E-tickets for CU home games.

[Not Sure]

Interested in getting thoughts on CU going to electronic tickets starting this year. I know it’s cheaper, so I understand the desire on their part to go in this direction. E-tickets and their sale is much easier to track. That concerns me. A ticket sale should be reasonably anonymous. Does this effectively kill the secondary ticket market? Are scalpers a thing of the past?

 

[dio]

Interested in getting thoughts on CU going to electronic tickets starting this year. I know it’s cheaper, so I understand the desire on their part to go in this direction. E-tickets and their sale is much easier to track. That concerns me. A ticket sale should be reasonably anonymous. Does this effectively kill the secondary ticket market? Are scalpers a thing of the past?

My experience with Ticketmaster is that you can easily transfer the tickets electronically.

 

[Jens1893]

Interested in getting thoughts on CU going to electronic tickets starting this year. I know it’s cheaper, so I understand the desire on their part to go in this direction. E-tickets and their sale is much easier to track. That concerns me. A ticket sale should be reasonably anonymous. Does this effectively kill the secondary ticket market? Are scalpers a thing of the past?

They will argue with security etc. The secondary market with touts will always be there, especially in the States where it's more accepted than here, but at the end of the day this is probably them looking to get their cut of it.

Out of interest, how are they managing it? Are they going e-ticket exclusively with no more print@home? Did they set up an app where your tickets are stored?

I know the NFL went there a few seasons ago and while I can see the reasons and like the convenience I am a little sad as I always liked having ticket stubs and liked the designs etc. I also think that CU should make it as easy as possible to share tickets given our attendance problems and that it's probably a difficult task to get face value when you can't go or have a spare.

 

[Jens1893]

My experience with Ticketmaster is that you can easily transfer the tickets electronically.

Yes, but there's a trace.

 

[hokiehead]

You're mostly correct.

almost all concert tix are strictly electronic now and have been for a few years. it doesn't kill the secondary market, but it consolidates it to the original sales source (e.g. AXS) or a few leading second hand sources (e.g. Stubhub).

Until a few years ago, I almost exclusively bought tickets on the secondary ticket market, almost never showing up for games or concerts with tickets purchased ahead of time. With electronic tickets, people with extras to get rid of just before the event starts seem more inclined to eat the cost than do an electronic ticket transfer in the lot outside the venue. I'd be happy to walk into the venue with the seller in exchange for cash, but people w/ e-tix don't stand outside the gate trying to sell the way they would when they had paper tix.

Craigslist used to be a fantastic place to pick up second-hand tickets for good value, but it's now almost all scammers.

Another thing that's recently become popular with concert ticket sales is paying a premium for "transferable tickets" -- I can pay $100 for a ticket that only someone with an official ID linked to my name can use, or pay $125 for a ticket that can be used by anyone. Sort of a backup money maker to the "ticket insurance" they've been selling.

There's a few sites/organizations trying to cut into the current second-hand market (e.g. Cash or Trade), but they're not gaining much traction yet.

I'm curious about your statement "A ticket sale should be reasonably anonymous". why do you feel this way? if I manage an event venue, having some control or at least knowledge over who attends would be highly desirable to me.

 

[Not Sure]

I'm curious about your statement "A ticket sale should be reasonably anonymous". why do you feel this way? if I manage an event venue, having some control or at least knowledge over who attends would be highly desirable to me.

Two things: one, it’s my ticket. Once I buy it, why does the issuer have any claim or influence over what I do with it? Second, and probably more importantly, I know that in many cases, the issuer will set limits on how many times a season ticket holder can transfer his tickets to others before they revoke that season ticket. I came across a story on LinkedIn a few years ago by a Broncos season ticket holder who wanted to keep his season tickets, but recently had a child and had to take a few years off from actually attending the games. He sold his tickets through their portal only to have the Broncos tell him his season tickets had been revoked. Guy was a long time season ticket holder (might have been a family thing passed down from generation to generation). The Broncos screwed him hard. That’s the kind of thing that should never happen, but going to e-tickets makes it much more likely.

