Lots of online ticket brokers had the vip packages listed before the vip packages went on sale for the first 3 shows...thats bullshit

Are you going to a show?

Are you going to a show?

Iam planning on going yes....but once again the true fans get screwed as the vip packages get sold to the brokers. Ill try ticket master on saturday.

Are you going to a show?
What's that got to do with anything?

I'm going to a show, and I Love No Access's site sucks. I got in right when the tickets went on sale. Then it froze up.
Then I got back in, got all the way to putting my CC info in, and it tells me there's no tickets.

Yet multiple brokers were offering the tickets YESTERDAY.

Lots of online ticket brokers had the vip packages listed before the vip packages went on sale for the first 3 shows...thats bullshit

This is news to you? :D

What's that got to do with anything?

I'm going to a show, and I Love No Access's site sucks. I got in right when the tickets went on sale. Then it froze up.
Then I got back in, got all the way to putting my CC info in, and it tells me there's no tickets.

Yet multiple brokers were offering the tickets YESTERDAY.

This happened to me too....and its worse than a prick teasing date on your 18th birthday.

What's that got to do with anything?

I'm going to a show, and I Love No Access's site sucks. I got in right when the tickets went on sale. Then it froze up.
Then I got back in, got all the way to putting my CC info in, and it tells me there's no tickets.

Yet multiple brokers were offering the tickets YESTERDAY.


I was (I think anyway) fortunate enough to get a 5 star for the Detroit show, but I did notice that some of them WERE on stubhub for that same show, and they wanted something like 1,700 bucks a pop for them! Over twice what ILAA is charging, and their price is a significant increase from the 5 stars in 2004! It does raise the question: How in the hell are they stubhub/broker buyers of these tickets going to pick them up?? Every ILAA I've done (and I've done multiple), your name DOES have to match the order form for the tix!! The scammers looking to make a buck will certainly find a way, and damn that sucks. I thought that's what ILAA was built on, (sort of): Where true fans get tickets"?? Guess not all the time. Pissed me off when I saw them on stubhub listed as Section: VIP Row: VIP. for seat location

I was (I think anyway) fortunate enough to get a 5 star for the Detroit show, but I did notice that some of them WERE on stubhub for that same show, and they wanted something like 1,700 bucks a pop for them! Over twice what ILAA is charging, and their price is a significant increase from the 5 stars in 2004! It does raise the question: How in the hell are they stubhub/broker buyers of these tickets going to pick them up?? Every ILAA I've done (and I've done multiple), your name DOES have to match the order form for the tix!! The scammers looking to make a buck will certainly find a way, and damn that sucks. I thought that's what ILAA was built on, (sort of): Where true fans get tickets"?? Guess not all the time. Pissed me off when I saw them on stubhub listed as Section: VIP Row: VIP. for seat location

The rich get richer bro...but iam glad you didnt get screwed.

I was (I think anyway) fortunate enough to get a 5 star for the Detroit show, but I did notice that some of them WERE on stubhub for that same show, and they wanted something like 1,700 bucks a pop for them! Over twice what ILAA is charging, and their price is a significant increase from the 5 stars in 2004! It does raise the question: How in the hell are they stubhub/broker buyers of these tickets going to pick them up?? Every ILAA I've done (and I've done multiple), your name DOES have to match the order form for the tix!! The scammers looking to make a buck will certainly find a way, and damn that sucks. I thought that's what ILAA was built on, (sort of): Where true fans get tickets"?? Guess not all the time. Pissed me off when I saw them on stubhub listed as Section: VIP Row: VIP. for seat location

you're assuming that the people that run ILAA don't hold a certain amount of them for themselves and then sell them at subhub and other places

I was (I think anyway) fortunate enough to get a 5 star for the Detroit show, but I did notice that some of them WERE on stubhub for that same show, and they wanted something like 1,700 bucks a pop for them! Over twice what ILAA is charging, and their price is a significant increase from the 5 stars in 2004! It does raise the question: How in the hell are they stubhub/broker buyers of these tickets going to pick them up?? Every ILAA I've done (and I've done multiple), your name DOES have to match the order form for the tix!! The scammers looking to make a buck will certainly find a way, and damn that sucks. I thought that's what ILAA was built on, (sort of): Where true fans get tickets"?? Guess not all the time. Pissed me off when I saw them on stubhub listed as Section: VIP Row: VIP. for seat location

not sure what stub hub had listed, but some venues offer their own VIP package for a show as well. Some scalpers/brokers may be hoping to transfer the package...ILAA is pretty good about making sure they match. What if they bought 2 packages of 2 and then paired the guests on those together as a package?

you're assuming that the people that run ILAA don't hold a certain amount of them for themselves and then sell them at subhub and other places

The people at ILAA should sell VIP packs to the FANS direct not the brokers.
Ticketmaster has the lowdown on that....lol. The BAND should see to that.

