Concert-lovers should beware of tickets sold by scalping websites, warns the general manager for Winnipeg's MTS Centre, as tickets sales get underway for a second Elton John concert.
A week ago, the first show shattered the record for the quickest ticket sellout at the MTS Centre; all 12,000 tickets for the Sept. 19 concert sold in less than two minutes.
That prompted event organizers to add a second show on Sept. 20. Tickets for the concert went on sale Monday at 10 a.m. for $89, $119 and $149 at Ticketmaster.
Kevin Donnelly, general manager of the MTS Centre, said tickets sold so fast in part because of websites that resell tickets, often for several times their face value.
Some Elton John fans who were unable to obtain tickets complained that reselling websites were offering them even before their sale was underway through Ticketmaster.
But Donnelly cautioned buyers to beware of such sites, noting the offers are sometimes too good to be true.
"They … list seats that don't physically exist in our building," he said. "We didn't pour concrete for 20 rows in the upper deck, and they've got a row 20 in the upper deck for sale."
In addition, tickets purchased from broker websites come with no guarantees. Ticketmaster has cancelled tickets after they were printed because they were purchased with stolen credit cards. In the past, dozens of people have been turned away at Winnipeg concerts with second-hand tickets for that reason.
It's illegal to resell tickets for more than their face value in Manitoba, but that's not the case in some U.S. states, where most of the online ticket brokers are based.
Winnipeg Police have said in the past that they do work to track illegal ticket sales, but it's difficult when sellers live in other jurisdictions.
Tickets for the second show aren't selling as quickly as the first, but Donnelly said he expects the show to sell out by the end of Monday.
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Contact Us About Us HomeTuesday, January 6th, 2009