Viagogo Ripoff

[Alexander Litvinenko]

Well yes and as ticket prices rise it's perhaps inevitable that the old model of the same group of 5000 men turning up on the terraces week in week out is replaced with "tourists".

It's what happens with other forms of entertainment after all - even Kes doesn't go and see Morrissey every fortnight without fail.

Agreed, but that's changing the nature, culture and demography of the event to a point where many feel it no longer has an appeal to them. Ironically, they're the very demographic who kept the sport in business in the bleak times before football got fashionable and the middle-classes discovered it.

[Alexander Litvinenko]

A pub I liked got shut down and reopened as a trendy wine bar. I'm now drinking somewhere else, rather than wasting time lobbying parliament and CAMRA for it to be reopened.

I realise you feel an affinity to Reading FC but the irony is it's exactly this affiliation that makes you and your fellow supporters vulnerable to being exploited.

But a pub is just a pub, with plenty of alternatives you can switch your patronage to.

It's not a part of the locality community in the sense of shared identity and shared history that a football club that calls itself a "community club" ought to be - and used to be.

[Green]

A pub I liked got shut down and reopened as a trendy wine bar. I'm now drinking somewhere else, rather than wasting time lobbying parliament and CAMRA for it to be reopened.

I realise you feel an affinity to Reading FC but the irony is it's exactly this affiliation that makes you and your fellow supporters vulnerable to being exploited.

But a pub is just a pub, with plenty of alternatives you can switch your patronage to.

It's not a part of the locality community in the sense of shared identity and shared history that a football club that calls itself a "community club" ought to be - and used to be.

I take that on board but my point is you're fighting a losing battle. The club has changed, I've stopped going as a result, perhaps you should consider it too.

[Alexander Litvinenko]

A pub I liked got shut down and reopened as a trendy wine bar. I'm now drinking somewhere else, rather than wasting time lobbying parliament and CAMRA for it to be reopened.

I realise you feel an affinity to Reading FC but the irony is it's exactly this affiliation that makes you and your fellow supporters vulnerable to being exploited.

But a pub is just a pub, with plenty of alternatives you can switch your patronage to.

It's not a part of the locality community in the sense of shared identity and shared history that a football club that calls itself a "community club" ought to be - and used to be.

I take that on board but my point is you're fighting a losing battle. The club has changed, I've stopped going as a result, perhaps you should consider it too.

You don't need to tell me that the battle is being lost - I know that only too well. But I can't bear to not fight it, whilst there are still a small minority of people left in football who do have morality and care for the long-term good of the game.

Second point taken on board also - I love football, I absolutely love it. But I absolutely hate all the over-commercial crap and ludicrous hype that surrounds it. At the moment those two factors are in a delicate balance - every extra thing like this that comes along tips the balance that little bit further in one direction.

[Green]

What is it that you liked about supporting RFC and can you really not find anything approximating that experience elsewhere? Other teams, other sports even?

It could be argued people who don't like the status quo but dutifully renew their season tickets every year do more harm than good.

[Alexander Litvinenko]

In the time I've supported Reading I've had 2 wives, a couple of significant others, 12 flats/houses, 14 jobs and 18 cars. You don't change your football team like you change anything else, as the relationship you have with it is quite different to anything else.

As I say, at the moment watching the football is attraction enough to overcome all the commercial crap and other annoyances/rip-offs that come with Premier League football. How long that will last remains to be seen.

[Green]

So it's basiclly Dirk's fault?

Well if you enjoy having a pint in the pub round the corner before the match, paying £10 on the gate and standing with your mates - this experience is still available, just at a lower league. If it's the football itself that is the draw then perhaps consider watching it on tele.

I dunno we're all different, but spending £40 to sit at the Mad Stad every fortnight isn't for me, so I stopped doing it. If others enjoy that then great - but clearly there's no way back for Reading FC now and the club I started supporting as a kid no longer exists - so I don't feel the same loyalty Dirk does.

It becomes a bit like Trigger's broom in Only Fools doesn't it?

[RoyalBlue]

Hadn't realised the club weren't profiting from this, that does surprise me tbf

Thing is, we are not privy to the details of the deal that the club have struck with viagogo. Who knows what kick backs may be hidden from our view. One that probably isn't so well hidden is the likelihood that they are now getting a fair bit of advertising revenue from viagogo. Also, just how many tickets (they say a 'small number') will find their way to viagogo, directly from the club, and then be sold above face value for the big games?

