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10th February 2010
Secondary ticket market selling Teenage Cancer Trust tickets way over face value
Is the secondary ticket market amoral? - Sadly we think that many appear to be just that
We don't know about you but we think it must truly shattering to be told that you have cancer, for teenagers who are already undergoing plenty of other major life changes at that time of their life it's even harder, the impact the diagnosis of cancer must have would simply shake your whole foundations to the core. Traditionally there hasn't been much in the way of specific age appropriate centres or even age appropriate help for these young people - that was until the Teenage Cancer Trust came along and began to make some real and significant improvements - touching lives in a meaningful way. They put the person first - you're a teenager first and you have the right to do all the things that teenagers do - your cancer will not define you, thanks to the teenage Cancer Trust there is now help, advice and hope for the future for young people and their families affected by this illness.
The Teenage Cancer Trust are not government funded and as such they rely upon charitable donations, to this end they produce, each year, a series of cracking events staged at the Royal Albert Hall with Roger Daltry as their patron they really do pull in some stars.
The teenage Cancer Trust have confirmed a whole series of wonderful events for 2010 and tickets to these gigs went on sale on Friday 5th February 2010. Among the wealth of entertainment on offer this year you'll find a truly ecliptic mix with gigs ranging from Depeche Mode, Arctic Moneys, comedy from Jimmy Carr and Noel Fielding through to musical treats from Them Crooked Vultures, JLS and Suede all topped off with a highly anticipated performance from The Who.
These events have been set up to help raise those vital funds for the Teenage Cancer Trust - a charity that is working tirelessly to make a difference for young people battling this disease. This is why the Teenage Cancer Trust matters and this is what they say about their work:
The Teenage Cancer Trust series of gigs is one of the most important ways that this charity raises funds to support their vital work. It's a fabulous way to contribute to an important charity isn't it? You buy your ticket and you get a night of top entertainment safe in the knowledge that you've done a little something for charity.
Cancer is an illness that touches many people and most of us will or have been touched by it at some point in our lives, so we think that most of us would happily give what we can, and most of us would like to see all of the money we pay out for these events go to supporting the Teenage Cancer Trust - this is a charity that matters.
Except of course with the ticket market as it is nothing is that simple and a quick flick around the net brings up all the usual suspects selling tickets to the Teenage Cancer Trust at way over face value.
Just a few examples we checked out today show that:
Seatwave have Them Crooked Vultures tickets for sale - £289.00 each - the face value printed on the tickets are £59.00. JLS tickets are being sold at £249.99 each on Seatwave with a face value printed on the ticket of £50.00, or then there's tickets going for £299.99 each with a face value printed on the ticket of just £50.00. The Who can be purchased from Seatwave for a mere £499.00 each with a face value printed on the ticket of £75.00. Noel Gallagher £200.00 each - face value printed on the ticket is just £50.00.
Viagogo are also selling a host of tickets to the Teenage Cancer Trust - an example being The Who tickets at £362.61 with a stunning booking fee of £64.97 very difficult to determine the face value on their tickets as it was very poorly presented on the site when we checked them out earlier today but they do say that TCT tickets face value from £34.75 - £110.00.
Getmein fare no better with Depeche Mode tickets being sold for £285.98 for 2 tickets these tickets have a face value of £65.00 each and Getmein add a 'processing fees' of £50 37.
These are just a few quick examples - Teenage Cancer Trust tickets are being touted on these sites and many more at grossly inflated prices and so far we have not seen anything to tell us that the profits are going to the Teenage Cancer Trust, therefore we can only make the assumption that the profits are going into the pockets of those selling them.
Safeconcerts has long been of the opinion that tickets should only be bought from legitimate primary ticket sites and this latest example only serves to further our ever growing concern about the secondary ticket market and ticket touts, we find it hard to separate the two.
This has to be the lowest blow yet in the current ticket market - tickets where money is being raised to enable this charity to provide services and resources for young people and their families being touted around the internet lining the pockets of touts is, in our opinion, immoral and those doing the touting amoral.
As for all those so called 'fan to fan' sites - there's plenty of tickets being touted on those as well - do we really think that all those people are genuine fans who bought tickets on Friday only to discover almost instantly that they couldn't actually go to the gig of their choice?
If you are doing this, buying from these people or condoning what they do then you might just as well take away the hope and resources from teenage cancer sufferers themselves - how many teenage cancer sufferers today are in an inappropriate ward or struggling for support because the necessary resources are not there? resources that the Teenage Cancer Trust are working so hard to provide - along with the thousands of people who donate and support.
Perhaps those responsible should visit some of these young people and their families living with cancer and explain why their need to make a lot of money and line their own pockets is more important than a young cancer sufferers need for proper resources and support?
