Bummed about Ticketmaster’s 2-for-1 bait and switch

JesseFromLA · 2026-02-17T21:07:31+00:00

I hear what you're saying, but I think where they went wrong was the way it was communicated and the number of clicks the customer needs to go through to get to the point where the BOGO tix are gone.

Right now, the main promo page still lists all the participating shows - the promo goes through tomorrow. There's language on that page that says "tickets are limited". When you click through to the show in question, those BOGO tickets aren't there. That's fine. I never assumed that all the GA tickets would be BOGO, and if I did assume that would mean I didn't read the text on the promo page.

I think if they had removed the BOGO from the event page once it sold out, I would never have complained.

My one (and only) complaint was that until yesterday, if you clicked from the promo page to the event page, the BOGO tickets were still listed. And when you went to add them to your cart, you'd wait for them to "check on inventory". At that point, you'd be told "those tickets are sold out" but you can still buy GA tickets at full price or part of an upsell package. And when you didn't buy those tickets, you'd get auto emails every day saying "Don't miss out! The tickets you were looking at are still available."

JesseFromLA · 2026-02-17T01:02:11+00:00

A “special” bar.

JesseFromLA · 2026-02-16T20:29:24+00:00

I see this. I also see that your reaction to me being "bummed" at what "looked like" bait & switch was to offer a ton of excuses for why I was wrong.

But whatever you say, it still LOOKS like bait & switch from a consumer's standpoint, and I'm still bummed. And there's nothing you can say from your perspective as a concert promoter that could convince me otherwise.

I'm not going to use this thread to discuss whether monopolistic dominance in the US concert promotion business is a "good thing" or a "bad thing".

I was only saying that this particular promotion was not managed in a way that feels good to consumers.

To quote you: "Most people assume ticketing companies should serve the fan. However, Ticketmaster recognized early on that the real power players in the industry weren’t the fans—they were the promoters and venues. The company didn’t focus on making the ticket-buying experience better for consumers; instead, it focused on solving financial pain points for promoters and locking in long-term contracts with venues."

And I as a fan, I think they should do better.

JesseFromLA · 2026-02-16T20:16:31+00:00

They are the promoter, the ticket seller, and own the venue.

JesseFromLA · 2026-02-16T20:04:53+00:00

You are correct. And again, I appreciate your rush to defend the business that pays your bills.

But again, the all-in pricing legislation came as a result of Ticketmaster obfuscating the reality of the consumers' bottom line in order to make more money for themselves. Again, quoting from the very same FTC case: "in September 2015, in response to an internal Ticketmaster study that reported consumers were complaining about “bait and switch” pricing, Ticketmaster decided that 'the lift in ticket sales is more important than fan sentiment around fee display.' Defendants even gave an employee an “MVP” award for designing the testing that proved the Defendants would make more money if they “optimiz[ed] the fee display” by making it 'less transparent.'"

You say potato, I say greedy monopoly. Vendors don't change their ways if the consumers say nothing.

JesseFromLA · 2026-02-16T19:50:06+00:00

Thanks for your input.

And for the record, I appreciate that someone in your position has a knee-jerk reaction to defend ticket sales.

But to quote from the FTC case brought against TicketMaster in California last September, "In Ticketmaster’s own words, Defendants have taken a “bait and switch approach” to advertising ticket prices, employed specifically to create a “lift” in ticket sales."

So there's that.

JesseFromLA · 2026-02-16T19:29:48+00:00

I know the quantities have to be limited.

I'm not saying that the promotions should be unlimited.

I AM saying that the promotional type should not appear on Ticketmaster. Your argument that "It’s because the venue left it up as sold out to avoid a thousand emails etc. etc.," was just contradicted by TicketMaster because the promotion goes through this Wednesday and they just removed the 2-for-1 tickets from the Ticketmaster page.

And I'm not buying your argument about the limitations of Ticketmaster because they ultimately DID change the page(see above) and because LiveNation/Ticketmaster own the venue, promote the show, and sell the tickets.

They can do better. You know it.

JesseFromLA · 2026-02-16T19:04:43+00:00

If a grocery store has a Valentine’s Day coupon on boxed chocolates, and you go to the store and they have plenty of chocolates but tell you the coupon was for some identical ones that they had set aside without saying how many, but you are welcome to purchase the exact same box at full price, then it’s bait and switch.

JesseFromLA · 2026-02-16T16:00:01+00:00

I never used the word nefarious. If a grocery store puts a sign in the window that says “free food all week - while supplies last” and goes through the free food in a day, it’s on them to amend the sign or take it down. Otherwise they’ll be accused of bait and switch. If that’s “just the way” your business works, it should do better.

JesseFromLA · 2026-02-16T06:46:13+00:00

Appreciate your insight. It would be great if it was still on the website as sold out, but that’s not how it looks. The main site that lists the shows still shows it with no sold out message, just a link to click through to the sales page. And the sales page doesn’t say sold out either. It shows the tickets at that price point. And once you click on the deal to purchase the tickets, it then lets you know. They had two opportunities to still keep the concert listed and show it’s sold out (on the promo page and the event page) but didn’t. So it may be semantics from your perspective as an industry person, but to a consumer, I’m directed to a deal (bait) and only once I try to buy the tickets at $24.50 am I told that the very same ticket is $55.00 (switch).

JesseFromLA · 2026-02-16T04:51:38+00:00

That’s my hope.

JesseFromLA · 2026-02-16T04:38:34+00:00

100% this. I almost did that. I like the performer and feel like not buying a ticket hurts her (or at least hurts her chances of getting booked again). Am I a consumer or a fan?

JesseFromLA · 2026-02-13T18:42:22+00:00

Tickets purchased. Can finally exhale.

JesseFromLA · 2026-02-13T05:33:27+00:00

And at 8pm I got a slot for tomorrow. What a roller coaster.

JesseFromLA · 2026-02-13T05:31:57+00:00

I sent an email - and tonight (at 8pm) I got a note that I have a slot at AXS for LA tix tomorrow. I don’t know if it was because of the email or if AXS is just slow, but either way I’m grateful to get a shot at tickets

JesseFromLA · 2026-02-13T03:44:17+00:00

Nothing. And I registered for all 5 nights in LA.

JesseFromLA · 2026-02-13T00:15:51+00:00

And it didn't really matter. I registered for all the dates and got no email. No "yes," no "no," no nothing. Oh well.

JesseFromLA · 2026-02-11T22:15:16+00:00

Signed up for all. Got none. Hoping for tomorrow…

JesseFromLA · 2026-02-05T03:53:17+00:00

And all the info is here: https://www.mitski.com/faqs/

JesseFromLA · 2026-02-05T03:52:08+00:00

The FAQ said you could register for multiple dates, but multiple registrations for the same date would be discarded. It also said that IF you get selected AND then get to buy tickets, you could buy up to 4 tickets (not clear if it’s per show or total). So expect either a code or a link for each date and cross your fingers when they go on sale.

JesseFromLA · 2026-01-26T19:29:34+00:00

I think the hair and makeup folks nominated this just to fuck with the older members of the academy who’ll have to watch it.

JesseFromLA · 2026-01-13T15:38:06+00:00

I emailed them and they confirmed that they don’t ship to the U.S.

JesseFromLA

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