And . . .

• The comment of the month is from Kate and was in response to This Could End the Secondary Market as We Know It. 

I think another solution is one that I’ve seen work in London. The West End and Off-West End theaters there accept returns on tickets. As a ticket buyer, if I’ve purchased a ticket and can’t use it, I can return it to the box office for anywhere from a 50% to a full refund (minus a handling fee.) What that trains buyers to do is to return unused tickets to the theater instead of putting them onto the secondary market. What it trains buyers to do, also, is not buy tickets on the secondary market because a sold out show is rarely TRULY sold out. As long as they keep checking the official website each day, they can get the returned tickets at face value. And theaters benefit because, as they say, an empty seat doesn’t do a darned thing for word of mouth. Plus they get the extra handling fee and whatever percentage they hold back. Also, my experience at West End theaters is that they all ask for ID. It’s no big deal and totally acceptable. But additionally, they make it so easy to return tickets and buy return tickets that there is absolutely no reason to purchase or sell on the secondary market.

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