TodayTix is shady

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 7/20/22 at 8:31am

On more than one occasion now I've learned that TodayTix is shady and now I've discovered they also sell through StubHub. They'll list tickets without a row number but include a "photo from your seat" that looks fantastic and then send tickets that are far inferior to the photo. I stopped using them a while ago because of the terrible customer service and wishy-washy/shady way they do business so I am irritated to find out that the StubHub ticket I purchased was actually through them and their shady ticketing service. Beware!

[OhHiii]

Posted: 7/20/22 at 8:43am

FWIW, the StubHub view from seat is a standard thing for theaters/venues they have the photos for. And I’m pretty sure there’s a disclaimer when viewing those that it is approximate based on section, not exactly seat. How would they have a view from the exact seat if the ticket is for a future performance otherwise?

And I agree their practice is shady (they literally buy the tickets at the box office using discounts that you can find online elsewhere). BUT their ticket fees are still far less than TicketMaster and Telecharge more often than not. Their customer service has gone down the toilet in recent years for sure, though. 

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 7/20/22 at 8:46am

I get what you're saying about the seat photo but showing a photo in the first few rows is very different than a ticket in the very last row. If I had known it was TodayTix selling through StubHub I never would have purchased it in a million years. Lesson learned, I guess.

[bwaylvsong1]

Posted: 7/20/22 at 9:00am

I used to work for TodayTix (albeit years ago) so have an idea of how it works but have no skin in the game now.  A couple things (at least that were true at the time I worked there):

-The main financial benefit of buying from TT was that the fees were lower than Ticketmaster and Telecharge.  The cheapest way of getting tickets is via a discount code directly from the box office, though TT does have access to discounts for some shows (ie Roundabout) that the general public cannot bring to the office.

-TT buys directly from the Box Office AFTER the customer purchases on the app.  The customer buys the ticket in a designated section and TT immediately sends a staff member to the box office to buy the best seat(s) available in that section.  This is why you cannot choose a seat, and any “photo from your seat” can’t possibly be exact since they literally don’t know what your seat will be.

-At the time I worked there, there was as far as I know no selling on StubHub, though I’d imagine if they do it now it’s a way to sell tickets on behalf of customers that have had to cancel.

[quizking101]

Posted: 7/20/22 at 9:45am

OhHiii said: "And I agree their practice is shady (they literally buy the tickets at the box office using discounts that you can find online elsewhere). BUT their ticket fees are still far less than TicketMaster and Telecharge more often than not. Their customer service has gone down the toilet in recent years for sure, though."

I witnessed this in person last week when buying tickets to A STRANGE LOOP for a friends birthday and paying attention to the guy in front of me is how I overheard the code for the rest of July. 

When I tried to use it at the B.O when I was up next, the guy told me that I couldn't. What crap!!!

 

[Kad]

Posted: 7/20/22 at 10:05am

After my experience over the holidays with them after having bought tickets for a performance of Company that ended up being canceled due to COVID, I won’t be using them again. They gave me the runaround to get a refund- a lengthy back and forth trying to get me to accept a credit instead. During an outbreak that made another Broadway shutdown seem very plausible. It came off as greedy and tone deaf.

[Melissa25]

Posted: 7/20/22 at 10:24am

I thought that all ticketers and even some non-profits sold on Stubhub either to dissuade scalpers, hedge or both. I have rarely purchased from Today Tix because it is important for me to know my exact seat number which they do not usually offer.  Occasionally I would purchase from Stubhub but with their latest app update, they no longer provide seat numbers.  Frankly, I can’t imagine how anyone would pay top dollar for tickets without knowing precisely where in a row they are sitting. I also stopped spending my money if customer service doesn’t exist.  

[Hairspray0901]

Posted: 7/20/22 at 10:27am

I’ve only used TodayTix to purchase tickets when I racked up enough money from their referral program. Otherwise, would rather buy at BO or online so I can choose my seat.

Once they nixed their referral program, I didn’t see a point in ever purchasing from them. I do still use the app for the lottery and rush though. 

[RUkiddingme]

Posted: 7/20/22 at 11:52am

Today Tix ARE scalpers.

They buy tickets and resell them to others while making a profit.

I don't understand why the industry embraces them.

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 7/20/22 at 12:04pm

They're fine for digital lottery/rush and the occasional flash sale, but, for the most part, they've made a business out of selling to people who don't know any better. 

I was at Freestyle Love Supreme last fall, and when they asked people to say things for which they're thankful, someone yelled out "TodayTix!," and I wanted to vomit.

