Complaint Review: TICKETNETWORK DIRECT/TICKET LIQUIDATORS - Internet Connecticut

I am responding to the comments left on May 1, 2009 by Betty, who was upset due to a number of issues. First, she didn't like the fact that the tickets she purchased were 5X their face value. Second, she was angry about lax delivery efforts and the frustration and worry they caused her. Point by point, let me break down Betty's argument and respond to it accordingly: First, Betty is angry because she bought 2 tickets for $79.00 each when they had a face value of $15.00 each. To start with, I should explain that TicketLiquidator does not own the tickets that are posted on our website. Those tickets are actually possessed by a wide number of different people and licensed ticket sellers across the country. These people then post the tickets they have for sale on our website for the public to view and (if they're so inclined) to purchase. In short, TicketLiquidator and other secondary market websites are like an Ebay for tickets. As such, we do not price the tickets on our website nor do we posses them or ship them out. In most cases, we don't even charge your credit card when you purchase through us. All that is handled by the individual seller, who lists and actually has the tickets. These sellers price the tickets for whatever they think the public is willing to pay. Apparently, someone guessed well, because Betty was willing to pay $79 for her tickets. However, that being said, we at TicketLiquidator do not want to "scam" anybody. As a result, we make it prominently known in our FAQ and "Terms and Conditions" that our ticket prices may be above face value. In fact, we openly encourage all customers to be intelligent consumers and to shop around for tickets actively before making a purchase decision. Specifically, due to the fact that primary market prices are usually cheaper, I recommend that you always, always, ALWAYS check Ticketmaster or the venue of your event for tickets first. Then, only then, if you can't get the seats you want, should you go to a secondary ticket website like TicketLiquidator and pay the possible mark-up fee. Indeed, among these secondary market ticket websites, TicketLiquidator generally boasts the cheapest prices and the most expansive service. Second, Betty is upset that her tickets didn't arrive "as promised" (not in time for her son's birthday) and that she was put through a great deal of hassle worrying about their delivery. To begin with, I'd like to say that I'm sorry the tickets didn't arrive in time for the birthday of Betty's son. I'm also sorry for the worry and hassle that Betty went through during her order experience. We at TicketLiquidator pride ourselves on our ability to make ticket ordering easy for customers. In fact, internal polling indicates that this is considered our strongest point. Regardless, the fact remains that various order issues caused problems for Betty and her family. I am sorry for that, but I do not believe Bette is fair in calling TicketLiquidator a "rip off." As a starting point, Betty claims that we didn't uphold our "promise" when it came to ticket delivery. In response, I point out that the TicketLiquidator "Terms and Conditions" state explicitly that tickets will arrive before their event -- that is our promise. We do not promise that the tickets will arrive X number of days/weeks before the event. We do not promise that tickets will arrive by a certain delivery method before the event. We simply promise that they will get to the customer concerned in time for the event. In Betty's case, the tickets arrived by e-mail 36 hours before the show. As a result, there is nowhere in her arrangement where we broke our promise. On that issue, Betty also complains that our tickets were not as "timely" in delivery as we said they'd be. After all, we require all our sellers to ship tickets via FedEx overnight or 2-day air. This fact often makes customers expect their tickets two-days after they ordered them. However, near-immediate delivery doesn't always happen for a wide number of reasons. Most typically, it is because of issues relating to ticket printing and so on. Indeed, tickets for events are not even printed or distributed by the venue/promoters until a few weeks (sometimes sooner) prior to the event itself. Consequently, it is unjust to call a ticket delivery "untimely" if one expects the seller to ship something he doesn't have yet. In Betty's mind, receiving tickets 36 hours before an event is not sufficiently "timely." But, that said, definitions of timeliness in delivery are always dependent upon product availability. But then, I can hear people ask, why bother to ship tickets via 2-day or 1-day FedEx at all? That's because the purpose of the FedEx policy is less about quick-delivery than it is about ticket security. Specifically, FedEx is a respectable shipping organizations that requires people to sign for their