Bruins make switch to 100% electronic ticketing - no paper (PDF's) accepted

[tarheelhockey]

Meanwhile the Hurricanes made this same switch... without announcing it. STH found out when they received their packages with no tickets inside. A third-party blog broke the news to the rest of the fanbase. First home game in 5 days.

Being discussed on the Canes board here:

News Article: - News and Note XXX: Now is the Summer of our Don Waddell Content

 

[Burke the Legend]

Would love to see these orgs get burned by this in long term. treating STH like money pinatas hopefully can only go so far. My manager who has tickets was pretty steamed when the Habs did this and he was asked to cough up $$$ for special print versions. It's not even his own money going into it but nobody likes being fleeced like that.

 

[tarheelhockey]

I take back my earlier statement that this wasn't announced in advance.

The announcement was one sentence, buried in a long email update in mid-July.

 

[Section337]

One thing to check, if you are worried about cell coverage at the game, is to see if you can save your ticket to Apple Wallet (does Android have something similar)? I usually do this even though service is usually not a problem.

 

[LadyStanley]

Be thankful you get that. Vegas sends us an email & nothing else.

VGK has had some very nice STH packages/gift selections, but they've handed them out at CNA or games rather than mail out.

 

[GuelphStormer]

That's all they sent

wow. not even laminates? what happens around hallowe'en when everyones' paper passes start tearing, creasing, disintegrating?

is this the pass that people are supposed to hand off to others who might use their tickets one night?

 

[Boris Zubov]

VGK has had some very nice STH packages/gift selections, but they've handed them out at CNA or games rather than mail out.

A STH gift is different than a season ticket package arriving with actual tickets. Other teams give gifts in addition to those.

BTW, The Knights also gave away those same boxes you mention to Non-STHs at watch parties & events. Kinda lessens the meaning & value to the actual season subscribers, don't you think?

 

[WJCJ]

Would love to see these orgs get burned by this in long term. treating STH like money pinatas hopefully can only go so far. My manager who has tickets was pretty steamed when the Habs did this and he was asked to cough up $$$ for special print versions. It's not even his own money going into it but nobody likes being fleeced like that.

I have issues with other things that teams do, but this is just common sense. This is what everyone should do. This is how things are going with plane/train/bus tickets too. I don't get why people wish ill on others for just doing what is best for the vast majority of people. It must suck to have that much ill will.

 

[Clint Eastwood]

This is dumb.

 

[CharasLazyWrister]

This just in: big business doesn’t give a f*** about the way you feel about anything.

 

[NCRanger]

One thing to check, if you are worried about cell coverage at the game, is to see if you can save your ticket to Apple Wallet (does Android have something similar)? I usually do this even though service is usually not a problem.

Depends on who the ticket vendor is.

Anything I've bought on Ticketmaster allows me to move it to Apple Wallet immediately. I don't mind this (although I prefer paper tickets.)

I have tickets for an upcoming concert that is in an AXS venue. You have to use their app exclusively and cannot move the ticket. Even though I have 3 tickets to the show, all three are connected to one code.

 

[Tom ServoMST3K]

The ability for teams to demonize scalpers has been ridiculous, and has allowed a lot of anti-consumer practices to be implemented with little resistance.

 

[rabinsurance]

Depends on who the ticket vendor is.

Anything I've bought on Ticketmaster allows me to move it to Apple Wallet immediately. I don't mind this (although I prefer paper tickets.)

I have tickets for an upcoming concert that is in an AXS venue. You have to use their app exclusively and cannot move the ticket. Even though I have 3 tickets to the show, all three are connected to one code.

With Flash Seats, you can register your driver's license and/or credit cards as alternate ID's to have them swiped for entry. I don't know if AXS will do that, but you can sign up for a Flash Seats account and link it to your AXS account and your tickets will show up on both sites. AEG and Flash merged a few years ago.

 

[tarheelhockey]

The ability for teams to demonize scalpers has been ridiculous, and has allowed a lot of anti-consumer practices to be implemented with little resistance.

Especially when you consider Ticketmaster was busted working with scalpers inside their system to manipulate prices. This new dynamic seems to combine the most anti-consumer aspects of a monopoly and a black market.

 

[Boris Zubov]

Especially when you consider Ticketmaster was busted working with scalpers inside their system to manipulate prices. This new dynamic seems to combine the most anti-consumer aspects of a monopoly and a black market.

I'm 1000% sure the Golden Knights are currently doing the same thing. Tickets that supposedly haven't been released to season ticket holders yet are all over their own secondary marketplace. (All Knights tickets are electronic & are unable to list for resale on the VGK site until the team releases them to us)

Blocks of full rows & almost half of sections are available at severe markup to games that originally had limited tickets during the public onsale. Plus the resale site adds a tidy 30-40% fee on to each ticket.

