Time to rebalance the ticket resale market

Perhaps it is time that the special powers that the Consumers’ Association was granted over a decade ago are wheeled out and discussed here in Conversations. What powers it does have and how they could be applied, creatively if necessary by using subscribers, and what is not possible.

Ticket fiddling is a scandal and I find it very hard to believe that a dedicated group could not find an angle on this to disrupt the present fiddles.

I understand it may be a bit of a dry subject but I am hopeful that our members include enough thoughtful people that it will be worthwhile.

Que Choisir, the smaller French consumer body, has retianed solicitors who write or act on behalf of the local Que Choisir “chapter” . They have around 160 odf these arounf the country with an average of 1000 members. The Paris Office is but a central administration and publishing point and it is a members organisation with a small off ice and a cheap CEO and office.

Perhaps the highly centralised Which?, now with a majority of co-opteds compared to elected members , should re-examine its effectiveness – other than generating Conversations. It is significantly more expensive than any other consumer organisation I could find around the world despite being one of the largest.

Joining Consumer Reports in the US is around 50 dollars and Choice in Australia despite being very much smaller seems to ger by on smaller subs. Perhaps not paying £2.24m to four executives on the Which? Ltd Board or losing fifteen million on overseas expansion could be a reason why Which? is so expensive.

P.S. I am of course willing to read the internal papers Which? must have discussing its powers and attend a meeting of subscribers and the relevant staff. Who knows I might lash out on independent legal advice.

I think the whole ticket market for popular events is unfairly rigged and I am afraid to have to point out that the entire entertainment industry is in it up to its eyeballs. I won’t repeat everything I have said in previous Which? Conversations on this topic but artistes, their agents, promoters, venues, ticket agents, the recording industry, official fan clubs, merchandise merchants, and all the support operations, have all got their snouts in a rotten trough to a greater or lesser extent.

It is people who are obsessed with things or “celebs”who have to get a ticket by any means and will do anything to get one they are the ones who encourage these places to exist by paying anything at all just to get hold of a ticket .The whole system is wrong but when some people are obsessed what can anyone do

A bit like an auction isn’t it where if you want something badly enough – and can afford to part with the money – you’ll get it. If people did not pay the prices demanded by the secondary ticketing sites then maybe the practice would largely cease. In a sense the remedy also lies in the “fans” hands. Who is it who pay the extortionate prices?

It seems to me to be easy for the venues only to let people in with the ticket and matching ID or prof of purchase (card used).
Those honest people that cannot attend should have an ability to sell back to the seller their ticket at face value minus a reasonable admin fee. That ticket then be resold and face value.
As others have said this does not happen because the industry is reasonably happy with the status quo now.
I have just about given up trying to get tickets that are sold out in seconds. Something is not right when that happens.