One of these days, someone's got to explain a $30 per seat "service" fee and a $4 per seat "facility charge" and an $8.30 (per order) "processing fee." What's the difference between "service" and "processing"?
I've often wondered the same thing. Truthfully, for a concert ticket, I'd rather pay $45 flat out than be paying $25 for a ticket, $10 for a convenience fee, $5 for a facility charge and another $5 for a processing fee. They can charge whatever they want for whatever type of fee they're gonna call it. Just build it into the price so I don't have to see it. And, get pissed off by it. I'm sure it's done this way for accounting purposes by all parties involved so nobody can try to screw the other parties out of money.
Don't even get me started about the fact that TM has become nothing more than a scalper itself. $20 more for an aisle seat. "Prices may fluctuate based upon demand." Showing "verified resale" tickets on its own website. Looking at the page for Maiden's NJ show, you have single seats left at the original cost of $124.50 three rows in back of "verified resale" tickets going for $306. It's fucking bullshit! I found the following explanations online. They don't make me feel any better. But, they explain what each of these dumb charges are...
Typical fees added to a ticket's face value include:
Service Charge This is Ticketmaster's charge for the general service they provide and maintain. The amount paid may depend upon the method of payment (by phone, online, or in person).
Building Facility Charge This is determined by the venue, and not Ticketmaster.
Processing Charge This is Ticketmaster's charge for processing your order and making the tickets available to you. This is usually not a per ticket charge, but rather a per order charge.
Shipping Charge, E-Ticket Convenience Charge, or Will Call Charge Ticketmaster charges a fee for ticket delivery, whether the tickets are mailed to the customer, printed out at home, or collected from the venue. The charge for printing out the ticket at home is often higher than the fee to have the ticket physically mailed to you.