One of the features that has eyebrows lifting and people talking is showing the original price of the ticket alongside the seller’s price.

On a true marketplace that brings buyers and sellers together, the seller sets his or her price. That’s true on TicketsNow as well – the fan who owns his pair of seats to a football game and can’t use them will decide what he wants to sell them for, much like someone selling a used car will determine what the right price is before placing an ad on craigslist.

However, the “original” price, which is also called the “face value” price, is the price for which the ticket was originally sold by the event provider. On some of the top concert tours this summer, we are now showing that original price with the seller’s price. Why? Because we believe that customers should know exactly what they are buying. And while most of the time the seller’s price will be above the original price (hey, most sellers want to make a profit), it will help you as the potential buyer really understand how much of a premium you are paying for that seat. And in some cases, you’ll find out that the seller is actually selling it for less than they paid for it, making it a great deal.

It’s important to know that we do our absolute best to get the correct original price through our partnership with Ticketmaster. However, there are many ways that the original ticket could have been sold and each way could have been priced slightly different and have included different additional fees. So please keep in mind that original price may not be exactly the same price the original buyer purchased the tickets for, but should be a fair representation of the average price at which a ticket from that same area was originally priced.

It’s a great new feature and a real first for our industry. It certainly is generating a lot of buzz and we’d love to hear your feedback.

Shawn Freeman
President, TicketsNow

Fans told us that knowing whether or not original tickets were still available at Ticketmaster when shopping at TicketsNow would help them make a better buying decision.

As I mentioned in a previous post, we’ve launched this important new feature as part of our “Fans Up Front” program. Ultimately, a fan purchasing a resale ticket should be doing so because they want a premium seat that is no longer available from the primary source, which could be the venue box office or the venue’s primary ticketing agent, such as Ticketmaster.

And while it may seem odd for a business to give information to customers that may cause them to not buy from us, we strongly believe it will lead to happier and more satisfied customers.

This feature is available today on our site for some of the summer’s top concert tours. For more information on the program and which tours we’ve enabled, please click here.

The response to “Fans Up Front” so far has been overwhelmingly positive. I’d like to thank those of you who have already provided feedback and welcome all other comments, suggestions, and ideas.

I look forward to sharing additional updates with you in the near future.

Shawn Freeman
President, TicketsNow

Since suspending these practices many months ago, TicketsNow has severed relationships with affiliates that refused to comply with the company’s business standards by committing to respecting third-party intellectual property rights. TicketsNow recently began the roll-out of its Fans Up Front resale transparency initiative for select concert tours, with features including (1) the display of the original “face value” of the ticket in addition to resale market prices and (2) notice to consumers and a link when primary tickets are still available on Ticketmaster. Additionally, TicketsNow now offers Ticketmaster’s TicketFast® electronic ticket validation and delivery technology on select sales, providing fans access to convenient and secure electronic ticket delivery and validation.

We call on other resale sites to align with our efforts to create a more transparent and consumer-friendly industry and trust that the Illinois AG and other public officials will act accordingly to protect the public.

Today we are launching the initial features of this new initiative, “Fans Up Front.” These features are the first of many changes designed to give fans of live entertainment unprecedented information and insight into the ticket resale buying experience.

Initially available on some of the summer’s hottest concerts, the new “Fans Up Front” features include:

• Total Price Transparency – TicketsNow will show you the original ticket price (“face value”) in addition to resale market prices.
• Know Before You Buy – TicketsNow will let you know whether original price seats are still available on Ticketmaster and provides a direct link to take you there.

For a full list of tours and more information, click here.

These are ground-breaking new features that will help fans make more informed buying decisions to see their favorite artists this summer. And there is much more to come. In the coming months, we will be expanding the number of tours and events that are “Fans Up Front” enabled. And we have other exciting new features planned for later this year.

We are proud and excited about this first step in transforming our industry. Your feedback has helped us design these first features and your continued input will help us make sure we are building the absolute best resale buying experience. Please tell us what you think.

I look forward to sharing more details about “Fans Up Front” with you in the near future.

Shawn Freeman
President, TicketsNow

Even with the best intentions, because we’re an open marketplace sellers can place items for sale quickly (just as on any marketplace or auction website) and we cannot monitor every posting every time. So please help us enforce this fan-friendly policy. If you notice something, please email our customer assistance at manager@ticketsnow.com. Thanks for checking out TicketsNow.

Our TicketsNow Street Team is out and about capturing more of the fun and excitement of Super Bowl Week in Tampa. We’re heading over to the NFL Experience now looking for more TicketsNow Brag Dancers willing to strut their stuff on video. We’ll be sure to share footage tomorrow!

Yesterday, we had people lined up to participate in our interactive video promotion, which allowed the Steelers supporters and Cardinals enthusiasts to ham it up in front of a green screen. From 8 to 80, football fans of all ages couldn’t wait for their turn to show us their best TicketsNow Brag Dance. This link will give you a glimpse of the fantastic fans we met yesterday in the plaza.