 

[SladeWilson23]

At least for Canes games, this would be a huge issue. The ticket scanners come immediately after the security check. Meaning people are still putting their keys back in their pockets, putting their hats back on, rearranging their possessions at the same time they are supposed to be pulling up tickets on their phone. It’s already a lot like the pressure of airport security, but having ALL guests scrambling on their phones would take it to the next level.

Not to derail this thread, but this is something that really grinds my gears. I always make sure to bring as few of my belongings as possible. My phone, keys, and wallet is all that comes with me.

 

[stealth1]

I know most of you don't like this but I don't mind it at all. The biggest reason teams are going this route is to keep on eye on the secondary market. I think you are going to see more season ticket holders have their tickets revoked for re- selling them. If you are selling more then half of your season tickets, then what's the point in having them.

 

[tarheelhockey]

I know most of you don't like this but I don't mind it at all. The biggest reason teams are going this route is to keep on eye on the secondary market. I think you are going to see more season ticket holders have their tickets revoked for re- selling them. If you are selling more then half of your season tickets, then what's the point in having them.

By “keep an eye on”, they mean “capture all the profit from”.

Ticketmaster, which is providing the platform for all of this stuff, would be THRILLED to see price-gouging on the secondary market as long as they’re the one collecting the fees.

 

[stealth1]

By “keep an eye on”, they mean “capture all the profit from”.

Ticketmaster, which is providing the platform for all of this stuff, would be THRILLED to see price-gouging on the secondary market as long as they’re the one collecting the fees.

I know it upsets you but I understand where the teams are coming from. They want to get in on the money they lose when "fans" sell their tickets cause they want to make their money back on them. A friend of mine used to have seasons for the Sabres and ended up selling enough of them to get his money back. I can understand not being able to go to all home games but the ones that sell most of their tickets will be the ones teams will be after.

The Broncos did that a few years ago. I think you will see it happening more often now

 

[Boris Zubov]

I know most of you don't like this but I don't mind it at all. The biggest reason teams are going this route is to keep on eye on the secondary market. I think you are going to see more season ticket holders have their tickets revoked for re- selling them. If you are selling more then half of your season tickets, then what's the point in having them.

Explain how you think this benefits the secondary market? The Golden Knights are revoking season tickets but they aren't offering those seats to new subscribers as full seasons. They are selling them as individual games at a face value that 2-3 times higher than the price of a full season ticket cost. Or they are holding them back & selling them as "resale" seats at even higher prices than their own "face value".

 

[Ted Hoffman]

This just in: big business doesn’t give a **** about the way you feel about anything.

As long as consumers still patronize the business and purchase the product, this is absolutely true. If consumers boycott en masse, ...... well, that requires putting forth the effort to say 'no' and being dedicated to the cause to enact change. Far too many people are too lazy to do that, and far too many people are willing to step into the void at whatever cost, even if it's to their short-term and long-term detriment.

 

[tarheelhockey]

I know it upsets you but I understand where the teams are coming from. They want to get in on the money they lose when "fans" sell their tickets cause they want to make their money back on them. A friend of mine used to have seasons for the Sabres and ended up selling enough of them to get his money back. I can understand not being able to go to all home games but the ones that sell most of their tickets will be the ones teams will be after.

The Broncos did that a few years ago. I think you will see it happening more often now

I get it, but they're directly manipulating prices on the secondary market. As a fan, you're no longer going to have ANY chance of getting tickets significantly below face value. Ticketmaster's system pegs to a minimum price, and even if there is absolutely no demand for the game you cannot get the ticket for less than that price.

What this is going to do in the long run, is completely eliminate cheap tickets. Between dynamic pricing on the front end and resale manipulation on the back end, you're going to see every arena in pro sports start to take on a Scotiabank Arena vibe. Half the seats are empty, but everyone in the building paid through the nose to get in.

 

[Tom ServoMST3K]

I know it upsets you but I understand where the teams are coming from. They want to get in on the money they lose when "fans" sell their tickets cause they want to make their money back on them. A friend of mine used to have seasons for the Sabres and ended up selling enough of them to get his money back. I can understand not being able to go to all home games but the ones that sell most of their tickets will be the ones teams will be after.

The Broncos did that a few years ago. I think you will see it happening more often now

Scalpers are way more consumer-friendly than teams.

I've never paid over face to a scalper in my life. I also have no problem with people doing that. I want that flexibility to go to an event I really want to go to if it sells out, even if I have to pay through the nose to get in the door.

Overall the secondary market is helpful to the consumer and hurts the teams. The interesting thing is, Consumers seem to take the team's side, even as the bad parts of scalping stay with their resale systems, and the good parts go away.

 

[YEM]

If you are selling more then half of your season tickets, then what's the point in having them.

I did this when I had season tix
You go to the games you want to, that fit in with yr schedule, and you sell the rest.
duh?
I sold some above face, some below, gave some away to fam & friends.

 

[hizzoner]

I am in a group that has season tickets. We get the real tickets and used to swap with ticket holders near us to get a bigger group to come. Everything possible to screw the sths ...