LeoVK wrote:

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Not that I am really considering doing it but, just out of interest really, has anyone ever purchased a ticket from one of the dodgy touts that you get outside train/tube stations/venues? 

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 Yeah, I did while walking from Brixton station to the Academy for Suede's Dog Man Star show in May. The guy (''geezer'' probably describes him more aptly) was calling out he had tickets for sale and my sister and her boyfriend wanted to come at the last minute but it was sold out so I asked to see how much he was selling them for. He said £50 each (face value £32 I think), I said I'd have to ring her to see if she fancied paying that much (I already had two tickets so just needed one more) but I told him she probably wouldn't. We walked on to the venue chatting a bit and he said ''I tell you what mate, I'll give it ya for forty''. I rang my sister, she said that was fair enough so I paid him.

Spent the next hour waiting for her to arrive. I was worrying about the ticket as it had a different type-set and font to the ''legit'' ones I had collected from the ticket office earlier. I decided to try it out while waiting as the queue was beginning to swell. Got to the entrance, held out the ticket for it to be scanned by one of the attendants and a loud alarm noise came from the scanner. ''Shit!'' I thought. Some burly security guy led me to the ticket collections window and they asked me where I had bought the ticket. I showed them the genuine ones I had bought myself and the woman said that the one from the tout hadn't come from the same source. I said I hadn't bought the dud, my friend had, who I was waiting for. I knew they would show no mercy to buying from touts. She told me I wouldn't be able to enter with it. Feeling conned, I went back outside, rang my sister to tell her that her trip was going to be a wasted one. She finally arrives and says ''Don't worry Eamonn. I met this kind man on the way who said he'd sell us a ticket for face value''. I glanced over and to my disbelief the same tout as before stood there bold as brass, looking ever bit the dodgy chancer, shaven-headed and ear pierced. 

'You cheeky f-er! That one you sold me was a dud!'' I said.

He started saying something along the lines of ''Calm down mate. Listen, I buy and sell tickets all the time, so if I've sold-on a dodgy one it's cos I was sold it meself. D'ya get me?''

''Well there's no way I'm gonna let her buy another one off you.''

''Alright mate, look. Take this ticket (he opened an envelope with a few more tickets enclosed)..and see if it works. I'll stay here with your sister and her fella and you queue up.''

Still feeling pissed-off I went back to the queue, held out the new ticket to the scanner and it worked! Looked over to my sister at the barrier and waved her up and in the end it worked out ok. Still paid the cheeky tout 40 quid for a 32 pound ticket after he caused all that hassle but it could have been a lot worse!

The touts are canny...there's no shortage of them outside the academy in Brixton but even with a fair few coppers outside spot-checking that people aren't selling tickets, they manage to evade them.

Eamonn wrote:

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 Yeah, I did while walking from Brixton station to the Academy for Suede's Dog Man Star show in May. The guy (''geezer'' probably describes him more aptly) was calling out he had tickets for sale and my sister and her boyfriend wanted to come at the last minute but it was sold out so I asked to see how much he was selling them for. He said £50 each (face value £32 I think), I said I'd have to ring her to see if she fancied paying that much (I already had two tickets so just needed one more) but I told him she probably wouldn't. We walked on to the venue chatting a bit and he said ''I tell you what mate, I'll give it ya for forty''. I rang my sister, she said that was fair enough so I paid him.

Spent the next hour waiting for her to arrive. I was worrying about the ticket as it had a different type-set and font to the ''legit'' ones I had collected from the ticket office earlier. I decided to try it out while waiting as the queue was beginning to swell. Got to the entrance, held out the ticket for it to be scanned by one of the attendants and a loud alarm noise came from the scanner. ''Shit!'' I thought. Some burly security guy led me to the ticket collections window and they asked me where I had bought the ticket. I showed them the genuine ones I had bought myself and the woman said that the one from the tout hadn't come from the same source. I said I hadn't bought the dud, my friend had, who I was waiting for. I knew they would show no mercy to buying from touts. She told me I wouldn't be able to enter with it. Feeling conned, I went back outside, rang my sister to tell her that her trip was going to be a wasted one. She finally arrives and says ''Don't worry Eamonn. I met this kind man on the way who said he'd sell us a ticket for face value''. I glanced over and to my disbelief the same tout as before stood there bold as brass, looking ever bit the dodgy chancer, shaven-headed and ear pierced. 

'You cheeky f-er! That one you sold me was a dud!'' I said.

He started saying something along the lines of ''Calm down mate. Listen, I buy and sell tickets all the time, so if I've sold-on a dodgy one it's cos I was sold it meself. D'ya get me?''

''Well there's no way I'm gonna let her buy another one off you.''

''Alright mate, look. Take this ticket (he opened an envelope with a few more tickets enclosed)..and see if it works. I'll stay here with your sister and her fella and you queue up.''

Still feeling pissed-off I went back to the queue, held out the new ticket to the scanner and it worked! Looked over to my sister at the barrier and waved her up and in the end it worked out ok. Still paid the cheeky tout 40 quid for a 32 pound ticket after he caused all that hassle but it could have been a lot worse!

The touts are canny...there's no shortage of them outside the academy in Brixton but even with a fair few coppers outside spot-checking that people aren't selling tickets, they manage to evade them.

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 to make matters worse... i went to that gig and i had a spare (physical ticket) which i couldn't shift for love nor money! ended up selling to a tout for a tenner!

ArrGee wrote:

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See tickets still haven't sent tickets, so with everyone on or about to go on holiday, back to the shambles of meeting people on the night who get held up at work/on trains etc.   Not really that helpful having the bank holiday that weekend either Shame there were no e-tickets on the pre-sale, I could have just sent them by email.

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 Indeed! I'm on holiday the week before the gigs and arrive back in London on the Tuesday. I may have to head back north just to pick up my tickets for the 31st then head straight back to London if they don't arrive before I go away.

Deebs wrote:

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Indeed! I'm on holiday the week before the gigs and arrive back in London on the Tuesday. I may have to head back north just to pick up my tickets for the 31st then head straight back to London if they don't arrive before I go away.

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Luckily I live in London, so don't have that hassle, but I can guarantee someone will be saying they can't make it and can I get rid of the ticket.  At least when I give them the ticket they have to do it.  Don't understand why tickets can't be sent out a month before, especially in holiday season.

legendarygirlfriend wrote:

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in fact two, my friend really wants to come, please let me know if you have any spares for the first night. x

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I sent you a PM yesterday.