Maybe The VIP Route Is A GOOD Thing

[Necromancer23]

Like everyone I too was initially very turned off when checking Buffalo for VIP tickets and seeing they wouldn't reveal what tickets you're getting.

 

But think of it this way. If you were a scalper, would you blindly pay $300 for a ticket, not knowing the location up front? The swag obviously means nothing to them, and judging from the many comments here are about it's mediocre quality, getting this stuff with the ticket would not be much of an incentive to potential buyers in the know. Heck, the scalpers might even try to sell the swag separately.

 

So my theory is Ticketmaster is not revealing the ticket location to freeze out the brokers. We all know Ticketmaster and the band are all making a major pile off of the ticket prices as is. So for them there's no point in helping the brokers make a buck too. In fact, cutting out the third-party brokers makes the show overall more affordable for everyone while still allowing people who want to pay more to get the best seats.

 

This system may be a lot like the Ten club for Pearl Jam fans. For many, many years (even before MP3 file sharing came along), Pearl Jam has offered their fan club members exclusive access to the top 15 or 20 rows on the floor. Like here, you had to order the tickets in advance and you didn't know what you were getting until it arrived in your mailbox.

 

But I know for a fact that Pearl Jam actually walks the walk here and delivers on their promise. On the last tour for Toronto it was almost impossible to even find ANYTHING in the first 20 rows, even from StubHub or eBay. I think I only ever saw 1 or 2 pairs of ANYTHING in the first 20 rows. That proved to me that the first 20 rows all did in fact go directly to fans simply because what fan would want to re-sell their prime ticket?