Would You Use A Manchester City Ticket Marketplace.....

[squirtyflower]

It would get the thousands of blues watching the game on laptops or in the pubs, the tickets are too expensive.

Who wants to pay £40 to sit in a shit atmosphere?

When the atmosphere is so much better in the pub with those that didn't go

 

[trotsky]

I use Viagogo to sell mine on occasions and I would use a "Ticket Marketplace".
I have an idea that might be acceptable to all parties:
You inform City that you can not attend a game. They sell the ticket at the same cost as per other tickets for that match. A £5(?) admin fee is deducted and the remaining amount goes as credit against your next seasoncard or goods from the Citystore. This can be done for up to 6 matches.
Surely everyone is a winner, especially City, who gain extra revenue from the ticket plus an extra bum on seat to spend more money at the ground. The seasoncard seller will also be up a few quid - but can only spend it with City.
I can't see a flaw... but I'm sure someone will

Viagiogo would work if the part-timers were prepared to pay £50 or whatever to see City play WBA

That's where it falls down

Your plan works if the cost of the seat is pro-rated on the cost of the seat for the ST holder

At the moment the empty seat looks shit and the seat 'owner' earns nowt back and the club loses incremental revenue from the person that might otherwise be in the seat so that's a lose/ lose/ lose situation

City price each game by category. That is the going rate for anyone who can not commit to a seasoncard. There can not be a cheaper price for a seasoncard holder's seat. The seasoncard holder will not get rich if they can only sell for 6 games - and the £20/£30 credit that they may make from six games goes back to City anyway.

 

[jrb]

Well intended idea JRB. This is worth giving it a go when the Vianogo contract ends. However, there are some problems to overcome in the meantime:

A) a lunchtime game against Southampton would still not sell out.

B) I am afraid some Blues like getting Vianogo prices. (I wouldn't use them myself). Other Blues see face value as the individual seat purchase price - and I can understand people wanting more than 1/19 of the Seasoncard price for the Derby because they may need to give away e.g. Fulham at home if they couldn't go.

C) the Club wouldn't have a marketplace service undercutting its match day prices.

D) Season cards are not suited to people who don't attend most of the home games. Bayern have a solution that has been mentioned before on this forum.

Cheers

A. I appreciate not all games will sell out. However, if unused seats were sold at face value, then I would assume more City fans would be tempted to buy those tickets and attend the matches. There are nearly 6000 City fans on the waiting list. Where are they? It's simple. They won't pay £50+ for a matchday ticket.

B. That's true. But if they were forced to accept face value prices by the club on re-sale, there is nothing they could do about it. Either face value, give it to a family member or friend, or don't use it. The end.

c. This is my point of view, but it doesn't mean it's right. if somebody isn't prepared to pay £50+ for a matchday ticket, they won't, regardless of how many seats are left for sale. If a person is prepared to pay £31 for a ticket/empty seat, they will. The club get the admin fee and matchday spend.(food, drinks, etc) Other than that the seat remains empty. The season ticket holder get's nothing and neither does the club.

D. For those people that don't attend most home games, the city marketplace would be an ideal solution. They could advertise the games in advance and sell their seat accordingly.

Let's be honest about this. Saturday's match wasn't a sell out as stated on the OS. And Viagogo aren't shifting all their tickets they get off City because City fans aren't prepared to pay those prices. And constantly saying the empty seats is down to season ticket holders not turning up isn't true either. As already stated, we have 6000 fans on the season ticket waiting list. Why aren't they snapping up these available seats/tickets? Especially now, considering we're fighting for the title.

One more thought.

If you owned City(Sheikh Mansour), and you were watching that match on TV and saw all those empty seats on Saturday, wouldn't you want to know why those seats were empty, and why the People running the club weren't filling those seats, regardless of how? Because as it stands, City are involved in a 3 way race for the title, the football is brilliant, yet seats still remain unsold and empty. I stand corrected.

 

[Tim of the Oak]

Well said JRB. The Sheikh and Khaldoon should certainly want to know.

I agree with you that the main issue is price and another factor is knowing there are spares well in advance - especially for families. Hopefully, the market place would help.

Like I said I would back a system like yours and there would be time to iron out one or two things. The 6,000 waiting list is a great opportunity as long as we don't encourage people who can't go to most games to buy them. If people buy season tickets and only go to half the games then the market place could turn into a circus - however well intended.

