(A paid review)

Via ReviewMe.com, I've been asked to review the site/products/services offered by TicketLiquidator.com

Topics addressed in this review:
WHAT THEY DO
WHO THEY ARE
HOW'S THEIR REPUTATION?
IS THE SITE USER FRIENDLY?
IS THE SITE SAFE TO USE?
SELLING TICKETS
IMPROVEMENTS I'D LIKE TO SEE
WOULD I USE TICKET LIQUIDATOR?
CONCLUSION

WHAT THEY DO

Ticket Liquidator is a ticket broker service. What they do is match people who want to go to sporting, concert, or theater events with people who have tickets for those events. They make their money by charging a service fee for their role in facilitating this transaction.

WHO THEY ARE:

Ticket Liquidator is a Connecticut based company that - judging by the copyright date on the bottom of the page - appears to have been in business since 2002. Researching this has been complicated, but near as I can piece it together, it goes something like this:

The main company is Ticket Software, LLC, which owns Ticket Network (makers of Ticket Network software). They also operate the Ticket Network Direct ticket brokerage network, members of which can become "Ticket Network Direct Trusted Merchants" by agreeing to adhere to certain guidelines and standards. This allows them to offer for sale tickets from the entire Ticket Network Exchange ticket broker inventory. Ticket Liquidator is sorta like the "corporate store" ticket seller for Ticket Network. At any rate, they're all run by Don Vaccaro.

HOW'S THEIR REPUTATION?

As far as I can tell, above reproach. This was a particularly difficult investigation, since Googling for information on ticket brokers is like searching for legitimate information on "cheap prescription drugs" or "debt consolidation". Most search results are for search engine optimized ads that the company has paid to place on other people's web sites. This tells you nothing except that Ticket Liquidator has a significant ad budget.

Also in the results are a few testimonials from purportedly satisfied customers, but these are hosted by a site connected to Ticket Liquidator. This does NOT mean these testimonials are entirely without merit, it just gives them the appearance of being self-serving, which may or may not be the case. The same can be said for the customer testimonials page on the Ticket Liquidator site.

What I wanted to find were casual mentions on unrelated sites. Turns out there were very few. People generally don't discuss where they bought their tickets, just the fact that they went to the event that the tickets were for.

Still, the search was not entirely fruitless, in that it allowed me to notice a certain pattern. When the dead tree press guys & TV news folks talk about ticket brokers, they usually phrase it as "Stub Hub, Ticket Liquidator, and others". And, likely as not, there will be a quote from Ticket Liquidator CEO Don Vaccaro

Checking up on Don led me to two different instances (both in the 90's) of him testifying before the Connecticut legislature on the subject of proposed legislation regarding regulation of the state's ticket resale industry.[CTRL+F "Don Vaccaro" and CTRL+F "Donald Vaccaro:" respectively on the above links]

The fact of his testimony tells me that Don really has been in the ticket resale business for a long time. He's not a Johnny-come-lately or a fly-by-night whose web site will disappear tomorrow. He's in this for the long haul.

The content of his testimony tells me that he's long had an interest in distinguishing what he does from what scalpers do. He wants to see the ticket resale industry as a whole become as legitimate and trustworthy as stock brokers, real estate agents, or online auctions sites like eBay.

So, what DID I find for mentions of Ticket Liquidator? Someone saying they had a friend who liked Ticket Liquidator. Someone saying he used Ticket Liquidator to find his ticket. Someone else saying that Ticket Liquidator sold his ticket out from under him. This last probably isn't as worrisome as it sounds. Ticket Liquidator doesn't HOLD tickets, it merely connects buyer to seller, and some of the tickets it lists are listed at other selling venues as well, which are not necessarily instantaneouly updated. I don't know the details of the transaction, but I do know that they luckless wanna-be buyer didn't seem too upset, so it's probably safe to assume that he wasn't charged. Besides, one of Ticket Liquidator's guarantees is "You will receive tickets that are comparable to or better than the tickets you originally ordered, or your money will be refunded." When ordering tickets, you can select the option "If the exact tickets I've chosen are unavailable, I will accept equal or better tickets if they are available at the same price". I assume the guy didn't choose that option.

Which brings me to the topic of thundering silence. Ticket Liquidator has been in business online for over 4 years. If they were in the habit of giving bad deals, not following through on their promises, or just plain old screwing people over, there would be online hatred and complaints aplenty. Lord knows that if I'd gotten screwed on $100+ tickets to something, I'd be posting howling screeds in every venue I could find.

I infer from the silence that Ticket Liquidator receives no more unhappy customers than any other company in the industry, and probably far less than some others.

IS THE SITE USER FRIENDLY?

Very much so. Prominent search box, narrow two-column page design that makes good use of white space, easy-to-scan lists of the more popular events, and - best of all - when you select the day and location for the event, you'll find a link to a pop-up map of the seating arrangements for the venue in question, so that you can get an idea of what kind of view you'll be buying into.

