$250 for a Mamma Mia! ticket? Don't believe it, says Confed Centre CEO
Steve Bellamy says some customers are being overcharged by online 'scalpers'
Online "scalpers" are selling tickets to Mamma Mia! and Anne of Green Gables for much higher than what you could pay at the box office, says the CEO of the Confederation Centre of the Arts.
Steve Bellamy is urging customers to buy their tickets directly from the centre through the box office, phone or website.
It's ridiculous because our prices start at $32 Canadian for both these shows.— Steve Bellamy
"We've had emails from patrons and a bit of word-of-mouth of people sort of asking why ticket prices are so high, up into the hundreds of dollars U.S.?," he said. "That's really alarmed us."
Bellamy said third-party marketers are buying tickets, creating websites to sell them then boosting them on Google so they come up first when someone searches for the shows at the Confed Centre.
"They're essentially online scalping," Bellamy said.
"They're charging prices up to like $250 U.S. for the ticket. So it's ridiculous because our prices start at $32 Canadian for both these shows."
Bellamy said he's concerned people will not only pay too much for their ticket, but also may make the assumption the shows are sold out.
"It's quite rare that we truly sell out all 1,100 seats in the theatre. There's almost always seats available."
Bellamy said he's seen online scalping here and there in the past but it's been happening more consistently in the past few weeks and felt the need to keep theatregoers informed.
"We don't want to see people paying more than they need to be," he said. "What we're telling people is to just please make sure you're buying tickets through Confederation Centre."
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With files from Angela Walker