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Post by BurlyBeaR on Dec 27, 2017 18:38:51 GMT
So it looks like this is very much a thing now. Evidence of it in the Tina and Bat Out Of Hell threads amongst other productions past and present so thought it could merit a thread of its own.
I do think its a damned nerve when customers who are prepared to commit to purchasing tickets even before a show opens are drip fed seats which might not be the best available or don’t give the widest choice of prices. I’m sure there’s some very logical marketing strategy behind it and someone will come along and tell us what that is, but at face value it smacks very much of getting shot of the “rubbish” by selling it to the eager beavers.
Tell me I’m wrong?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2017 18:52:26 GMT
someone will come along and tell us It's a disincentive to touting - if people know more tickets will be released at a later date, they're less likely to pay over the top prices for shows that sell well. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2017 18:55:30 GMT
For shows that are less likely to sell well, it could be used to shape demand, and encourage people to book for an early show, encouraging strong opening sales and word of mouth etc.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2017 19:09:40 GMT
which might not be the best available or don’t give the widest choice of prices. Bat is performing just shy of 17 weeks next year, 8 shows a week in a 2,069 seat theatre. That approximates at something close to 280,000 tickets. It will be one hell of a task to shift these. I've just checked the dates for Meat Loaf's last UK tour, which took in 11 UK dates - for the sake of easy maths, I'll say 15,000 tickets a night - 165,000 over the whole country. The musical, which doesn't move, would have to be substantially more popular than the artist it's paying tribute to. So, holding off the rear circle from sale makes sense, just in terms of getting people close to the stage, and rear stalls are still available at £35 (from memory). There may be a little bit of penny pinching going on in keeping the front three rows off sale from now, but equally, they could just be there for dayseats and offers later on. |
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Post by Phantom of London on Dec 27, 2017 19:09:51 GMT
I think this is outrageous and borderline fraud and hate being MANIPULATED to get cash and of me, I think this is an issue that Trading Standards should take up.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2017 19:14:01 GMT
It's nothing remotely close to that. No shop has an obligation to tell you when they're planning to lower their prices. |
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Post by Jon on Dec 27, 2017 19:50:25 GMT
Aren't tickets held back as producers don't know what sightlines will be like as well until closer to opening.
Holding back tickets isn't exclusive to the commercial sector either. The National holds back tickets for shows and holds some for dayseats and Friday Rush as do the Almeida.
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Post by floorshow on Dec 27, 2017 20:08:29 GMT
someone will come along and tell us It's a disincentive to touting - if people know more tickets will be released at a later date, they're less likely to pay over the top prices for shows that sell well. I can't think of anything that has announced and released tickets with some kind of 'loads more available later' announcement - it doesn't make any sense for producers, ticket agents or punters :/ |
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Post by Phantom of London on Dec 27, 2017 20:43:27 GMT
It's nothing remotely close to that. No shop has an obligation to tell you when they're planning to lower their prices. It is the same San when you see a shop decked across the storefront, ‘everything must go, 70% off, must close Sunday’. Only to return several months later to find the business still trading. |
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Dec 27, 2017 20:50:22 GMT
someone will come along and tell us It's a disincentive to touting - if people know more tickets will be released at a later date, they're less likely to pay over the top prices for shows that sell well. If not selling tickets to customers who wish to buy them is the best they can come up with to stop touting then things must be in a bad way. Sorry, I’m not really buying that as a reason. |
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Post by grannyjx6 on Dec 27, 2017 22:39:19 GMT
I know this is a bit different but I've noticed in my local theatre and also the smaller concert venue (not arenas) that they both now only sell tickets for stalls and circle until they have sold a set amount (unless it's a show that is almost guaranteed to sell out quickly). Only then do they put the balcony seats up for sale. In the past I would book the cheapest tickets for a midweek show, hoping to be upgraded, but can't do that now.
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Post by shady23 on Dec 27, 2017 23:44:04 GMT
This happens a lot these days. I suppose from their point of view as well its not great for the performers if all the more expensive front stalls seats are empty as we have all opted for the cheap seats at the back.
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Post by ali973 on Dec 27, 2017 23:56:13 GMT
I also think besides a marketing game and "tricking" people into believing that it's sold - there's a mathematical formula they've developed whereby they have a better advance and more volume sold this way instead of scattered sales throughout the run. They need to be able to guarantee a solid advance if they were to float and keep shows alive. I completely understand the rationale behind releasing a certain batch from the ticket inventory before everything is released. There's a difference between them showing shows as "sold out" vs these tickets not being available in the first place.
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Post by daniel on Dec 28, 2017 8:08:46 GMT
For me it's a balance - I don't have an issue with them holding off seats, as long as all price points are still available. If you want to hold off the rear circle until the house is more full then that's fine, but make sure that the rear circle prices are available elsewhere. As has been discussed on here before, Wimbledon do this - if the Upper is closed, they re-price the back row(s) of the stalls to £15. Fair enough.
The moral issue arises when seats are being held off sale to push people into booking more expensive seats. This sucks and shouldn't be allowed.
This also leads to a slightly off-topic point about pricing- it really bugs me when theatres publish "tickets from £x", only there aren't any seats at that price. Whether they've been held off sale or sold or whatever, the currently available prices should be the ones displayed.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 28, 2017 8:37:14 GMT
I once went to a theatre that had closed the upper levels because of poor sales and tried to sell me a higher-priced ticket, but I insisted that if they were advertising seats at the lower price then they should actually be selling them because I wouldn't have travelled to the theatre if I'd known in advance that I'd have to pay stalls prices. They gave in and sold me a stalls seat at a front-balcony price.
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Post by frankubelik on Dec 28, 2017 9:15:33 GMT
This just adds weight to my theory that NO show is ever "sold out" in advance. As an ex- theatre pro, in my day box offices HAD to have "holds" which were usually released on the day of performance. These were for producers, investors, named talent etc plus their OWN keeps for any last minute problems. I cannot imagine this practice would have declined in any way. Ticket agencies make mistakes and seats have to be kept back for any unforeseen problems. Can you imagine refusing a "star" seats to a production they are appearing in?  |
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Post by floorshow on Dec 29, 2017 9:23:56 GMT
This just adds weight to my theory that NO show is ever "sold out" in advance. As an ex- theatre pro, in my day box offices HAD to have "holds" which were usually released on the day of performance. These were for producers, investors, named talent etc plus their OWN keeps for any last minute problems. I cannot imagine this practice would have declined in any way. Ticket agencies make mistakes and seats have to be kept back for any unforeseen problems. Can you imagine refusing a "star" seats to a production they are appearing in? I always prefer hanging on for these to be released for a sold out performance rather than head to the usual secondary places for tix - you do need to hold your nerve, put the effort in and still be prepared to miss out. |
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Post by ellie1981 on Dec 29, 2017 9:30:53 GMT
This just adds weight to my theory that NO show is ever "sold out" in advance. As an ex- theatre pro, in my day box offices HAD to have "holds" which were usually released on the day of performance. These were for producers, investors, named talent etc plus their OWN keeps for any last minute problems. I cannot imagine this practice would have declined in any way. Ticket agencies make mistakes and seats have to be kept back for any unforeseen problems. Can you imagine refusing a "star" seats to a production they are appearing in? I always prefer hanging on for these to be released for a sold out performance rather than head to the usual secondary places for tix - you do need to hold your nerve, put the effort in and still be prepared to miss out. The thing with that is that’s very easy to say for people like myself - childless & live and work near to theatres so if I don’t get lucky, I just go home and try again another day. It’s not quite as easy for others who need to plan ahead. |
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