What's up with HIGH TICKET PRICES so many VIP Seats???
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No point in complaining about ticket prices. These prices are what the market will bear. It is what it is. At any rate, I've only seen Paul twice and couldn't afford floor seats either time. In 2009, we paid something like $200 a ticket for a seat just off to the side of the stage and up in the stands, about 18 rows back. We could see Paul but he looked about 8 inches tall from that view. But guess what: We had an amazing time. Four years later in 2013, I wasn't willing to pay that much. So I paid $125 a ticket to sit much further away from Paul. And guess what: We had an amazing time. This is a matter of deciding what you can afford. As in so many other things in life, deserve's got nothing to do with it.
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True. I guess I'm just spoiled. After front row and 4th row before...for Greensboro I was 27th row. It was a great show and I had a blast. But still, the entire time I wished and wanted to be closer.
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RADIANCE:
Worst thing ever is seeing tickets ALREADY on StubHub for over $4000 each.
Most of those ultra-high-priced tickets on StubHub rarely get sold for those prices; sellers just list them that way, hoping they will find somebody who panic-buys. Many people who do purchase tickets from StubHub do so because they got completely shut out of an on-sale, and so they will watch the site until they find the tickets they want at a price point they can afford. Sometimes there are some good deals on StubHub days before a concert date, when sellers lower their prices rather than having an unsold ticket. And lots of performers, not just Paul, have opted to do the VIP package thing for the seats in the front rows. Many of their VIP tickets cost less than Paul's and may include soundchecks or meet-and-greets, and some include the mezzanine seats and not just the floor tickets. But they are still removing those seats from the face-value ticket pool and making it the only way to guarantee a really close seat. It's just the reality these days, sadly.
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Michelley:
No point in complaining about ticket prices. These prices are what the market will bear. It is what it is. At any rate, I've only seen Paul twice and couldn't afford floor seats either time. In 2009, we paid something like $200 a ticket for a seat just off to the side of the stage and up in the stands, about 18 rows back. We could see Paul but he looked about 8 inches tall from that view. But guess what: We had an amazing time. Four years later in 2013, I wasn't willing to pay that much. So I paid $125 a ticket to sit much further away from Paul. And guess what: We had an amazing time. This is a matter of deciding what you can afford. As in so many other things in life, deserve's got nothing to do with it.
Complaining and expressing oneself is part of the human condition. It is allowed. A person can even purchase a product and say, "Wow! That was expensive." It is OK to do it. I am not willing to pay these prices and travel and pay for food. As you said, I choose not to. And it is OK to come here and express that. No one said anything about "deserve." You added that. Fans some times feel they deserve some special compensation because they support an artist. If not for that support, Paul McCartney would not be a rich and famous Rock star.
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thenightfish:
RADIANCE:
Worst thing ever is seeing tickets ALREADY on StubHub for over $4000 each.
Most of those ultra-high-priced tickets on StubHub rarely get sold for those prices; sellers just list them that way, hoping they will find somebody who panic-buys. Many people who do purchase tickets from StubHub do so because they got completely shut out of an on-sale, and so they will watch the site until they find the tickets they want at a price point they can afford. Sometimes there are some good deals on StubHub days before a concert date, when sellers lower their prices rather than having an unsold ticket. And lots of performers, not just Paul, have opted to do the VIP package thing for the seats in the front rows. Many of their VIP tickets cost less than Paul's and may include soundchecks or meet-and-greets, and some include the mezzanine seats and not just the floor tickets. But they are still removing those seats from the face-value ticket pool and making it the only way to guarantee a really close seat. It's just the reality these days, sadly.
All true.
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RMartinez:
Michelley:
No point in complaining about ticket prices. These prices are what the market will bear. It is what it is. At any rate, I've only seen Paul twice and couldn't afford floor seats either time. In 2009, we paid something like $200 a ticket for a seat just off to the side of the stage and up in the stands, about 18 rows back. We could see Paul but he looked about 8 inches tall from that view. But guess what: We had an amazing time. Four years later in 2013, I wasn't willing to pay that much. So I paid $125 a ticket to sit much further away from Paul. And guess what: We had an amazing time. This is a matter of deciding what you can afford. As in so many other things in life, deserve's got nothing to do with it.
Complaining and expressing oneself is part of the human condition. It is allowed. A person can even purchase a product and say, "Wow! That was expensive." It is OK to do it. I am not willing to pay these prices and travel and pay for food. As you said, I choose not to. And it is OK to come here and express that. No one said anything about "deserve." You added that. Fans some times feel they deserve some special compensation because they support an artist. If not for that support, Paul McCartney would not be a rich and famous Rock star.
Who said you didn't have a right to moan? I just said it was pointless. That's my opinion. And it's OK to come here and express that one, too. To the point: The OP's entire post is about how longtime fans deserve the best seats and cheap tickets and how outraged she is by not being able to afford the best seats. And in fact, you just agreed, saying that fans deserve special compensation for being fans. And I think that's nonsense. Just because I've always admired and been a longtime fan of Jaguars and Mercedes doesn't mean I deserve to be able to buy one for less than the going rate. I don't support Paul's music because I want him to be a rich and famous rock star. I support his music when I like the music. But yes, anyone can complain here about ticket prices or about people complaining yet again about ticket prices. Or people complaining about people who complain about ticket prices.
