Ticket Touts - Food for Thought

[Uncle Buck]

Not really been on here since Thursday, but reading quite a few threads about tickets being touted on ebay. Now a couple of things about this, no systems of ticket distribution are perfect, whenever there is a big game, tickets are sold above face value. The FA have their much publicised Englandfans club to distribute tickets, yet there are always tickets available on the black market and generally they are in the England end. However, personally the fact that the club were happy to sell people up to 10 tickets, meant that the touts were always likely to buy a load up, not hard to give a few fake names and addresses out and with the fact that people could buy so many tickets up, means that the allocation is likely to sell out and so there is a market for marked up tickets. The ticket distribution needed to be better thought out and to be honest the club have not covered themselves in glory.

Regarding spare tickets, yes they should be sold on at face value, but touts are a reality of major events and sometimes they provide a service that you reluctantly have to use, there has been the odd England game where I have swallowed my pride and done business with these people. Until a fall proof system of selling tickets can be created these people are going to be around.

 

[Lammy]

The problem is that you cannot tackle this problem at the sale of ticket end. All is does is piss off the genuine fan as they have to queue for a lot longer to do get their tickets. Like any crime it is not the punishment that prevents crime but the fear of getting caught. At the moment if I were to buy up say 10 tickets anf then flog them outside the ground I'd know that I would be fine.

If it were down to me I'd sell a maximum of 10 tickets to anyone. I would then police eBay and outside the ground vigourously and heavily fine anyone who is caught. If they knew they'd get cought and fined then they wouldn't do it. They should then publisise how many they cought and how much they were fined.

 

[Wozza]

Honestly, I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Albion v Bristol is not a hot ticket for touts. AFAIK, nobody is buying 50 tickets to sell on.

A grand total of FOUR tickets is currently on eBay. That's annoying but, in the grand scheme of things, hardly a big problem.

Incidentally, tickets for big Albion games (ie Chesterfield, D3) have appeared on eBay in the past and it's gone unnoticed on here.

 

[Uncle Buck]

The problem is that you cannot tackle this problem at the sale of ticket end.

I would have thought that is exactly where you tackle the problem, stop them falling into the wrong hands?

 

[Lammy]

I would have thought that is exactly where you tackle the problem, stop them falling into the wrong hands?

Go on then. How do you achieve that?

All it does is add massise of paperwork, time and cost. Achieves nowt.

It's impossible.

The answer is to send out the message that they won't get away with it.

 

[Uncle Buck]

Go on then. How do you achieve that?

All it does is add massise of paperwork, time and cost. Achieves nowt.

It's impossible.

The answer is to send out the message that they won't get away with it.

Well start by not allowing individuals to buy up to 10.

Secondly we have an Away Membership Scheme, will seemingly has several thousand members, use this as you next point of distibution, say 2 tickets per member, then go to General Sale, still not allowing people to buy up to 10 tickets. What is the point of this scheme if you are not going to use it?

My point was by allowing individuals to buy so many tickets, it was a touts wet dream.

Touts are inevitable, but there are ways of limiting (not preventing) their trade.

 

[FG aka Football Genius.]

SPOT ON UNCLE BUCK a touts dream come true and the Albion have basically gifted it to them. There may be a few only on e-bay but how many will rear their ugly heads come the day? If the game sells out and demand is still there then they could be on sale. One tout is one too many and as UB says it created massive and unnecessary qs

 

[Wozza]

If the tickets had been limited to 2 per person, the queues and wait would have been AS LEAST twice as long.

Again, it's not a tout's wet dream as it's not a guaranteed sell out (even now). This is no Glastonbury!

 

[fatboy]

Well start by not allowing individuals to buy up to 10.

Secondly we have an Away Membership Scheme, will seemingly has several thousand members, use this as you next point of distibution, say 2 tickets per member, then go to General Sale, still not allowing people to buy up to 10 tickets. What is the point of this scheme if you are not going to use it?

My point was by allowing individuals to buy so many tickets, it was a touts wet dream.

Touts are inevitable, but there are ways of limiting (not preventing) their trade.

What about people that wanted to sit together?

What about people that wanted to sit with non AMS people?

How would those selling at Withdean know who was in the AMS?

If tickets were only sold at the club shop would the end of the queue drown in the sea?

 

[Albion Dan]

I cant see Touts making any money on this one, we still have tickets left anyway through the club that might not sell so why would touts be that interested?

 

[Uncle Buck]

What about people that wanted to sit together?

What about people that wanted to sit with non AMS people?

How would those selling at Withdean know who was in the AMS?

If tickets were only sold at the club shop would the end of the queue drown in the sea?

You know as well as I do that there is no fall proof scheme, but by limiting the number of tickets people could buy, it would have cut down on touts getting tickets. Whether or not you use the AMS, the club should not have sold up to 10 tickets per person, if people wanted to sit together they bought the tickets together.

I do not have all the answers to this problem, but surely limiting the touts supply has to be at point of sale, rather than nicking them in Cardiff, because if they get the tickets that means that the genuine fan is losing out.

