ice coverage
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 629
If you are buying mid-range or cheaper tickets, could you wait until you arrive in Wichita and buy at the box office to save fees? I've done that at many events. ...
Sometimes in the past, it has been possible for me to save fees by purchasing in person at the box office.
I think this approach is worth keeping in mind, but I have found that it is not foolproof.
ETA:
I do not have any guess whether or not it would work for Wichita Nats.
I don't know whether it was a Canadian thing, but when I bought single-session tickets in person at 2023 Skate Canada International in Vancouver, I still was required to pay the same fees as for an online Ticketmaster purchase. (It was not a mistake; when I was in person at the box office, I questioned the in-person fees, and was told that I was required to pay them.)
And in reply to my e-mail before I arrived in Montreal for 2024 Worlds, Bell Centre wrote:
"The prices will be the same (including the fees) whether you purchase your tickets online or at the box office."
At 2024 U.S. Nats in Columbus, I asked in person at the box office at Nationwide Arena whether I would have to pay the same fees for an in-person purchase of a single-session ticket that I would have to pay for an online purchase.
I ended up not making the purchase at all, but IIRC, the answer was that an in-person purchase would have the same fees as an online purchase.
As for what is or is not "typical" for fees, excerpts from a 2018 U.S. GAO report (pp. 20-21), FWIW:
We conducted our own review of ticketing fees for a nongeneralizable sample of a total of 31 concert, theater, and sporting events across five primary ticket sellers’ websites:
• In total, the combined fees averaged 27 percent of the ticket’s face value, and we observed values ranging from 13 percent to 58 percent.
• Service fees were, on average, 22 percent of the ticket’s face value, and we observed values ranging from 8 percent to 37 percent.
• Fourteen of the events we reviewed had an additional order processing fee, ranging from $1.00 to $8.20.
• Five of the events we reviewed had an additional facility fee, ranging from $2.00 to $5.10.
Additionally, we noted that the 6 sporting events we observed tended to have lower fees than the 16 concerts and 9 theater events we observed. Specifically, sporting events had total fees averaging roughly 20 percent, compared to about 30 percent for concerts and theater.
• In total, the combined fees averaged 27 percent of the ticket’s face value, and we observed values ranging from 13 percent to 58 percent.
• Service fees were, on average, 22 percent of the ticket’s face value, and we observed values ranging from 8 percent to 37 percent.
• Fourteen of the events we reviewed had an additional order processing fee, ranging from $1.00 to $8.20.
• Five of the events we reviewed had an additional facility fee, ranging from $2.00 to $5.10.
Additionally, we noted that the 6 sporting events we observed tended to have lower fees than the 16 concerts and 9 theater events we observed. Specifically, sporting events had total fees averaging roughly 20 percent, compared to about 30 percent for concerts and theater.
(And if anything, I imagine that the trend since 2018 would have been an increase in fees?)
Local coverage of Boitano's visit to promote ticket sales: ...
One more: Boitano also sat down for an interview with the local ABC station:
U.S. Figure Skating Championships
U.S. Figure Skating Championships take place from January 20-26, 2025 at INTRUST Bank Arena.
www.kake.com
Last edited: