The Better Business Bureau of central, northern and western Arizona issued a warning to consumers to be careful when buying expensive and hard-to-find Fiesta Bowl tickets (or Super Bowl tickets, or BCS Championship tickets, or tickets to other events. high-profile sports or concerts) online or from resellers.
Selling tickets on the secondary market is a multi-billion dollar industry, and not everything is legitimate. A secondary market means any ticket broker or seller that did not actually have the authority to issue the ticket; They got it from the team or the venue and are reselling it. For example, a season ticket holder who has tickets to the Fiesta Bowl and decides to sell them on a ticket exchange or Craigslist is a secondary ticket seller. Similarly, legitimate ticket brokers are secondary ticket sellers.
Because Fiesta Bowl or other special sporting event tickets are often in very short supply, the only way an average fan can get tickets is on the secondary market. But here are the risks:
- Once you pay for tickets purchased online, you have no way of knowing if they will ever show up.
- Your tickets may be rotten, including seats with obstructed view, seats that are not together, or otherwise not what you thought they were.
- You don’t know if the tickets you are buying from an online exchange or from an unauthorized reseller or ticket broker are real or not. Your tickets can be forged. He will appear in the game, sometimes with considerable time and expense, and will be rejected.
Arizona Better Business Bureau offers these tips when looking for sporting event tickets online:
- Only the event, the venue, and the event’s authorized ticketing company can guarantee that the ticket you purchase online will be valid for attending the event.
- When buying from a merchant, always look for the BBBOnLine seal. The logo will tell you that you are dealing with a company that has a good reputation for satisfying customers and a secure website to process your payment. Even then, don’t take her word for it! Check with the BBB to make sure they got that seal!
- When buying from an individual through an online exchange, the seller will not take you away from the website. Even if you met the seller on the exchange, the company may not guarantee the loss of money if a transaction occurs outside of their domain.
- Ticket brokers offer tickets, almost always at prices above face value, that are being resold by other brokers or season ticket holders. Make sure you use a reputable company. For example, every professional sports organization, such as Major League Baseball or National Football League, has official brokers for hard-to-find tickets. For example, TicketsNow.com is owned by Ticketmaster and offers various guarantees on tickets purchased through their exchange. Many reputable ticket brokers will make tickets available to you by email, making trading quick and easy; you never have to communicate or meet the seller.
- If you buy tickets through an online auction, choose a seller with a long and continuous history of satisfied customers. Scammers can hijack old accounts, so make sure they recently bought or sold other items.
- Pay with a credit card, which can offer some protection and a possible refund. Never pay with a cashier’s check or wire money to a vendor; you will have no way of getting your money back if the tickets don’t arrive.
- Many sellers will include photos of the tickets with their postings on auction sites or bulletin boards. Resellers near the venue will have the tickets themselves. Please carefully examine tickets for inaccuracies or alterations, and check the seat assignment against the map on the venue’s website before purchasing.
Buying tickets from a stranger is no different than buying antiques, cars, or anything else of value from someone you don’t know and will never see again. Don’t be fooled. Use common sense, understand the risks, and use these tips to minimize your potential loss if you intend to go ahead and buy tickets from an unauthorized seller.