 

[tricky]

Can't reasonably stop touts buying tickets as it always ends up with the honest joe's suffering.
Best thing is to make sure there is no market for them - put the fear of god into those buying the tickets.
For those who have bought tickets from touts - then it's exactly you who is to blame for creating their market.

 

[Lammy]

You know as well as I do that there is no fall proof scheme, but by limiting the number of tickets people could buy, it would have cut down on touts getting tickets. Whether or not you use the AMS, the club should not have sold up to 10 tickets per person, if people wanted to sit together they bought the tickets together.

I do not have all the answers to this problem, but surely limiting the touts supply has to be at point of sale, rather than nicking them in Cardiff, because if they get the tickets that means that the genuine fan is losing out.

Nicking them later is not an instant fix is is something that is built up over time. The more they get nicked and fined the more they think, hang on a minute this is costing me more than I'm spending. You have to supply tickets in bulk for those that want to sit together. The AMS scheme only works for small numbers. You CAN'T stop touts buying the tickets in the first place it is impossible. What you must do is either stop people buying tickets from touts. Again never going to happen. Or make sure they know they won't get away with it and not bother try.

 

[Wozza]

I do not have all the answers to this problem, but surely limiting the touts supply has to be at point of sale, rather than nicking them in Cardiff, because if they get the tickets that means that the genuine fan is losing out.

Arrrrrrrrrrrrh! There is no touting problem - only in your head!

There are 1000s of tickets left. No Albion fans are going to miss out.

 

[Albion Rob]

I think all the people in the ticket office deserve a massive hand from everyone. They have been working DOUBLE hard for over a month now with Bristol City away followed by a decent away following at Wrexham. The playoffs are a killer for them and they have to do their best. Selling 30,000 tickets in Six days is no mean feat and as ever they have done a respectable job.

On another note, I don't see why season ticket holders were moaning about not getting priority. First of all they pay their money for the 46 games of the regular season and secondly there are enough decent tickets to go round, christ. also to give them a couple of extra days would have taken us to Today and the club would have five days to sort out 25,500 tickets. Which would have been a nightmare.

Well done ticket office it was never going to be an easy job but they have performed admirably.

 

[Lammy]

I think all the people in the ticket office deserve a massive hand from everyone. They have been working DOUBLE hard for over a month now with Bristol City away followed by a decent away following at Wrexham. The playoffs are a killer for them and they have to do their best. Selling 30,000 tickets in Six days is no mean feat and as ever they have done a respectable job.

On another note, I don't see why season ticket holders were moaning about not getting priority. First of all they pay their money for the 46 games of the regular season and secondly there are enough decent tickets to go round, christ. also to give them a couple of extra days would have taken us to Today and the club would have five days to sort out 25,500 tickets. Which would have been a nightmare.

Well done ticket office it was never going to be an easy job but they have performed admirably.

I'll second that! (apart from the bit about season ticket holders).

In response to there the point regarding there not being a touting problem. Maybe not but we are allowed to discuss it. Also I will be stunned if I don't see a tout in Cardiff.

 

[CHAPPERS]

I think all the people in the ticket office deserve a massive hand from everyone. They have been working DOUBLE hard for over a month now with Bristol City away followed by a decent away following at Wrexham. The playoffs are a killer for them and they have to do their best. Selling 30,000 tickets in Six days is no mean feat and as ever they have done a respectable job.

On another note, I don't see why season ticket holders were moaning about not getting priority. First of all they pay their money for the 46 games of the regular season and secondly there are enough decent tickets to go round, christ. also to give them a couple of extra days would have taken us to Today and the club would have five days to sort out 25,500 tickets. Which would have been a nightmare.

Well done ticket office it was never going to be an easy job but they have performed admirably.

Someone has got his sensible hat on today.

xx

Season ticket holders should f*** emselves if they think they shold get priority for this. Just because you can afford to splash out for a season ticket doesn't mean that you should get priority for everything under the sun. I bet you think you should be able to jump the queue in the club shop as well or get a special little gold star above the albion badge on your shirt to show everyone how f***ing special you are.

Innit.

 

[Lush]

Well done ticket office it was never going to be an easy job but they have performed admirably.

as far as I can see, we haven't had anything like the problems other play-off finalists have had.

 

[Lush]

I will be stunned if I don't see a tout in Cardiff.

You probably will, but they are much more likely to be people who got tickets for mates, who suddenly decide they'd rather do something else that weekend. IMHO.

 

[Gwylan]

I think all the people in the ticket office deserve a massive hand from everyone. They have been working DOUBLE hard for over a month now with Bristol City away followed by a decent away following at Wrexham. The playoffs are a killer for them and they have to do their best. Selling 30,000 tickets in Six days is no mean feat and as ever they have done a respectable job.

On another note, I don't see why season ticket holders were moaning about not getting priority. First of all they pay their money for the 46 games of the regular season and secondly there are enough decent tickets to go round, christ. also to give them a couple of extra days would have taken us to Today and the club would have five days to sort out 25,500 tickets. Which would have been a nightmare.

Well done ticket office it was never going to be an easy job but they have performed admirably.

I think that the ticket office deserve all the applause they can get. They've handled things brilliantly.

How many season ticket holders have been moaning? I and several others were on here yesterday saying we were very happy about the way the club handled the ticket sales.