What is Seatwave?
Why was Seatwave launched?
What is secondary ticketing?
What security procedures does Seatwave have in place?
How does Seatwave ensure fans get their tickets?
What happens if an event is cancelled?
Does Seatwave itself sell any tickets?
Who sells tickets on Seatwave? Does Seatwave have any affiliation with any ticketing agencies?
Why are some tickets listed for sale above face value?
How many tickets are listed on Seatwave?
How does Seatwave prevent fraudulent activity on the site?
When was Seatwave founded?
Who owns Seatwave?
Which markets does Seatwave operate in?
How much is the secondary ticket market worth?
What do consumers think about reselling tickets?
Has Seatwave been part of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee's enquiry into ticket touting?
What is Seatwave?
Seatwave is in the business of getting passionate fans to the events they love by making it easier and safer to buy and sell tickets. As Europe's largest online fan-to-fan ticket exchange, we have more than 250,000 tickets on sale at any one time and each and every one is fully guaranteed. In under a year we have become the biggest ticket exchange in the UK, and with a presence in a further four European markets, we think this is just the beginning.
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Why was Seatwave launched?
We founded Seatwave in the belief that passionate fans needed a safe and secure way of buying tickets on the secondary market. Before now, fans have either had to navigate the murky world of dodgy touts in dark car parks, or the uncertainty of eBay with its lack of consumer protection. Furthermore, by creating an open and transparent marketplace, we believe that Seatwave can help bring down prices in the secondary ticketing market. We want to ensure that people can buy the tickets they want, when they want them, at the right price, with the very best consumer protection available; or can sell tickets they no longer need in a secure and professional environment.
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What is secondary ticketing?
Secondary ticketing is the resale of tickets that have already been purchased on the primary market. The secondary market exists as a result of the restrictive terms and conditions applied to tickets which mean fans often have no right to a refund on tickets they no longer need. With many tickets purchased many months before an event, inevitably not everyone can attend, and many people seek to recoup their costs by selling on their tickets to other fans. Restricted supply and lack of easy access to tickets in the primary market also leads to fans being unable to purchase tickets at the first point of sale, meaning they then look to the secondary market to help them go to the events they love.
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What security procedures does Seatwave have in place?
We offer two market leading consumer protection products -
TicketIntegrity™ and
Ticketcover™ free of charge with our service.
Ticketintegrity™ gives consumers confidence that every ticket bought or sold on Seatwave is guaranteed. If not, Seatwave will find fans replacement tickets or will refund 150% of what was paid. All tickets bought on Seatwave are also covered by
Ticketcover™ which provides a full refund if an event is cancelled and even covers buyers for a range of circumstances that may prevent them from attending their performance.
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How does Seatwave ensure fans get their tickets?
Ticketintegrity™ guarantees that buyers will receive the tickets they ordered in good time for the event. We tell buyers when the tickets will be posted and when they will get them in their hands. Sellers of tickets on Seatwave pay for replacement tickets, which we source, if they fail to deliver the tickets promised to their buyer. We do this to ensure our buyers are never let down. In the unlikely event that replacements can't be found, Seatwave refunds 150% of what was paid.
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What happens if an event is cancelled?
All tickets bought on Seatwave are covered by
Ticketcover™ which provides a full refund if an event is cancelled. This refund includes the full price of the tickets purchased, not just the face value, and the processing fee. Ticketcover even covers buyers for a range of other circumstances that may prevent them from attending their performance, such as transport failure or severe illness.
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Does Seatwave itself sell any tickets?
No, Seatwave itself does not buy or sell tickets. We exist purely as a marketplace where people can find the tickets they are looking for or sell tickets they no longer need.
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Who sells tickets on Seatwave? Does Seatwave have any affiliation with any ticketing agencies?
Anyone is free to sell legitimate tickets on Seatwave. This is because we aim to offer the largest number of sellers possible in order to create competition and ensure that tickets are priced according to demand. This means that fans get the best deal. Seatwave is not affiliated with any ticketing agency.
Seatwave's figures show that 91 per cent of sellers using the site sold fewer than 10 tickets in 2007. 81 per cent sold fewer than six tickets and 60 per cent sold fewer than three tickets during the same period.
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Why are some tickets listed for sale above face value?
Seatwave sellers can list tickets at the price they choose, whether that's above, at, or below face value. Seatwave helps sellers to set reasonable prices for their tickets by letting them know the prices that tickets for the same events have been selling for on the site. Sellers generally use this information to set their ticket prices at the right level to make sure that they will sell.
70 per cent of the tickets on Seatwave sell above face value, with 30 per cent selling at or below face value. Tickets for many big and often hyped events sell under face value. For example, George Michael's dates at the new Wembley Stadium, the Sex Pistols tour, and the Spice Girls' Reunion Tour all saw tickets exchanged below the price originally paid, with some Spice Girls' tickets going for up to a third less than face value.
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How many tickets are listed on Seatwave?
Seatwave already has more than 250,000 tickets on sale at any one time, which is 10 times as many as available on eBay. We are the leading ticket exchange in the UK, and have a significant presence in a further four European markets meaning that we have more tickets on sale across Europe than any other secondary ticketing website.
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How does Seatwave prevent fraudulent activity on the site?
The Seatwave model works by only paying the seller after a ticket has been delivered. In this way, we can guarantee that buyers do not receive fake tickets and that no fraudulent activity can take place. It is this guarantee that sets Seatwave apart from eBay. In addition, our market leading
TicketintegrityTM protection ensures that both sellers and buyers have peace of mind when using Seatwave.
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When was Seatwave founded?
Joe Cohen founded Seatwave in May 2006 and the website launched in February 2007. Seatwave is Europe's largest online fan to fan ticket exchange and is fully operational in the UK, Germany, The Netherlands, Italy and Spain.
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Who owns Seatwave?
Seatwave was founded by Joe Cohen. The company is owned by Joe and other members of staff, and is backed by investors Atlas Ventures, Mangrove, Oliver Jung and Newtonmore Advisors.
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Which markets does Seatwave operate in?
Seatwave is the leading fan to fan ticket exchange in the UK and also operates in four further European markets.
Seatwave launched in Germany and the Netherlands in September 2007 and in Spain and Italy in October 2007
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How much is the secondary ticket market worth?
The secondary ticket market is currently estimated to be worth around £1bn in the UK alone and £3.5 - 5bn Europe-wide (source Dow Jones News).
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What do consumers think about reselling tickets?
A recent survey of consumers conducted by YouGov, on behalf of Seatwave, found that three times as many concert goers believe they should have the right to resell tickets
1 than don't.
Also, nearly two thirds (62%) of those who had bought tickets on the secondary market said they had done so due to the lack of availability of tickets in the primary market
2.
The main source of concern for consumers was the high allocation, by promoters, of tickets for corporate and VIP entertaining. Three quarters of all respondents identified this as a source of concern
3. Only one in six young people objected to paying more for tickets they couldn't get first time round
4.
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Has Seatwave been part of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee's enquiry into ticket touting?
Seatwave was pleased to play a full role in the inquiry into ticket touting organised by the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee. We provided written evidence to the Committee explaining our position and Seatwave's founder and CEO Joe Cohen followed this up with oral evidence to the Committee on 26 June 2007:
Click
here for full minutes of evidence
The Committee published its final report in January 2008 - a copy of the report can be found
here.
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