How to avoid ticket scammers this holiday performance season
Crying children, angry parents and hundreds of dollars down the drain: These are just a few symptoms of a widespread problem targeting Kansas City’s premiere theaters.
As the holidays approach, iconic performances like the Kansas City Ballet’s “The Nutcracker” and Kansas City Repertory Theatre’s “A Christmas Carol” are preparing for opening night. But local box offices say third-party ticket brokers are inflating prices while creating a barrier to important information from theaters about cancellations, COVID-19 restrictions and age limitations for certain shows.
“Scalpers aren’t standing outside venues anymore in a trenchcoat selling tickets — they’re on the internet,” says Andrew Cotlar, The Rep’s associate director of marketing and audience development. “Those third-party ticket resellers have paid more money to land at the top of the (search engine) page. And people will click there, buy the tickets and have no idea that they just got swindled.”
In some cases, tickets sold by brokers are duplicates of tickets that a venue has already sold — or they may not exist at all.
In the best-case scenario, patrons end up paying inflated prices for legitimate tickets on third-party websites. But even if you manage to score a real ticket from a broker, venues can’t contact you about the performance or offer you a refund if your plans change.
“We’ve worked very hard to make sure that our patrons are being communicated with,” said Cotlar, whose theater is in the final weeks of preparation for its first indoor performance (Nov. 19-Dec. 26) since the pandemic began. “If we don’t have their contact information … then they won’t be prepared.”
What you can do
To avoid an unexpected disappointment on the evening of the event, Cotlar recommends that theater-goers only purchase tickets directly from the performance venue itself, either online or in person.
A good rule of thumb is to search the web for the name of the venue, rather than the name of the show it’s producing. This will help direct you to the venue’s official website, and all the perks that come from buying your tickets directly:
Lower prices
Better access to adjustments like returns, cancellations and exchanges
A direct line of communication with the venue
Updates on show times, parking, intermissions and other logistics
Reliable information on COVID-19 safety precautions like vaccine and mask requirements
Peace of mind that your tickets are legitimate
Directly supporting the arts in Kansas City
If you think you may have bought an illegitimate ticket by mistake, contact the performance venue for advice on what to do. Box office staff will do their best to help you find a solution.
“We love our patrons, (and) we do everything we can to try to get them into the performance,” says Cotlar. “At the end of the day, if anything smells fishy, give us a call.”
Have you been ripped off by a ticket scammer in Kansas City? Our Service Journalism Team is here to help. Send us your experiences and questions at kcq@kcstar.com.
This story was originally published November 5, 2021 at 3:46 PM.
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