Updated On: 7/20/22 at 12:04 PM

[JBroadway]

Posted: 7/20/22 at 12:34pm

I'm pretty ambivalent about them. 

I agree they're good for digital rush. In fact, they've managed to secure consistent partnerships with some theatre companies that had otherwise been stingy about selling rush tix (either by not having a rush policy, or by selling them irregularly depending on availability).  For that reason alone, I'm glad that they exist. The $7.50/ticket fee is annoying, but I factor it into the math, and sometimes it still comes out in my favor. 

I also think some of their discounts on Off-Broadway or Off-Off Broadway shows are pretty reasonable. They aren't my go-to, but sometimes the stars align where theirs is the best deal. 

I've actually had pretty good experiences with their customer service across the board, but then again, my needs are more simple, as someone who mostly only uses rush. I did get a credit from them when one of my shows was cancelled, and it didn't bother me because I figured I'd eventually use it on a digital rush ticket, which I did. But I can understand being frustrated if they're being difficult about full refunds. 

I also think that Show-Score has gotten worse ever since TodayTix purchased them. 

And yes, for the record, I'd almost never buy a regular Broadway ticket from them. Although, with regular Broadway rush/lottery tix getting more and more expensive, often for worse and worse seats, I can imagine TodayTix becoming a reasonable alternative at some point. 

The common theme here is: TodayTix is not my favorite ticket vender, but like most ticket venders (except Broadway.com), they have their place in ecosystem, to where I'm glad I have the option to go to them if they happen to be the optimal choice for a particular show, 

Updated On: 7/20/22 at 12:34 PM

[RUkiddingme]

Posted: 7/20/22 at 1:20pm

"they have their place in ecosystem"

That's what I don't understand - they are scalpers - WHY is the industry giving them a place at the table?

Rush and lottery tickets existed long before Today Tix.

Why so some theaters/productions embrace them?

[JBroadway]

Posted: 7/20/22 at 2:14pm

RUkiddingme said: "That's what I don't understand - they are scalpers - WHY is the industry giving them a place at the table?"

To be clear, by "ecosystem" I'm referring to the general ticket market, not necessarily the actual institutions in the industry. All re-sale companies have their place in the ecosystem in the sense that they exist, they're legal, and people use them. And in some cases, they're the best option available for certain ticket-buyers, for certain shows, on certain days.

But I guess you're right that TodayTix has the appearance of more credibility than your average re-sale company. I'd guess it's because (a) they offer a number of services that other re-sellers don't, (b) they've built a reputable brand in the digital landscape, which has given them a consistent user base, which in turn incentivizes theatre to partner with them. The same might be said for Broadway.com, but I'd say TodayTix is far better for the ticketing industry than Broadway.com is. 

But there's also a reason that resale companies in general aren't outright rejected by the theatres; for shows that are doing low-to-middling business, the resale companies take some of the financial burden off their back. It really only becomes a problem with extremely popular shows, but TodayTix doesn't really have most of those anyway. 


"Rush and lottery tickets existed long before Today Tix."

Right, but as I explained, they have added to the field in a noticeable way. Note my comment above regarding the theatres who weren't consistently selling rush before TodayTix.

And in case it needs saying, I believe their rush/lottery tickets are pre-allocated in partnership with the theatre, not re-sold - I know that's not what you were implying, but I felt it was worth noting. It's one of the main pillars of their business model, even if it's not where most of their money is coming from. And it's one of the main ways in which 

 

[TheQuibbler]

Posted: 7/20/22 at 4:14pm

RUkiddingme said: ""they have their place in ecosystem"

That's what I don't understand - they are scalpers - WHY is the industry giving them a place at the table?

Rush and lottery tickets existed long before Today Tix.

Why so some theaters/productions embrace them?"

 

I'm curious as to why you refer to them as scalpers. I don't use the app too much since I live in the city and take the discounts directly to the box office; but for those who can't travel in or don't want to spend time hunting for a code, they still offer a service in which the tickets are often heavily discounted from the face value and the service fee, which every ticketing website has, is the price for the service. I may be naive about how they make their money elsewhere, but I don't equate them with the likes of broadway.com which is charging an exorbitant premium to those who don't know better. 

[quizking101]

Posted: 7/20/22 at 4:25pm

They have also made lottery and rush more accessible to those who may not immediately live inside the Five Boroughs.

