Would you ever buy from a tout?

[zero000]

So would you ever buy from a tout? Is it ever justifiable? What if it's for less than face value?

Answers on a postcard please.

[5co77ie]

do you mean an online tout, or are you also including anyone selling tickets outside a venue? I've often bought a ticket outside a sold out event, from someone who has 'touted' one for a variety of reasons.

Edited January 22, 2013 by 5co77ie

[zero000]

do you mean an online tout, or are you also including anyone selling tickets outside a venue? I've often bought a ticket outside a sold out event, from someone who has 'touted' one for a variety of reasons.

[mrtourette]

I would never buy from viagogo.

I have done and probably would buy from a tout outside a venue if I was desperate enough. I know that's just encouraging the system and as I get older I'm less inclined to go to venues on the off chance but if I was in the area and tickets were being offered for a band I like for a decent price it would be hard to say no.

I'd have no issue buying one from someone on eBay or in a pub who couldn't go for whatever reason.

[5co77ie]

yeah I don't think I've ever paid above face value in 20 or so years.

[5co77ie]

I don't think I've ever bought a ticket off eBay or Viagogo - except once when I had to buy my daughter a ticket for an event I'd promised to get her tickets for and then forgot until after they had sold out! I have used Scarlet Mist a few times.

[eFestivals]

So would you ever buy from a tout? Is it ever justifiable? What if it's for less than face value?

Answers on a postcard please.

I'd quite happily buy from a tout at under face value, cos that gets to mean that they've fucked over themselves and not someone else. It means they probably won't do it again, which is a good thing.

At over face value? Nope. Not even at face value.

It's been a while since I did it, but I used to quite often shadow touts as they worked a queue outside a venue, undermining their attempts to buy or sell. As Jonesy would say, they don't like it up em.

(I don't advise a bloke to do this unless very sure of themselves; those touts aren't always scared to use muscle).

Having said that, I have far less issue with a tout working a queue at a venue than I do the scumbag online touts, who put no work at all into what they do. A tout working a queue at a venue is adding some value in a small way, an online tout is adding nothing at all.

[zero000]

I don't think I've ever bought a ticket off eBay or Viagogo - except once when I had to buy my daughter a ticket for an event I'd promised to get her tickets for and then forgot until after they had sold out! I have used Scarlet Mist a few times.

[jump]

I toyed with the idea of buying Reading Festival tickets in 2010 from a "professional" tout on ebay. It was something like £120 for a weekend ticket if we bought five of them, I've no idea how you can make a profit on that unless he was cutting his losses.

[zero000]

They may of bought the tixs cheaper off someone desperate to sell and then just added £20 on.

[LondonTom]

Not for a few years, I did a couple of times when i first started going to gigs about 7 years ago, never much over face value but then after a bit, when I started planning them a bit more I stopped really. It was also a realization that if they make at least face value, its no loss to them and they will try again in the future.

Never tried to buy outside a gig, I've always been a bit wary of them since I had one of them start on me for being in his way, when queuing outside Shepherds Bush Empire to pickup my tickets once. (It was basically cos I didn't want to buy from him)

[Guest]

I toyed with the idea of buying Reading Festival tickets in 2010 from a "professional" tout on ebay. It was something like £120 for a weekend ticket if we bought five of them, I've no idea how you can make a profit on that unless he was cutting his losses.

[Uncle Liam]

Tickets for the Verve at the G Mex in 2007. 50p outside.

Epic win.

[Uncle Liam]

And it was pissing down

[zero000]

lots of promoters help supply the touts with tickets. Get 'em in bulk, and maybe they get a discount, especially if the sales aren't as good as expected

[grumpyhack]

Bought outside a gig for under face value a few years ago but very rare for me as I try to plan my music well ahead and sort tickets early.

Neil refers to Dad's Army and Jones's "They don't like it up 'em" but touts to me are more like Private Walker.

Glasto seems to have sorted touting with pre-registration and photo ID on tickets but that can hit another issue, helping out a friend. If you can't go to a gig I see nothing wrong with passing on your ticket to a friend.

[greenfairy43]

Don't ever be tempted to buy from an (hopefully ex) efester who goes by a variety of names such as Darren Minall/Luckhurst/Callingham-Woods. He is nothing but a rip off merchant. Not to be trusted.