 

[Jens1893]

Two things: one, it’s my ticket. Once I buy it, why does the issuer have any claim or influence over what I do with it? Second, and probably more importantly, I know that in many cases, the issuer will set limits on how many times a season ticket holder can transfer his tickets to others before they revoke that season ticket. I came across a story on LinkedIn a few years ago by a Broncos season ticket holder who wanted to keep his season tickets, but recently had a child and had to take a few years off from actually attending the games. He sold his tickets through their portal only to have the Broncos tell him his season tickets had been revoked. Guy was a long time season ticket holder (might have been a family thing passed down from generation to generation). The Broncos screwed him hard. That’s the kind of thing that should never happen, but going to e-tickets makes it much more likely.

But their event.

 

[Not Sure]

But their event.

Yeah. I get that.
Maybe my expectations are unreasonable in the times we are living in, but if too many restrictions are placed on what I can do with something I paid a LOT of money for, it rapidly becomes something I’m not terribly interested in buying any longer.

 

[Jens1893]

Yeah. I get that.
Maybe my expectations are unreasonable in the times we are living in, but if too many restrictions are placed on what I can do with something I paid a LOT of money for, it rapidly becomes something I’m not terribly interested in buying any longer.

I get where you are coming from, but they'll argue with security.

I also don't get the NFL bag policy and hope we don't get it here as I usually always have a small sling/cross body bag with me as I don't like putting stuff in my pockets (if the pants I am wearing even have them).

 

[hokiehead]

tangent, but I used to prize my collection of ticket stubs. I would spend a few hours every year during the first week of January sorting through the stubs form the previous year, reminiscing on the event and sometimes making notes on the back ("with Cam and Kyle", "CU clinches division", "first String Cheese show at RR"). When e-tix started becoming popular, I would print them out, cut out the ticket part and save that, but I stopped doing that years ago. now my memories and social media posts are my only souvenirs.

 

[SINKRATZ]

E ticketing also helps attract the last minute buyer which is probably good for CU. You no longer have to worry about getting to the ticket office or meeting some guy at a Starbucks to buy his tickets in advance. You can decide 10 minutes before kickoff you want to go and buy tickets while you walk to the stadium.

 

[Not Sure]

I get where you are coming from, but they'll argue with security.

I also don't get the NFL bag policy and hope we don't get it here as I usually always have a small sling/cross body bag with me as I don't like putting stuff in my pockets (if the pants I am wearing even have them).

You bring up a great point that I hadn’t really considered: that they’ve been putting restrictions on what ticket holders can do for years. This is just another in a continuing line.
On the surface, this is no big deal. It really comes down to how it’s implemented. I would think that for a place like CU, they’d do everything they could to make the process easy and customer focused. I have very little faith that will happen.

 

[hokiehead]

I get where you are coming from, but they'll argue with security.

I also don't get the NFL bag policy and hope we don't get it here as I usually always have a small sling/cross body bag with me as I don't like putting stuff in my pockets (if the pants I am wearing even have them).

I hate the transparent bag policy! I might feel different if I could find a decent transparent pack that held up for more than 2 - 3 uses.

first time I encountered it, was at (the stadium formally known as) Mile High for the RMS. I had my "event backpack" which is blue canvas with extra layers, binoculars and whatever else in it.

the security guard says "you can't bring in that backpack"
me: "why?"
SG: "because of the color"
me: "what?!?!? blue backpacks are not allowed?"
SG: "no, any color. it has to be clear"
me: "you mean opacity is the problem, not color"
SG: (confused look) "whatever. you can't bring it in"

 

[Jens1893]

I hate the transparent bag policy! I might feel different if I could find a decent transparent pack that held up for more than 2 - 3 uses.

first time I encountered it, was at (the stadium formally known as) Mile High for the RMS. I had my "event backpack" which is blue canvas with extra layers, binoculars and whatever else in it.

the security guard says "you can't bring in that backpack"
me: "why?"
SG: "because of the color"
me: "what?!?!? blue backpacks are not allowed?"
SG: "no, any color. it has to be clear"
me: "you mean opacity is the problem, not color"
SG: (confused look) "whatever. you can't bring it in"

To be honest, I understand their reasoning in that case as some people really do take a lot of unnecessary stuff to games and I don't see why people need to take full sized backpacks unless smaller children are involved. But I do think smaller bags to hold the essentials (keys, wallet, phone, case for the glasses) should be allowed.