The BAND should see to that.

lol - i'd prefer they continue to rehearse.

It's not Ed's job to do ticket sales or Dave's job to sell popcorn, nor will Al & Wolfie being working in the merchandise stand.

What's that got to do with anything?

I'm going to a show, and I Love No Access's site sucks. I got in right when the tickets went on sale. Then it froze up.
Then I got back in, got all the way to putting my CC info in, and it tells me there's no tickets.

Yet multiple brokers were offering the tickets YESTERDAY.



Sorry dude about the question(?) I just thought that nobody was going to see this tour, that's all..........:D

Sorry dude about the question(?) I just thought that nobody was going to see this tour, that's all..........:D
Oh, my sarcasm meter was malfunctioning.

Sorry dude about the question(?) I just thought that nobody was going to see this tour, that's all..........:D

Hey I saw Aerosmith in 74 for like 18 bucks....mid arena in Baltimore. I know
its 2007 and a million is now worth about 20 grand. But 550 for front row for VIP turns into 1500 for the broker and the band still makes 550 unless there is a kickback. NOOO they wouldnt do that LOL. Is there a law about that??

Oh, my sarcasm meter was malfunctioning.


It was dripping with it ;) Hope you get tickets and enjoy the show!!:thumb: I just need them to get alittle closer to my area and I,m there!!

It was dripping with it ;) Hope you get tickets and enjoy the show!!:thumb: I just need them to get alittle closer to my area and I,m there!!

hope you get the tics too bro....we all love this band.

hope you get the tics too bro....we all love this band.


Thank you, and yes I/we all (well most of us anyway's) do...........:thumb:

not sure what stub hub had listed, but some venues offer their own VIP package for a show as well. Some scalpers/brokers may be hoping to transfer the package...ILAA is pretty good about making sure they match. What if they bought 2 packages of 2 and then paired the guests on those together as a package?

I'm pretty sure this deal on stubhub isn't something that the Palace of Auburn Hills offers, and the description of the tickets were EXACTLY like the 5 stars. "Backstage tour, party, gifts and more", or something like that. I think you're pry right about the scalpers trying to pair the guests together. Can you imagine how the people will feel that bought them when they go to get the tickets? (Assuming this is how): Um, we had to meet some dude outside of will call who gave us our tickets in an envelope. Pretty sad, sounds like some guy is gonna make himself look all important and privy to these 5 stars, and some poor couple is gonna buy them at $1700 apiece for them and listen to this shady character tell them how lucky they were to get them at 3 times face value.

I do know that ILAA is pretty good about making sure they match, but it looks like the brokers are finding a way to get it done with all these dollar signs flashing in front of their eyes. Too bad.

I'm pretty sure this deal on stubhub isn't something that the Palace of Auburn Hills offers, and the description of the tickets were EXACTLY like the 5 stars. "Backstage tour, party, gifts and more", or something like that. I think you're pry right about the scalpers trying to pair the guests together. Can you imagine how the people will feel that bought them when they go to get the tickets? (Assuming this is how): Um, we had to meet some dude outside of will call who gave us our tickets in an envelope. Pretty sad, sounds like some guy is gonna make himself look all important and privy to these 5 stars, and some poor couple is gonna buy them at $1700 apiece for them and listen to this shady character tell them how lucky they were to get them at 3 times face value.

I do know that ILAA is pretty good about making sure they match, but it looks like the brokers are finding a way to get it done with all these dollar signs flashing in front of their eyes. Too bad.

yeah some poor couple who makes like 40 grand a yr combined and cant afford it.....wheres FORD on this injustice

yeah some poor couple who makes like 40 grand a yr combined and cant afford it.....wheres FORD on this injustice

maybe a couple that makes 40 grand a year should be more worried about paying their damn bills and less worried about this show. There's no rule that says ever VH fan should get seats in the first 20 rows.

