OT: Thoughts on Mobile-Only Entry

[kgilbert78]

I just found out this week that the Blue Jackets (and, indeed, the entire NHL) have gone to mobile-only entry (excepting season passes)--6 days before the (pre)season starts. No "print your own" pdf's will be permitted. I do not own--nor do I have any intention of owning--a smart phone. So I'm unable to buy extra tickets or exchange any tickets I cannot use. I'd already transferred tickets to Monday's game (as I'll still be coming home from Happy Valley) to a buddy--and he cannot figure out how to access them (and he does have that tech).

Looks like this is the policy of the entire NFL as well as the Yankees. I expect that this policy shortly will become universal. I understand part of this--more secure tickets (as there has been some counterfeiting and cheating with multiple pdf's of the same ticket). Yet you are locking out a certain percentage of your ticket base--and scalping as we know it will come to an end. You really won't be able to dispose of a ticket last minute at all, if something comes up. But it's really so that TicketBa$tard will get a monopoly. Third-party brokers will be out of luck--either they'll be put out of business by fees coming from TicketBa$tard, or TicketBa$tard will temporarily lower their fees to put the third party brokers out of business by undercutting them and then raising fees after they are gone.

I'm interested in others' thoughts on this. This may be my last PSU game that I'll be able to attend if this policy goes into effect nationwide.

 

[slykens]

For the Penguins:

What if my phone is not compatible?

Any smartphone that can browse the Internet can load a mobile ticket. If you don't have a Smartphone, please go directly to the Guest Service windows at the DICK'S Sporting Goods Box Office located inside the Highmark Gate. As long as you have a photo ID and a valid Penguins or Ticketmaster account, a traditional hard stock paper ticket will be printed for you to use.


Obviously it is a revenue based decision - trying to keep more resale revenue and fees flowing through them but it looks like it is possible to transfer tickets for free. Now we just need cellular service to work outside the venues - Lord knows it has taken fifteen years for ATT and VZW to produce a somewhat usable network at Beaver Stadium on game day.

 

[RGWhirly]

Penn State Hockey is doing that this year. Either you got hard tix or you do mobile. If you do hard tix and you want to sell them you have to send them the hard tix, no pdf. With the mobile you can still sell and transfer however it has to be done through the Penn State/Ticketmaster app and they have to upload tix to their phone.

 

[john4psu]

Keep an eye on your battery remaining for those that have battery issues. You don't want your phone to go dead before getting your mobile ticket scanned.

 

[kgilbert78]

For the Penguins:

What if my phone is not compatible?

Any smartphone that can browse the Internet can load a mobile ticket. If you don't have a Smartphone, please go directly to the Guest Service windows at the DICK'S Sporting Goods Box Office located inside the Highmark Gate. As long as you have a photo ID and a valid Penguins or Ticketmaster account, a traditional hard stock paper ticket will be printed for you to use.


Obviously it is a revenue based decision - trying to keep more resale revenue and fees flowing through them but it looks like it is possible to transfer tickets for free. Now we just need cellular service to work outside the venues - Lord knows it has taken fifteen years for ATT and VZW to produce a somewhat usable network at Beaver Stadium on game day.

I'll note--I have a flip phone--the photos it takes are ca. 50K. My wife has an old (very old) phone that doesn't even have a camera or a video screen. We both use pay-as-you go phones. And I think the issue of service working outside the venue is a very real issue at the larger venues that are geographically isolated (like the Beav).

My expectation is that transfer is free--for now. Later? Revenue stream. In my market, at a number of venues, you still have to pay the Ticketmaster fees even if you go to the venue box office.

The Jackets have not given out similar info yet, BTW. I was told in a chat that they "will do something to accommodate". We'll see, as the first puck drops in 5 days.

Edit: I've heard that the Yankees also provide accommodations for this.

But--quote from a Yankee's Exec:

Considering baseball's popularity among older fans, one wonders what impact the shift to mobile ticketing might have. Trost dismissed this idea. "In today's world of millennials, I can't imagine anyone who's not smartphone savvy who wants to come to the ballpark," he said. "But when they do, they can get a hard-stock ticket."

Pretty arrogant...

 

[kgilbert78]

Penn State Hockey is doing that this year. Either you got hard tix or you do mobile. If you do hard tix and you want to sell them you have to send them the hard tix, no pdf. With the mobile you can still sell and transfer however it has to be done through the Penn State/Ticketmaster app and they have to upload tix to their phone.

I'd be ok with hard tickets, frankly.

 

[RGWhirly]

I'd be ok with hard tickets, frankly.

We went with mobile option. Already loaded our tix into Apple Wallet and have already sold some tix and they were able to upload them to their phone. We will see how it all goes.

 

[LeatherHelmets]

Sometime soon they'll be scanning the chips that will be planted in the backs of our heads. Yeah I know, dinosaur era thinking.

 

[PAgeologist]

For those unwilling to go the smart phone route, I would bet an iPod or similar device could be used as well. I don't know the prices of them, but I bet you could pick up an older one for cheap.

I would much rather have a physical ticket in my hand, but that seems to be a option that may be going away slowly.

 

[UncleLar]

Penn State Hockey is doing that this year. Either you got hard tix or you do mobile. If you do hard tix and you want to sell them you have to send them the hard tix, no pdf. With the mobile you can still sell and transfer however it has to be done through the Penn State/Ticketmaster app and they have to upload tix to their phone.

