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Monday, June 15, 2009
News Concert tickets: Full of fees
Posted By Rhiannon Fionn-Bowman on Mon, Jun 15, 2009 at 1:35 PM
Sunday, The Charlotte Observer dug into the details on a quest to find out why concert tickets often end up costing twice the advertised price. One thing they discovered: The time to buy Live Nation tickets is Monday.
The “hidden” fees are part of a marketing strategy that has worked in dozens of industries, from phone companies to airlines.UNC Charlotte marketing professor Sunil Erevelles compared ticket fees to popcorn at a movie theater. People have a tendency to be relatively open to add-ons or options once they have decided to purchase a product, he wrote in an e-mail.
“There's some psychology involved here,” said Fred Campbell, a marketing professor at UNCC. “People see the price but don't see the total cost.”
In a reversal of that psychology, major ticketing firm Live Nation Inc. has found that waiving the fees can bring even more business.
On June 3, the company began a promotion offering no service fees for tickets bought that day. It sold five times as many tickets as an ordinary Wednesday. Live Nation is now going to continue the promotion every week, announcing the next one on Monday.
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