U don't like these stupid prices? Either buy a cheaper ticket or don't go.

U don't like these stupid prices? Either buy a cheaper ticket or don't go.

5 star is crazy expensive, but the 4 star is reasonable for GOOD seats. I'm willing to pay, but the freeking ILOVEALLACCESS ain't having it.
Didn't this happen the last time VH used these guys?

I'm not sure how online brokers are going to make this work. When I did the 5-star thing, I showed up at the will call window with nothing but the reciept I printed off from ILAA with my name on it. I remember feeling uncomfortable with the whole thing until the ILAA people showed up and got us.
So, what are the online brokers actually selling the people for $1700? The receipt? With who's name on it? The tickets weren't given out until we were in the party room right before the show after the sound check.

Hopefully ILAA gets a handle on this in short order.

[QUOTE=it's me;832979]maybe a couple that makes 40 grand a year should be more worried about paying their damn bills and less worried about this show. There's no rule that says ever VH fan should get seats in the first 20 rows.

U don't like these stupid prices? Either buy a cheaper ticket or don't go.[/QUOT


In canada 40 grand dont buy much esp in toronto. but you all are socialists any way you should agree with me.

[QUOTE=it's me;832979]maybe a couple that makes 40 grand a year should be more worried about paying their damn bills and less worried about this show. There's no rule that says ever VH fan should get seats in the first 20 rows.

U don't like these stupid prices? Either buy a cheaper ticket or don't go.[/QUOT


In canada 40 grand dont buy much esp in toronto. but you all are socialists any way you should agree with me.

are we all? I must have missed that. And no I don't agree with you. Courtside seats don't cost the same as upper level. Seats behind the plate cost more than seats in the bleachers.

I can afford good seats and I'll get them.

and 40,000 doesn't get you much in Toronto (or any other city VH will be playing for that matter).

I just looked at StubHub, and saw that they were offereing tickets for seats in the first 20 rows. I thought those tickets were reserved by ILAA for the 4-star package. At ILAA, you don't know what seats you are going to get until you arrive with your reciept. So, I guess what I'd like to know is, if ILAA has seats in the first 20 rows blocked out, how is StubHub getting the tickets they are selling? Can't be from ILAA, because StubHub is selling specific seats in specific sections for different prices. ILAA holds the tickets at the arena until the show, and seating is determined at that time.

Hey Toronto have fun at the show.....and I wouldnt pay for behind the plate seats for the Bluejays. Iam outta here.....NIGHT

I just looked at StubHub, and saw that they were offereing tickets for seats in the first 20 rows. I thought those tickets were reserved by ILAA for the 4-star package. At ILAA, you don't know what seats you are going to get until you arrive with your reciept. So, I guess what I'd like to know is, if ILAA has seats in the first 20 rows blocked out, how is StubHub getting the tickets they are selling? Can't be from ILAA, because StubHub is selling specific seats in specific sections for different prices. ILAA holds the tickets at the arena until the show, and seating is determined at that time.

who says ILAA has all of the first 20 rows blocked out?

I'm not saying all of the first 20 rows, but I saw seats that were floor seats in the fifth row center for $3500. Those seats would have been 5-star seats in the last tour. Why would anyone pay that for those seats when ILAA has better seats at a fraction of the price, unless the ILAA seats are un-availabe?

Guys..........

Regarding prime seats including ILAA packages showing up on eBay and various ticket brokers yesterday and today before they even went on sale, there's two big reasons for that. One, shocking though it may be, ILAA, like Ticketmaster and every other ticket outlet feed blocks of seats to these agencies - it's basically organized, completely legal scalping.

Two, these agencies don't know *in advance* what they're getting unless they themselves have *season tickets* for blocks of seats at certain venues which gets them the same seats for every event at the specific venue.

Generally, ticket brokers know they'll have a number of seats ranging from the very best, hardest to get seats that you should theoretically only be able to get through a band's fanclub, ILAA or whatever to typical nosebleeds. Managers, promoters, venue owners, record companies, radio stations even the artists themselves in some rare cases have deals worked out to feed the ticket agency network on a local or nationwide scale tickets for money. It's classic kickback.

The entire ticket reseller industry nationwide - even world wide to some extent is networked together and agencies in this network all access a large pool of available tickets or simply buy or trade with each other depending on what their needs are. Sure, there's the independent mom and pop agencies and of course, the individual scalpers outside the system doing it on their own but they actually are a small percentage of suppliers for ticket resales compared to major, long established agencies.

