Why can’t I resell these Grateful Dead concert tickets?

When Ticketmaster Nathaniel Meyer sells his Grateful Dead tickets, he believes he can resell them. But he can’t. Does he stay with them?

Ask

Ticketmaster sold me tickets for Dead & Company: Dead Forever – Live at Sphere which contained no notice of transfer or resale restrictions prior to sale, while simultaneously advertising a different category of tickets for the same event, clearly stating that these tickets were non-transferable.

Comparing the two ticket categories side by side revealed that the tickets I purchased could be transferred or resold. After purchasing it, I realized I couldn’t resell it.

I spent two months trying to figure out if this restriction would eventually be lifted, but received no solution or response. In doing so, Ticketmaster accidentally called the wrong party to discuss my situation, which constituted a breach of my personal information.

I would like a full refund of the $3,350 I paid for my tickets. — Nathaniel Meyer, Sheboygan, Wisconsin.

Answer

Ticketmaster never explicitly said that you could resell your Grateful Dead concert tickets, but as you point out, it certainly implied that.

Hear a discussion about this case

But before I get to the answer, a word or two about the Grateful Dead. I took extensive road trips across the United States for nearly 20 years before moving abroad and have come to the conclusion that the Grateful Dead is the ultimate car soundtrack. I always switch my Sirius XM to channel 23 and leave it there for the duration of the trip. (Thank you, David Lemieux.) As is tradition with this column, I will feature many Grateful Dead song titles throughout the story. Are you ready?

It looks like the event organizer, The Sphere, has checked the transferability of the tickets. Sometimes promoters don’t allow ticket transfers at first, but after they’ve sold all their tickets and are sitting at the top of the world, they change the conditions as the concert date gets closer. (Am I making this too easy, dear Deadheads?)

In this case, Sphere had stated that the tickets were non-transferable, but told Ticketmaster that it may relax its rules. So there was some uncertainty, but it definitely felt like Ticketmaster was stealing your tickets – and that made you sing the blues.

What made this a difficult case was that your tickets did not say they were transferable. You made this assumption based on other tickets for the same event that were expressly non-transferable. This was a reasonable but ultimately flawed assumption.

Apparently the event organizer did not point out transferability when submitting the ticket information to Ticketmaster. This could have been an innocent mistake, but it resulted in you purchasing tickets that you thought were transferable. You must have felt like a passenger on a ship of fools.

If you ever find yourself in a situation like this again, it’s best to confirm the terms and conditions of a concert ticket before purchasing it. And if you’re talking about a $3,350 expense (worth every penny if you ask me), you’ll want to get that in writing. Otherwise, you could be the loser.

How to find out if your Ticketmaster tickets are transferable

Are your concert tickets transferable? With Ticketmaster it’s not always a simple yes or no. How to find out:

1. Log in to your Ticketmaster account. You can find all ticket conditions online in your account.

2. Go to My Events. Here you can see all your upcoming tickets.

3. Select the event you want. Click on the specific tickets you are interested in.

4. Look for the “Transfer” button. If it’s there, you’re in luck. If not, transferring may not be an option.

5. Further questions? Check the fine print. Even if you don’t see a transfer option, you should check the event details. Sometimes you will find information there that can help you transfer your event ticket.

If you are still unsure, contact customer service.

What about ticket insurance?

In your correspondence with Ticketmaster, a representative also recommended event ticket protection insurance. It would have been difficult to settle the claim because most insurance policies cover illness, a technical defect on the way to a concert or a death. But it probably wouldn’t have applied to a transferability problem.

Help is on the way

Do you need a miracle to solve this case? Perhaps. You could have appealed this to a manager. I list the names, numbers and email addresses of Ticketmaster executives on my consumer advocacy site Elliott.org. You may also have disputed the charge on your credit card, although it would have been difficult to win since you had no written promise of portability.

But don’t worry, help is on the way. I have contacted Ticketmaster on your behalf. A representative called you and offered you a full refund of your Dead & Co. tickets, which you accepted. Nathaniel, I hope you keep going and we’ll see you at the next show.