High Cost of Fanhood

So last weekend I thought about going to the Hockey East finals to watch BC take on Vermont. As usual that involved a trip to the Ticketmaster website. As I was looking into buying seats I decided that I did not need the best in the house and thought I could get a couple of upper deck seats on the cheap and still enjoy the game. That's when Ticketmaster messed up my plans.

From the "convenience" charges, to the "building charge", to the e-ticket printing price, they managed to take two $17 tickets and turn them into $60 worth of entertainment (for those of you scoring at home that is an 88% mark-up). I was outraged, I was flabbergasted. I know they charge these things because this is how they make their money but it seemed a little extreme for $17 tickets. Needless to say I declined to succumb to Big Ticket and ended up watching the game in the comfort of my living room.

Once the NCAA field was announced and I found that BC was going to be in nearby Worcester I decided to investigate tickets again. As always the "convenience charge" was still there but for some reason it was actually less than the charge for Hockey East. The tickets were $79 for a two-day pass but the charge was only $8+ instead of $9+. Apparently the "convenience" of buying a $17 ticket is more than buying a $79 ticket. I wish I could say this makes sense but it simply doesn't. How does one justify a greater charge for a cheaper ticket? That's like making poor people pay more taxes than rich people. That would be like a grocery store tacking on a $10 surcharge on all items instead of a profit percentage. It's a crime. Or at least it should be.