All Penn State sports, save football, have gone the mobile only route.

 

[kgilbert78]

For those unwilling to go the smart phone route, I would bet an iPod or similar device could be used as well. I don't know the prices of them, but I bet you could pick up an older one for cheap.

I would much rather have a physical ticket in my hand, but that seems to be a option that may be going away slowly.

For the NHL, you have to have their app. Not sure if that would work with an old IPod. And IPod's have many of the same issues. For one, you have to have connectivity to have the ticket available when you get to the venue.

But why should I need more tech just to go to a game??

One other issue--many artists prohibit cell phones at their concerts--for good reason. So how's that going to work?

 

[MJG-90]

If you do hard tix and you want to sell them you have to send them the hard tix, no pdf.

This is not true. You can still sell your tix via the ticket exchange. Once sold, like past years, the paper ticket becomes void and an electronic version is created for the purchaser.

 

[David1956]

I'm interested in others' thoughts on this. This may be my last PSU game that I'll be able to attend if this policy goes into effect nationwide.

You can get a cheap smart phone with pay as you go provisions.

 

[91Joe95]

For the NHL, you have to have their app. Not sure if that would work with an old IPod. And IPod's have many of the same issues. For one, you have to have connectivity to have the ticket available when you get to the venue.

But why should I need more tech just to go to a game??

One other issue--many artists prohibit cell phones at their concerts--for good reason. So how's that going to work?

Any smart device that you can load the app on should work. Just open and load your tickets before you leave, and don't close the app. Connectivity should not be required or a large portion would have problems getting in based on service providers.

 

[MJG-90]

Connectivity should not be required or a large portion would have problems getting in based on service providers.

Our venues have WiFi -- LOL, though I've never had much luck connecting to it. So probably shouldn't count on that either.

 

[RGWhirly]

This is not true. You can still sell your tix via the ticket exchange. Once sold, like past years, the paper ticket becomes void and an electronic version is created for the purchaser.

Yes you can sell your tix via ticket exchange but they cannot print off a paper
pdf like in the past, they have to bring up mobile version on a phone or some sort of tablet.

 

[kgilbert78]

You can get a cheap smart phone with pay as you go provisions.

I could. But I do not want to. They get expensive and for a number of different reasons, I do not want the distractions of a smart phone (I do use pay as you go for my regular cell, BTW).

 

[MJG-90]

Yes you can sell your tix via ticket exchange but they cannot print off a paper
pdf like in the past, they have to bring up mobile version on a phone or some sort of tablet.

Right, but you initially said I have to send the purchaser the paper tickets. That is what I quoted and what I said is not true.

 

[RGWhirly]

Right, but you initially said I have to send the purchaser the paper tickets. That is what I quoted and what I said is not true.

Yep, my bad, did not get my whole thought written out because in the past would just send folks a pdf version when they bought them a lot of time. So now you have to send them hard tix or they have to go mobile.

 

[psu1969a]

I just found out this week that the Blue Jackets (and, indeed, the entire NHL) have gone to mobile-only entry (excepting season passes)--6 days before the (pre)season starts. No "print your own" pdf's will be permitted. I do not own--nor do I have any intention of owning--a smart phone. So I'm unable to buy extra tickets or exchange any tickets I cannot use. I'd already transferred tickets to Monday's game (as I'll still be coming home from Happy Valley) to a buddy--and he cannot figure out how to access them (and he does have that tech).

Looks like this is the policy of the entire NFL as well as the Yankees. I expect that this policy shortly will become universal. I understand part of this--more secure tickets (as there has been some counterfeiting and cheating with multiple pdf's of the same ticket). Yet you are locking out a certain percentage of your ticket base--and scalping as we know it will come to an end. You really won't be able to dispose of a ticket last minute at all, if something comes up. But it's really so that TicketBa$tard will get a monopoly. Third-party brokers will be out of luck--either they'll be put out of business by fees coming from TicketBa$tard, or TicketBa$tard will temporarily lower their fees to put the third party brokers out of business by undercutting them and then raising fees after they are gone.

I'm interested in others' thoughts on this. This may be my last PSU game that I'll be able to attend if this policy goes into effect nationwide.

Use my solution that I told our AD, Ticket Manager, et al; will stay home.

 

[PAgeologist]

For the NHL, you have to have their app. Not sure if that would work with an old IPod. And IPod's have many of the same issues. For one, you have to have connectivity to have the ticket available when you get to the venue.

But why should I need more tech just to go to a game??

One other issue--many artists prohibit cell phones at their concerts--for good reason. So how's that going to work?

Good points. I can see it becoming a real issue when people can't get into a game cause their phone crashed or the wifi doesn't work somewhere.

And as for not being allowed phones for concerts, that's an interesting one. The venue and the artist contradicting each other. Not sure how they would handle that

 

[kgilbert78]

Good points. I can see it becoming a real issue when people can't get into a game cause their phone crashed or the wifi doesn't work somewhere.

And as for not being allowed phones for concerts, that's an interesting one. The venue and the artist contradicting each other. Not sure how they would handle that

Ticketmaster likely will tell the artists "Good luck with that" and won't enforce it. It's not like there's many venues they can go to that aren't ticketed by Ticketmaster anymore.

 

[kgilbert78]

Use my solution that I told our AD, Ticket Manager, et al; will stay home.

I am beginning to get to that point. This just might be my last PSU home game (though more for the expense rather than just the tickets). But if this goes through for road games too....