The price of these touted tickets puts them out of range of a lot of genuine fans who would like to go to a great gig in a superb venue, but more importantly deprives the Teenage Cancer fund of much needed funds to continue their work - shame on all those involved. You may think that the Teenage Cancer fund has got the ticket price so what does it matter? We think it matters a lot, if people are happy to pay higher prices for these gigs then the money from this rightly belongs to the Teenage Cancer Trust and those affected by this illness.
We can't stop greedy businesses and rotten touts from profiting from things they have no right to profit from - and we can't make these people grow a conscience and do the right thing - it's another big issue that needs action – do you have a conscience?
If so we implore you not to buy from these amoral people and to consider making a donation to the Teenage Cancer Trust direct.
Donate to the Teenage Cancer Trust here
The Teenage Cancer Trust are not government funded and as such they rely upon charitable donations, to this end they produce, each year, a series of cracking events staged at the Royal Albert Hall with Roger Daltry as their patron they really do pull in some stars.
The teenage Cancer Trust have confirmed a whole series of wonderful events for 2010 and tickets to these gigs went on sale on Friday 5th February 2010. Among the wealth of entertainment on offer this year you'll find a truly ecliptic mix with gigs ranging from Depeche Mode, Arctic Moneys, comedy from Jimmy Carr and Noel Fielding through to musical treats from Them Crooked Vultures, JLS and Suede all topped off with a highly anticipated performance from The Who.
These events have been set up to help raise those vital funds for the Teenage Cancer Trust - a charity that is working tirelessly to make a difference for young people battling this disease. This is why the Teenage Cancer Trust matters and this is what they say about their work:
With your support, we can provide the best possible care and professional support to more young people with cancer. Teenage Cancer Trust exists to improve the quality of life and chances of survival for young people with cancer.
We don't receive any government funding, so we rely on voluntary donations from people like you.
We estimate that with the units we currently have around the UK, only half of the teenagers diagnosed with cancer have access to this dedicated, specialist support. So we need to do more. Our aim is to build enough units so that, by 2012, every single teenager will be treated on one.
- It costs between £500,000 and £3,500,000 depending on the nature, size and location to build and equip a new unit.
- We also fund frontline staff such as Youth Support Co-ordinators and Nurse Consultants.
- We also need to make sure units include everything young people need to be kept fully occupied and entertained during their stay - whether it's computers, TVs, juke boxes or simply a pool table.
We don't receive any government funding, so we rely on voluntary donations from people like you.
We estimate that with the units we currently have around the UK, only half of the teenagers diagnosed with cancer have access to this dedicated, specialist support. So we need to do more. Our aim is to build enough units so that, by 2012, every single teenager will be treated on one.
The Teenage Cancer Trust series of gigs is one of the most important ways that this charity raises funds to support their vital work. It's a fabulous way to contribute to an important charity isn't it? You buy your ticket and you get a night of top entertainment safe in the knowledge that you've done a little something for charity.
Cancer is an illness that touches many people and most of us will or have been touched by it at some point in our lives, so we think that most of us would happily give what we can, and most of us would like to see all of the money we pay out for these events go to supporting the Teenage Cancer Trust - this is a charity that matters.
Except of course with the ticket market as it is nothing is that simple and a quick flick around the net brings up all the usual suspects selling tickets to the Teenage Cancer Trust at way over face value.
Just a few examples we checked out today show that:
Seatwave have Them Crooked Vultures tickets for sale - £289.00 each - the face value printed on the tickets are £59.00. JLS tickets are being sold at £249.99 each on Seatwave with a face value printed on the ticket of £50.00, or then there's tickets going for £299.99 each with a face value printed on the ticket of just £50.00. The Who can be purchased from Seatwave for a mere £499.00 each with a face value printed on the ticket of £75.00. Noel Gallagher £200.00 each - face value printed on the ticket is just £50.00.
Viagogo are also selling a host of tickets to the Teenage Cancer Trust - an example being The Who tickets at £362.61 with a stunning booking fee of £64.97 very difficult to determine the face value on their tickets as it was very poorly presented on the site when we checked them out earlier today but they do say that TCT tickets face value from £34.75 - £110.00.
Getmein fare no better with Depeche Mode tickets being sold for £285.98 for 2 tickets these tickets have a face value of £65.00 each and Getmein add a 'processing fees' of £50 37.
These are just a few quick examples - Teenage Cancer Trust tickets are being touted on these sites and many more at grossly inflated prices and so far we have not seen anything to tell us that the profits are going to the Teenage Cancer Trust, therefore we can only make the assumption that the profits are going into the pockets of those selling them.
