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Louis CK selling tickets to latest tour exclusively on his site

buy.louisck.net

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Re: Louis CK selling tickets to latest tour exclusively on his site

#71

Post by eslaught »

moe wrote: post #63
tjic wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In general, I 100% agree with you that prices should rise or fall until markets clear, but there is a counter argument that I believe is correct in some cases: Fans are a complex system, and the people who might turn out for dozens and dozens of shows over years, create buzz, convert friends to your cause, etc. may not have the funds to pay for tickets priced at the margin. Thus, it might be a mistake to charge marke…

the people who might turn out for dozens and dozens of shows over years, create buzz, convert friends to your cause, etc. may not have the funds to pay for tickets priced at the margin Maybe that could be solved with a loyalty system? E.g. tickets could get a discount weighted according to how many tickets you've previously bought for that act. Of course the discount should only apply for one ticket (or a small numbe…

Not how many tickets you have bought, but how many shows you have actually shown up to. Scan people's tickets at the door, and keep a database so that you can reward those who attend reliably.

Re: Louis CK selling tickets to latest tour exclusively on his site

#72

Post by secretcurse »

guelo wrote: post #52

It's pretty weird how popular music and comedy acts resist setting ticket prices at market clearing levels. If you're selling tickets at a flat rate and a sellout happens in a few minutes that means your tickets were too cheap. Shortages in a market are bad and can be solved with higher prices. Acts that leave surplus on the table are mostly benefiting scalpers not the fans, and it is also part of the reason Ticketma…

In the email he sent announcing this ticketing system, Louis CK explained that he's making what he considers plenty of money, so he wants tickets to be inexpensive for his fans. They also have their system set up so that if they can tell that someone is scalping their tickets, they will refund the money and revoke the tickets. I agree with you in general, but Louis CK doesn't give a shit that he's leaving money on the table. He wants it to be easy for his fans to get to his shows.

Re: Louis CK selling tickets to latest tour exclusively on his site

#73

Post by jeffool »

eslaught wrote: post #71
moe wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

the people who might turn out for dozens and dozens of shows over years, create buzz, convert friends to your cause, etc. may not have the funds to pay for tickets priced at the margin Maybe that could be solved with a loyalty system? E.g. tickets could get a discount weighted according to how many tickets you've previously bought for that act. Of course the discount should only apply for one ticket (or a small numbe…

Not how many tickets you have bought , but how many shows you have actually shown up to . Scan people's tickets at the door, and keep a database so that you can reward those who attend reliably.

That's the same thing unless you have some kind of double authentication to prove the person who bought the ticket is the same one using it at the show. Like, say, matching it to an outside-authenticating number, like SSN or driver's license number.

Otherwise a scalper can just use "employees" to purchase a few tickets (the limit) at each venue, and resell them.

Re: Louis CK selling tickets to latest tour exclusively on his site

#74

Post by dandelany »

jeffool wrote: post #73
eslaught wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not how many tickets you have bought , but how many shows you have actually shown up to . Scan people's tickets at the door, and keep a database so that you can reward those who attend reliably.

That's the same thing unless you have some kind of double authentication to prove the person who bought the ticket is the same one using it at the show. Like, say, matching it to an outside-authenticating number, like SSN or driver's license number. Otherwise a scalper can just use "employees" to purchase a few tickets (the limit) at each venue, and resell them.

The fans would know about the discount, so I'm sure they'd be more than happy to give their name and show a driver's license at the door.

Re: Louis CK selling tickets to latest tour exclusively on his site

#76

Post by eupharis »

tptacek wrote: post #69
antidoh wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"If you're selling tickets at a flat rate and a sellout happens in a few minutes that means your tickets were too cheap." Not necessarily. I see nothing wrong with attempting to control the entire end to end experience, including ticket price. If he's selling at $45 because that's what he wants, there's nothing wrong with that. Or should cancer or diabetes pills be $1000 per pill because the manufacturer will find en…

But it's inefficient: at an artificially low price (let's stipulate that's what $45 is for Louis C.K.), the show attracts more buyers, a larger proportion of whom aren't dedicated fans. Meanwhile, dedicated fans (not heartless rich people) might be perfectly happy to pay $46, $48, or $54 dollars; they can't, though, because they've been locked out by a flood of superficial fans. This is to say nothing of the deadweig…

There are lots of dedicated fans who are locked out by a price higher than $45.

