Is this why everyone is so upset?

[joyfulgirl]

Why did some people think they were guaranteed GA? I've got a password, and I never though I was guaranteed GA?

The wording is not misleading. It's plain as day.

I agree with you, MrBrau. I understood exactly what I was getting into when I forked over that 40 bucks. I even said to myself, 'you are nuts--the likelihood of this going well is very low given the Prop membership fiascos.' I can see how some people misunderstood the language, but I really read it exactly as you say--that my 40 bucks gave me the opportunity to buy tickets before the general public. That is truly all I thought I was promised, and I knew it could go badly. I never for a moment thought it guaranteed me GAs or seats close to the stage. But I figured, hey, I've blown 40 bucks on lesser things and I'm willing to take the gamble because I hope to go to more than one show. I figured the presale at least would enable me to buy tickets to more than one show in the event that the shows I want to see went on sale to the general public at the same time.

In the end, I got 2 decent lowers for San Diego and I have nothing to complain about really. I do question how brokers allegedly got most of the GA seats and whether or not enough seats were put on sale to accommodate all the memberships.

I feel bad for everyone though and I stand by their attempts to get to the truth.

 

[mofo82]

Mr. Brau, I know there's alot of questionable complaints, but here's my reasons why I'm upset with this whole situation.

Fanfire representatives told me when I called in November, and even on January 24th. '05, that there was no limit on the number of shows you could purchase presale tickets. When that info came directly from the sales rep, I decided to buy my membership. We finally were told many details of the presale precedures in our U2.com emails sent on Jan. 22 with the ordering code- how few tickets were actually released for presale (only 10% for each venue) and the one show limit. These details were added after a huge majority of the members bought the membership. I bought my membership, as I'm sure many others did, on false pretenses, and the member benefits were not properly explained in regards to the presale. Now Fanfire is completely refusing me a refund.

I called them Tuesday night (1/24) and Wednesday night (1/25) and I was denied both times. I did not use my ticket code and buy tickets.

 

[indra]

Q - Will I get better seats than the general public?

A - U2.Com have secured some of the best available tickets for U2.Com Subscribers.

The operative word above is some. Some can actually mean very damned few. It kind of gets glossed over, but people really do need to look at and understand the qualifying words used in the promotion of these memberships.

I think what hurts so many people is the need to read the above with cynicism. Many thought U2 would be different. Sadly, I believe they wouldn't be where they are (success-wise) if they weren't masters at "the game" and the fact is many times the fans get screwed by "the game."

I don't think U2, Us.com, Fanfire, or Ticketbastard, wanted the debacle that did happen -- to want it to happen would be stupid. But the fact is that many of the best tickets never go on sale to the general public, and most bands (especially the very sucessful ones) accept that.

 

[dezmaas]

I'm happy (eventually) I got tickets in front of the stage for 85 Euro ($110) GA tickets as you guys would call them.

 

[Aardvark747]

Not sure what kind of seats I got for Cardiff. I clicked Best Available (not being sure what that meant) and looking at the plan of the stadium, they're either gonna be really close to the stage, or really far away, depending on which end the boys play their rock n roll!

 

[Flying FuManchu]

I find it funny that people still bought the membership and claim that they already knew they were going to get terrible/ substandard service (i.e. people who knew this was going to happen junk). That makes little sense to me...

Of course the main argument makes a strong point (there is no gurantee you will get a great seat) however a lot of complaints weren't referring to that were they? I've read many complaints pointing out that even the expensive seats sucked, the password mishap, the "false pretenses," and the misleading statement contrasted with u2.com's contradictory statement... yikes

 

[mellow moog]

Mr brau. Your name sebastian by any chance???

 

[EPandAmerica]

I have received tickets in the US from Propaganda for concerts since Zootv. When my form came in the mail, I always mailed it back (Express Mail - yes I'm a rabid fan) the very next day. My seats were always pretty much excellent, within a few rows from the stage. Popmart my seats were lowerbowl right next to the stage. Elevation, I was too unsure about the GA thing, so I chose the Golden Circle seats and they were lower bowl very close to the stage.

Tuesday, using a broadband or whatever the hell you call the fastest web connection, from work, I selected "best available" and received T3 seats for San Diego, and they were priced at 163.00 each with a conveinience charge of 19.85 each and a order processing fee of 4.35...
That is a shitload of money for seats in the third balcony... you can't get any higher unless you sit on the roof.
If U2.com secured these best available seats just for me, well then good God let me kiss their ASS.

U2.com did nothing but send out misleading emails and letters, hell former Propaganda members were told we were to be in the front of the line, when ordering tickets. Maybe my seating charts with get flipped and my seats will magically apear on the floor instead of the ceiling.

