2008 Woodie Awards
'Convenient,' But Not For Me
Derek Serafin
Issue date: 10/9/05 Section: Tempo
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Concerts. One of the few things in life I can say that I honestly love. In September alone, I have managed to squeeze in seven, that's right, SEVEN, concerts. That's seven more than some people my age have ever attended in their lives. I always find myself looking for new bands to go see and spend my hard-earned Flyer stipend on.
Concerts to me are an addiction, much like crack-cocaine is to the bums living off of lower Wacker drive. I just can't seem to get enough.
In a given year, since I was about 17, I will go to between 15 to 20 shows at locals ranging from the infamous Tweeter Center (which I loathe), to various clubs in Milwaukee.
Typically, I'll see smaller bands the likes of Sufjan Stevens or Idlewild, who charge about $15 for a ticket to one of their shows. But why is it that once I'm done ordering my ticket, I end up paying an ungodly $25 for it all?
Now, I am not exactly a math whiz or anything (I barely escaped high school because of geometry), but I know a simple fact. Fifteen is NOT 25. How is it that this ticket that is being advertised for this small, two hours of work, fee ending up costing me nearly double? Is there some hidden, 100 percent tax that I am just not reading about?
Oh yeah, that's right. There's something known as a "Ticketmaster convenience charge" worked into that price. What exactly is a Ticketmaster "convenience" you ask? Is it a fee that you pay because the tickets will be hand delivered to your door by a knight in shining armor who also delivers you a Christmas ham alongside the ticket? That would honestly be VERY convenient for me. Seriously, what is this mysterious "convenience fee?"
Well, I figured I would investigate this fee further and go to Ticketmaster's website. If anyone could provide me with help, it would be the ingeniously named "Help" part of their site. Well, low and behold, I found what could possibly the worst answer to my question ever.
"Convenience Charges and Order Processing Fees; Tickets purchased on Ticketmaster.com are subject to a per ticket convenience charge and a non-refundable per order processing fee. In many cases, delivery prices will also be owed."
Concerts to me are an addiction, much like crack-cocaine is to the bums living off of lower Wacker drive. I just can't seem to get enough.
In a given year, since I was about 17, I will go to between 15 to 20 shows at locals ranging from the infamous Tweeter Center (which I loathe), to various clubs in Milwaukee.
Typically, I'll see smaller bands the likes of Sufjan Stevens or Idlewild, who charge about $15 for a ticket to one of their shows. But why is it that once I'm done ordering my ticket, I end up paying an ungodly $25 for it all?
Now, I am not exactly a math whiz or anything (I barely escaped high school because of geometry), but I know a simple fact. Fifteen is NOT 25. How is it that this ticket that is being advertised for this small, two hours of work, fee ending up costing me nearly double? Is there some hidden, 100 percent tax that I am just not reading about?
Oh yeah, that's right. There's something known as a "Ticketmaster convenience charge" worked into that price. What exactly is a Ticketmaster "convenience" you ask? Is it a fee that you pay because the tickets will be hand delivered to your door by a knight in shining armor who also delivers you a Christmas ham alongside the ticket? That would honestly be VERY convenient for me. Seriously, what is this mysterious "convenience fee?"
Well, I figured I would investigate this fee further and go to Ticketmaster's website. If anyone could provide me with help, it would be the ingeniously named "Help" part of their site. Well, low and behold, I found what could possibly the worst answer to my question ever.
"Convenience Charges and Order Processing Fees; Tickets purchased on Ticketmaster.com are subject to a per ticket convenience charge and a non-refundable per order processing fee. In many cases, delivery prices will also be owed."