When you see an agency offering prime seats in advance of any tickets going on sale either through their website, through eBay or over the phone, they almost always don't have them in hand. Odds are, they can't tell you specific seat number before the tickets even go on sale unless it's a season ticket seat or box. The typical answer is, "yeah, we can get you a pair of seats in the first 5 rows of the pit" or whatever, they give you a (ridiculously astronomical) price, get a deposit or a full payment and you the buyer wait a few weeks 'til they tell you what your seats are. They're confident enough to make the claim of being able to get "1st row" seats because frankly, they can. It's just a matter of money and supply and demand sets the price.

In the case of the ILAA type seats, most of the time you won't get a straightforward answer from a broker where exactly the seats are, basically you'll get the same line that ILAA themselves give which is "5 Star is first XXX rows, you'll be somewhere in there, blah blah blah....." Those that offer specific seats that are ILAA tickets are getting them straight from one of the above sources who've already worked out their deal probably with the venue owner or the local promoter. Also, not all the seats in the pit or the first 20 rows on the floor are being sold through ILAA. You can be sure some of these prime seats will show up on Live Nation and Ticketmaster "auctions" which is basically these guys scalping their own tickets.

Like I said, it runs just like any organized crime operation would, only it's legal.

T.B.

Guys..........

Regarding prime seats including ILAA packages showing up on eBay and various ticket brokers yesterday and today before they even went on sale, there's two big reasons for that. One, shocking though it may be, ILAA, like Ticketmaster and every other ticket outlet feed blocks of seats to these agencies - it's basically organized, completely legal scalping.

Two, these agencies don't know *in advance* what they're getting unless they themselves have *season tickets* for blocks of seats at certain venues which gets them the same seats for every event at the specific venue.

Generally, ticket brokers know they'll have a number of seats ranging from the very best, hardest to get seats that you should theoretically only be able to get through a band's fanclub, ILAA or whatever to typical nosebleeds. Managers, promoters, venue owners, record companies, radio stations even the artists themselves in some rare cases have deals worked out to feed the ticket agency network on a local or nationwide scale tickets for money. It's classic kickback.

The entire ticket reseller industry nationwide - even world wide to some extent is networked together and agencies in this network all access a large pool of available tickets or simply buy or trade with each other depending on what their needs are. Sure, there's the independent mom and pop agencies and of course, the individual scalpers outside the system doing it on their own but they actually are a small percentage of suppliers for ticket resales compared to major, long established agencies.

When you see an agency offering prime seats in advance of any tickets going on sale either through their website, through eBay or over the phone, they almost always don't have them in hand. Odds are, they can't tell you specific seat number before the tickets even go on sale unless it's a season ticket seat or box. The typical answer is, "yeah, we can get you a pair of seats in the first 5 rows of the pit" or whatever, they give you a (ridiculously astronomical) price, get a deposit or a full payment and you the buyer wait a few weeks 'til they tell you what your seats are. They're confident enough to make the claim of being able to get "1st row" seats because frankly, they can. It's just a matter of money and supply and demand sets the price.

In the case of the ILAA type seats, most of the time you won't get a straightforward answer from a broker where exactly the seats are, basically you'll get the same line that ILAA themselves give which is "5 Star is first XXX rows, you'll be somewhere in there, blah blah blah....." Those that offer specific seats that are ILAA tickets are getting them straight from one of the above sources who've already worked out their deal probably with the venue owner or the local promoter. Also, not all the seats in the pit or the first 20 rows on the floor are being sold through ILAA. You can be sure some of these prime seats will show up on Live Nation and Ticketmaster "auctions" which is basically these guys scalping their own tickets.

Like I said, it runs just like any organized crime operation would, only it's legal.

T.B.
whoa...that's freakin' boatload of info and a shit load of politics..Is Wall Street buying and selling these seats?

So, in your opinion, What's a guy like me to do, that has let's say...$300 and wants 2 decent tix??? Should I just kiss my ass goodbye?


Any help? Thanks in advance.....

whoa...that's freakin' boatload of info and a shit load of politics..Is Wall Street buying and selling these seats?

So, in your opinion, What's a guy like me to do, that has let's say...$300 and wants 2 decent tix??? Should I just kiss my ass goodbye?

