Whether it’s a night at the theater, a comedy show or a baseball game, Chattanooga entertainment venues say scammers are increasingly targeting local eventgoers with fake and overpriced ticket listings online.
Venue operators across the city say third-party ticket websites are charging customers significantly more than official ticket prices. In some cases, buyers may not even realize they were scammed because they still receive valid tickets.
The issue is affecting venues ranging from the Chattanooga Theatre Centre and Memorial Auditorium to The Comedy Catch and the Chattanooga Lookouts.
“An average ticket price here is anywhere between $20 and $30, and you’ll go on these third-party sites and they’re charging anywhere from $60 to, I’ve seen up to $180 per ticket,” said Danielle Alfano, co-owner of The Comedy Catch.
Alfano said the practice hurts both customers and small businesses while exploiting the work of performers.
“They’re able to pop up [at the] top of the Google search list, so people are clicking that and buying their tickets,” Alfano said. “Then the third-party site will triple charge and go buy the tickets at the correct price, and all that extra money is going in their pockets.”
Nick Wilkinson, CEO of the Tivoli Theatre Foundation, said the problem has existed for years and urged customers to buy tickets directly from official venue websites or box offices.
“It’s unfortunate and it’s very easy to do,” Wilkinson said.
Wilkinson said some third-party sellers not only inflate prices but occasionally sell illegitimate tickets.
The Chattanooga Theatre Centre has posted warnings on its website to alert customers about suspicious listings and inflated resale prices.
“$30 for a musical is suddenly $75 — that’s a clue,” said Kim Jackson with the Chattanooga Theatre Centre. “You’re not buying a ticket to the Chattanooga Theatre Centre. You are just giving a scammer some money.”
The Chattanooga Lookouts are also warning fans to pay attention to unusually high prices.
“We’re affordable family fun,” said Andrew Zito, vice president of the Chattanooga Lookouts. “We have tickets that start at $9 and no tickets more than $20 in the building, so if you’re seeing tickets for $40, $50, $60 — if something seems out of whack, it probably is.”
Some venue leaders are now calling for stricter regulations and greater transparency for online ticket resellers.
Alfano said she even contacted members of Congress about the issue.
“I wrote up a letter and sent it to Congress explaining the issues, how it’s affecting our community and small businesses,” Alfano said. “I even proposed ways to regulate them or ban them altogether. But I never heard anything back.”
Venue officials recommend customers buy tickets directly from official venue websites or by calling the box office to verify ticket information before purchasing.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.local3news.com ’