ticket package and that can deliver the ticket package speedily once it's finally available for distribution. Remember, tickets are one-of-a-kind items that cannot be replaced once they're lost or stolen and so utilizing an efficient and secure delivery service is the best means by which to guarantee a proper and successful delivery. As a result, FedEx delivery via TicketLiquidator does not mean that tickets will ship immediately after an order is confirmed. Indeed, although we'd love for that to be true, nowhere on our website do we promise that our tickets will ship within X number of hours after order confirmation. Unfortunately, the eclectic nature of the primary and secondary ticket markets means that we can't dictate for certain when any given tickets will ship. Nevertheless, the fact remains that there was evidently some sort of order confusion regarding Betty's order and that this order confusion caused Betty worry and her son disappointment. Clearly, Betty should not have had to call us as much as she claims she did and the unexplained uncertainty of her ticket arrival is something that was no doubt frustrating and annoying. Although, truthfully, I'd point out that there was no need for Betty to cancel a doctor's appointment when unsigned packages can always be picked up after-the-fact at a local FedEx facility. Regardless, for whatever reason, the ticket seller in this particular order seems to have experienced some delay getting the tickets to Betty and for this annoyance I must apologize to both her and her family. Ultimately, though, there was never any question of whether or not Betty would get what she ordered and I'm sure she was told this on numerous occasions by our representatives. Indeed, we would hardly be one of the largest and oldest secondary ticket market websites in the country if we did not fulfill our order obligations. However, at the end of the day, I'll just point out two things: First, the high satisfaction rate of TicketLiquidator indicates that errors in ticket delivery are rare occurrences. Second, the fact remains that Betty received her tickets per the TicketLiquidator guarantee. Once again, I'm truly sorry for all the worry Betty experienced due to the aforementioned order issues, but, considering that her order was fulfilled and that she was able to attend the event she paid to see, I don't see any reason why her frustration justifies calling our entire company (and, indeed, affiliates she has no profession of buying from) a rip off."

I am responding to the comments left on May 1, 2009 by Betty, who was upset due to a number of issues. First, she didn't like the fact that the tickets she purchased were 5X their face value. Second, she was angry about lax delivery efforts and the frustration and worry they caused her. Point by point, let me break down Betty's argument and respond to it accordingly: First, Betty is angry because she bought 2 tickets for $79.00 each when they had a face value of $15.00 each. To start with, I should explain that TicketLiquidator does not own the tickets that are posted on our website. Those tickets are actually possessed by a wide number of different people and licensed ticket sellers across the country. These people then post the tickets they have for sale on our website for the public to view and (if they're so inclined) to purchase. In short, TicketLiquidator and other secondary market websites are like an Ebay for tickets. As such, we do not price the tickets on our website nor do we posses them or ship them out. In most cases, we don't even charge your credit card when you purchase through us. All that is handled by the individual seller, who lists and actually has the tickets. These sellers price the tickets for whatever they think the public is willing to pay. Apparently, someone guessed well, because Betty was willing to pay $79 for her tickets. However, that being said, we at TicketLiquidator do not want to "scam" anybody. As a result, we make it prominently known in our FAQ and "Terms and Conditions" that our ticket prices may be above face value. In fact, we openly encourage all customers to be intelligent consumers and to shop around for tickets actively before making a purchase decision. Specifically, due to the fact that primary market prices are usually cheaper, I recommend that you always, always, ALWAYS check Ticketmaster or the venue of your event for tickets first. Then, only then, if you can't get the seats you want, should you go to a secondary ticket website like TicketLiquidator and pay the possible mark-up fee. Indeed, among these secondary market ticket websites, TicketLiquidator generally boasts the cheapest prices and the most expansive service. Second, Betty is upset that her tickets didn't arrive "as promised" (not in time for her son's birthday) and that she was put through a great deal of hassle worrying about their delivery. To begin with, I'd like to say that