Any help? Thanks in advance.....

$300 will get you a great seat. You just need to understand the best ways for getting the best value for your money and not panic if you miss out on either the 4 Star ticket release for the show you want and come up empty handed on Ticketmaster as well.

Try like everyone else to get a good ILAA ticket when your show goes on sale. Buying a single greatly improves the odds you'll not only get a seat, but a good one. Try out the Ticketmaster pre-sale the minute it's available (if there is one for your show) or when the show goes on sale. Don't jump the gun and settle for a seat or seats you're not 100% happy with as often, only mediocre to terrible seats for these major shows are available the first days the dates go on sale.

If the above fails, use eBay which I personally consider to the the best option to get reseller's tickets. Watch auctions, sometimes you'll find a great "Buy It Now" deal from someone who's just interested in covering his costs because his wife got pissed he maxed out the VISA card and not out to put his kids through college. If going the eBay route, always check the seller's feedback before bidding or buying. There's going to be people looking to trade tickets for other shows that'll post here and other VH related boards. There are a *lot* of options and I'm not even at the Ticket Broker option yet.

All else fails and you decide you want to use a broker, wait until the last couple weeks before your show. The initial hysteria of impatient buyers and greedy sellers will be gone and better deals will be there if you shop around. Basically, break out the phone book and call and get prices from *everyone* in your area. You'll be surprised how much money you might save and the difference in pricing some agencies might give you.

And lastly, one of my favorite ways to score great seats is wait until the last couple days before your show and possibly get a fantastic seat through Ticketmaster as they unload sometimes the very best seats in the house to bring in impulse buyers. It's always harder to sell shitty seats the last few days before a show then the best seats. Everyone will know if this is an option or not after the first few shows of the tour.

And finally, there's always the buyers potluck of just scoring a seat from a scalper the night of the show. Just don't buy a Ticketfast ticket (one printed on a pc from a TM pdf file - those can be reproduced as many times as someone wants to print 'em, but only the first copy scanned to get in will be honored).

T.B.

$300 will get you a great seat. You just need to understand the best ways for getting the best value for your money and not panic if you miss out on either the 4 Star ticket release for the show you want and come up empty handed on Ticketmaster as well.

Try like everyone else to get a good ILAA ticket when your show goes on sale. Buying a single greatly improves the odds you'll not only get a seat, but a good one. Try out the Ticketmaster pre-sale the minute it's available (if there is one for your show) or when the show goes on sale. Don't jump the gun and settle for a seat or seats you're not 100% happy with as often, only mediocre to terrible seats for these major shows are available the first days the dates go on sale.

If the above fails, use eBay which I personally consider to the the best option to get reseller's tickets. Watch auctions, sometimes you'll find a great "Buy It Now" deal from someone who's just interested in covering his costs because his wife got pissed he maxed out the VISA card and not out to put his kids through college. If going the eBay route, always check the seller's feedback before bidding or buying. There's going to be people looking to trade tickets for other shows that'll post here and other VH related boards. There are a *lot* of options and I'm not even at the Ticket Broker option yet.

All else fails and you decide you want to use a broker, wait until the last couple weeks before your show. The initial hysteria of impatient buyers and greedy sellers will be gone and better deals will be there if you shop around. Basically, break out the phone book and call and get prices from *everyone* in your area. You'll be surprised how much money you might save and the difference in pricing some agencies might give you.

And lastly, one of my favorite ways to score great seats is wait until the last couple days before your show and possibly get a fantastic seat through Ticketmaster as they unload sometimes the very best seats in the house to bring in impulse buyers. It's always harder to sell shitty seats the last few days before a show then the best seats. Everyone will know if this is an option or not after the first few shows of the tour.

And finally, there's always the buyers potluck of just scoring a seat from a scalper the night of the show. Just don't buy a Ticketfast ticket (one printed on a pc from a TM pdf file - those can be reproduced as many times as someone wants to print 'em, but only the first copy scanned to get in will be honored).

T.B.

well, i hate in a way that you have unleashed all the tricks, but I guess its for a good cause. I'll add what I feel is the most important one in the spirit of the tour:

Single ticket. Day of event. At the box office, about a half hour out of showtime.

You can thank me later. Enjoy.

well, i hate in a way that you have unleashed all the tricks, but I guess its for a good cause. I'll add what I feel is the most important one in the spirit of the tour:

Single ticket. Day of event. At the box office, about a half hour out of showtime.

