The ‘little monsters’ at Tiketek and Ticketmaster have been cooking up new ways to rip concert-goers off and make more money.
It’s called dynamic pricing.
They did it when Taylor Swift came to Australia last year, they did it again when Green Day came earlier this year.
And now they’re doing it for the Lady Gaga tour.
So what is dynamic pricing?
Essentially it’s price gouging in real time.
A general admission ticket might initially be advertised at $200.
But once the companies see that there are lots of people wanting to buy those tickets, they raise the prices.
The more people that want to buy it, the more expensive it gets.
It adds a whole new meaning to being ‘first in, best dressed’.
The ‘first in’ is usually hundreds of dollars better off than those who are further down in the queue.
Dynamic pricing preys on people’s love of live music and their desire to support these artists.
It’s predatory, and its only purpose is to make these ticketing companies more money.
But they’re not the only ones that do it.
Uber is also guilty of this.
They raise their prices and make it more difficult for people to get home when they’re most likely to be out.
Times like Friday and Saturday night or around events and festivals will be more expensive than say, midday on Tuesday.
Another industry where this is common is the airline industry.
Ever wondered why it’s so expensive to fly around Christmas or Easter or school holidays?
It’s because of dynamic pricing.
Because more people want to travel during these times to see family.
See how predatory this practice is?
It’s just another way that companies are taking advantage of their consumers.
We need to rebalance the scales and make price gouging illegal.
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