Resold tickets for Warriors v Dolphins could be cancelled, Ticketmaster warns

Warriors fans who snapped up tickets to Saturday's NRL finals qualifier match through unofficial resale sites could find their tickets cancelled, Ticketmaster has warned.Tickets for the clash with the Dolphins at Mount Smart Stadium sold out within minutes of going on sale to the general public on Tuesday.Not long afterwards, listings began appearing on TradeMe and other online marketplaces, with some sellers asking hundreds of dollars more than what they paid.One listing offered four tickets in the Eastern Stand for a buy-now price of $1200, describing them as "arguably the best seats in the house. Right where the Warriors walk out".The seller did not offer an explanation for why they were selling the tickets.Another seller was asking $500 for two tickets in the uncovered South Stand - seats which ordinarily cost $25 for an adult during the regular season, although the price for the play-off was increased to around $45.For some fans, the practice crossed a line. The question-and-answer sections of some listings became impromptu battlegrounds, with frustrated supporters accusing sellers of cashing in on the huge demand for one of the biggest Warriors games in years."You're a dog for selling these tickets to make money and actual fans can't even go to see it live," one person wrote."You are an actual scumbag," another posted.Others questioned whether the practice of on-selling the tickets at large mark-up breached the terms and conditions set by Ticketmaster, the official ticketing agent for the game.In a statement to RNZ, a Ticketmaster spokesperson recommended fans only purchase tickets through authorised ticket sellers."Ticketmaster does not guarantee the authenticity of tickets purchased from unauthorised third-party resellers or resale sites."While only a relatively small number of tickets appear to have been listed for resale, the NRL's ticket terms restrict unauthorised resale for the Warriors game."Tickets identified as sold or transferred in breach of those terms may be cancelled."'Pretty crap'Fans are calling it gutting, gross, a kick in the teeth and against the culture of the Wahs.Super-fan Woody Materoa said it was gutting. He jumped online for tickets but didn't make it on to the site in time."We're quite big fans of the Warriors and to sort of see people getting tickets that are not even going to attend the game is pretty crap."They were planning to fly up from Blenheim to watch the game."There's always going to be somewhere that's going to take advantage of that sort of stuff but yes you know, they're trying to make money, whereas we just want to watch the game."Materoa said something should be done to stop this from happening again."It's supposed to be a game that's enjoyed by all Kiwis, you know, especially called 'New Zealand Warriors'. So I think they do need to take action," fellow fan Paul Natac said.He's been a Wahs fan since 1995, when he was just 13 years old."They really made it accessible for people who are vulnerable, you know, where a little bit of joy of watching rugby league helps them. The Warriors have done a really good job at $10 tickets sometimes over the season, and then all of a sudden originally $44 tickets are being sold over a hundred bucks, 200, 300 even. Some of them are $500 per ticket."Natac missed out on securing tickets in both the pre-sale and general release and had considered buying marked-up tickets."I can afford it, so shall I just buy it? And at the end of the day I just kind of calmed down and went, at the end of the day, I'll just be promoting this behaviour for the next game."Sports commentator Sam Ackerman said scalping wasn't in the spirit of the Wahs culture."The members who appear to be doing it, that's a kick in the teeth because they are part of that experience and they know exactly what that investment emotionally means."He said it's hard to digest."People have bought more than they want for the purpose of on-selling, not just on-selling for a bit, on-selling for ridiculous profits as well. And it means that there's been conversations of having to tell kids who idolise these players, who go along to all the games, being part of that journey, that they can't go."He also believed something needed to change."This is a club and a sport that has been embraced by all socioeconomic communities. This is a sport, a competition, a team for the people. And some people have decided to take that out of their hands."Consumer spokesperson Jessica Walker.Supplied / Consumer NZConsumer spokesperson Jessica Walker said there's no law that prevents people from purchasing tickets and reselling them at a higher price."Which is obviously really disappointing for people who are looking for tickets to any major event and find that they can't because they have been snapped up by people looking to make a profit on them."The one exception to the rule was events covered by the Major Events Management Act 2007, which applied to major events that were deemed to provide a substantial benefit to the country.The Warriors game did not qualify."We really urge people to be aware that if you are buying a resold ticket, you need to look out for terms and conditions from the official seller that if they know a ticket has been resold, then they don't have to honour it."Another thing to be aware of is if you buy a resold ticket and then the event is cancelled. The official ticket agent is likely to refund the original purchaser. So then it would be on you as the person that bought the resold tickets to chase the person who originally purchased the ticket to get a refund."She said while best practice was to stick to official ticket sellers or to buy off people you know, if you're going to buy a resold ticket - at least use your card."Because if things go wrong, you can approach your bank to try and ask for something called a charge back."Walker said it's something Consumer thought the Government needed to clamp down on."It is not fair that people are priced out of being able to go and see things that they want to see, but a sporting event, a gig, a concert, festival, it should be equitable and we need to have better protection. So they were not at the mercy of people who do buy them all up and then inflate the cost significantly."Competition organiser, the NRL, was approached for comment but did not respond.