You can thank me later. Enjoy.

The one trick that matters most that no one can count on is the luck of the draw.

I've been frozen out of a few shows that I had a casual desire to see when all these tricks failed me, but I can say that every show I've seriously wanted to catch, I've got in and had a seat pretty much where I wanted to be.

And reading many of the posts on these ticket-related threads the past day clearly shows why so many people get burned and pay far too much or just miss out. It's retardedly complicated to just get a fucking seat to a concert that you're happy with at a decent price and if I can help some poor shmoe save a few bucks or get a decent ticket for his value, maybe that'll free up more good karma for me when I get pulled over for speeding or something....

T.B.

The one trick that matters most that no one can count on is the luck of the draw.

I've been frozen out of a few shows that I had a casual desire to see when all these tricks failed me, but I can say that every show I've seriously wanted to catch, I've got in and had a seat pretty much where I wanted to be.

And reading many of the posts on these ticket-related threads the past day clearly shows why so many people get burned and pay far too much or just miss out. It's retardedly complicated to just get a fucking seat to a concert that you're happy with at a decent price and if I can help some poor shmoe save a few bucks or get a decent ticket for his value, maybe that'll free up more good karma for me when I get pulled over for speeding or something....

T.B.

I hear ya, I just don't want 90 dudes showing up on the day of the Rockstar Supernova show getting my tickets. LOL

$300 will get you a great seat. You just need to understand the best ways for getting the best value for your money and not panic if you miss out on either the 4 Star ticket release for the show you want and come up empty handed on Ticketmaster as well.

Try like everyone else to get a good ILAA ticket when your show goes on sale. Buying a single greatly improves the odds you'll not only get a seat, but a good one. Try out the Ticketmaster pre-sale the minute it's available (if there is one for your show) or when the show goes on sale. Don't jump the gun and settle for a seat or seats you're not 100% happy with as often, only mediocre to terrible seats for these major shows are available the first days the dates go on sale.

If the above fails, use eBay which I personally consider to the the best option to get reseller's tickets. Watch auctions, sometimes you'll find a great "Buy It Now" deal from someone who's just interested in covering his costs because his wife got pissed he maxed out the VISA card and not out to put his kids through college. If going the eBay route, always check the seller's feedback before bidding or buying. There's going to be people looking to trade tickets for other shows that'll post here and other VH related boards. There are a *lot* of options and I'm not even at the Ticket Broker option yet.

All else fails and you decide you want to use a broker, wait until the last couple weeks before your show. The initial hysteria of impatient buyers and greedy sellers will be gone and better deals will be there if you shop around. Basically, break out the phone book and call and get prices from *everyone* in your area. You'll be surprised how much money you might save and the difference in pricing some agencies might give you.

And lastly, one of my favorite ways to score great seats is wait until the last couple days before your show and possibly get a fantastic seat through Ticketmaster as they unload sometimes the very best seats in the house to bring in impulse buyers. It's always harder to sell shitty seats the last few days before a show then the best seats. Everyone will know if this is an option or not after the first few shows of the tour.

And finally, there's always the buyers potluck of just scoring a seat from a scalper the night of the show. Just don't buy a Ticketfast ticket (one printed on a pc from a TM pdf file - those can be reproduced as many times as someone wants to print 'em, but only the first copy scanned to get in will be honored).

T.B.

One of the best posts i've read in a long time---you probably just saved some people alot of time, heartache and alot of $$$$. I follow the same logic and have always scored decent tix to great shows---just be patient, never settle and explore all options before forking over the dough!

I sent ILAA an e-mail regarding the problems that I have read about on this thread. The e-mail, and reply from ILAA are as follows:

My e-mail-
Hello, my name is Tom, and I purchased a 5-Star package for the last Van Halen tour in St. Louis. I had a great time, and couldn't have been happier with the experience. I was excited to see that this tour also will be using ILAA for premium seating. I, however, have been hearing from different people that when they went online to purchase the 5-Star for Van Halen, the server was jammed up, and by the time they could get through, all the packages were sold out. In some cases, within 5 minutes. There have even been people that have said that large ticket brokers have bought up large numbers of the 4 and 5-Star packages, and are selling them at astronimical prices. I have a hard time believing that could be true, given the mission of your company as stated on your website, and my past experience. Please tell my that ILAA is not co-operating with StubHub, or other ticket brokers to sell the 4 and 5-Star packages. Also, will the problems with getting onto the website to purchase the 5-Star be resolved by the time that tickets go on-sale for St. Louis. When are packages available for St. Louis BTW?

