 or 4 exchanges per season ticket and only say 2 exchanges per season to any particular individual? You could even charge say £11 for the service but then issue a £10 voucher collectable at the ticket office and redeemable in the club shop or on the concourses.

The best way to maximise revenue is to keep your customer base loyal. The club do this already with football kits for children as gifts and heavily discounted children's tickets, we've heard anecdotally on here of first timers to the Amex who are now season ticket holders - a bit of imagination and goodwill goes a long, long way here.

We're all in it together Paul Barber, us Brighton fans love getting new fans along to share the experience. Look at the bigger picture here about how we can keep from peeing off current ST holders with terrible on-the-hoof policy-making, how we can maximise ways of getting new fans along and how the club can control who comes to games. It's not rocket surgery.

 

[drew]

I might be in a minority but if I can't use it, I'd ather the club had it back for nothing than leave the seat empty. After all, you know when you buy that you will miss games so no skin off my nose and the club get 34 quid or whatever it is.

I suspect you are very much in the minority but admirably so.

 

[drew]

Because the club cannot officially condone something that is apparently illegal.

Apologies, I should have made the sarcasm in my post more obvious.

 

[marshy68]

Wouldn't that remove the need for season tickets then as well? Walk up to the turnstile, camera scans your face and in you go!

Imagine the queues, most people cant seem to do that at Gatwick Passport control....

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

I reckon that most people who pass on their tickets do so to friends or family who otherwise would not go and overwhelmingly this is not a regular occurrence. But those people that then do go are likely to spend money in the club shop and at the kiosks. When you knock out scarves at £10 and pies at over £4 I think we can see that there is ample profit there to the club from people who would otherwise have not spent any money at all.

One good point in a post of many good points.

Give an example: every other year I tend to go to Oz for a month or six weeks to visit friends. I've already written off that portion of the ST, and am faced with two options:

1. Leave my ST at home and have my seat remain empty for the length of time I'm out of the country
2. Leave my ST with the very good friends who sit next to me at games and who I trust implicitly to invite along whomsoever they see fit, free of charge

I choose option 2. Always. My friends always give the ticket to one of their close personal friends. That person enjoys the Matchday Experience, spends some money on merchandise and/or catering, the seat gets filled, I get my ST back in time for the next home game I'm back in the country for. Everybody wins! Other friends who sit near me have roughly similar informal arrangements going, as I'm sure do many many others throughout the stadium. Reckon we're WAY more mature about these things than we're given credit for.

 

[pearl]

One good point in a post of many good points.

Give an example: every other year I tend to go to Oz for a month or six weeks to visit friends. I've already written off that portion of the ST, and am faced with two options:

1. Leave my ST at home and have my seat remain empty for the length of time I'm out of the country
2. Leave my ST with the very good friends who sit next to me at games and who I trust implicitly to invite along whomsoever they see fit, free of charge

I choose option 2. Always. My friends always give the ticket to one of their close personal friends. That person enjoys the Matchday Experience, spends some money on merchandise and/or catering, the seat gets filled, I get my ST back in time for the next home game I'm back in the country for. Everybody wins! Other friends who sit near me have roughly similar informal arrangements going, as I'm sure do many many others throughout the stadium. Reckon we're WAY more mature about these things than we're given credit for.

As 2. above ... why make life complicated. I had to miss several matches last season and just wanted another supporter to be there instead

 

[Captain Sensible]

I can't go to around a quarter of games and I give my ST to a mate that has been converted to the Albion (our Albion) after coming from the Black Country and supporting West Brom. He now buys some tickets to go to games even when I am going and he's not using my ST. So that as well as his boy coming along is a paying punter now, pints sweets pies etc. But he would never have purchased a £42 ticket in the ESU at first, now he does buy the odd game as well as filling my empty seat. Win win for the club. I don't get their problem with allowing someone to transfer a ticket to someone if they are on the database for £1.50. I understand that Barber thinks these fans would otherwise buy a ticket, but that is not the case. These people otherwise would not go, and no extra cash for BHAFC otherwise. It doesn't have to be an official ticket exchange until it sells out, but I honestly can't see a downside of officially transferring a ticket for £1.50 and have it above board with people on the database. Bums on seats, extra cash for the club, I really can't see why they aren't pushing this and encouraging it. It's a cut off your nose to spite your face policy they've decided on.