 

[MarkW]

I'm a Colorado Rapids season ticket holder and they have used e-ticket only for at least five seasons (can't remember the first season that they eliminated paper tickets). Can't speak to the tracking issue. But here are the positives from my perspective:

• Hard to loose forget e-tickets compared to paper tickets as I always have my phone in a pocket.
• Tickets are stored in Apple Wallet (if you have an iPhone), once downloaded.
• Easy to sell/transfer, but only via ticketmaster.
• No worries about them getting lost in the mail

There's no way I'll get to a Rapids matches without the tickets which wasn't the case with paper tickets.

 

[GoBuffs!!]

I am looking forward to it, gone would be the days of getting to the stadium to realize that you left the tickets at home

 

[hokiehead]

Im a bit surprised that forgetting tickets is such a common problem

 

[Not Sure]

I can honestly say that I’ve never once forgotten game tickets. I did leave a parking pass at home once, but luckily we had been coming to the games so much that the folks tending the entrance recognized us and just let us in.

 

[patebuff]

Does this hurry up the process of getting into the game or slow it down?

 

[hokiehead]

Does this hurry up the process of getting into the game or slow it down?

Neutral

 

[Not Sure]

Does this hurry up the process of getting into the game or slow it down?

Probably slow it down in the short term while they still take paper tickets along with the e-tickets.

 

[hokiehead]

thought about this thread after reading that Hugegroove is sending the Allbuffs drawing winners their tix electronically vs the traditional "pick them up at Sackygate".

IMO, this is a huge improvement. the two times I've won tix in the annual drawing were both a PITA:

1. traffic was horrible for the RMS and it took almost three hours for me to get to the Mile High parking lot from home (normally < one hour). I missed Sackygate, wasn't able to connect w/ Sacky electronically to leave them for me someplace, and ended up scalping tickets in the lot.
2. the other time, I already had a spousal commitment before the game. I made it to Sackygate, barely on time before they shut it down. but was too late for my liquor contribution to be enjoyed by anyone that day.

 

[buffalo1]

Received my "etickets" from CU yesterday. Not as secure and traceable as presumed. It's a bunch of .pdfs for download. I'll need to be careful when sending some of the tickets to those who should have them that I keep track of who has what seat. Imagine two of us going to a game using the same seat/barcode.

I had assumed, like many of you, that CU would be using a ticketing vendor distribution/tracking/assigning system.
Nope.

 

[hokiehead]

Received my "etickets" from CU yesterday. Not as secure and traceable as presumed. It's a bunch of .pdfs for download. I'll need to be careful when sending some of the tickets to those who should have them that I keep track of who has what seat. Imagine two of us going to a game using the same seat/barcode.

I had assumed, like many of you, that CU would be using a ticketing vendor distribution/tracking/assigning system.
Nope.

only given this a moment's consideration, but here's a counter point.

CU demands are not incredibly high demand -- there's not going to be much effort put into faking tickets.

PDFs are simple, and everyone can open one on their phone. yeah, you might have to make it clear "you use the second ticket, not the first. use the one for seat 12" but this is not huge. and if they use the wrong ticket, you'll still have the other one, which should be good.

outsourcing management of that would presumably be expensive and cut into the AD's margins.

this could be the right cost / value tradeoff. not really sure.

 

[buffalo1]

only given this a moment's consideration, but here's a counter point.

CU demands are not incredibly high demand -- there's not going to be much effort put into faking tickets.

PDFs are simple, and everyone can open one on their phone. yeah, you might have to make it clear "you use the second ticket, not the first. use the one for seat 12" but this is not huge. and if they use the wrong ticket, you'll still have the other one, which should be good.

outsourcing management of that would presumably be expensive and cut into the AD's margins.

this could be the right cost / value tradeoff. not really sure.

