Alice UK presale 10am tomorrow

[Si]

I don't know in the UK but here in the United States, ticketmaster will now change prices depending on the day and an hour. You may buy a set in the 15th row for 200 dollars and the person sitting next to you paid a 100. Unless a show is in danger of a quick sell-out, there really is not a lot of advantages to a Pre-sale these days.

That happens here but only to the really huge acts (so far). Alice hasn't been effected (yet).
What they do here is raise the price to any non-VIP tickets near the front and call them "premium tickets" or similar, selling them at double or more the advertised price, effectively scalping their own tickets to stop the scalpers... Then, if they don't sell at that price they will reduce them months later to the normal price to shift them.
So you do still get the situation of someone paying much more for a seat then the person next to them, even without having VIPs in the equation.
My views on BOTH practices are unprintable here...

[VinceRaven]

I don't know in the UK but here in the United States, ticketmaster will now change prices depending on the day and an hour. You may buy a set in the 15th row for 200 dollars and the person sitting next to you paid a 100. Unless a show is in danger of a quick sell-out, there really is not a lot of advantages to a Pre-sale these days.

That happens here but only to the really huge acts (so far). Alice hasn't been effected (yet).
What they do here is raise the price to any non-VIP tickets near the front and call them "premium tickets" or similar, selling them at double or more the advertised price, effectively scalping their own tickets to stop the scalpers... Then, if they don't sell at that price they will reduce them months later to the normal price to shift them.
So you do still get the situation of someone paying much more for a seat then the person next to them, even without having VIPs in the equation.
My views on BOTH practices are unprintable here...

What makes it worse is that it would be relatively easy to regulate ticket sales to a much higher standard.

As has been said many times, purchasing tickets is a miserable experience these days and has been for some time now.

[ElectedPlus]

Speaking of miserable experiences, the ticketmaster presale is now on, with a continuous loading wheel for 60 mins..

Now it’s gone but no way to proceed…

[VinceRaven]

I know someone with access to the OVO presale for the Glasgow Hydro on Ticketmaster yesterday and they told me that they got nothing but the wheel. Had to use a different presale.

[Si]

I know someone with access to the OVO presale for the Glasgow Hydro on Ticketmaster yesterday and they told me that they got nothing but the wheel. Had to use a different presale.

There were issues with the AEG/AXS presale yesterday with stuck loading screens, and also if you did get in and you didn't like the tickets THEY selected for you you can no longer click "try again" or "go back" as in previous years. The only way to get off the screen was to reload, putting you back in the queue again. And if you had to do this two many times you then got a site ban for being a suspected scalper... despite having not bought ANYTHING"
You'd think a company that rakes in the money they do could have a properly working and stress-tested system after all these years...

On the upside, dealing directly with the EventIM site yesterday (for London show) was a dream. No queues, pick your exact seat, paypal check out - All worked perfectly and was done in a matter of minutes.

[ElectedPlus]

I can’t see a way to purchase tickets through the eventim site, all I see is a notice to say tickets go on sale tomorrow.
Am I missing something?

[Si]

I can’t see a way to purchase tickets through the eventim site, all I see is a notice to say tickets go on sale tomorrow.
Am I missing something?

Are you registered on their site? If not that could be why you don't see anything.
I was registered with them (I register with all the likely AC UK venues) and I got an email yesterday morning with the link. It didn't show anything available until exactly 10AM when the page changed and showed tickets available to buy. But I had to be signed into the site to see that.

[ElectedPlus]

That would be it, thanks Si. I think their presale is finished but I’m ready to see what’s available tomorrow.

[Si]

That would be it, thanks Si. I think their presale is finished but I’m ready to see what’s available tomorrow.

I would advise everyone to sign up to all the obvious UK venues you would go to (ie anywhere that hosts average to large concerts) in advance. This probably goes for US etc as well. Anywhere Alice could play in your area.
Sure, you WILL get spammed once or twice a week with their newsletters, but it does mean that if there IS any advance notice or pre-sales you will have access to them.

[Saint&Sinner]

Are you registered on their site? If not that could be why you don't see anything.
I was registered with them (I register with all the likely AC UK venues) and I got an email yesterday morning with the link. It didn't show anything available until exactly 10AM when the page changed and showed tickets available to buy. But I had to be signed into the site to see that.

god damn, wish i knew that this morning. had a very annoying morning trying to get a seat. i got a rubbish seat (row Y) but that was the best i could get without paying eye wateringly stupid money.
I hate this whole seated business.