[Guest]

Do they do it with ticket sellers on ebay as well? I realise they do it with the secondary ticket selling sites.

[thetime]

Yes I would but only if I was really wanting to see a band. I think people are getting to grips with ebay now and touts are getting burnt especially with festivals.

[mikeb]

I have never bought a ticket from a tout and I never intend to either, no matter what, purely on principle. Not even for less than face value. I might possibly be tempted to take one off their hands for free but I would still be much more likely to tear it up in front of them than actually use it even if I did want to go to the gig.

Being stupid ? ... probably. Mucho satisfaction ? ... most definitely.

I haven't done so to date but I would buy via Scarlet Mist without too much in the way of hesitation if needs be and I have used Scarlet Mist to find good homes for some tickets I had left over due to mates with problems on one occasion several years ago. I could have sold them at a handsome profit if I'd wanted to but there's no way I would ever do that. I don't see any problem selling/buying to/from mates or individuals with a spare ticket to find a good home for at face value or less. The only difficulty is being 100% convinced that they are indeed genuine and not simply a tout who couldn't sell at a profit or worse still, a scammer.

Why would I (or indeed anyone else for that matter) really want to pay a scumbag tout less than face value just so that they hopefully make a small loss on the deal ? ... when they could ultimately get paid bugger all and make a very large loss ! By far the best place for any ticket being touted is still in the scumbag tout's hand as peeps who bought a legitimate ticket are leaving the gig after a bl**dy good night out

Sure, it hurts not having a ticket to something you really want to go to because scumbag's various raped and pillaged so many by means various. But unless and until the b@rstewards start having to throw away bundles of worthless bits of paper they've paid good money for they aint gonna stop are they ? If no one EVER used touts they'd soon move on to pastures new and all that Yeah, I know, it's never going to happen in reality as there's always someone prepared to pay for the alleged service and all that

It's very fortunately rarely happened so far but If I did miss out on tickets for something I really wanted to go to then I'd just find something else I'd really like to go to instead and spend the do$h having a good time elsewhere. The only events I can think of where I was seriously pi$$ed off by not managing to get tickets was the Pink Floyd and Led Zep reunion gigs. I'm quite sure I could have paid silly money to someone to get in but I never even considered it, just accepted that I'd missed out and it was time to move on. Please don't tell me I could have got them for 50p on the door

Edited January 22, 2013 by mikeb

[BA4 4BY]

I've bought and sold tickets several times on eBay, but only for genuine reasons and I never sell at more than face value, most of the time well below.

So many chancers snap up tickets on opening day now just to make a profit that they often get it wrong and end up having to accept a loss. I've had some real bargains as a result, such as £16 for Green Day in 2009, and 4 tickets for the opening gig of the 2009 Oasis tour at Heaton Park for £100. That was the night the generators failed and Noel offered everyone their money back, and I'm proud to say that I never considered taking him up on the offer, but if I had I could have actually MADE money for going to a gig!!

I think the only time I paid over face value was for the Sex Pistols in 2007, but it was only a little over and only a week beforehand so it was to be expected really.

The only time I've ever dealt with a tout outside a gig was to sell a £60 ticket that I got let down on at the last minute, and he gave me £10 for it. The fact that nobody subsequently turned up to sit next to me means that hopefully the tw@t got stuck with it.

[Bisque]

I've never bought off a street tout but missus & a friend got Reading weekend tickets for £30 & £50 respectively, from touts, on the Thursday. She had to risk getting the train from Great Yarmouth without a ticket in hand though whereas my friend was local.

Never had a problem using eBay for tickets either. Reading tickets for £100, LED was £10, Soni for £80, Global Gathering for £40.

Actually... I lie. I won a TitP ticket for £13 but the w*nker closed his account & ran off with my money when he tried to get out of not selling it for so cheap. It's what a reserve is for.

[Bisque]

If a festival or gig hasn't sold out then its always worth trolling eBay for tickets from people who genuinely can't make it anymore or last minute change of plans.

Always cheaper to buy multiple tickets too as individual prices will be lower if you can get someone to come with you or flog yourself outside the venue.

[Guest]

Always cheaper to buy multiple tickets too as individual prices will be lower if you can get someone to come with you or flog yourself outside the venue.

[Bisque]

you flog yourself outside the venue??