Reseller Reprobate Alert

There’s a must-read article at Butts In The Seats about the nagging peril of ticket spoofing which is when disreputable individuals prey on your potential ticket buyers by presenting themselves as legitimate vendors for your events. You’ve likely seen adds whether you knew it or not, especially at outlets like Facebook.

ADAPTISTRATION-GUY-122In short, these scam artists bilk ticket buyers with exorbitant fees, treat buyers poorly, and let you deal with the ugly aftermath.

As if selling tickets wasn’t enough of a challenge.

Patti recounts a recent instance at his performing arts organization and how he assisted a ticket buyer who inadvertently fell victim to one of these predators and ended up paying over $120 for two ticket that should have only cost her $43.

The article well worth your time and I’m curious to hear from box office and marketing pros out there about any of your encounters with these reseller reprobates.

About Drew McManus

"I hear that every time you show up to work with an orchestra, people get fired." Those were the first words out of an executive's mouth after her board chair introduced us. That executive is now a dear colleague and friend but the day that consulting contract began with her orchestra, she was convinced I was a hatchet-man brought in by the board to clean house.

I understand where the trepidation comes from as a great deal of my consulting and technology provider work for arts organizations involves due diligence, separating fact from fiction, interpreting spin, as well as performance review and oversight. So yes, sometimes that work results in one or two individuals "aggressively embracing career change" but far more often than not, it reinforces and clarifies exactly what works and why.

In short, it doesn't matter if you know where all the bodies are buried if you can't keep your own clients out of the ground, and I'm fortunate enough to say that for more than 15 years, I've done exactly that for groups of all budget size from Qatar to Kathmandu.

For fun, I write a daily blog about the orchestra business, provide a platform for arts insiders to speak their mind, keep track of what people in this business get paid, help write a satirical cartoon about orchestra life, hack the arts, and love a good coffee drink.

Related Posts

Leave a Comment