Counterpoint? I wasn't at all trying to complain or malign how CU did it. Was simply surprised, that in 2021, and how most teams are handling ETickets, the CU approach was old school. CU has outsourced the ticket purchasing portal and also used electronic transfer methods in the past. So this email of "here are the .pdfs of your tickets" was a bit of surprise.
I'm guessing one could print them out and use paper at game if thats easier to handle giving tickets to others in your group instead of trying to parse out the correct seat pdf. I've seen many a smartphone user save an email attachment only to have no idea how to access it a month in the future.

 

[Jayne Cobb]

I like the e-tickets and I like the way CU did it.

I have had CU season tickets since 1998, and there have been at least two occasions in that time where I have left the house only to turn around saying to myself "crap, I left the tickets at home." It got to the point where I had to put the tickets in my car the day before the game to assure myself that I would not forget them.

Now, as long as I have my phone. that will never be an issue again. And CU made it easier than I thought. Links in an email to each ticket for each game, just click on the link and add to my iPhone wallet, and its there. I now have tickets for all the home games, AtM, parking for AtM, and the kickoff luncheon on my phone.

Plus it saves the cost and paper waste of printing all those tickets, mailing them out, and disposing of them after the game (they often lived in my pockets for a long time thereafter).

I don't know about transfer of the tickets, and I really don't care. I have always used my own tickets, so that's a non issue to me.

I'm sure that many will, as my nana used to say, "kvetch all night long" about it. But I love it. The rest of you, please proceed to kvetch, kvetch, kvetch.

 

[buffalo1]

No Kvetch from me. Just a bit of surprise.
I use phone info storage apps. Have not used the "wallet" feature. I suppose I will look into.
I'm either fortunate or unfortunate to have various family/friends to distribute tickets each gameday, and not always the same ones. I will be able to manage!
Best news is that so far we all get to go TO the stadium to watch CU play this fall. Last fall sucked being TV only, although I was more productive and more available for other things on weekends.

I like the e-tickets and I like the way CU did it.

I have had CU season tickets since 1998, and there have been at least two occasions in that time where I have left the house only to turn around saying to myself "crap, I left the tickets at home." It got to the point where I had to put the tickets in my car the day before the game to assure myself that I would not forget them.

Now, as long as I have my phone. that will never be an issue again. And CU made it easier than I thought. Links in an email to each ticket for each game, just click on the link and add to my iPhone wallet, and its there. I now have tickets for all the home games, AtM, parking for AtM, and the kickoff luncheon on my phone.

Plus it saves the cost and paper waste of printing all those tickets, mailing them out, and disposing of them after the game (they often lived in my pockets for a long time thereafter).

I don't know about transfer of the tickets, and I really don't care. I have always used my own tickets, so that's a non issue to me.

I'm sure that many will, as my nana used to say, "kvetch all night long" about it. But I love it. The rest of you, please proceed to kvetch, kvetch, kvetch.

 

[Jayne Cobb]

No Kvetch from me. Just a bit of surprise.
I use phone info storage apps. Have not used the "wallet" feature. I suppose I will look into.
I'm either fortunate or unfortunate to have various family/friends to distribute tickets each gameday, and not always the same ones. I will be able to manage!
Best news is that so far we all get to go TO the stadium to watch CU play this fall. Last fall sucked being TV only, although I was more productive and more available for other things on weekends.

If you have an iPhone the wallet is dead easy. I use it for airline tickets, event tickets, and it has credit cards too to use Apple Pay. If there is a link that says add to wallet, click it, and when the screen comes up click add in the upper right hand corner. One little wrinkle, is that you have to add each ticket individually. So that if you have two tickets you have to click on each link separately and then click add for each separate ticket

 

[buffalo1]

Android

If you have an iPhone the wallet is dead easy. I use it for airline tickets, event tickets, and it has credit cards too to use Apple Pay. If there is a link that says add to wallet, click it, and when the screen comes up click add in the upper right hand corner. One little wrinkle, is that you have to add each ticket individually. So that if you have two tickets you have to click on each link separately and then click add for each separate ticket

 

[Not Sure]

I will admit that apple wallet is pretty damn easy. Still, before I just had to remember the tickets. Now I have to remember to bring my phone AND make sure it’s charged. Small things that annoy me.