# Critical Sarcasm for the knees

# Old Ass Sudotask

Go Home Old Site

## Ye Olde Bait And Switch

They Might Be Giants is going on tour in your area!

Awesome! How much are tickets?

$26

Cool, I'll take two.

That'll be $75 please.

What the fuck?

Is entertainment so special that it's ok for the inudstry to fuck us at every turn?

Want to go to a concert? Well, the ticket price is $30, but we will be adding in another $10 in bullshit fees.

With the prior mentioned band, the ticket was ~$25, a venue fee of $1, and a convenience fee of $7. Much better than some venues, but this form of advertising is fucked up, and no amount is justified.

*At the grocery store*

Three packs of $1 hot dogs sounds good.

*Head to checkout counter*

Yes ma'am. That will be $32.

How?

Well, all those hot dogs come to $3, and then we have a convenience charge of $10 per item since we are located in a small town. Then taxes account for the rest.

What the fuck?

Imagine the situation above happened. People would outrage.

Information on where the money from the ticket price ends up is hard to find, aside from hearsay. However, all the bullshit fees should be contained in a single advertised cost.

What the fuck is $1 going to do? This venue is in a major city. There is no way a venue would host a concert for only $1 per ticket, just include that shit in the regular ticket price. The $7 convenience fee was claimed to be an online fee, but in 2006 Ticketmaster locations charged a convenience fee. To make things worse, they were usually hidden in some scummy location (in this author's experience). Not very convenient.

A few years ago, Fleetwood Mac concerts had a $30 convenience fee. Let's see what Ticketmaster charges today.

The above is simply the first seat found. Ticketmaster's site is more confusing than it needs to be.

Me: Ticketmaster, just find a seat for me.

Ticketmaster: Okay, please select a seat map.

Me: What? I wanted you to... whatever. Wait... Miley Cyrus is a seat map?

me: What the fuck?

But yes, just shy of $30 for a service fee. What makes that venue so special? Oh, perhaps it's not, perhaps you simply charge higher service fees for bigger name bands. However, there is something special about this Ticketmaster page. All fees are included in the first place a total is shown, not after the fact.

It's much more comfortable when all fees are included in the first total shown with the option to see a break down. None of this bullshit where the first total is $30 less than the second.

I ended up missing out on a TMBG's show because I refused to buy tickets that were listed in a bait and switch manner. Sure I would have loved to see the show, hell, I probably would have bought them if they were $40 a ticket with all costs included, but ethics come first. I can't very well say "I hate Walmart" and then shop there the next day and be an ethical person can I?

The bait and switch bullshit has to stop. Glad to see Ticketmaster isn't doing it anymore.

So what do you think? Would you rather eat the fees when they are presented to you after the fact? Would you be willing to boycott these misleading practices?

Let me know below ^_^