Internal emails reveal Ticketmaster helped scalpers jack up prices, FTC says

We bought $700 tickets to see a show we really wanted to see, but ended up being unable to make it.

We tried selling it on Ticketmaster, where you can in theory set your own price, or accept their "best offer". Our best offer was somewhere in the neighborhood of $150, and given that it was the night of the show, we accepted it.

We paid $54 per ticket in "processing fees" when purchasing, and paid $50 in more "processing fees" when selling. I'm sure the eventual buyers of our tickets probably had to pony up something like that as well.

If I had a magic button that made everyone above a certain level working there destitute and homeless, I'd probably break my finger pushing it.

Their whole business is based on bullying, dark patterns and ripoff, they either go out of business and become homeless or turn out to be the next president of the united states.

> Their whole business is based on bullying, dark patterns and ripoff

No. It’s based on monopoly. There are a limited number of venues that can host a modern superstar, generally no more than one per geography, and Ticketmaster made it a point to represent all of them. Which means any modern superstar and their fans must work through Ticketmaster. Which, in turn, enables this nonsense.

The cause is monopoly. Not “bullying, dark patterns and ripoff;” those are effects.

It’s worse than that.

The venue contracts with Ticketmaster to hike all the fees and shit, which then get kicked back in some percentage to the venue (and sometimes the band) and Ticketmaster takes the heat.

So the 50% that goes to “Ticketmaster” may be 80% to the venue.