 

[joyfulgirl]

I find it funny that people still bought the membership and claim that they already knew they were going to get terrible/ substandard service (i.e. people who knew this was going to happen junk). That makes little sense to me...

If this is addressed to me, that's not what I said. I said I knew that after the Prop membership fiasco I knew there was a chance the presale could go badly but I was willing to take a gamble. Naturally I hoped that they'd get their shit together for the presale. In fact, as I said, I got tickets, so I cannot claim that this was a disaster for me. Taking a gamble and hoping for the best may not make sense to you but it makes perfect sense to me.

 

[joyfulgirl]

I have received tickets in the US from Propaganda for concerts since Zootv.

I guess this is why I don't feel as burned as everyone else does, even though I am disappointed. I never got tickets through Propaganda. I didn't join until Elevation and they did not come through with tickets for me for either my first or second choice shows. I got great seats for 3 shows through the general sale, including GA.

 

[kellyahern]

I guess this is why I don't feel as burned as everyone else does, even though I am disappointed. I never got tickets through Propaganda. I didn't join until Elevation and they did not come through with tickets for me for either my first or second choice shows. I got great seats for 3 shows through the general sale, including GA.

I think this is why I am annoyed (not by the fact that you got great seats for Elevation ), but because by paying the $40 fee I thought I would have a better chance of getting the seats I wanted then if I had waited for the general sale. Now, it seems like I wasted $40 because I don't think the odds were any better during the pre-sale then they will be on Saturday.

 

[caylan]

Like anything else in the USA. If you are not well treated or misled as a consumer, then write to the vendor & express your dissatisfaction.

I think after several negative ffedback, they'll get some sort of message.

Remember, change only starts with the 1st letter or email.

 

[U2@NYC]

And that is why we should continue to blast Principle Management, Ticketmaster and everyone else with our complaints about the way this pre-sale was handled.

 

[nathan1977]

If it was clear that a majority of fans had gotten the Best Available seats, I wouldn't have as much of a problem. I still would be disappointed, but I wouldn't be angry.

But when it seems that brokers were the ONLY ones who obtained GA tickets -- scooping them all up -- you can't say that the system isn't flawed.

And THAT is what has many of us up in arms.

 

[nbcrusader]

What we are missing here is the history of claims and representations made by U2.com. They have changed over time. The original solicitations to buy a U2.com membership included far more promising representations regarding the seats available.

To ask "why is everyone so upset?" is to miss the bigger picture.

 

[atikicat]

First: I did not even attempt the presale.

Second: the reason why so many thoight they were guarunteed GA si becuase they mistakenly beleived that propaganda still existed. Which U2.com gave every indication that it still did. And Propaganda got fans GA in 2001. Pretty much every fan who ordered GA through them got it. They though it would be like last time. I didn't. The subscription week in Dec..I knew the game was up.

Exactly. I think this is why people, especially fromer Prop members, are so pissed off. The announcement of the official demise of Propaganda was timed specifically to coincide with the hype of the new album and tour in order to "sell" fans on buying the u2.com subscription as replacement for Prop. Had they been up front with the fact that the content and services of u2.com were exactly the same as before when it was free, only now they were going to charge $40...not many people would have purchased the subscription. They did so under the misconception, created by u2.com itself, that somehow they were getting more...getting what they used to get from Prop. In fact, u2.com even stated/implied that former Prop members would get priority in ticketing over other u2.com members. This of course was all untrue. The ticket pre-sale for this tour is exactly the same as the pre-sale for the previous tour...which was also a disaster. The only difference is that fans didn't have to pay $20-$40 to get the pre-sale code, and if they didn't get the tix they wanted...there was Propaganda to rely on.

 

[nathan1977]

...the misconception, created by u2.com itself, that somehow they were getting more...getting what they used to get from Prop. In fact, u2.com even stated/implied that former Prop members would get priority in ticketing over other u2.com members.

Didn't imply -- they outrighted stated. The phrase they used was "go straight to the head of the line." Repeatedly.

 

[atikicat]

Didn't imply -- they outrighted stated. The phrase they used was "go straight to the head of the line." Repeatedly.

Yes, you're right. I got duped into buying the subscription too. As soon as I found out that ticketmaster was running the pre-sale again, I knew I'd been taken. I knew the pre-sale would be the same as before, so even though I tried to get GA tix, I didn't have much hope at success.

 

[womanfish]

I am also a long-time subscriber of Prop. and have always had awesome tickets. I stood 5 feet away from the band at 3 different Elevation shows last tour, and all my Pop and ZooTV tickets were great.

I logged in to get tickets for Chicago (which has TWO shows) and at exactly 10am, no GA tickets were available. You ask why I'm pissed off?!?! If you're fond of taking quotes from U2.com, they also said that Propaganda members would be "put at the front of the line" for presale tickets.

