Paperless ticketing is something that has started becoming more popular lately in the world of concerts. In theory, you can’t scalp the tickets because the person who purchased the tickets must be present with credit card and ID to pick them up at the door to the venue. However, this article at TicketNews says that you can give them to friends or sell them in the event that you can not make it to the show.
So really, if that is possible, how can this combat against scalpers? If the tickets are transferable – what is the point? I also don’t like the idea of tickets NOT being transferable. Things happen and sometimes by the time a show rolls around that you got tickets to well in advance, something comes up. Unless the outlet you bought the tickets from has a return policy (and as of right now the only return policy I know of is Live Nation’s and it is for select venues and returns must be made within 3 days of purchasing the tickets) you would be stuck with these tickets. If you had e-tickets or physical paper tickets you could stick them on stub hub or craigslist or hand them over to a friend.
Apparently this works out fine in the sports world – but I just don’t like the idea for concerts. And as a scrapbooker, I also am not a huge fan of e-tickets. (The paper tickets printed by ticketmaster/livenation just look so much better on a layout! And they cost you less to have them mailed than it does to print them yourself with your own paper and ink!)
I have yet to go to a show that has used paperless ticketing. John Mayer’s show was going to a couple years back but then I got mailed the actual tickets instead. So somewhere along the line someone in Mayer’s camp decided it was pointless to use paperless tickets as well.
Has anyone gone to a show with paperless tickets? How did it work out for you?