My Fair Lady - Service and Handling Fees

[dmwnc1959]

Just bought a ticket for the show, VERY EXCITED, and got a front row center loge seat.

My question is that the service and handing fees where a whopping $71. Is that right? Sounds like a lot. I bought the ticket off of the Broadway.com website.

[Marianne2]

That's your answer right there. Broadway.com is a ticket broker, so they are going to charge a lot for fees and tickets. Always best to go to original source to buy like ticketmaster or telecharge. Or in the case of My Fair Lady, Lincoln Center.

[dmwnc1959]

Well that sucks. I was in a bit of a hurry this morning (having a cardiac stress test) and didn’t check to see if it was on the other sites. The seat looked like it was in an excellent location so I just grabbed it. I did buy “Hello, Dolly!” both times and my ticket to “The Bands Visit” off of Telecharge. Stupid of me not to check.

[Dancingthrulife2]

For Broadway shows, buy ONLY from telecharge, ticketmaster, Hudson's official website (for shows playing in Hudson Theater), and Roundabout's (for Roundabout productions). 

[dmwnc1959]

Still being a newbie at this, maybe others like me will learn from my costly mistake. Got too much in a hurry and didn’t want that seat to disappear. I’ll know better next time. Thanks for the lesson. :)

[dmwnc1959]

I also wanted to buy the ticket this morning (in a hurry) before the Tony Awards announcement. Wasn’t sure what impact it would have.

[haterobics]

On the plus side, dependent on your date, there may not be any front row loge available, which is why you need those fees... I know the shows I've looked at have been completely sold out.

[Marianne2]

^ That is a good point too. Broadway.com at least is a legitimate place to buy tickets. And it sounds like these were really good seats.

[amaklo]

FWIW, I think Broadway.com gets a bad rap on this board.  Yes, the fees are higher than Ticketmaster or Telecharge, but not by as much as you may think, and as haterobics says they offer good seats that aren't available on the other sites.  I bought tickets to 3 events on Ticketmaster recently and was charged between $35 and $54 per ticket in various fees and service charges. So, don't beat yourself up over an extra few bucks. 

[dmwnc1959]

haterobics said: "On the plus side, dependent on your date, there may not be any front row loge available, which is why you need those fees... I know the shows I've looked at have been completely sold out."

Marianne2 said: "^ That is a good point too. Broadway.com at least is a legitimate place to buy tickets. And it sounds like these were really good seats."

 

I got seat A312 in the Loge. It looks like a very good seat if I’m reading the theater seating charts correctly. :) I’m seeing the show mid-August on a Saturday night.

 

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

Wait...a $71 service and handling fee? Seriously? I understand like $12.00 or whatever. How much were the tickets?

[David10086]

dmwnc1959 said: "Well that sucks. I was in a bit of a hurry this morning (having a cardiac stress test) and didn’t check to see if it was on the other sites. The seat looked like it was in an excellent location so I just grabbed it. I did buy “Hello, Dolly!” both times and my ticket to “The Bands Visit” off of Telecharge. Stupid of me not to check."

Thank God you had your cardiac stress test BEFORE you checked to see if $71 was egregiously high. Lord knows what your results would have been if you didn't. (Just kidding).

[10086sunset]

amaklo said: "FWIW, I think Broadway.com gets a bad rap on this board. Yes, the fees are higher than Ticketmaster or Telecharge, but not by as much as you may think, and as haterobics says they offer good seats that aren't available on the other sites. I bought tickets to 3 events on Ticketmaster recently and was charged between $35 and $54 per ticket in various fees and service charges. So, don't beat yourself up over an extra few bucks."

 

How long have you been working for Broadway.com?

[dmwnc1959]

ScottyDoesn'tKnow2 said: "Wait...a $71 service and handling fee? Seriously? I understand like $12.00 or whatever. How much were the tickets?"

Like I’m going to dig my grave further! lol

I book these in advance so that I’ll have confirmed seats and a ticket in my hand before I board the plane. For shows like 1) “Hello, Dolly!”, 2) “The Band’s Visit”, and now 3) “My Fair Lady”, I wanted unobstructed center front row. It’s important to me personally to enjoy the show with no one seated in front of me to block my view. So I have front row mezannize, front row orchestra, and front row loge, respectively. Yes, I backed out twice from the purchase page to see if there was a description of why the service and handling fees where so high, but I didn’t see it. And with time running out before I had to be at my doctor’s appointment, I snaggged the front row loge because it was exactly where I wanted to be. 