So not only was I expecting to be getting my pick of "the best seats in the house" (which ARE GA tix as defined by Mr. McGuiness) but near the front of the line as well. So tickets had been on sale for less than 1 minute and there were no GA tickets to be had? I'm pissed because we were taken for a ride, and I'm not used to that with U2.

 

[sallycinnamon78]

Is this why everyone is so pissed?

Q - Will I get better seats than the general public?

A - U2.Com have secured some of the best available tickets for U2.Com Subscribers.

2 things here. They never promised anyone GA tickets. They've only promised you access to U2 tickets. "Best Available Ticket" is not defined as GA, 1st tier, or 2nd tier. It's left open. If you take "Best Available Ticket" to mean GA or cheapest, your a shithead. Any legal action against U2 will probably fail because "Best Available Tickets" are not defined.

ALL YOUR $40 GUARANTEES YOU IS THE OPPORTUNITY TO BUY U2 TICKETS BEFORE THOSE WHO DIDN'T PAY $40

I like GA, my sister likes seats. So "best available" is relative. The one thing they have to give you is access, that's what they promise, access to U2 tickets before anyone else.

If your pissed off because brokers got them, well, welcome to the world. That happens with Springsteen, REM, Radiohead, etc. Next time you vote, go for the guy w/ the best "Ticketmaster" policy.

Yep. U2.com used deliberately vague wording to cover their arses in this situation, I guess.

This is precisely what I meant yesterday when I posted that I didn't understand how, legally, a lawsuit about this issue would stand a snowflake's chance in hell of getting anywhere.

Surprisingly enough, taking that view didn't make me popular, but I stand by it, until anyone can prove any different.

 

[sallycinnamon78]

Re: Re: Is this why everyone is so upset?

The operative word above is some. Some can actually mean very damned few. It kind of gets glossed over, but people really do need to look at and understand the qualifying words used in the promotion of these memberships.

I think what hurts so many people is the need to read the above with cynicism. Many thought U2 would be different. Sadly, I believe they wouldn't be where they are (success-wise) if they weren't masters at "the game" and the fact is many times the fans get screwed by "the game."

I don't think U2, Us.com, Fanfire, or Ticketbastard, wanted the debacle that did happen -- to want it to happen would be stupid. But the fact is that many of the best tickets never go on sale to the general public, and most bands (especially the very sucessful ones) accept that.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

 

[4EVRU2]

So, what happens to the best tickets that don't go on sale? are these used for radio promos? for special guests, that sort of thing?

I can see why so many people are upset and would be too; still unsure if i should spend $40 for a membership myself for the 3rd leg which I HAVE to wait for; but frankly, I'm not optimistic about getting GA seats when it comes time; heck, if I had to sit outside the arena/stadium and strain to hear the music, I would!

Okay, if I have to travel outside my city then no, but they played a stadium here in '97 and I would gladly stand outside it to hear!

Forget that! I'm just plain psyched to see them again and I cannot wait!!! If I have to hitchhike to the next city where they're rumoured to be going (instead of here )I'll do it!!

p.s in '93 they played in Vancouver and I live 12 hours away; I bought tickets here which were nosebleeds but I didn't care and drove through a friggin' blizzard to see them!!!

 

[ascender_RS]

I think members of the original Propaganda system are hacked off simply because it worked so much better than this pre-sale. And on more than one occasion too, so it wasn't a fluke.

Someone somewhere seems to have got their sums wrong with the amount of tickets available for the pre-sale.

Some of the ticket prices, especially in Europe are extremely expensive compared to previous U2 tours. I'm fortunate that I could afford the tickets, but I genuinely think some people will miss out because of the prices. And you have to bear in mind that U2 are now at a point where some people might be paying to bring kids to the shows as well.

The quality of the tickets is a can of worms though, expectance was high (esp based on previous Propaganda pre-sales) and maybe that's why a lot of people are disappointed. Some people seem to have also got poor tickets and paid a lot of money for them which is even more disappointing.

I think its a combination of all of the above tbh.

From my point of view, I'm sure the show will be absolutely fantastic and when the curtain goes up all this will be forgotten. But its certainly soured the whole thing for me at the moment.

 

[Matthew_Page2000]

Spin--Spin--Spin--Spin.

100,000 u2.com members...
26,000 available seats--total...
Equals a 26% chance for paying U2.com members to get tickets. That's about a 1 in 4 shot to get tickets. Right?
Wrong. I suspect most U2.com members are buying two seats which means there are 13,000 pairs of tickets available to 100,000 members. That means we're looking at a 13% chance, or a 1 in 8 shot. For $40. That's not treating your fans well MrBrau1. It's bullcrap.

