Customer Feedback

Our Response on Thursday, May 17, 2012 at 12:08 PM:
Hello Ryan! Thank you for your email. We're sorry to hear about the confusions in regards to your ticket purchase through us. It seems that you ordered tickets for a near-term event and that your ticket seller had just sold the last tickets concerned to another customer. (The ticket sellers on our website (and on our competitors', as well) generally have a small window of time during which they're free to accept or reject a ticket order. This is because the sellers listing tickets on our exchange are likely listing tickets (albeit, for higher prices) on other networks, too. It's therefore occasionally possible that they might sell a ticket group before being able to remove it from our website.)

On that note, we understand that your ticket seller attempted to supply you with other agreeable tickets, but that you were not interested in the alternates they could provide you. (Your ticket seller likely wanted to upload the proposed alternates just so that, if you were indeed interested in them, you'd have the tickets available to download and print off immediately.)

Ultimately, you declined the tickets proposed by your seller and they have actually since refunded you in full for the purchase. You may not see the refund reflected yet to your account due to CC processing delays. We have also extended you a discount off a future order to try and assist you with other tickets in the future!

Our Response on Wednesday, May 16, 2012 at 3:37 PM:
Hello Mary! Thank you very much for your feedback the other day. We're very sorry to hear about the delivery delay associated with your ticket order through us. It's unfortunately true that tickets often aren't distributed or even printed until within weeks of their event and, after that, they then have to make their way to another party (the seller) before reaching you. It's therefore possible that the tickets you purchase cannot ship out immediately.

On that note, we're nevertheless sorry if the delayed delivery in regards to your order has caused you any concern. We want all the customers who order through us to have secure buying experiences. We do therefore rate and rank sellers partially based upon the efficiency of their ticket delivery. We expect sellers to provide tickets as quickly as they are able and to do so in accordance with the timelines they set with customers.

In your case, we see that your tickets were delivered today by your seller - so you should be all set for the event. We will speak with your seller about your concerns and worries. However, in the meantime, we all hope you have a great time at the event!

Our Response on Thursday, May 03, 2012 at 4:05 PM:
Hello Dawn! Thank you very much for your feedback. We're sorry to hear that you're unhappy with the fees associated with your order.

When you purchase tickets through our website, you pay...

1) the ticket price

2) the service fee (18.5% of the ticket price)

3) a delivery fee (FedEx, usually)

Just to explain, the service fee is the only part of the transaction that accrues to TL and pays for website maintenance, billing security, and customer support. The delivery fee is usually around $15 and is designed to pay for fast FedEx shipping of ticket orders. We expect the sellers who list tickets on our exchange to use FedEx for shipment due to the security and reliability of that service.

Added to that, it's also worthy to note that there are many different parties in a ticket transaction: the venue, the performer/team, the ticket seller, the marketplace (ie: us) - and so forth. Every group in the chain adds onto the ticket price in some regard because they all have employees with families to feed. You will actually find that no one party is leaving any transaction having made tons and tons of money off customers. We at TL make relatively little off of ticket orders and actually make less than many competitors as a means to keep our prices lower than many others in the secondary ticket market.

In your case, we made $40 off of your order of almost $300 - not too high! :o)

Our Response on Thursday, May 03, 2012 at 3:53 PM:
Hello Greg! Thank you so much for your comments. We're sorry to hear about your order problems. It seems that you purchased tickets through us without understanding that the ticket prices on our exchange are listed per ticket. We mention that fact on all our event pages and we also advertise the total price of ticket orders twice during the checkout process prior to your placing an order. The reason we have so many steps is to limit the chance that there are any confusions or misunderstandings about the total value of a purchase.

Added to that, it's also true that we're unable to force your seller to cancel your ticket order due to a pricing misunderstanding. When you buy tickets through us, you're "committing to buy" a product from a seller similar to how you "commit to buy" a product through EBay. If we could unilaterally cancel ticket orders, no one would feel confident selling through tickets us or through any other marketplace.