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PaulsNumber1Fan:
Many years ago all the floor seats (or most) were Golden Circle and I paid $225 and got 4 seats, together 4th row center! Now the $254 seats go all the way up into the first elevated sections!!! AND it seems like any good, floor seats - anywhere near the stage are all VIP seats $1300 to $3000 a seat! What kind of way is that to treat your FANS??? I've been a fan since the "beginning of the BEATLES" which means I'm now a retired Grandma who can hardly afford $254 each for me and my husband I thought a FAN PRESALE would give Paul's true fans a bit of a break!?!? WHO DETERMINES TICKETS PRICES - IT'S REDICULOUS PAUL CERTAINLY DOES NOT NEED THE MONEY!!! COME ON PAUL - - - STICK UP FOR YOUR FANS ON PRICING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I saw Paul in Seattle in 2013 at Safeco Field. I got two 5th row floor seats from the fan presale at $250 each. I also saw him twice in 2014 (Missoula & SLC). For both of those shows, I was 3rd row floor, slightly right of center. Both shows were $250 ea.
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Michelley:
RMartinez:
Michelley:
No point in complaining about ticket prices. These prices are what the market will bear. It is what it is. At any rate, I've only seen Paul twice and couldn't afford floor seats either time. In 2009, we paid something like $200 a ticket for a seat just off to the side of the stage and up in the stands, about 18 rows back. We could see Paul but he looked about 8 inches tall from that view. But guess what: We had an amazing time. Four years later in 2013, I wasn't willing to pay that much. So I paid $125 a ticket to sit much further away from Paul. And guess what: We had an amazing time. This is a matter of deciding what you can afford. As in so many other things in life, deserve's got nothing to do with it.
Complaining and expressing oneself is part of the human condition. It is allowed. A person can even purchase a product and say, "Wow! That was expensive." It is OK to do it. I am not willing to pay these prices and travel and pay for food. As you said, I choose not to. And it is OK to come here and express that. No one said anything about "deserve." You added that. Fans some times feel they deserve some special compensation because they support an artist. If not for that support, Paul McCartney would not be a rich and famous Rock star.
Who said you didn't have a right to moan? I just said it was pointless. That's my opinion. And it's OK to come here and express that one, too. To the point: The OP's entire post is about how longtime fans deserve the best seats and cheap tickets and how outraged she is by not being able to afford the best seats. And in fact, you just agreed, saying that fans deserve special compensation for being fans. And I think that's nonsense. Just because I've always admired and been a longtime fan of Jaguars and Mercedes doesn't mean I deserve to be able to buy one for less than the going rate. I don't support Paul's music because I want him to be a rich and famous rock star. I support his music when I like the music. But yes, anyone can complain here about ticket prices or about people complaining yet again about ticket prices. Or people complaining about people who complain about ticket prices.
Here's the thing: there is a precedence set by Paul in the early 90s to offer great seats to fans before regular sales. I remember, because he used to do that for members of his fan club. Now, there really is nothing like that. In fact, there seems to be some sort of illusion that pre sales can get you the best seat, when they really don't. Which is fine. But there should be truth in advertising, don't you think? I am not saying Paul is doing this, but promoters and ticket agents are. I know, I know, that's just how it is. But no one has to suffer being scammed or deceived just because "that's the way it is."
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We agree to disagree, because pre-sales have gotten me fantastic seats. But of course I was willing to pay the price for them. Perhaps it would be better if all the close seats were $250 or something and there was no soundcheck, etc. package and we'd all be vying for the same price seats when the pre-sale begins.
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Nancy R:
We agree to disagree, because pre-sales have gotten me fantastic seats. But of course I was willing to pay the price for them. Perhaps it would be better if all the close seats were $250 or something and there was no soundcheck, etc. package and we'd all be vying for the same price seats when the pre-sale begins.
It seems to have gotten to be complicated, and there are many different sources for tickets, and it is sometimes unclear where to go to get what you want. I read of people buying the best seat they could get at the back of the arena, just to find out another source still has better seats available for the same price. Seems something like this could be handled better.
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Yeah, too many sources for tickets. I always use Ticketmaster and have had great success with them. Paul's site I've heard is too slow and can't handle the volume during pre-sales. When I went for my Memphis tickets I tried his site first and it wouldn't load, so I immediately went to Ticketmaster and got 4th row center. Next year went right to TM and got 3rd row center.
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There are good and bad things about the official PM.com pre-sales, via CrowdSurge. The good side is that you can guarantee a ticket (when the website works properly) during the pre-sale and don't have to worry about the general sale, in which the competition is usually higher. Another advantage is that sometimes the regular sale in a few countries is only available to those citizens, so the CrowdSurge pre-sale can be a life-saver for foreigners. The bad side is that the tickets offered in the CrowdSurge pre-sales are almost never in the best sections, such as at the center of the floor. The options and quantities are quite limited, usually at the side sections.
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Nancy R:
Yeah, too many sources for tickets. I always use Ticketmaster and have had great success with them.
Not all venues use Ticketmaster. Philly venue uses Comcasttix and I think the Columbia venue uses another vendor, too. So sometimes even getting VIP that way can be challenging. I used Crowdsurge last year to buy tix for friends going to the Ottawa concert. they wanted one of the side sections rather than the floor, and I was able to get exactly the seats they wanted. It did take a while, however; they didnt come up immediately; with Crowdsurge you do have to keep trying because it is on the crash-y side.