News that consumers are frustrated with the current event ticketing process will come as no surprise to those of you who’ve been following the Aventus journey so far — or indeed, to those of you who’ve ever purchased a ticket from a scalper!

Some of the issues that plague the current industry include fraudulent ticketing, hidden “add-on” fees, sky-high secondary market resale prices and bulk purchasing of tickets using automated bots (a practice carried out by ticket touts which prevents legitimate buyers obtaining tickets at face value within the primary market and forces them instead to turn to secondary platforms).

We surveyed over 1000 ticket-buyers in the U.S. to identify the biggest areas of concern and frustration. Here are some of the headlines:

Over 31% of respondents have purchased an event ticket from a scalper, and over half of millennials have payed above face value for a ticket.

If you’ve done it, you’re not alone — many of us go to desperate lengths (and costs) to get our hands on a ticket to see our favourite artist. So it’s of little surprise that…

11% of millennials have fallen victim to ticket fraud.

As digital natives, millennials tend to feel more comfortable providing information and purchasing items online. While this means that they may overall be more savvy than other generations when it comes to the internet, they’re still more likely to fall victim to online fraud — simply because they’re conducting more of their life online.

85% of consumers find bulk-purchase of tickets using bots unethical.

Automated bots are commonly (and controversially) used by touts to bypass security systems of ticketing companies at the expense of legitimate fans trying to purchase tickets at face value. According to Ticketmaster, bots siphon off 60% of tickets for major events; in a lawsuit, the company accused one group of scalpers of using bots to request up to 200,000 tickets a day. In the U.K., ticket touts now face unlimited fines for the practice; however, in the U.S., laws differ from state-to-state, with many scalpers working around state law by routing purchases through jurisdictions where the practice remains legal.

89% of respondents are frustrated by hidden fees during the checkout process.

Even if you don’t fall foul of eyebrow-raising ticket prices in the secondary market, you might still be caught out by hidden fees added during the checkout process. This is extra costs such as delivery, taxes, and other administrative fees. In fact:

81% of respondents think there is no justification for additional service fees.

And it’s easy to see why, in a world where box office and ticket processes are more and more often digital and automated. For example, why should a ticket you print at home require an additional administrative fee?!

In New York state scalping laws have this month been extended to enhance consumer protections, while in the U.K., the Advertising Standards Authority recently banned the misleading presentation of pricing information on secondary websites following a government investigation. Consumer watchdogs the world over are following suit, with Australia’s Competition and Consumer Commission, New Zealand’s Consumer NZ and Ireland’s Advertising Standards Authority launching investigations in the last year alone.

60% of respondents have used leading secondary market Stubhub.

Bots and ticket scalpers commonly list tickets on secondary markets such as Stubhub and Viagogo at hugely marked-up prices. StubHub recently stated that the company would support “any measures which make ticket buying easier, more convenient and more transparent for fans”.