To some people, $45 is a huge amount for a single night of entertainment. To other people it is an insignificant amount.

Pricing the tickets higher/lower than $45 has much more to do with this distinction than it does with the level of fan dedication.

Re: Louis CK selling tickets to latest tour exclusively on his site

#77

Post by shalmanese »

guelo wrote: post #52

It's pretty weird how popular music and comedy acts resist setting ticket prices at market clearing levels. If you're selling tickets at a flat rate and a sellout happens in a few minutes that means your tickets were too cheap. Shortages in a market are bad and can be solved with higher prices. Acts that leave surplus on the table are mostly benefiting scalpers not the fans, and it is also part of the reason Ticketma…

You need to put down your name when you buy your ticket and they reserve the right to check ID at the door, meaning it's impractical for scalpers to buy them.

Selling out soon is not a major problem if you assume your biggest fans are those who are willing to act the fastest. I bought a ticket a few minutes after I got the email to ensure I wouldn't dither for a day and not be able to get them.

Re: Louis CK selling tickets to latest tour exclusively on his site

#78

Post by toddh »

guelo wrote: post #52

It's pretty weird how popular music and comedy acts resist setting ticket prices at market clearing levels. If you're selling tickets at a flat rate and a sellout happens in a few minutes that means your tickets were too cheap. Shortages in a market are bad and can be solved with higher prices. Acts that leave surplus on the table are mostly benefiting scalpers not the fans, and it is also part of the reason Ticketma…

Some people like to set a fair price and live with the consequences. It may not be clever, but it is simple and rewarding in a personal sense.

Re: Louis CK selling tickets to latest tour exclusively on his site

#79

Post by hristov »

I am not sure I like his solution for scalping. How is he going to know if a ticket has been scalped in order to cancel it? Is he going to rely on the actual scalper to give up their client? That is unlikely to happen. Also, when he cancels a ticket will he refund the original 45 price or the scalped price? It would have to be the original price because otherwise he is opening himself to fraud and huge losses. But if he only returns the original price, then the person that bought the ticket would be fucked. And that person, even if they did buy from a scalper, is presumably a big Louis CK fan (since they bought the ticket at an inflated price). And pissing off your fans is never a good idea. There will be a lot of anger and internet backlash if he actually goes through with his threat of cancelling tickets.

I have actually thought about scalping and here is my solution. It works very well for a comedy show, actually. He should announce a single show (not a tour) in a big city, like LA or NY. He should not have any special rules against scalpers other than saying "reselling this ticket is prohibited". Now the fun part starts. If the tickets get bought out too fast (indicating scalping) he should say "my show sold out very quickly, so in order to afford my fans a way to see me without paying high fees to scalpers, I will do another show in the same city, the next day (or a couple of days after the original show). The price for the new show will be the same, so do not pay any scalpers, just buy the tickets for the second show at face value." If the second show sells out very quickly, then he can just announce a third one. And so on.

Thus, he makes extra money and causes a lot of potential losses for scalpers. Scalpers may have to sell at cost (which means they have to take losses for their sales commissions), or if they buy too many tickets and do not move fast enough, they may even have to sell at a loss.

And the prospect that he can pull this trick any time will likely prevent the smarter and better funded scalpers from ever trying to scalp his shows again.

This would work in a big city, because in a big city it is usually not a problem to get a new venue on a relatively short notice. It would also work better for a comedy show, because a comedy show does not require too much production, so it is possible to change schedules without too much pain.

Re: Louis CK selling tickets to latest tour exclusively on his site

#80

Post by waterlesscloud »

jeffool wrote: post #73
eslaught wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not how many tickets you have bought , but how many shows you have actually shown up to . Scan people's tickets at the door, and keep a database so that you can reward those who attend reliably.

That's the same thing unless you have some kind of double authentication to prove the person who bought the ticket is the same one using it at the show. Like, say, matching it to an outside-authenticating number, like SSN or driver's license number. Otherwise a scalper can just use "employees" to purchase a few tickets (the limit) at each venue, and resell them.

I suspect it would be illegal to use SSN, but it's still an interesting idea.
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