As someone who lives in Central NJ - a 45-60 minute train or bus ride away - I welcome the convenience of knowing I was able to secure a ticket before hopping into the city. I’m not 18 anymore so I don’t have the luxury of just taking a day to gamble on rush lines like back in the day.

[RUkiddingme]

Posted: 7/20/22 at 9:17pm

When broadway.com appeared and started making money off other people's shows I never understood why consumers would pay them their fees.  But sometimes consumers get ripped off.  I can see why the industry felt the need to work with them since they had the attractive domain name.

Today Tix exists to make money off other people's shows.  I don't understand why shows give them access to their product.  The shows could do their own lotteries.

Why are some theaters using seet geek?  They too profit off other people's shows.

Some things just don't make sense.

[TheQuibbler]

Posted: 7/21/22 at 12:05am

RUkiddingme said: "When broadway.com appeared and started making money off other people's shows I never understood why consumers would pay them their fees. But sometimes consumers get ripped off. I can see why the industry felt the need to work with them since they had the attractive domain name.

Today Tix exists to make money off other people's shows. I don't understand why shows give them access to their product. The shows could do their own lotteries.

Why are some theaters using seet geek? They too profit off other people's shows.

Some things just don't make sense.”

 

That’s also what Telecharge and Ticketmaster do. None of these ticketing services produce shows. Do you consider them scalpers? TodayTix isn’t artificially inflating the price of the ticket to make an additional profit like a traditional scalper does. 

[OhHiii]

Posted: 7/21/22 at 7:50am

The thing about it though is that TodayTix often makes up a non-insignificant portion of a show’s weekly gross. Sometimes even $50K can be put into a performance week through TodayTix, sometimes more than that.

and the “they’re making money off of other people’s shows” is kind of a moot point. Telecharge, TicketMaster and Seat Geek all make money off of other people’s shows the same way. The shows themselves don’t get to keep the ticketing fees.

Also, shows actively spend money to advertise with TodayTix because it makes a meaningful difference with some shows. They don’t jack up the prices of the tickets they offer, the only money they make on a given ticket is the fee. So saying they’re “scalpers” isn’t really accurate. The buy a ticket FOR the customer, they don’t purchase a block of tickets and sell them at a higher price. THAT is scalping.

Their customer service standards are a separate issue.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 7/21/22 at 9:14am

OhHiii said: "They don’t jack up the prices of the tickets they offer, the only money they make on a given ticket is the fee. So saying they’re “scalpers” isn’t really accurate. The buy a ticket FOR the customer, they don’t purchase a block of tickets and sell them at a higher price. THAT is scalping."

 

That's what I suspected, but I didn't want to comment on it in my earlier posts, because I rarely buy regular tix from them, so I wasn't sure.

But yes, if that's the case, people calling TodayTix scalpers is simply an incorrect statement. And lumping them into the same category as the actual re-sale companies is simply ridiculous. As you said, they make money the exact same way Telecharge does, and in fact I believe their fees are lower than Telecharge.

If people want to know their exact seat, then that's fine. Maybe their service isn't for you, but that doesn't make them shady. They're upfront about it, and a lot of people don't care about their exact seat.

 

[MayAudraBlessYou2]

Posted: 7/21/22 at 12:16pm

Just chiming in here to clarify that TodayTix has TWO different ways in which they acquire tickets. 

The first is the method which has already been discussed: an agent goes and buys best available tickets from the theater box office after a customer makes a purchase. They either use publicly available discounts or a discount provided from the box office. In these cases you cannot select seats on the app (obviously). This method is really only used for Broadway right now.

Method 2: TodayTix has an online portal where theaters can list tickets. Tickets can be listed at full price, or at a discount of the box office's choosing. They also have the option to list them as GA by section/price (in which case, you cant choose seats on the app) OR they can list actual seat locations so users can see exactly where they are buying on the app. This is the option Off-Broadway venues take, though sometime Broadway shows utilize it too.

Most box offices will choose to list tickets they offer as GA (within a price/zone) since it offers greatest benefit to them. ie: if I list tickets this way, I can place seats on hold for TodayTix at the rear of that section, allowing potential full price sales in the best seats of the section. If the section does not fill in with other sales, I will move the TodayTix buyers forward into the empty spots.

It's also incorrect to call them scalpers. TodayTix makes money off of their fees, and then a small percentage of the ticket price (the commission was 8% for my theater, but I dont know if it varies). They are selling tickets on their app in agreement with those shows ie: no show is on there unless they want to be, even if the TodayTix agents are buying tickets themselves from the box office. Artwork, pricing, info, etc all has to be approved by the theater/production.