Additionally, your seller would be taking a risk by accepting your tickets back and refunding your money. They may not be able to resell the tickets before the event occurs or may have to do so for less money than you paid. We cannot force or expect a seller to put themselves in this position through no fault of their own.

Either way, we're sorry for the misunderstanding and hope that the discount offer we extended is of help!

Our Response on Thursday, May 03, 2012 at 3:27 PM:
Hello Sandra! Thank you for your feedback. We're very sorry to hear about the seating issues with your order.

Specifically, you purchased tickets listed as being for:

Event: Wicked Aug 25 2012 8:00PM
Venue: Capitol Theatre - UT in Salt Lake City, UT, United States of America
Section: BALC L Row: 3A

That being said, we're very sorry that you are unhappy with the seats you received for your ticket purchase and we're even sorrier that you felt they were misrepresented by the representative who placed your order. It's nevertheless true that the tickets were registered clearly as being in the Left Balcony. The Left Balcony is inherently located higher up in theater venues (Balcony is well-known as being the highest tier of seating). The representative with whom you spoke may have recommended the tickets in light of the purchase parameters you set in regards to price and availability. It therefore is unclear to us why you believed Balcony tickets were excellent seats and thereby closer to the stage.

Added to that, we also understand that you are upset with the face value of your tickets vis-a-vis the purchase price you paid. We at TL are indeed a nationwide network through which tickets are being resold and thus re-priced by sellers independent of their face value. We advertise that fact throughout our website so that customers understand they are buying tickets that may be priced more or less than the original purchase price.

Regardless, we're sorry for the pricing confusion and sincerely hope you do enjoy the show! "Wicked" is wonderful no matter where you're sitting.

Our Response on Tuesday, Apr 24, 2012 at 9:54 AM:
Hello Katie! Thank you for leaving feedback in regards to your order experience. We're very sorry to hear about your unhappiness with your purchase and the problems that have been caused.

In your case, it would appear that you are upset because your 19-year-old daughter ordered tickets using a credit card that you and she jointly possess. You do not approve of the order and called us to have it cancelled. The problem is that you did not order tickets through us directly but from an independent seller who listed tickets for sale on our network. We are unable to cancel orders and are also unable to force sellers to cancel their transactions.

Generally speaking, it's tricky to return tickets in the entertainment market because tickets themselves are time sensitive items with a strict limit on their value. This means that returning them is not like returning shoes that could be used by another customer. Instead, if you return the tickets, the seller may not sell them or may have to sell them for less money. The end result is that your seller ends up losing money as a result of the ticket return.

Added to that, we at TL are only able to function because we allow security for both buyers and sellers of tickets. If buyers don't feel secure buying through us, no sellers would be able to resell tickets. If sellers don't feel secure selling through us, there'd be no tickets for consumers to buy. Our goal is to protect buyers when they make a sale but also to respect the rights of the independent sellers who resell tickets through our exchange. No one would resell anything through us if we could unilaterally cancel their sale due to no fault of their own and force them to return money they made.

To try and help a little, we've offered you a nice discount on a new order and could potentially explore opportunities to resell the tickets you no longer desire - please keep us informed!

Our Response on Tuesday, Apr 24, 2012 at 10:18 AM:
Hello Brian! Thank you for your feedback!

Just to explain, we at TL don't actually buy and sell tickets directly. We're a marketplace (like EBay) through which independent ticket-selling agencies resell tickets to events. The major point of the resale market is both to keep tickets on the market long after primary sources (eg: the venue) are otherwise sold out and also to allow early access to ticket guarantees before the general onsale of tickets for an event. It's also worth pointing out that the tickets released to the public by event promoters are often far less than the number of tickets available. Many promoters hold back large numbers of tickets in order to give or distribute those tickets privately to connected individuals, fan clubs, business partners, and so forth. Most ticket shortages are actually due to that factor since the impact of ticket sellers on buying up tickets is inherently limited.