IS THE SITE SAFE TO USE?

As far as I can tell, yes.

Squidoo lists some things you should look for on an online ticket broker's site:

A Buyer Guarantee - yes, as well as a complete listing of policies

Easy to find Phone Number - yes, as well as the address of their office and hours of operation.

Better Business Bureau Membership Logo - yes, although it's for Ticket Network Direct, not just Ticket Liquidator.

Privacy Policy - yes, near the bottom of the policies page [CTRL+F "privacy policy."].

SELLING TICKETS

If you have a ticket that you don't want or can't use, Ticket Liquidator allows you to sell it through their site. The upside: Unlike eBay, there are no listing fees. If your ticket doesn't sell, you're not out a dime (except for whatever the ticket cost you, and you're already out that no matter WHAT you do). The downside: the selling fee is 10%, which is higher than eBay's combined listing and final value fees (which varies between 5-10%, depending on listing price and final selling price). However, it saves you the trouble of cobbling together an eBay page for the item, and lets you use Ticket Liquidator's reputation to sell your ticket instead of relying on whatever your eBay user feedback rating is. If you don't have many eBay auctions under your belt, it's likely worth the little bit extra.

On the other hand, it's cheaper than StubHub (now a subsidiary of eBay), which charges a 15% selling fee.

IMPROVEMENTS I'D LIKE TO SEE

More navigational links - this is a minor point, but still, since there's no left sidebar with navigational links, I'd suggest one or more of the following to help the user navigate the site:

A "top" link at the bottom of the page.
A "home" link at the bottom of the page.
A search box at the bottom of the page.

Yes, the user can scroll back to the top, but it never hurts to make navigation faster and easier.

Mention the service fee percentage - I don't have a problem with Ticket Liquidator charging a service fee. They earn it by making it convenient for me to get good seats at the events I want to attend. What I find annoying is the fact that the service fee is not included in the price of the tickets. Also, the service fee is not displayed until after you click the buy button, select your country, and select your shipping option. Which isn't necessary, since the fee is not related to the shipping cost. It's a flat 15% of the ticket price. Yet nowhere on the site is that percentage disclosed.

I find this to be an inexcusable inconvenience to the site user. Especially in light of this statement:

We keep our costs as low as possible, using efficient technologies and our innovative business model to grow our business without increasing the cost to the consumer. Sound too fair and ethical to be true? We encourage you to shop around and try to find a better price... we're confident there's not one out there.[emphasis added]

If you really want people to shop around, then make it easier to calculate the final cost. Add a page disclosing "fees and shipping options" and mention that your service fee is 15% of the ticket price, and your shipping options are:

2-day delivery $15.00
Standard Overnight $20.00
Priority Overnight $25.00
Saturday Delivery $30.00
International Priority $36.00 (Canada & Mexico)
International Priority $40.00 (other international deliveries)

I need to know the total amount I'll be asked to spend before I can decide if that ticket is what I want or if I should choose another seat. I believe Ticket Liquidator is passing up a huge opportunity here by not posting their prices up front, which makes them vulnerable to any competitor who DOES offer that extra convenience. I hope they consider this consequence and re-consider this policy.

WOULD I USE TICKET LIQUIDATOR?

A qualified yes.

It would not be my first stop. That would be either the ticket office of the venue where the event is being held, or their authorized ticket agent.

Definitely my second stop. Now that I know the face value of the best available retail seat, I can use Ticket Liquidator to see how much more a better ticket would be. I might get lucky and find something cheaper (more likely to happen as the event draws closer and panicked sellers start trying to unload their tickets at a loss). Or I might find a better seat that's enough of an improvement to be worth the extra money. Ticket Liquidator is quick & easy to use, so it's not much bother to do this.

However, probably not my last stop. I say "probably" because if Ticket Liquidator has a deal that sounds reasonable, I might just go ahead & grab it. Spending time comparison shopping carries the risk of someone buying the tickets I had my eye on.

But if I wanted verification that I'm looking at a good find, I'd check the other popular sites like Ticketmaster, StubHub, RazorGator, and maybe even muck about in the swamp of eBay. Of course, ticket re-selling is rather a commodity business, and the odds of improving a price by more than 10 or 20 dollars is fairly slim (at least for events that *I'd* consider going to). I'd balance the need to find a "bargain" with how much of my life I really wanted to spend chasing the hope of those savings.

CONCLUSION

Ticket Liquidator is a well-regarded ticket broker with a secure, simple-to-use web site and a good reputation. In a crazy internet ocean swirling with "who's this guy?" ticket re-sellers, Ticket Liquidator is an island of stability that's here for the long haul and wants to give customers an experience that will make them come back. Shop around all you want, but make sure that Ticket Liquidator IS one of your shopping stops.

Preferably the first one after you decide that you deserve a better seat than the one the jerks at the ticket window are offering.

Posted by: Harvey at 03:42 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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