Ticketmaster fiasco no surprise
Re Ticketmaster responds to Star/CBC investigation, vows to root out mass scalpers, Sept. 20
Thank you for exposing Ticketmaster for what they have become — scalpers. The solution is simple. We don’t need Ticketmaster. Venues used to sell their own tickets before Ticketmaster came along and offered this service for a small cut. Then they got greedy and wanted a bigger cut. They wanted a piece of the scalper action as well as their cut from the ticket prices.
Roy Thompson Hall and Massey Hall used to sell their own tickets and could easily do so again. Anyone with a website can now sell things. Venues could set their own prices and sell directly to the public.
Ticketmaster wouldn’t get their cut and the public wouldn’t get gouged. Nobody needs Ticketmaster. Dr. Robin Alter, Toronto I have been reading with interest (but no surprise) the Ticketmaster fiasco.
If Ticketmaster is serious about stopping the practice of scalpers in the future, here’s an idea. When tickets are purchased, print the name of the purchaser on the tickets and have him or her show identification when entering the venue. Security already checks purses and pockets, so how much extra time would it take? Rob Parkhill, Toronto
Re Ticketmaster launches review of reseller accounts, Sept. 21
The announcement that Ticketmaster is launching a review of reseller accounts reminds me of the famous quote by Capt. Renault in Casablanca that he is “shocked” to find that gambling is going on in Rick’s Café as he was handed his winnings. Barry Francis, Toronto Kudos to the resilient Star investigative reporters Robert Cribb and Marco Chown Oved for their exposé of the mass scalping of tickets by Ticketmaster, which defied Canadian authorities with their long and brazen history of cheating the public over many years.
Shame to all the Canadian authorities for allowing the vulnerable public to be robbed for years. Rudy Fernandes, Mississauga
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