On that note, the tickets on our site are listed by independent sellers and will be available long after Ticketmaster tickets are sold out. It therefore makes sense that tickets for the first night of the event would be available on our site when Ticketmaster does not have further tickets available. It's also worthwhile to point out that tickets (as mentioned above) are not just released in one clump, but often release sporadically by the event promoter. This means that it's possible for new tickets to appear everyday on our exchange from sellers across the United States, Canada, and sometimes even Europe. (Please note, too, that we are not related to Ticketmaster and don't influence when event tickets first go on sale or when new events are scheduled.)

Please also know that we at TL don't pressure or otherwise force people into buying tickets through our nationwide exchange. We don't even employ the little ticket timer that you see on Ticketmaster. We simply let sellers advertise tickets and let consumers choose whether or not to buy them.

Our Response on Tuesday, Apr 24, 2012 at 9:59 AM:
Hello Beaulah! Thank you for leaving feedback in regards to your order experience. We're very sorry to hear about the problems and confusions concerning your ticket purchase. We actually see that your tickets were shipped on April 13th (the same day you ordered) via FedEx tracking number 793452912665. They were delivered to you on April 17th. You would have received an email from us when the FedEx tracking number was created by the seller, when the tickets shipped, and when they were registered by FedEx as being delivered.

Did you check around your home for the package, because FedEx can leave them in out-of-the-way areas? Your ticket seller would be able to input a claim with FedEx if you claim not to have received the package. FedEx informed us that they can nevertheless confirm delivery.

We have contacted you privately, so please do keep us informed!

Our Response on Tuesday, Apr 24, 2012 at 10:38 AM:
Hello Ronda! Thank you very much for your feedback! We're very sorry to hear about the difficult and frustrating experience you've had to undergo in regards to the ticket order that you placed through our company.

In your case, it appears that your seller made a mistake in creating a FedEx shipping label tied to your order for use on another purchase. Ashley would not have known that and would not have been privy to that information. it's also true that ticket sellers ship tickets independently and hardly ever make any mistakes.

On that note, we should explain that, while sellers ship tickets, they create labels and so forth through our point-of-sale software. It therefore appears that your seller made a label for another customer but tied it erroneously to your order. The end result is that you received shipdates that weren't relevant to your purchase.

That being said, we did speak with your ticket seller and they explained the issue to us and said that they had contacted you. Your order has been accepted by them and so they are guaranteed to get you tickets for the event. The mistake by your seller is in no way indicative that your order will not be properly fulfilled. We'll also keep checking back on your purchase to make sure everything is okay and we'll be touching base again with the seller concerned to make sure the error is not repeated.

We also hope the discount we provided helps to make up for the confusion!

Our Response on Wednesday, Apr 11, 2012 at 4:58 PM:
Hello Paige! Thank you very much for your feedback! We're sorry to hear about your unhappiness with your order.

In regards to the cancellation issue, it is indeed true that the ticket seller from whom you purchased won't be able to cancel your order. The all-sales-are-final policy is standard across both the primary and secondary ticket market. The reason for this is because tickets are time sensitive items with strict limits on their value. This means that returning them is not like returning shoes that could be used by another customer. Instead, if you return the tickets, the seller may not sell them or may have to sell them for less money. The end result is that your seller ends up losing money as a result of the ticket return.

In your case, we don't see evidence that you called us directly, so perhaps you spoke instead with your ticket seller. Please also know that we are a network through which individual sellers resell tickets to popular events. Sellers resell tickets through us along similar lines as to how sellers resell products through Ebay. We cannot force a seller to cancel at purchase at someone's request and return their money. No one would feel comfortable reselling tickets through us if we had that ability. That's especially true considering the fact that tickets are indeed items with a strict time limit on their value.

On that note, too, we can understand your frustration with cheaper tickets being available elsewhere for purchase online. Please nevertheless know that neither we nor our sellers have the ability to monitor ticket availability on a national level. There was therefore no concerted attempt to advertise tickets that were available elsewhere for a different price. We at TL simply let sellers advertise tickets and let consumers choose whether or not to buy them. We always encourage consumers to do thorough price research before a purchase in order to get the best deal possible.

We're sorry again for the confusion!