Fixing Ticket Buying

What Sucks?

Nothing sucks more than buying tickets so I figured I'd come out of the gate HOT. As I type this on January 19th there is a decent chance the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills meet in Atlanta in 10 days to play the AFC Championship Game. The NFL made select tickets available via Ticketmaster to season ticket members of both teams through timed presale access. I was fortunate enough to get a presale code for the second time window. I logged on, got in the digital queue, and waited for my opportunity to scour what remained after the first presale window.

Buying tickets is stressful. If you are the ticket planner then you have friends and family asking what's happening and making requests on seat location, budget, and other minutiae. Not to mention Ticketmaster updates what is available in real-time, adding to the anxiety levels and short circuiting even the best laid plans.

I’m no stranger to the Ticketmaster process, but I was shocked at what unfolded when I went to buy these AFC Championship Game tickets. Some particulars: I was looking for at least six seats, all together, for around $600 each or less. I figured I was doomed to the upper deck but was hopeful I could get lower row tickets in a section between the 20-yard lines. Worst case I figured I could buy a set of four and then supplement with a pair in a nearby section. I did not have the earliest presale access but I was in the second group so I felt confident I could get what I wanted.

There is always an early curveball. A password reset. Problems logging in. Multi-factor authentication. Text or email verification. It happens to the best of us. This time around the text message verification got me. Fortunately, I sidestepped this early obstacle and moved to the next phase – the digital queue. I assumed my place ‘in line’ as number 986 then waited. 750… 600… more waiting… then a jolt of lightning all the way up to number 150. The excitement was stirring. Number 57… then one person in front of you, you’re next! Finally, I was in! The excitement melted into hurried confusion as my eyes scanned the ticket map in front of me.

Failing to prepare is preparing to fail so I made sure I had my presale access code copied. I had my filters in mind. Hint: ALWAYS toggle to ‘Show Prices with Fees’ so you know what you’re in for as you talk yourself into higher and higher prices during the buying process. As I went through my mental checklist, I quickly realized there would be no time for deliberation or comparison. Whatever was available fitting my parameters would need to be purchased immediately. Entire sections were evaporating from the availability map. No chance I was getting six together. How about four? Maybe if I wanted end zone seats or was willing to pay upwards of $1,000 apiece for lower-level seats. Pairs! That’s the answer. Just grab three sets of pairs, add to cart, and be happy with what got.

And then… total, complete despair.

If you watch the third video to the right carefully enough, you can actually see the moment when it hit me. At best, I needed to pivot my strategy and at worst I’d be left scouring the highly inflated remains of the secondary ticket market hoping to find a set of tickets that didn’t blow the budget entirely out of the water. The messages from friends went unread on my cell. I decided to check out the secondary market on Seat Geek to see what I was up against. To my surprise the prices were competitive with the face value rates I had seen on Ticketmaster and there seemed to be decent availability. I pounced on a set of four tickets in the visitor’s side corner in row six. I knew I needed more than four but at least I could fall back on these knowing I got a decent deal.

Back on Ticketmaster I realized that I had not checked the ‘Include Verified Resale' tickets button, which allows buyers to view face value tickets alongside tickets that have already made their way to the secondary market. The check box was not available until after I entered my presale code, which is why I never bothered to check it earlier. Reinvigorated and buoyed by the newfound set of secondary market inventory I went on the hunt. Jackpot! Four tickets a few rows back from the set I bought on Seat Geek. They were a little more expensive but when averaged across the tickets the price per ticket was right in line with my budget. I quickly selected the four tickets and clicked ‘Continue’ to make my purchase.

‘Sorry! Another fan beat you to these tickets, so they're no longer available. Please select another listing, or adjust your criteria and try again.'

That quick?! That feeling of despair started bubbling up again. And then a glimmer of hope… six tickets, albeit nowhere near the originals, at the right price and location. Around the 15-yard line, visitor’s side, row 13. Not great I thought, but there was no time to dwell on it. Luckily, no other fan had instantaneously selected the same group of tickets and I was able to move on in the process and make the purchase. In the end I have ten tickets at an average price of $417 each. I’m happy with what I have and grateful I’ll have the opportunity to be in the building should that game be played. But that experience sucked.

How to Fix It

So, what can be done? We as fans already have secondary ticket marketplaces that sheered away power and control from Ticketmaster and the issuing teams and leagues. Ticketmaster, to its credit, does an admirable job shielding its team and league partners from scrutiny. The digital queue concept is a good way of helping to set expectations at the outset of the ticket buying process. Even the timed presale windows make sense and help reduce the likelihood of the site crashing from too much traffic all at once. But, surely more can be done to help fans.

The first change I would make would be to allow buyers to preset filters. I should not have to waste precious time toggling the ‘Show Prices With Fees’ button for every event. The same goes for setting price ranges and the number of tickets. The next change I would make would be to add sortable filters to improve the search process. Right now, all Ticketmaster gives fans is the ‘Best Seats’ option and the ‘Lowest Price’ option. But what if I want moderately priced tickets in a decent location? Fans should be able to sort inventory by individual section, groups of sections, and row ranges. And all these parameters should also be available to preset before logging on to purchase. That way upon gaining access I know I will be looking at whatever is available based on my specific needs and parameters. And please, for the love of all that is good in this world, can I get a ‘Compare’ button? A quick snapshot view at the sections, rows, seat numbers, and all-inclusive cost of up to four sets of tickets.

What is so sad and frustrating about the ticket buying experience is that none of these simple changes requires any new technology or a drastic rebuild of the Ticketmaster buying platform. I could write another 1,500 words on real technological improvements or how big data could be used to improve ticket buying but that’s another post for another day.

For now, I leave you as I left Ticketmaster earlier today. Burnt out. Exhausted. Relieved. And resigned to the fact I know I’ll do it all again soon. Just this morning the NFL announced the Bills will be playing a game in London. Can't wait for that ticket buying fiasco!

Thanks for reading!