Tonight in Tampa, the Bud Bowl rocks again with 3 Doors Down, while funnyman Dane Cook takes the stage at St. Pete Times Forum. Tomorrow it’s the NFL Tailgate Party featuring Journey and then…it’s game time!

Be sure to check back tomorrow for more from Tampa!

Right now the Goodyear Blimp is circling the skies above and down here on the plaza we’ve assembled our TicketsNow Street Team. Fans are lining up for our exciting, interactive, TicketsNow Brag Dance video promotion. We are giving football fans the chance to perform their best Super Bowl Brag Dance while we capture it all on video. We then email a copy of the video to them so that they can share the experience with all their friends. We’ve even had a Troy Polamalu “look-alike” stop by. (Take a look at the photo.) The crowd is loving this!

More celebrities have been spotted here in town, including Super Bowl-winning QB Donovan McNabb and the soon-to-be-touring Britney Spears. Tonight in Tampa, it’s the Bud Bowl featuring Snoop Dogg and the Pepsi Musica Super Bowl Fiesta with Enrique Iglesias headlining. It’s sure to be another stellar evening in the Super Bowl host city.

Check back for more photos and videos of our TicketsNow Street Team in action!

I’m hanging out here in the Channelside courtyard with the TicketsNow Street Team…we’re getting ready to set up an amazing interactive promotion. More details (and video) on this to come.

Beyond the Super Bowl, there’s so much going on here in Tampa. Today, Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker was spotted in Channelside as was football great (and “Dancing with the Stars” celeb) Warren Sapp. Tonight legendary rockers The Eagles take the stage at the St. Pete Times Forum while Rhianna and Fall Out Boy are ready to rock the Pepsi Smash at Ford Amphitheater.

There truly is something for everyone here. Tomorrow I’m going to check out the NFL Experience. Plus, I’ll have more details on our exciting Street Team promotion.

Be sure to check back!

I am thrilled to announce that the NFL has teamed with Ticketmaster and TicketsNow to offer fans the first-ever Official Ticket Exchange of the NFL for Super Bowl XLIII. This partnership will enable Ticketmaster, through the TicketsNow platform, to power the NFL’s own Super Bowl ticket resale site and support the official point-of-sale retail location in Tampa. The service will provide fans the opportunity to find and buy tickets in a secure environment, in most cases with the ability to electronically validate tickets at the time of purchase. We are extremely excited about this opportunity and I’ll be blogging about our activities down there periodically from now until the big game.

This month, we’ve seen solid demand for NFL playoff tickets with many big-market teams driving heavy demand for some of the best games we’ve seen in years. And the Arizona Cardinals sales have exploded! Their long-suffering fans are certainly eager to cheer their team on. Congratulations to those of you with Cardinals inventory!

It should be a great playoff season and run to the Super Bowl. We are looking forward to working with you to make it a great success for all.

Happy New Year and best wishes for 2009.

Shawn

After achieving the goals I set out when I joined the company, I’ve decided to leave the company at the end of the year. I do so knowing that a lot of positive change, both at the company and within the industry, has occurred in just the last two years.

For TicketsNow, the most dramatic change has been its acquisition and integration into Ticketmaster. This combination reflects the changing nature of live events, the role of global resale, and the natural evolution of the ticketing industry as a whole. Working as one organization creates tremendous benefits for both fans and brokers alike. We are able to innovate and create new solutions such as real-time ticket acquisition, validation, and delivery through TicketFast, which greatly enhances the consumer ticketing experience and reduces the brokers’ cost of doing business. A new marketing platform enabling the integration of tickets through multiple distribution points creates greater choice for consumers and traffic flow for our supply partners. Wedding the TicketsNow supply with Ticketmaster traffic is the ideal way to help consumers gain access to the events that they may not have the opportunity to see and for brokers to grow their businesses.

One of the things I applaud all of the market participants for and am proud of is the growth of the resale business – not simply in terms of transaction volume, but in its stature and prominence. To see evidence of this progress, one simply needs to consider the recent partnership with Yahoo!, the first of its kind to simultaneously offer fans of live entertainment the largest inventory of tickets in both the primary and resale categories; or earlier this year, with the US Open, where for the first time resale was embraced by the USTA at the premier tennis event in the world. These and other partnerships are changing resale and redefining the entire industry.

I continue to fervently believe that resale will play an even greater role in the live event industry, becoming more seamlessly integrated into the buying experience. Therefore, it is critical that all market participants, providers and brokers alike, continue to put the consumer first, act with the utmost integrity and transparency, and embrace this change. Ultimately, we are in the business of helping people create memories by connecting them with all of the fun and excitement of live entertainment.

I appreciate the opportunity to work alongside some of the best people in the industry and wish to thank you all for taking the time to read our blog and share your comments with us.

- Cheryl