tickets for adele - a nightmare but is it legal?

I was asked to get 2 tickets for adele for the 3 arena dublin march 4th. I knew tickemaster opened at 9am friday so i logged on at 8.59.59 and pressed enter. Immediately I got the message site very busy please wait! After a while I got site of tickets I opted for 2 @ 121 euro and then had to enter a phrase, more delays, it eventually came back with 2 tickets in a useless location. So I tried again, another long wait, i then said best available, entered the phrase and it came back none available but it then suggested you might like to try our alternative site, tickets were 318 each for seats!! How did that happen at 9.04!!

I tried again, no tickets but other site had and now price was even higher. This time no standing tickets. Tried one last time, no tickets but other site was now 700 euro!! I no longer like adele.

What is going on here? And have I led a sheltered existence. Is this legal? does not happen when i choose Belfast. A google search gets me 2 at 799 each plus a 259 booking fee!! = 1855.58.

How did these outlets get tickets before me??

Hi Noah, nothing illegal there. These guys can do what they like. We bought two of the most expensive tickets for Katherine Jenkins and José Carreras at Musgrave Park in Cork where we nearly froze to death in Row D. We bought tickets during the first day of the sale and having paid through the nose saw José and Katherine from so far distant that it could have been Dan-the-Man singing with his performing monkey.

I'll never be caught like that again even if it's Adele.

Thanks for reply. The silence is deafening. It gets even more weird. I cant delete my account with ticketmaster, they have no tel no, no email address, you then try to submit a complaint and they have omitted the send button. My problem now is that adele song Helo! When it appears I see flashes of those ticket prices 700 euro! It has to be illegal and a shame we don't have a proper consumer protection outfit. By the way it does not happen on the belfast site, I wonder why.

And they are still making it appear as if tickets are available for adele in the 3 arena.

You see Noah, demand outperforms availability. We are in an age where entertainment is governed by mega-named performers. The days of some country and western outfit performing or even local pantomime etc are events of the past and their days are numbered. Adele is one such mega-named performer. Rod Stewart, U2, and a few more television made people are now considered as those worth seen.

The Irish public has been brainwashed by what is called entertainment. You have websites increasing ticket prices in seconds. They do this because they can. If the Irish public is so gullible, it deserves what it gets.

NOAH said:

My problem now is that adele song Helo! When it appears I see flashes of those ticket prices 700 euro!

Click to expand...

Have some sympathy for the men she writes her songs about; they all a disturbing bitter psycho stalker feel to them.

In all fairness Leper , I think that Rod doesn't fall into the category of " television made people "

Arguably the greatest white soul singer ever who according to Greil Marcus wasted his talent but before becoming bombastic & less than discerning in his choice of songs he gave us a few great years - Every picture tells a story is a truly brilliant album & the Faces were the ultimate good time band & it must be said that his recent album " Time " saw a welcome return to form , an artist who is definitely TV friendly but TV made - I would argue not.

I was interested in Noah's comment that initially he was offered 2 tickets in a useless location in the 3 Arena , having being in the venue I must say that I thought the sight lines were excellent from any vantage point , am I wrong ?

Leper said:

We are in an age where entertainment is governed by mega-named performers. The days of some country and western outfit performing or even local pantomime etc are events of the past and their days are numbered.

Click to expand...

Rubbish. My local residents association Panto runs for 3 weeks every year and sells out. Oh! yes it does.

Leper said:

The days of some country and western outfit performing or even local pantomime etc are events of the past and their days are numbered.

Click to expand...

So what's all this talk about the huge resurgence in C&W and sell out shows across the country?

Leper said:

The Irish public has been brainwashed by what is called entertainment. You have websites increasing ticket prices in seconds. They do this because they can. If the Irish public is so gullible, it deserves what it gets.

Click to expand...

The financial model for international entertainers has changed significantly in recent times. Previously, album sales were the real earner, and big tours were loss leaders that server to promote those albums. Now, with streaming and digital services legal and illegal, it's the tours that are the money makers.

Promoters will always look to make the maximum from any event, and pricing will be set in advance based on perceived demand. That's their job, it's their responsibility. There's national outrage if stage agencies such as NAMA are thought to be selling off assets or services for less than the market might be prepared to pay, yet somehow elements of the private sector should be expected to sell their products for less?

If people don't like the model, then just don't pay the prices for the big shows. If demand falls, prices will follow.