A huge concert is happening tonight in Cleveland for Taylor Swift fans. However, one local man said he feels he didn't get a fair shake, shake, shake.
"Are you ready for it?” sings Swift in her song “Ready For It” and Cleveland fans are ready for you Taylor. However, they may not be ready for dynamic pricing.
"It was a gut punch kind of...like the wind taken out of you...just like wow,” said Kevin Sabruno from Euclid. He bought two tickets from Ticketmaster months ago.
Sabruno said the marketing pitch was hype that he bought. “These are the hottest seats in the house, so you get them at a better value,” he told us describing the wording in the ticket ad for Swift.
The tickets were a surprise for his girlfriend on their anniversary. Sabruno splurged and got third-row seats. He spent nearly $1,700. But just a couple weeks ago he was curious about the other seats at First Energy Stadium. “You want to see if you made a good decision," said Sabruno.
He checked ticket prices for the concert and second-row seats were $375 each. Kevin contacted Ticketmaster. "They said it's a good way to think about them like airline tickets where they're going to fluctuate,” said Sabruno. Ticketmaster explained to Sabruno the "event owns the tickets and they have the right to change prices at any time."
Sabruno was not happy. "That's a very large purchase,” he said.
Our research shows Rolling Stone magazine has questioned the pricing strategy saying some acts like Swift and U2 use it while others like Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters are against it.
Pollstar.com reports dynamic pricing "…could take the wind out of the sails of the secondary market." That means sites like Craig's List and others offering seats would have to at least match lower-priced tickets. It also reports that dynamic pricing could ensure "that highly sought-after tickets are sold for a higher amount" when the tickets first go on sale.
Sabruno just wanted to warn you about what happened to him. "I would just call it...it wasn't the smartest move at the time."
We contacted Ticketmaster multiple times for comment. We heard nothing back.
