Read this article today:
An investigation of ticket sales for a Hannah Montana appearance at Alltel Arena in North Little Rock on Dec. 1 resulted in a consumer alert Friday from Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniels office.
A news release from McDaniels office said that, only a few minutes after sales of the tickets began, consumers at the box office and those who went to the Ticketmaster web site were told that the concert had sold out.
Fueling their frustration, consumers came to find that a number of other Internet sites were auctioning the tickets at prices far beyond the face value, the release said. Additionally, some Internet sites offered tickets even before they were to be made available to the public.
After many complaints from disappointed parents, McDaniel initiated an investigation of the Hannah Montana ticket sales.
I have a young daughter, and I really wish I could fix this problem for all the parents with disappointed kids right now, McDaniel said. However, what our investigation reveals thus far is that many of the tickets intended to be sold directly to Arkansas consumers were diverted to as-yet-unidentified bulk purchasers.
McDaniel warned that some of the tickets offered for resale on the Internet may be bogus. Some online ticket sellers may not actually have the tickets they are offering, he said, while others may be selling counterfeit tickets, and there may be no way for the purchaser to know until showing up at an event if the ticket bought online from a reseller is legitimate.
He urged consumers considering buying tickets online to:
Know who they are buying from.
Avoid paying a seller directly using cash or a check, using instead a service that involves a credit card, as use of a credit card is more likely to offer some recourse for disputing the charge if the tickets turn out to be bogus.
Research the seller and the site, looking for a seller with a current, ongoing history of satisfied customers rather than one that has made only a few sales.
This article was published Friday, September 21, 2007.
Interesting, especially since like many other venues Ticketmaster listed that sales would be limited to only Arkansas residents, and that the 4 ticket limit would be enforced. Not bitter, just find the article interesting.
Good luck to all those still trying and congrats to everyone who got theirs so far!