[Twix]

Hadn't realised the club weren't profiting from this, that does surprise me tbf

Thing is, we are not privy to the details of the deal that the club have struck with viagogo. Who knows what kick backs may be hidden from our view. One that probably isn't so well hidden is the likelihood that they are now getting a fair bit of advertising revenue from viagogo. Also, just how many tickets (they say a 'small number') will find their way to viagogo, directly from the club, and then be sold above face value for the big games?

Yeah I'm sure the club will be making money somewhere, probably from the advertising.

If those financial fair play restrictions come in I expect we'll see more grubby commercial deals like this and more attempts to squeeze even more money out of us.

[West Stand Man]

Well, as far as I can tell, Viagogo take their fees from both buyer and seller, and unless they are passing some of these onto the club, then I don't see where the club gets any extra revenue...

The new person coming to the ground will buy a programme, refreshments and probably visit the megastore too.

(The ultimate for today's football clubs is "football tourists" - a season ticket holder visits the megastore a couple of times a season. But if you can somehow get that seat available to 19 different people in a season, the odds are that you get 19 different visits to the megastore, and potentially 19 times as much merchandising revenue for that single seat.)

The ultimate irony is that in Boyd Butler's day, the ticket office had a season-ticket buy-back scheme, where they took a small fee for that. It worked well, and they made money from it, but they discontinued it because they found that the process of cancelling the ticket and issuing manual tickets was too labour-intensive. Under this scheme they seem to be doing the same level of admin but making NO money from it.

Why does that just sound very naive? Where have you found any evidence that the club is making nothing out of this?

[Alexander Litvinenko]

Well, as far as I can tell, Viagogo take their fees from both buyer and seller, and unless they are passing some of these onto the club, then I don't see where the club gets any extra revenue...

The new person coming to the ground will buy a programme, refreshments and probably visit the megastore too.

(The ultimate for today's football clubs is "football tourists" - a season ticket holder visits the megastore a couple of times a season. But if you can somehow get that seat available to 19 different people in a season, the odds are that you get 19 different visits to the megastore, and potentially 19 times as much merchandising revenue for that single seat.)

The ultimate irony is that in Boyd Butler's day, the ticket office had a season-ticket buy-back scheme, where they took a small fee for that. It worked well, and they made money from it, but they discontinued it because they found that the process of cancelling the ticket and issuing manual tickets was too labour-intensive. Under this scheme they seem to be doing the same level of admin but making NO money from it.

Why does that just sound very naive? Where have you found any evidence that the club is making nothing out of this?

I reference the quoted post, and was careful to say "seem to be" rather than stating this as a fact. I also pointed out just how advantageous this was to the club in terms of merchandising, etc. to show that they make on it even if they were to receive no direct revenue from it.

[creative_username_1]

I'm guessing that any revenue made from Reading FC is relatively small potatoes

[tink]

It starts with viagogo being given a handful of seats in the South Stand, but how long until they get given a few hundred season tickets, which they then sell on themselves at a massively inflated price, thus ripping off the supporters twice, because less tickets will be on general sale, and anyone that wants to go will have to pay over the odds.

Royalty points go out of the window, because anyone can just use viagogo.

Viagogo are being authorised to perform an activity which between you and I would be considered illegal.

Everything about this arrangement stinks.

It's like we've somehow got involved with the Russian mafia.

[Chuckle Brother]

Have STAR made any comment on this?

If not then they should be shot, seriously

Seriously ?

[Jobbo no.11]

Having to resort to this over the christmas period as i really dont think i could bare to sit in the south stand! So just a quick question, does anyone know when you buy tickets off viagogo if the games are loaded on to your member card or are you sent paper tickets direct?

[Divvy]

Tempting to flog our tickets and cash in on a painful defeat.

[Cobi]

The sad thing is there are plenty of mugs out there willing to pay those prices. Lots of southern based United fans in the home ends this weekend!

[Alexander Litvinenko]

A little birdie tells me that Radio 4 at the weekend will be doing a programme on the business ethics of Viagogo and their current strategy of leeching off Premier League clubs and their supporters. For instance, another thing I've found out is that at Newcastle (another club with the same Viagogo deal) you're not allowed to sell tickets through them for less than face value, even if the match is sold out and the ticket would otherwise go unsold.

Not sure of the exact time slot but will publish it when I know - and I hope whoever at Reading arranged this deal listens and squirms.

[creative_username_1]

I had a look at the Utd tickets. The cheapest would be £80 once fees are added

[Stuka]

Do you get 'Royalty' points if you buy off Viagogo?