Ticket prices are on the rise now more than ever, and fans are forced to buy tickets for exorbitant prices during the initial on sale in hopes of not missing out. However, what happens when the buyer goes to sell those tickets and they are no longer that valuable?
Ticketmaster’s “dynamic pricing” platform is the culprit in this scenario. The ticketing giant raises ticket prices based on demand, setting initial presale and onsale tickets at extremely high rates, pricing out thousands of fans. Yet, as the event date creeps closer, tickets aren’t always worth that same initial price.
One fan is calling-out Ticketmaster after she was unable to sell her tickets to see the Jonas Brothers. The fan, known as @introvertedmillenial on TikTok, shared that she shelled out hundreds of dollars to score six tickets in the lower bowl in Seattle to see the “Love Bug” trio — for $195 each. When two of her friends were unable to come to the show, she told her viewers she planned on selling the tickets for face value, however, the tickets were now only worth $69.
@introvertedmillennial @Ticketmaster & @Jonas Brothers do better 😭 #jonasbrothersthetour
When she attempted to exchange her lower bowl tickets for floor seats — that were only going for $110 — Ticketmaster customer service told her she could only exchange tickets for other tickets priced at $195.
“Tell me where I’m going to find $195 tickets anywhere in the stadium,” she said in the video. “There aren’t any left.”
We’ve seen this time and time again with various big-name artists. No matter the genre, fans of Olivia Rodrigo, Morgan Wallen, and Bad Bunny have all cried fowl at the ticketer. After registering ahead of time (for data harvesting purposes), only a select number of fans are selected to purchase tickets, and then, many who actually attempt to purchase tickets are left empty-handed after seeing the eye-bulging prices.
Fans aren’t the only ones who have noticed the trend; following the infamous Taylor Swift ticket fiasco for the popstar’s Eras Tour, the Department of Justice began an investigation into the alleged monopoly between Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation. Various legislators have also spoken out, including Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), who noted the merger “has decimated competition in the ticketing industry and resulted in higher fees for consumers.”
