Viagogo Ripoff

[Upper West Ginger]

Well I stand to benefit from this, so I'm not too worried by it.
I'm an ST holder, and (like quite a few I guess) can't make it to every single game. So if I can recoup some of my ST cost by a third party selling on my seat to another RFC fan, what's wrong with that? I get some money, the fan gets a seat and Viagogo get a rake-off. Good result all round.

[Royal Lady]

This is precisely the sort of thing that STAR should be getting involved with and garnering opinion from people on this forum should form part of their remit imo.

In the absence of STAR, the club are not going to listen to any of us. I'm happy to pass on feedback, as I have previously, directly to the club, but I'm pretty sure I'll get some stock answer back and they won't be budged on this, because they stand to make more money out of using Viagogo. I do think the Fans' voices should be heard though and I am fully aware that some people aren't bothered either way - but if you feel strongly enough about this, please PM me - giving your name - and I'll happily let the club know on your behalf. We could all contact them separately - that might have more effect. Or it might just piss them off to the extent that they won't take any notice whatsoever. But I'm happy to go with the flow and what people would prefer. I do, however, feel that our voices should be heard and would be interested in an explanation as to why they've gone with Viagogo if it isn't to make a quick buck off the back of supporters.

here we go again.
are you going to bark all day little doggy, or are you going to bite?

always pissing and moaning on here, constantly bombarding the club with your long list of things you h8 about RFC, and trying constantly to whip up anti RFC sentiment at every opportunity.
but what have you actually done about it?

Look, I know your brain has been addled by narcotics, but did you actually read what I put? I've offered to collate names of people who are unhappy about this. If people want to do it themselves, I'll be contacting them - to ask the club's reasoning behind this and how royalty points will now work. It's not my fault that the club push ahead with stuff without thinking of the consequences, nor is it my fault if STAR won't get involved. So shut up Bendy. I don't CONSTANTLY bombard the club. I emailed them once to ask about moving the ambulance, which they did. So stick that in your bongo pipe and smoke it.

[Alexander Litvinenko]

Well I stand to benefit from this, so I'm not too worried by it.
I'm an ST holder, and (like quite a few I guess) can't make it to every single game. So if I can recoup some of my ST cost by a third party selling on my seat to another RFC fan, what's wrong with that? I get some money, the fan gets a seat and Viagogo get a rake-off. Good result all round.

As said many times already, the problem's not the principle, it's the application.

The football club ticket office has to do the cancelling of the ST card and the issuing of paper tickets, so why can't they do the whole thing?

That would mean you get the money without paying so much commission to Viagogo, the fan gets a seat, the club knows who the fan is and whether they're likely to be an away supporter (and for the high-demand games could use Royalty points for priority) and there are also 25 more tickets available for supporters to buy. Everyone's better-off - except Viagogo!

[Big Foot]

I'm told that if you relinquish your ticket for a game but it doesn't get sold on Viagogo, you don't get your ticket back and you get no money. Is this truth or urban myth?

[Alexander Litvinenko]

I'm told that if you relinquish your ticket for a game but it doesn't get sold on Viagogo, you don't get your ticket back and you get no money. Is this truth or urban myth?

I think it's truth. It'll need to be available for sale right until kick-off, so if you were able to get it back you'd only get it back at the very last minute.

[melonhead]

This is precisely the sort of thing that STAR should be getting involved with and garnering opinion from people on this forum should form part of their remit imo.

In the absence of STAR, the club are not going to listen to any of us. I'm happy to pass on feedback, as I have previously, directly to the club, but I'm pretty sure I'll get some stock answer back and they won't be budged on this, because they stand to make more money out of using Viagogo. I do think the Fans' voices should be heard though and I am fully aware that some people aren't bothered either way - but if you feel strongly enough about this, please PM me - giving your name - and I'll happily let the club know on your behalf. We could all contact them separately - that might have more effect. Or it might just piss them off to the extent that they won't take any notice whatsoever. But I'm happy to go with the flow and what people would prefer. I do, however, feel that our voices should be heard and would be interested in an explanation as to why they've gone with Viagogo if it isn't to make a quick buck off the back of supporters.

here we go again.
are you going to bark all day little doggy, or are you going to bite?

always pissing and moaning on here, constantly bombarding the club with your long list of things you h8 about RFC, and trying constantly to whip up anti RFC sentiment at every opportunity.
but what have you actually done about it?