Safeconcerts has long been of the opinion that tickets should only be bought from legitimate primary ticket sites and this latest example only serves to further our ever growing concern about the secondary ticket market and ticket touts, we find it hard to separate the two.
This has to be the lowest blow yet in the current ticket market - tickets where money is being raised to enable this charity to provide services and resources for young people and their families being touted around the internet lining the pockets of touts is, in our opinion, immoral and those doing the touting amoral.
As for all those so called 'fan to fan' sites - there's plenty of tickets being touted on those as well - do we really think that all those people are genuine fans who bought tickets on Friday only to discover almost instantly that they couldn't actually go to the gig of their choice?
If you are doing this, buying from these people or condoning what they do then you might just as well take away the hope and resources from teenage cancer sufferers themselves - how many teenage cancer sufferers today are in an inappropriate ward or struggling for support because the necessary resources are not there? resources that the Teenage Cancer Trust are working so hard to provide - along with the thousands of people who donate and support.
Perhaps those responsible should visit some of these young people and their families living with cancer and explain why their need to make a lot of money and line their own pockets is more important than a young cancer sufferers need for proper resources and support?
The price of these touted tickets puts them out of range of a lot of genuine fans who would like to go to a great gig in a superb venue, but more importantly deprives the Teenage Cancer fund of much needed funds to continue their work - shame on all those involved. You may think that the Teenage Cancer fund has got the ticket price so what does it matter? We think it matters a lot, if people are happy to pay higher prices for these gigs then the money from this rightly belongs to the Teenage Cancer Trust and those affected by this illness.
We can't stop greedy businesses and rotten touts from profiting from things they have no right to profit from - and we can't make these people grow a conscience and do the right thing - it's another big issue that needs action – do you have a conscience?
If so we implore you not to buy from these amoral people and to consider making a donation to the Teenage Cancer Trust direct.
Donate to the Teenage Cancer Trust here
Be Ticket Safe: only buy from legitimate outlets, don't lose out to scams and ticket touts
See our Ticket Safe section for more in depth information about how to protect yourself
See our Ticket Safe section for more in depth information about how to protect yourself
Your Ratings & Comments
3 comments
Written by Kevos | 12th Feb 2010
I can understand people's initial anger at this and I myself have had family members who have lost the brave battle with this terrible illness, however, though I dont always condone the reselling of tickets, it must be made clear that the victims and the charity are not loosing a penny. All the agreed percentages of monies gained from the initial sale of these tickets have been distributed as agreed by the charity and promoters. Again, Nobody is loosing out on money due to them.
If the organisers really had a problem with this they could hold the premium seats back and sell them on secondary sights or do a charity auction themselves. Plus to be fair, Viagogo give sellers the option of donating their profits to charity,in addition they often make charitable donations themselves so as a business they are doing their bit.
With most cases you can always get good seats at face value for big events once you know how the ticket distribution process works. Whenever I have gone to concerts I have rarely sat more than 5 rows from the stage. In conclusion I would say the "individuals" selling these tickets for a profit should perhaps check their conscience if indeed they have one.
If the organisers really had a problem with this they could hold the premium seats back and sell them on secondary sights or do a charity auction themselves. Plus to be fair, Viagogo give sellers the option of donating their profits to charity,in addition they often make charitable donations themselves so as a business they are doing their bit.
With most cases you can always get good seats at face value for big events once you know how the ticket distribution process works. Whenever I have gone to concerts I have rarely sat more than 5 rows from the stage. In conclusion I would say the "individuals" selling these tickets for a profit should perhaps check their conscience if indeed they have one.
Written by GLYN REES | 12th Feb 2010
How do these ticket exchange site get their tickets? Noel Gallagher tickets went on sale at 9am last Friday and I was on the Ticketmaster site at 9.01 andt they were all gone. 10 mins later you can buy them on seatwave. It doesnt make sense unless Ticketmaster or someone working there is involved.
Written by Markland | 8th Feb 2010
Great news item!
The worst part is that these tout sites have paid to have their advertisements put at the top of the Google search thus forcing further down the search engine the genuine ticket site, so far down the list in fact, that you can't find it!
What is even more sickening is that many of these events are not sold out as people do not realise tickets are still available from the primary agent!
This is a clear example of where tout websites are costing a vital charity money
The worst part is that these tout sites have paid to have their advertisements put at the top of the Google search thus forcing further down the search engine the genuine ticket site, so far down the list in fact, that you can't find it!
What is even more sickening is that many of these events are not sold out as people do not realise tickets are still available from the primary agent!
This is a clear example of where tout websites are costing a vital charity money
1 of 1 people found this helpful
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