And I don't care what you say about "best in house" being relative. Some of the tickets made available for presale were the $49.50 nosebleed seats and by any honest persons definition those would be the worst in house. Many more were $95 or $165 seats behind the stage or at the opposite end of the floor from the stage. Again--no honest person can claim that those are best in house seats.

 

[skjuls]

Spin--Spin--Spin--Spin.

100,000 u2.com members...
26,000 available seats--total...
Equals a 26% chance for paying U2.com members to get tickets. That's about a 1 in 4 shot to get tickets. Right?
Wrong. I suspect most U2.com members are buying two seats which means there are 13,000 pairs of tickets available to 100,000 members. That means we're looking at a 13% chance, or a 1 in 8 shot. For $40. That's not treating your fans well MrBrau1. It's bullcrap.

And I don't care what you say about "best in house" being relative. Some of the tickets made available for presale were the $49.50 nosebleed seats and by any honest persons definition those would be the worst in house. Many more were $95 or $165 seats behind the stage or at the opposite end of the floor from the stage. Again--no honest person can claim that those are best in house seats.

Well said!

 

[MrBrau1]

Spin--Spin--Spin--Spin.

100,000 u2.com members...
26,000 available seats--total...
Equals a 26% chance for paying U2.com members to get tickets. That's about a 1 in 4 shot to get tickets. Right?
Wrong. I suspect most U2.com members are buying two seats which means there are 13,000 pairs of tickets available to 100,000 members. That means we're looking at a 13% chance, or a 1 in 8 shot. For $40. That's not treating your fans well MrBrau1. It's bullcrap.

And I don't care what you say about "best in house" being relative. Some of the tickets made available for presale were the $49.50 nosebleed seats and by any honest persons definition those would be the worst in house. Many more were $95 or $165 seats behind the stage or at the opposite end of the floor from the stage. Again--no honest person can claim that those are best in house seats.

Q - Will I get better seats than the general public?

A - U2.Com have secured some of the best available tickets for U2.Com Subscribers.

 

[Matthew_Page2000]

Q - Will I get better seats than the general public?

A - U2.Com have secured some of the best available tickets for U2.Com Subscribers.

Can't you see how far U2 have fallen in our estimation when we have to carefully read the fine print on all their offers to us? Don't you think it is at the least a little sad that U2 would demand $40 for a 13% shot at any tickets at all? Including crap tickets?

Or, to put it in a different light- If U2.com had advertised a $40 membership fee that would provide fans with a 13% chance at tickets and a 2% chance at GA tickets how many of us would have signed up? Would you have?

Or, to put it a different way, if you were in a band would you have run it this way?

 

[Flying FuManchu]

Or, to put it a different way, if you were in a band would you have run it this way?

Hell yeah! I want to make a killing- mo money, mo money!

 

[colby_giusti]

I think the problem is that most people who have been Prop subscribers for years feel that this was a slap in the face to them. As someone posted earlier, this was virtually the same presale that u2.com offered it's non-paying email-list fans for Elevation. Prop subscribers got something different, and we all expected to get the same thing now, especially since we had to pay even more money.

I also think it sucks that U2.com really advertised the presale as the main selling point to join the fanclub. So, I am sure there were scalpers or marginal fans who spent the money solely to get tickets, which just made it harder on the rest of us.

I guess we have to remember that U2 is in the music business and they are just that....a business- meaning their purpose is to make money.

 

[mikeuk]

I agree with you, MrBrau. I understood exactly what I was getting into when I forked over that 40 bucks. I even said to myself, 'you are nuts--the likelihood of this going well is very low given the Prop membership fiascos.' I can see how some people misunderstood the language, but I really read it exactly as you say--that my 40 bucks gave me the opportunity to buy tickets before the general public. That is truly all I thought I was promised, and I knew it could go badly. I never for a moment thought it guaranteed me GAs or seats close to the stage. But I figured, hey, I've blown 40 bucks on lesser things and I'm willing to take the gamble because I hope to go to more than one show. I figured the presale at least would enable me to buy tickets to more than one show in the event that the shows I want to see went on sale to the general public at the same time.

In the end, I got 2 decent lowers for San Diego and I have nothing to complain about really. I do question how brokers allegedly got most of the GA seats and whether or not enough seats were put on sale to accommodate all the memberships.

I feel bad for everyone though and I stand by their attempts to get to the truth.

I understood no guarantees - but this has all been a complete shambles. What REALLY irks though is the message that because I purchased 4 tickets for 1 concert (not the concert or tickes I wanted), I am not now allowed to participate in the open sale - where people won't be limited (as I & others were) to 4 tickets for 1 concert but instead can go for 1 ticket for 4 concerts ! This was NEVER expalined in advance and is complete bullshit !

Mike