[killer wolf]

That would be it, thanks Si. I think their presale is finished but I’m ready to see what’s available tomorrow.

I would advise everyone to sign up to all the obvious UK venues you would go to (ie anywhere that hosts average to large concerts) in advance. This probably goes for US etc as well. Anywhere Alice could play in your area.
Sure, you WILL get spammed once or twice a week with their newsletters, but it does mean that if there IS any advance notice or pre-sales you will have access to them.

i got nothing from hydro this time :-(

[VinceRaven]

I know someone with access to the OVO presale for the Glasgow Hydro on Ticketmaster yesterday and they told me that they got nothing but the wheel. Had to use a different presale.

There were issues with the AEG/AXS presale yesterday with stuck loading screens, and also if you did get in and you didn't like the tickets THEY selected for you you can no longer click "try again" or "go back" as in previous years. The only way to get off the screen was to reload, putting you back in the queue again. And if you had to do this two many times you then got a site ban for being a suspected scalper... despite having not bought ANYTHING"
You'd think a company that rakes in the money they do could have a properly working and stress-tested system after all these years...

On the upside, dealing directly with the EventIM site yesterday (for London show) was a dream. No queues, pick your exact seat, paypal check out - All worked perfectly and was done in a matter of minutes.

This is another thing that really bugs me. Buy a ticket for any theatre performance or any cinema (that has allocated seating) and you get to pick your seat. It's a scandal that they hardly ever offer that service for gigs. The technology is there and they choose not to use it.

[Si]

This is another thing that really bugs me. Buy a ticket for any theatre performance or any cinema (that has allocated seating) and you get to pick your seat. It's a scandal that they hardly ever offer that service for gigs. The technology is there and they choose not to use it.

I could be wrong, but I think that sometimes the option to select your seat is not available when the tickets initially go on sale, but its instated sometime after that.
I'm sure that in the past I've been on a site when the tickets go "live" and there hasn't been that option, but when I've checked back a week or so later after the rush there it is.
(The EventIM site allowed you to select your seat, Ticketmaster/AEG did not.)

I would presume they would claim it's done to speed up the operation and get as many people through the payment as quick as possible. That's fair enough but it does take away customer choice, and when paying a LOT of money you should have that choice.

It's also worth noting that their choice of "best available" is very rarely actually the best seat they have not yet sold. Their opinion of "best" is very suspect.

And lastly while I'm on a roll.. It annoys the hell out of me that if you want just one ticket and you CAN select your choice of seat, many site will simply refuse to sell you just that one ticket if it will leave an isolate seat unsold!! They try and force you to buy both seats or lose it! Several times for shows (not specifically Alice) I've not been able to buy a front row ticket because the site refuses to sell me the just one ticket.
This DID happen to be on Wednesday, although it was front balcony not stalls. Again, I know why they do it (to avoid leaving one isolate seat) but generally that one remaining seat WILL be sold as well, so it's just an annoyance, especially when the next best is several rows further back.

[steven_crayn]

Is there a trend that one presale, historically, has the better seats available … axs (that ac.com) links to or ticketmaster.
Or is there no real difference.

Generally none of them have any decent seats unless you are buying VIPs etc.

As a matter of interest i got good tickets for Leeds and London on the Wednesday pre sale, but also had a look today on the main sale and the tickets weren’t as good, so pre sale still a better option than waiting until main sale.

[Si]

As a matter of interest i got good tickets for Leeds and London on the Wednesday pre sale, but also had a look today on the main sale and the tickets weren’t as good, so pre sale still a better option than waiting until main sale.

I don't think you can say that is *always* true. It seems very random, which is why it's such a mess.
There have certainly been times in the past when the general onsale throws up better tickets then what you get offered in presale. And then on top you have times when better tickets suddenly go on sale weeks or even months after the initial onsale date (I've bought a second row center a week before a show at face value!).
It's a nightmare now, because whatever point you bite the bullet and pay your money, there is no guarantee that 24 hours later a MUCH better ticket won't become available, possibly cheaper, even via the same seller.

There are also multiple presales going live at the same time. On Wednesday there was the AC.com and some venue presales. Thursday there was ticketmaster and other venue presales, and Friday the official onsale. And that doesn't even include the various credit card/utility/phone presales that go on.

