{{{I wrote 2 NPGMC asking about the scalping situation that has had so many of us concerned lately. This is what they had 2 say.}}}


At 08:42 PM 3/1/02 -0500, you wrote:

Although I have not experienced this problem myself, since there has not been a show near my home yet, the online fan community is in an uproar over the problems that they are having getting seats at concerts. Scalping is rampant, and somehow large seating areas are being bought up and sold online or in person for outrageous sums of money. I saw an auction on ebay where a front row ticket went for rougly $1000! Prince and the NPG have always cracked down on scalpers as much as possible, but as premium members many of us feel that we are being deprived of one of the privelages that we paid for : special seating at Prince's shows. Many people feel that NPGMC members should have their seats specially reserved through WillCall offices, requiring the presenting of a valid ID in order to obtain their tickets. I am not certain what there is that you guys can do about this problem, but please try to do something!
famname : Getwild007
Michael Mucchetti

Thank u 4 the feedback. We r looking in2 the scalping situation. We have cancelled many multiple orders and closed several member accounts. And on the next group of dates on the tour we will most likely make all tickets will-call only.

PEACE
http://www.NPGMusicClub.com

getwild007 said:

Sorry for the above , still finding my way around New Improved ORG.

I may be a bit dim here , but as a Brit - I assume scalping is the same as ticket touts - can someone explain.

And then secondly , how can WillCall help , can someone please explain how this works

Thanks.

TheRainbowChild said:

Ticket scalping is when someone or some kind of ticket company purchases tickets and sell them way over the price value stated. I personally disagree with these actions, but it seems to go on everywhere.

Will Call can help in many ways. For example you can't get your tickets until the day of the concert and you have to show proof of I.D. that matches the name on the bought tickets. After you recieve your tickets you escorted into the venue in most cases. Therefore it's really hard to get the tickets and sell them out on the street or at auction.

Hope this helps.

Much Love,
LoLinex

A scalper is a person who resells a ticket for more than what is legally allowed.

In my state, for example (USA - MI), I cannot charge any more than I paid for the ticket. If my ticket was $100, I can only charge $100. I can, however, take money for additional items or services as long as they are within reasonable value. For example, if I want to charge an extra $10 to cover the $10 charge for Fed-Exing the tickets overnight, I am allowed to do so. I am NOT allowed, however, to also sell you a plain, wood and graphite pencil for $200. That is called tying an item to the ticket.

In a couple of state in the US, you are allowed to resell a ticket up to a certain percentage of your ticket. Example: if the ticket cost $100, I could sell my ticket up to $125.

There are even some states (like Indiana it seems) where there is no limit on how much profit you can make on a ticket resell.

The bad part is when the local promoters hold tickets and sections of tickets. That is what is screwing fans out of good seats at the shows. Not so much the people sharing the passwords, becuase you'd still be able to get decent seating. Not rows S and U at 10:00.05am.

- Cheers

TheRainbowChild said:

Will Call will work to an extent, but it will be a hassle with longer wait lines, and might even cost Prince more in the long run (depending on the venue). There may be better way to deal with this. Even with Will Call, the Promoter can sequester seats and sections.

I'll post some ideas as soon as I can flesh them out. Since I have not worked with Ticketmaster before, I cannot tell what thier policies are when it comes to specialized selling, but I may be able to come up with something based on other Ticket Vendors I've worked with.

- Cheers again



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Will Call can help in many ways. For example you can't get your tickets until the day of the concert and you have to show proof of I.D. that matches the name on the bought tickets. After you recieve your tickets you escorted into the venue in most cases. Therefore it's really hard to get the tickets and sell them out on the street or at auction.

I also emailed npgmc about the same thing. I sent a nice email telling them how I had trouble with both presells of the two concerts that I'm going to and for one concert I could only get balcony at 10:03. They emailed back saying "We provide in4mation 4 a presale and that is all we do." But I think I was one of the first to complain about it so maybe now that others are emailing them they are really going to do something about it. Oh yeah they also told me I didn't pick my seat right :-\ like it was my fault.

It may be a stupid question, but why does Prince need a promotor? Why not just hire a venue and sell the tickets directly?

Here's a thought????? Don't buy a ticket from a scalper and you can't be taken. Or, don't complain when you given the extra money away!!!! Duh!

SANSKER7 said:

I wouldn't have any problem with scalpers if they didn't use such slimy and illegal means to get tickets in the first place. Paying off Ticketmaster employees and promoters to get the best tickets while the fans get crappy seats is not cool.

I remember reading an article in Rolling Stone once that Aerosmith's management once tried to get some other artists and industry professionals to work against ticket scalping and they got zero support from anyone. So many people in the business are probably getting rich from this activity and they don't want it to stop, even if it's inherently unfair to the masses.

So as long as there are people who would sell their mother for a dollar, there will always be ticket scalping, unfortunately.

Eye'am glad 2 hear that the NPGMC is most likely going 2 go back 2 will call, eye have no problem waiting in a long line just 2 get my tickets, eye've waited in long lines 4 hours when tickets have went on sale. If they do this, mayb us true fans "friends" will get some good seats.

Paisley.

Well, it's nice that they're trying.