Thomas Williamson


The reply:
Dear Thomas:

No, the people who bought up those seats were fans. We had a huge turnout of fans--it was an incredible response. This is why the tickets sold out in minutes. Brokers and scalpers can't easily get their hands on our tickets, and if they sell them, they'll find they can't be transferred to their customers.

ILAA does not work with StubHub--absolutely NOT!

We are always working to ensure the smoothest and fairest transactions possible.

We don't have a sale date set at this time for St. Louis. Sign up for our free Tour Alerts at www.iloveallaccess.com to get e-mail notification, and keep checking our Van Halen Tour Page. We will post a heads up 24-hours prior to putting the tickets on sale.

Thank you very much for your inquiry.

The reply:
Dear Thomas:

(snip)Brokers and scalpers can't easily get their hands on our tickets, and if they sell them, they'll find they can't be transferred to their customers.

That is a bold faced lie.

T.B.

Guys..........
One, shocking though it may be, ILAA, like Ticketmaster and every other ticket outlet feed blocks of seats to these agencies - it's basically organized, completely legal scalping...... Also, not all the seats in the pit or the first 20 rows on the floor are being sold through ILAA. You can be sure some of these prime seats will show up on Live Nation and Ticketmaster "auctions" which is basically these guys scalping their own tickets.

Apocalypso made alot of good points in that post. The problem is that ILAA probably farms out some of its own scalping, yet our tickets are 'non-transferrable.' In some places, like the State of New York, this is referred to as 'icing' and is illegal (it used to be very common for Broadway theaters to do this).

Unfortunately the government doesn't care about the consumer getting messed over and most states don't have laws to prevent this sort of thing. But of course, for YOU the package is not transferrable, despite the fact that there are people on here who skipped work to get a package and the third cousin of some radio station DJ will get the same thing we got for free as a PR move.

Didn't any of you notice how in 2004 there were people in the 5 star sections who didn't have the package? That's because this stuff DOES happen, yet these agencies hold us to the letter of the law even though a ticket is a license and in fairness we should be able to do whatever WE want with it if we've bought one.

My advice is get in a package on ILAA if you can get in, and if its worht the money. I had 5 stars several times in 2004, and one four star, and even the 4 star was a really good seat. Its alot easier than going through a broker for a non-package seat. Its a massive reunion tour, these things are always expensive.

Decide if its worth the money to you to go, but no seats for this are going to be easy to come by, or cheap. Just understand that.

And call your state legislators and tell them to regulate the concert industry better.

You guys may all be absolutely correct on this, but I tend to believe that the problem isn't so much with ILAA. I think there are just more brokers/radio stations/local big wigs grabbing up seats, which has limited the amount of seats ILAA can get.

You guys may all be absolutely correct on this, but I tend to believe that the problem isn't so much with ILAA. I think there are just more brokers/radio stations/local big wigs grabbing up seats, which has limited the amount of seats ILAA can get.

It's all broken down how tickets are distributed ultimately by the band's manager Irving Azoff and the promoter Live Nation. They work out how many tickets ILAA gets, how many go to other promotions like the Citi Bank CC offer on down to radio stations, media and other non-traditional outlets. Ticketmaster doesn't set the ticket price, they just tack on their outrageous handling fees to make their cut.

Band management and the tour promoter(s) also are the parties responsible for pricing on all levels. It starts out with management and the band wanting "X" amount for doing a tour and they break it down to how many dates and what needs to be charged per ticket and the pricing structure to make that amount. Usually, the band doesn't give much input as to exactly how the tickets are priced beyond vaugue numbers like "don't charge more than "X" amount for nosebleed seats" or keep the floor GA."

In Van Halen's case, I'm sure the band simply said, squeeze as much money out of fans as the market will bear.

T.B.

so on Saturday morning should I be trying to get tickets through Ticketmaster, LiveNation or both? Or should I drive to my nearest ticketmaster outlet and just get them there?


GODDAMNIT, I've waited 20 years to see Dave do his thing with Eddie and no way in hell am I sitting up in the rafters