The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is warning music fans in B.C. to be extra cautious when buying tickets for the last cross-county tour of Canadian rock band Tragically Hip.
Ever since news broke that the band’s front man Gord Downie has terminal brain cancer, fans around the country have been desperate to get tickets to see what could be the band’s final tour.
However, the pre-sale that took place earlier this week caused an uproar among fans who say scalpers were hard at work buying hundreds of tickets at once to re-sell them for thousands of dollars.
Immediately after the pre-sale tickets were gone, tickets appeared on the reselling site Stubhub, selling for $1,500 a pair.
READ MORE: Vancouver Tragically Hip fans vent frustration after presale tickets are snapped up
This morning, the band’s summer tour tickets went on sale and were snapped up within minutes. Once again, hundreds of tickets were immediately available on Stubhub, for every tour stop, starting at $199 for balcony seating.
With the demand for tickets this high, the Better Business Bureau is warning fans about the possibility of falling victim to a scam.
“Events like this, where the emotional pitch is high, bring out the scammers who don’t care about your personal connection to the band,” said Evan Kelly with BBB.
Kelly says the tour is the perfect storm for ticket scams.
“Limited shows, a dying Canadian icon, and a country of fans who regard the band as something that defines Canadians,” he said. “It simply generates the kind of demand scammers love, and the risk ticket buyers may try to take to be a part of history.”
Kelly says they just want people to be careful and are advising fans to never wire money to someone they don’t know, meet in public when buying tickets privately and remember that if the price sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
WATCH: Fans of The Tragically Hip are feeling burned by scalpers flipping tickets at exorbitant prices. Rumina Daya reports.
Other tips from BBB include:
-If buying tickets privately online, use third-party portals like PayPal.
-If buying tickets on eBay, check the seller’s reputation and track record.
-Make sure hard copy tickets have the correct dates and seating information. Ask to see a picture of the tickets.
-Ask the seller for contact information, if they refuse, walk away.
-Buying tickets from scalpers can be a game of roulette. You might get taken to the cleaners or the seats may be just as advertised. Keep in mind that it’s illegal to charge more than the face value for tickets. Ask the seller to come to the venue with you to make sure you get in.
-Buy direct from the venue or a reputable ticket broker; search for both at bbb.org/mbc to see if there are any complaints filed against them.
The Man Machine Poem Tour starts on July 22 in Victoria, B.C., and runs through to Aug. 20, where the band will play its final show in their hometown of Kingston.
Here are the tour dates:
July 22 – Victoria, BC
July 24 – Vancouver, BC
July 28 – Edmonton, AB
July 26 – Vancouver, BC
July 30 – Edmonton, AB
August 1 – Calgary, AB
August 3 – Calgary, AB
August 5 – Winnipeg, MB
August 8 – London, ON
August 10 – Toronto, ON
August 12 – Toronto, ON
August 14 – Toronto, ON
August 16 – Hamilton, ON
August 18 – Ottawa, ON
August 20 – Kingston, ON
Original face value ranged from $56 to $166 each, with a portion of the proceeds being donated to the Sunnybrook Foundation.
-With files from Chris Jancelewicz
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