I'm sorry the tickets didn't arrive in time for the birthday of Betty's son. I'm also sorry for the worry and hassle that Betty went through during her order experience. We at TicketLiquidator pride ourselves on our ability to make ticket ordering easy for customers. In fact, internal polling indicates that this is considered our strongest point. Regardless, the fact remains that various order issues caused problems for Betty and her family. I am sorry for that, but I do not believe Bette is fair in calling TicketLiquidator a "rip off." As a starting point, Betty claims that we didn't uphold our "promise" when it came to ticket delivery. In response, I point out that the TicketLiquidator "Terms and Conditions" state explicitly that tickets will arrive before their event -- that is our promise. We do not promise that the tickets will arrive X number of days/weeks before the event. We do not promise that tickets will arrive by a certain delivery method before the event. We simply promise that they will get to the customer concerned in time for the event. In Betty's case, the tickets arrived by e-mail 36 hours before the show. As a result, there is nowhere in her arrangement where we broke our promise. On that issue, Betty also complains that our tickets were not as "timely" in delivery as we said they'd be. After all, we require all our sellers to ship tickets via FedEx overnight or 2-day air. This fact often makes customers expect their tickets two-days after they ordered them. However, near-immediate delivery doesn't always happen for a wide number of reasons. Most typically, it is because of issues relating to ticket printing and so on. Indeed, tickets for events are not even printed or distributed by the venue/promoters until a few weeks (sometimes sooner) prior to the event itself. Consequently, it is unjust to call a ticket delivery "untimely" if one expects the seller to ship something he doesn't have yet. In Betty's mind, receiving tickets 36 hours before an event is not sufficiently "timely." But, that said, definitions of timeliness in delivery are always dependent upon product availability. But then, I can hear people ask, why bother to ship tickets via 2-day or 1-day FedEx at all? That's because the purpose of the FedEx policy is less about quick-delivery than it is about ticket security. Specifically, FedEx is a respectable shipping organizations that requires people to sign for their ticket package and that can deliver the ticket package speedily once it's finally available for distribution. Remember, tickets are one-of-a-kind items that cannot be replaced once they're lost or stolen and so utilizing an efficient and secure delivery service is the best means by which to guarantee a proper and successful delivery. As a result, FedEx delivery via TicketLiquidator does not mean that tickets will ship immediately after an order is confirmed. Indeed, although we'd love for that to be true, nowhere on our website do we promise that our tickets will ship within X number of hours after order confirmation. Unfortunately, the eclectic nature of the primary and secondary ticket markets means that we can't dictate for certain when any given tickets will ship. Nevertheless, the fact remains that there was evidently some sort of order confusion regarding Betty's order and that this order confusion caused Betty worry and her son disappointment. Clearly, Betty should not have had to call us as much as she claims she did and the unexplained uncertainty of her ticket arrival is something that was no doubt frustrating and annoying. Although, truthfully, I'd point out that there was no need for Betty to cancel a doctor's appointment when unsigned packages can always be picked up after-the-fact at a local FedEx facility. Regardless, for whatever reason, the ticket seller in this particular order seems to have experienced some delay getting the tickets to Betty and for this annoyance I must apologize to both her and her family. Ultimately, though, there was never any question of whether or not Betty would get what she ordered and I'm sure she was told this on numerous occasions by our representatives. Indeed, we would hardly be one of the largest and oldest secondary ticket market websites in the country if we did not fulfill our order obligations. However, at the end of the day, I'll just point out two things: First, the high satisfaction rate of TicketLiquidator indicates that errors in ticket delivery are rare occurrences. Second, the fact remains that Betty received her tickets per the TicketLiquidator guarantee. Once again, I'm truly sorry for all the worry Betty experienced due to the aforementioned order issues, but, considering that her order was fulfilled and that she was able to attend the event she paid to see, I don't see any reason why her frustration justifies calling our entire company (and, indeed, affiliates she has no profession of buying from) a rip off."