Pay too much for your concert ticket? This may be why
Katerina Georgieva | CBC News | Posted: November 30, 2017 11:03 PM | Last Updated: November 30, 2017
Eastlink Centre warns customers to be careful buying tickets from third-party sellers
The Eastlink Centre is issuing a warning to ticket buyers: use caution when buying from third-party sellers.
Box office manager Janet Caird says the centre has been receiving calls from people concerned about the tickets they've bought for the upcoming Johnny Reid concert.
That's because they're buying tickets from third-party sellers. Customers have been calling with concerns about the legitimacy of the tickets, and how much they're paying for them.
"It's buyer beware. If you're not on a site that is owned by us, you are not buying from us," Caird said.
Johnny Reid tickets are still available through Eastlink's box office and start at about $50.
And yet, in some cases, people have paid third-party sellers up to double the cost of a ticket, plus unnecessary shipping fees, explained Caird.
"It's one thing to buy tickets from a third-party seller after a show is sold out so that you have a chance to go, but to buy it while we're still selling tickets at the right prices instead of inflated prices — we just don't want to see our patrons ... paying too much when there's actually tickets that are in better locations and better prices here."
Most third-party sites have disclaimers
Stubhub is one of the third-party sites selling Johnny Reid tickets.
A representative for that site says currently, its tickets listed for the Johnny Reid concert in Charlottetown are reasonably priced, between $56 and $96 in U.S. dollars.
The representative also added that every ticket on the site is guaranteed.
Other third-party sites did not respond to calls from CBC.
Most third-party sites do warn consumers that they are third-party sellers, and that prices may be set above face value.
Caird wants people to know that if they're paying more than $82 for a Johnny Reid ticket, then they're not on the local site, and are paying too much.
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