With that said, the ticket price by itself was $185 and change. Plus fees and mailing charges it came to $258.

 

[dmwnc1959]

David10086 said: "Thank God you had your cardiac stress test BEFORE you checked to see if $71 was egregiously high. Lord knows what your results would have been if you didn't. (Just kidding)."

I’m sure it’s a blatant rip off. But I do wish the web page had explained it somewhere, a breakdown of why it was so expensive. P.S. Stress test came out fine more or less. They still can’t figure out what’s causing my heart problems. Next move is on the doctor. But in between now and the end of summer I now have six shows booked, including the National Tour of “Hamilton” for my birthday. It’ll give me something to look forward to. :)

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

dmwnc1959 said: "ScottyDoesn'tKnow2 said: "Wait...a $71 service and handling fee? Seriously? I understand like $12.00 or whatever. How much were the tickets?"

Like I’m going to dig my grave further! lol

I book these in advance so that I’ll have confirmed seats and a ticket in my hand before I board the plane.For shows like 1) “Hello, Dolly!”, 2) “The Band’s Visit”, and now 3) “My Fair Lady”, I wanted unobstructed center front row. It’s important to me personally to enjoy the show with no one seated in front of me to block my view. So I have front row mezannize, front row orchestra, and front row loge, respectively. Yes, I backed out twice from the purchase page to see if there was a description of why the service and handling fees where so high, but I didn’t see it. And with time running out before I had to be at my doctor’s appointment, I snaggged the front row loge because it was exactly where I wanted to be.

With that said, the ticket price byitself was $185and change. Plus fees and mailing charges it came to $258.

"

I'm only posting this because you asked. Next time you should buy directly because you ended up paying about $53 more than you would have through telecharge. I don't know if Broadway.com had more availability of seats for the time you needed, however.

[dmwnc1959]

ScottyDoesn'tKnow2 said: “I'm only posting this because you asked. Next time you should buy directly because you ended up paying about $53 more than you would have through telecharge. I don't know if Broadway.com had more availability of seats for the time you needed, however."

 

No worries at all. I’m very happy now with the purchase after checking ‘A View From My Seat’ and seeing pretty much exactly where I’ll be sitting. Maybe the front row center loge was available on just their website. Maybe not. I’ll never know now. Yes, it was expensive. But I’m sure “My Fair Lady” will be an AMAZING show, and I can’t wait. :)

 

[jbird5]

I thought Broadway.com was affiliated with the Broadway League. The fee is actually going to support them. All of the shows allocate a portion of the house to them to sell. They then mark them up. So this can be a way to access hot shows even ones that are sold out. I a bought a ticket to Hamilton through them. It was face value + $100. This was much less than the scalpers were asking. Your money went to a good cause, not some scalper’s bank account.

[Dancingthrulife2]

jbird5 said: "I thought Broadway.com was affiliated with the Broadway League. The fee is actually going to support them. All of the shows allocate a portion of the house to them to sell. They then mark them up. So this can be a way to access hot shows even ones that are sold out. I a bought a ticket to Hamilton through them. It was face value + $100. This was much less than the scalpers were asking. Your money went to a good cause, not some scalper’s bank account."

No, it is not. And the extra money you pay goes partly to their theater “journalism” and partly to the company’s bank account. 

[dmwnc1959]

jbird5 said: "I thought Broadway.com was affiliated with...."

I found this in their About Us section:

Broadway.com is a subsidiary of The John Gore Organization, the leading developer, producer, and distributor of live theatre in North America and is focused on building a platform dedicated to all types of theatrical business including stage show licensing, production and acquisition. The John Gore Organization owns and operates Broadway Across America which presents first-class touring Broadway musicals and plays such as the smash hits Wicked and Disney's the Lion King, family productions and other live events throughout a network of 43 North American cities. For more information, visit www.johngore.com.

[dramamama611]

No company is going to point out their service charge fees...whi brings out their bad side?

And when it comes down to it, you're happy with your ticket. Enjoy.