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Originally Posted by Hakan
Convenience fee, yep that sure is convenient for Ticketmaster.
What's the history of ticketmaster, how did they get to control the ticket racket so thoroughly?
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Let's face it -- it's convenient for promoters (including sports teams), not for the public.
Don't know the history, but they've become successful because they've understood that their customer isn't the general public (they are merely an agent), but rather the promoter/venue. They have a infrastructure that's second-to-none in terms of distributing a large amount of tickets worldwide in a short period of time. From a promoter's perspective (think concert or Flames playoff game), this is ideal as there is absolutely no effort required to process and distribute thousands and thousands of tickets, something which allows them to save signifcant amounts of labour and infrastructure costs (no need for an e-commerce enabled website, for example).
They aren't the only one either -- I recented paid $30 in fees for TWO tickets to the LOTR musical, including a $3 mailing fee (vs. a $3 pick-up at the box office fee or a $3 print at home fee). At least I'll cost them a stamp...