 

[jrb]

Well said JRB. The Sheikh and Khaldoon should certainly want to know.

I agree with you that the main issue is price and another factor is knowing there are spares well in advance - especially for families. Hopefully, the market place would help.

Like I said I would back a system like yours and there would be time to iron out one or two things. The 6,000 waiting list is a great opportunity as long as we don't encourage people who can't go to most games to buy them. If people buy season tickets and only go to half the games then the market place could turn into a circus - however well intended.

Like with most ideas you need to start off with a blueprint. It won't be perfect at first(Jamie Olivers food, service, etc), but over time things can be tweaked, and they will eventually improve.

The point being, if City wanted to, they could easily do this. And can you imagine how easy it would be to buy unused seats/tickets. Everything would be run in-house as well.

Let's take it on a little further. Ever pre-ordered your cinema tickets online? Then you go to the Cinema, put your debit or credit card in the machine, and it prints your tickets out for you.

Imagine that at City. Go down to the ground during the week or on matchdays. pop your debit or credit card in the machine, and print your tickets off. And off you go, or in you go.

There are so many things City could do to make the ticket buying process much easier. The club is full of clever professionals, but the way things are run/done, you wouldn't think that was the case at times.

 

[dawlish dave]

Well said JRB. The Sheikh and Khaldoon should certainly want to know.

I agree with you that the main issue is price and another factor is knowing there are spares well in advance - especially for families. Hopefully, the market place would help.

Like I said I would back a system like yours and there would be time to iron out one or two things. The 6,000 waiting list is a great opportunity as long as we don't encourage people who can't go to most games to buy them. If people buy season tickets and only go to half the games then the market place could turn into a circus - however well intended.

Like with most ideas you need to start off with a blueprint. It won't be perfect at first(Jamie Olivers food, service, etc), but over time things can be tweaked, and they will eventually improve.

The point being, if City wanted to, they could easily do this. And can you imagine how easy it would be to buy unused seats/tickets. Everything would be run in-house as well.

Let's take it on a little further. Ever pre-ordered your cinema tickets online? Then you go to the Cinema, put your debit or credit card in the machine, and it prints your tickets out for you.

Imagine that at City. Go down to the ground during the week or on matchdays. pop your debit or credit card in the machine, and print your tickets off. And off you go, or in you go.

There are so many things City could do to make the ticket buying process much easier. The club is full of clever professionals, but the way things are run/done, you wouldn't think that was the case at times.

Same as booking in some hotels if you have prepaid, one point if like me you pay old gits rate for your SC then can City only resell your seat to another old git?

 

[cibaman]

I 've sold for face value on Viagogo twice, went through smoothly.

But I was once planning to sell a ticket as I was invited to a wedding, but didn't get round to it. The wedding had to be rearranged at the last minute due to illness and I ended up going to the match. So now I would be very reluctant to sell my ticket, just in case

 

[Deleted member 58678]

if the club launched one in the future?(post Viagogo)

With tickets being sold at face value, with a reasonable admin fee to cover costs, and open to all season ticket holders, card holders, and new City fans currently on the season ticket waiting list.

I very rarely miss a game and if I do I just give my ticket to a pal or family member...but if I didn't have anyone to give it to I would use it, yes.

My Mother Father and Sister have points but can't afford SCs and go to odd games here and there - they would all use the system if it was in place. My father looked on viagogo for a game recently (Chelsea I think) and tickets were £90+ each!

 

[SWP COME HOME!!]

Just a point about the 6k on the waiting list, a portion of these people might already be at the game using their current status as a blue member to get tickets.........

 

[Dave Ewing's Back 'eader]

You should be allowed to sell them well under the match day face value otherwise some games would never sell.

Offering a seller face value for their match ticket is enough.

I would rather sell/receive face value for my match ticket, rather than watch it go to waste because I've tried to make a killing on it and rip off another City fan.

If City want another first, there is no reason why they can't set up their own ticket marketplace and let City fans who don't have a ticket buy them at face value from other City fans who can't make the match, with a reasonable admin fee.

An empty seat is a wasted seat.

I would not want to pay £56 for West Brom when the ST holder has paid £30ish per game. There is no face value on a season ticket.

The face value of a ST match is the cost divided by nineteen. That should be the face value - not what you might pay for a single ticket.