Look, I know your brain has been addled by narcotics, but did you actually read what I put?

no

So shut up Bendy. I don't CONSTANTLY bombard the club. I emailed them once to ask about moving the ambulance, which they did. So stick that in your bongo pipe and smoke it.

thats me told!

keep up the good work.

[Big Foot]

I'm told that if you relinquish your ticket for a game but it doesn't get sold on Viagogo, you don't get your ticket back and you get no money. Is this truth or urban myth?

I think it's truth. It'll need to be available for sale right until kick-off, so if you were able to get it back you'd only get it back at the very last minute.

In which case, I'm changing my opinion on the idea.

Viagog as a commercial enterprise have to earn their money and them purchasing a ticket from a STH on the knowledge that there's a risk they'd not sell the ticket, seems fair enough to me.

This is just a way for the club/viagogo to increase the money they take from us supporters.

[Stranded]

They don't purchase the ticket though. They offer the opportunity for a 3rd party to sell on an unwanted ticket at your own risk.

Did a quick look and for the Arsenal game the cheapest ticket is £40, so face value but you have to pay over £46 when fees are added.

[Green]

Sounds like a good service to me - wish there'd been similar when I had a season ticket (circa 1997) Sure a third party takes an annoying fee but that's life Alexander. And you can't really blame the club for outsourcing this.

The above said I wonder what the monopolies and mergers commission would make of it?

[mr_number]

I'm surprised that so many people are comfortable with this system which is only likely to encourage more rich, casual supporters to games, and further dilute the atmosphere, as well as helping a company which really is offering limited added value to make more money out of supporters.

[Green]

encourage more rich, casual supporters to games, and further dilute the atmosphere

Oh come on it's never exactly been the South Bank ever since the move to the Mad Stad has it?

May as well embrace the fact that that is footballs demographic these days, and cater to it.

[Alexander Litvinenko]

...but that's life Alexander. ....[/quote]

May as well embrace the fact that that is footballs demographic these days, and cater to it.

I'm sorry but I don't subscribe to that level of unquestioning acceptance and fatalism.

No, nothing will be done about it because these days the club is 99.9% money-orientated and nothing else matters, but where they are doing something wrong it needs to be pointed out, rather than people just tutting and saying "that's how it is".

Because that's the sort of blind acceptance that got football to where it is today!

[Green]

It's not fatalism it's realism - if you don't like it go and support a club like AFC Wimbledon or Bournemouth.

But if you do choose to "support" a business like Reading FC then you can't really argue when they try and make money.

[mr_number]

encourage more rich, casual supporters to games, and further dilute the atmosphere

Oh come on it's never exactly been the South Bank ever since the move to the Mad Stad has it?

May as well embrace the fact that that is footballs demographic these days, and cater to it.

I disagree- I think increasing prices to the highest level where there is still demand is a short-termist policy, whereby families and less wealthy fans are priced out of attending games, and in the long run will be a A Bad Thing.

However, even if I accepted your point, I would suggest that this system whereby the club doesn't make much (/any?) additional revenue out of the scheme means that it's not really standing to benefit at all (which I assume is why you think the club should pursue wealthier fans), other than earning some good will from season ticket holders who have previously had to find friends etc to use their tickets if they can't go.

[Green]

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

[mr_number]

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...

[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.

[Green]

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.

[Alexander Litvinenko]

It's not fatalism it's realism - if you don't like it go and support a club like AFC Wimbledon or Bournemouth.

But if you do choose to "support" a business like Reading FC then you can't really argue when they try and make money.

I didn't "choose" a football team like I'd choose a supermarket - it's not as simple an equation like that. The football team that I've supported since I was 16 is now doing things that I don't like.

[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.