[VinceRaven]

As a matter of interest i got good tickets for Leeds and London on the Wednesday pre sale, but also had a look today on the main sale and the tickets weren’t as good, so pre sale still a better option than waiting until main sale.

I don't think you can say that is *always* true. It seems very random, which is why it's such a mess.
There have certainly been times in the past when the general onsale throws up better tickets then what you get offered in presale. And then on top you have times when better tickets suddenly go on sale weeks or even months after the initial onsale date (I've bought a second row center a week before a show at face value!).
It's a nightmare now, because whatever point you bite the bullet and pay your money, there is no guarantee that 24 hours later a MUCH better ticket won't become available, possibly cheaper, even via the same seller.

There are also multiple presales going live at the same time. On Wednesday there was the AC.com and some venue presales. Thursday there was ticketmaster and other venue presales, and Friday the official onsale. And that doesn't even include the various credit card/utility/phone presales that go on.

This is one of the most infuriating things. If you at least knew what the best outlet was going to be, you could make every effort to get tickets through that one. We never do though. Thus we have farcical situations of sitting with multiple windows open and trying to race through them to see what's available.

I should add that, for all my moaning on here, this was the first time in years that I was unavoidably busy elsewhere when the tickets went onsale, so I had to get a friend to suffer on my behalf. I then apologised for the stress I put them through.

[killer wolf]

This is another thing that really bugs me. Buy a ticket for any theatre performance or any cinema (that has allocated seating) and you get to pick your seat. It's a scandal that they hardly ever offer that service for gigs. The technology is there and they choose not to use it.

when i looked at hydro,the "artist presale" tickets just picked a seat for you. if you went to the "AES presale" or whatever the other one was, you got the map and the seat picker - BUT; the seats i saw were 2x price and it did that 'ing stupid **** of refusing to let you pick because "you left a single unoccupied seat next to yours".

[Prometheus77]

And lastly while I'm on a roll.. It annoys the hell out of me that if you want just one ticket and you CAN select your choice of seat, many site will simply refuse to sell you just that one ticket if it will leave an isolate seat unsold!! They try and force you to buy both seats or lose it! Several times for shows (not specifically Alice) I've not been able to buy a front row ticket because the site refuses to sell me the just one ticket.
This DID happen to be on Wednesday, although it was front balcony not stalls. Again, I know why they do it (to avoid leaving one isolate seat) but generally that one remaining seat WILL be sold as well, so it's just an annoyance, especially when the next best is several rows further back.

Yeah. It's like they want to punish you for going to a concert on your own. Like that is a crime. Assuming that all people only go to concerts in pairs. I usually buy tickets only for myself, so why should I be forced to buy the worse seat, just because I'm on my own? Now Ticketmaster also has that crappy Aisle seating, where the seats on the aisle cost more than the other seats, but the kicker is, you can't buy the 1st seat on the isle, even if that leaves nothing stranded, you have to buy the first 2 seats from the aisle. Who's that accounting asshole who dreams up this shit? At a concert I've been monitoring for prices to go down (which they did, across the board almost 50 %, another issue, platinum/dynamic tickets), they switched on that Aisle seating crap when they did and they had the second seat from the aisle available, with seat #1 and 3 from the aisle sold. The best seat by far. And when I wanted to buy it, it told me it's aisle seating and I have to pick 2 seats. But there only was this single seat left. I had to contact Ticketmaster 3 times before they escalated the situation to somebody who could actually sell me that single seat. Going to concert indeed has become a dreaful experience and I relish the day when I do't have to deal with Ticketbastard anymore.

[ElectedPlus]

It's such a shame, with so many different companies with skin in the game, it's impossible to know where to go. Do they all have a different set of seats they can sell? if so, which ones have the best seats? or do purchases feed into the same system that it doesn't quite matter where you purchase tix from? then of course, the presales...

Ultimately, they know how to pull the strings to make the ££'s, and Alice always puts on a hell of a show, so the audience walks away with a smile on their face. Broadly speaking, they sell tickets and make money for a great show which is great for them, but for the die hards who wants to see it all up close ... it's down to the luck of the draw. I can't see this changing.

[Si]

Can we please watch the language. I know it's an very emotive topic but there are rules against swearing on this board. There are ways of saying what you want to say without the profanity.
And no, it's not because I find it offensive or anything like that. It relates to how the site gets classed in some search engines etc. (or so I am told).

Thanks.