Wisconsin performing arts organizations hit by ticket scams

People buying online tickets for major shows or touring bands likely know to be on the lookout for scams and inflated prices. 

But Wisconsinites may not realize local venues in the state are having the same problems. Scammers create ticket listings for local shows on resale websites like Seat Geek or Vivid Seats in order to jack up the prices, a practice that’s known as speculative ticketing.

“We have a local dance company that puts on the Nutcracker, and even their show is ending up on the speculative market,” said Dillon McArdle, director of Viterbo University’s Fine Arts Center in La Crosse.

That means family and friends who should be paying around $20 for ticket could end up buying a ticket for over $100 because of misleading ticket sales pages.

McArdle said Viterbo’s Fine Arts Center used to have one or two shows each season become a target of speculative ticketing. But this year has been much worse, with fake listings for every event on their calendar.

It’s had a real impact on ticket sales for Viterbo, McArdle said, from customers either buying fake tickets or not buying any because they think the price is too high. He said ticket sales are down 20 percent this year.

“We’re having a really hard time reaching new customers,” he said. “They see our advertising, and then they go and look for the show. And they come across a ticket that is listed at $500 and then they just stop looking.”

In Bayfield, concert venue Big Top Chautauqua saw an uptick in the scams last year, according to general manager Sarah Lewis.

“We had some real bad actors out there doing some crazy stuff,” Lewis said. “We’ve had people call us and say, ‘I just wanted to make sure I have tickets, because I bought these tickets and they were $800.’ And we’re like, ‘Whoa. We never charge $800 for anything.’”

Many of the speculative tickets customers have bought end up not being real or are being sold multiple times, she said, leaving customers without a legitimate way to enter the show.

“My policy is to never turn anybody away,” Lewis said. “If they want to pay to see the show in really good seats, I’ll be happy to take their money and then give them the advice to report fraud on their credit card from the other company. Or they can have free lawn seats.”

Lewis estimates Big Top sees between four and 10 tickets per show that are fakes. The persistent problem pushed them to increase their processing fee to help make up for the losses, and she said they’ve added a banner to their website reminding customers that they don’t work with third-party sellers.

Sara Young, managing director at American Players Theatre in Spring Green, said this summer was the first season they’ve noticed that people were falling prey to speculative ticketing. She said the ticket resale websites are often made to look like they’re coming directly from the venue.

“When you typed in ‘American Players Theatre,’ those sponsored ads would be the first ones that would come up. But it wasn’t our website,” she said.

Like McArdle and Lewis, Young said her organization has done its best to warn potential customers. But she said there is very little recourse for venues to report these bad actors online. 

She said it’s becoming more of a problem as people move away from calling a person at the box office and want to buy their tickets with just a few clicks.

“We’re not open 24/7,” Young said. “If you’re like me, you might want to buy your tickets at 11 p.m. at night, when it’s convenient for you. So we completely understand that.

To make sure you don’t fall prey to speculative ticketing, Young said people should make sure they can choose their own seat, not just a “zone” or section.

“(Third-party sellers) don’t have control over what exact seat the person buys,” she said. “They’re like, you’re going to be in this section, because that’s the ticket that they’ve already purchased and the ticket that they’re marking up.”

McArdle said customers should pay attention to details like the time or location listed on a website. Often speculative ticketing sites are being populated by AI, leading to small errors that can clue in buyers. 

And he said patrons should not fall prey to pressure tactics like countdown clocks or warnings about limited tickets.

“Most venues, and we, the Fine Arts Center specifically, do not use any of those,” McArdle said. “If you see a big pop-up that says, ‘Only two tickets remaining for this performance,’ that’s another huge red flag that you’re on a speculative site.”

When in doubt, Lewis said the safest decision is still to pick up the phone and call the box office.

“People need to listen to their gut,” she said. “If they’re on a website and they just think, ‘This looks weird,’ call any venue.”