Fans go to war with ticket touts

Music lovers try to stamp out the net touts

Fans who were left empty handed following this year’s ticket rush for summer festivals have reacted furiously to touts posting tickets online at inflated prices.

Within minutes of going on sale all this year’s main events sold out, but internet auction sites were flooded with sellers flogging-on the same tickets – often at two or three times the face value.

As a result a coalition of fans have hit back, launching a petition online.

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Some fans have also have tried to organise boycots of online sales for particular tours, and in the case of the Dirty Pretty Things first tour, even tackled sellers directly themselves.

“It’s been going on for a long time, but Morrissey was the final straw for me,” explained organiser Fiona Oakes. “You can cope that other fans have got there before you, but when tickets go within in five minutes and then you log on to eBay and a good proportion of them on there it’s too much. With Morrissey there were 241 different auctions within a quarter of an hour of the tickets selling out, that’s just ludicrous!”

Oakes added that from the online chatter she believes it is genuine fans, not just those who can afford it, who are paying the most for tickets.

“It’s totally genuine fans who are buying these tickets,” she said. “It’s people asking their family for money or getting early birthday presents so they can afford them. It’s hardcore fans who are getting ripped-off because they want the tickets the most. They have to choose between biting the bullet and going online or not going to the gig. The people who sell tickets on eBay know this.”

But online auction houses like eBay have defended the right to allow sellers to flog their tickets on, through their site.

“Many concert goers find gigs sell out minutes after going on sale and, therefore, eBay offers many music fans the only chance they’re going to get to see their favourite bands,” said a spokesperson.

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“Over 80 per-cent of people who have sold gig tickets on eBay have sold fewer than three tickets in the past five years, the majority being people who are unable to attend the concert and want to pass tickets on to fellow fans.”

What’s your view on the ticket fiasco? Discuss it right

here on the NME.COM messageboard.

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