Ticketmaster caught enlisting pro scalpers for online resales

Ticketmaster claims it's fighting scalpers tooth and nail, but it may be aiding them in private. Exposés at CBC News and the Toronto Star have shown the company courting professional scalpers, even when it's clear they're using bots or otherwise violating Ticketmaster's terms of service. The company quietly launched a secretive ticket inventory system, TradeDesk, that lets scalpers upload high volumes of tickets and quickly resell them at the price of their choice. Moreover, Ticketmaster salespeople caught on camera were adamant that they didn't verify whether or not TradeDesk users were violating terms of service, including the use of bots -- at least one rep was fully aware of the activity.

TradeDesk users also get advantages that other resellers don't have. They get a 3 percent discount on Ticketmaster's 7 percent selling fee, and they receive further discounts when they reach $500,000 and $1 million in sales. There's a strong incentive to scalp tickets in bulk, in other words.

We've asked Ticketmaster for comment. It repeatedly denied interview requests to CBC and Star journalists, however. In a statement, the company's Catherine Martin didn't answer specific questions and instead defended the basic concept of ticket resales.

"As long as there is an imbalance between supply and demand in live event tickets, there will inevitably be a secondary market," Martin said. "As the world's leading ticketing platform, representing thousands of teams, artists and venues, we believe it is our job to offer a marketplace that provides a safe and fair place for fans to shop, buy and sell tickets in both the primary and secondary markets."

As you might have noticed, though, these aren't fans -- they're scalpers. And the practice appears to be unethical, especially when the UK and New York state have set out to ban ticket bots. Ticketmaster is effectively double-dipping: it's charging commissions for the initial ticket sales knowing that it can charge the scalpers again when they put those tickets up for resale. It also directly contradicts the company's official claims. While it publicly declares itself opposed to scalpers and bots, the evidence suggests that it's privately encouraging those practices in order to rake in more fees.

Source: CBC News, The Star



via Engadget RSS Feed https://ift.tt/2xzW4wV
RSS Feed

If New feed item from http://www.engadget.com/rss-full.xml, then send me


Unsubscribe from these notifications or sign in to manage your Email Applets.

IFTTT

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Evernote cuts staff as user growth stalls

Image
Note-taking app Evernote has fallen on hard times of late, culminating in its latest spate of job cuts impacting 15 percent of its workforce (54 employees). CEO Chris O' Neil -- an ex-Googler who took the reins in 2015 -- announced the firings at an all-hands meeting earlier today, reports TechCrunch . In a message on the Evernote blog , O' Neill admitted he'd set "incredibly aggressive goals" for the company in 2018. He continued: "Going forward, we are streamlining certain functions, like sales, so we can continue to speed up and scale others, like product development and engineering." The layoffs follow an exec exodus just weeks ago and the company's recent brand refresh (complete with a refined logo and wordmark). But critics are more concerned about its product, especially the free tier, which they claim lacks the perks to
Read more

The best air conditioner

Image
By Liam McCabe This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter . When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that support its work. Read the full article here . After six summers of researching, testing, and recommending window air conditioners, we've learned that quiet and affordable ACs make most people the happiest—and we think the LG LW8016ER will fit the bill in most rooms. This 8,000 Btu unit cools as efficiently and effectively as any model with an equal Btu rating, and runs at a lower volume and deeper pitch than others at this price. Little extra features like a fresh-air vent, two-axis fan blades, and a removable drain plug help set it apart, too. The LG LW8016ER is a top choice for an office or den, and some people will find it quiet enough for a bedroom, too. If our main pic
Read more

We won't see a 'universal' vape oil cartridge anytime soon

Image
Pre-loaded cartridges of cannabis concentrate are currently among the most popular means of consumption, and for good reason. They're discreet to use and easy to handle, a far cry from the dark days of 2016 when we had to dribble hash oil or load wax into narrow-mouthed vape pens by hand. But, frustratingly, an ever increasing number of oil cartridge manufacturers employ one-off design standards so that their products won't work with those of their competitors, thereby locking customers into proprietary ecosystems. We've already seen this with nicotine vaporizers -- which has a seen a massive rise in "pod systems" in the last few years, each outfitted with a unique canister and battery built to be incompatible with those of their competition. Is it too late for the burgeoning cannabis industry to set a universal standard for their product designs?
Read more