The totally off-topic thread

[Pushka]

That reputation means that I would stay well clear of a company that has a history of fraud

Well like I said, I used them in April with great outcome. But never again after last night. I was the only one nearby who knew what the usher meant when he said viagogo and on hearing that I tuned into the discussion.

 

[love_the_life]

Well like I said, I used them in April with great outcome. But never again after last night. I was the only one nearby who knew what the usher meant when he said viagogo and on hearing that I tuned into the discussion.

I wonder if you were lucky. I suspect that most of the tickets they sell are OK but the risk is there especially for the high cost, almost impossible to get tickets.

 

[TomVexille]

I wonder if you were lucky. I suspect that most of the tickets they sell are OK but the risk is there especially for the high cost, almost impossible to get tickets.

It's been shown how they attempt to manipulate people into buying by claiming "only x tickets left!!" when that isn't actually the case

 

[whatmeworry]

Ticketmaster and Ticketek IME both artificially manipulate ticket sales to con people into thinking certain events are selling out quick.

 

[Pushka]

Ticketmaster and Ticketek IME both artificially manipulate ticket sales to con people into thinking certain events are selling out quick.

Maybe I only buy tickets to the big ticket events but they usually sell out pretty damn quick without any manipulation.

 

[JohnK]

Happy Father's Day to you John, I guess it will be extra special for you being your first.

Very special and from my own experiences as a child growing up is Father's Days are slowly forgotten. We celebrate Mother's Days longer in life.

 

[whatmeworry]

With 457 visas allegedly being cleaned up, 400 visas are the new hot way to manipulate the local labour market.

"Reports that 400 visas are being handed out like lollies by Peter Dutton's department are disturbing."
A spokesman for the Immigration Minister said 400 visa decisions were made "only after full and careful consideration of all relevant information" and the government was "cleaning up Labor's mess".
​

But experts warn despite the examples of exploitation, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection has little detail on the employment of these workers. Among them, Chinese labourers flown in to dismantle the former Mitsubishi car plant in the Adelaide Hills paid $1.90 an hour, Filipino metal fabricators paid $4.90 an hour to install animal feed mills in NSW, and nine Indonesian timber workers flown into Tasmania and promised bonuses when they returned home.

'A new frontier': The little-known alternative to the 457 foreign worker visa

 

[coriander]

Maybe I only buy tickets to the big ticket events but they usually sell out pretty damn quick without any manipulation.

Yep, if I want tickets to a show or sports event, I make sure I'm logged on at exactly the time the tickets go on sale and buy immediately. With the Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart, Leonard Cohen and most recently Paul McCartney, we've always been 4-10 rows from the front directly in the middle.

Likewise I grabbed Tigers vs Cats tickets last week right on "rope drop" and secured tickets in row C. MCC later tweeted that all tickets were gone in 30 minutes, replying to people complaining that they logged on 12-24 hours after tickets went on sale and there was nothing available.

A bit like trying to get international QF award tickets - you've got to be ready at 10.00am AuEST T-353.

 

[cove]

Snaring hard to get seats at concerts and sporting events is a game much like redeeming frequent flyer points.
Good luck Socceroos this week!

 

[Pushka]

Why are people who board early and sit in the aisle seat surprised when others turn up to sit in the window/middle seats?

 

[cove]

Pushka you fix that by moving up to business class on the A330 so you never see it again.

 

[Flying mermaid]

It's not all about luck and visas. Sometimes one's pay is about staying current and having viable outside options.

Ran an IT recruitment business for 30 years. This was the advice we were constantly giving people. You had to stay aware of trends, new platforms etc if you wanted to maximise employability and earnings. We dealt with contractors and when someone had painted themselves in a corner we would advise taking a permanent job that would allow them to retrain.

Sometimes being the one of the few people around with old expertise can be good, but generally it leads to lower salaries. One of the things we tried to do was convince clients that a good IT person would be able to make the jump from one platform to another very quickly, but it was hard.

As far as 457 visas go, there have been times when we were desperately short of quality local people and other times when there were floods for the jobs. Immigration didn't seem to react - they would carry on letting people in, when Australian IT people were struggling to find work. E.g. 2008 when large numbers were let go, IT was still on the list of people needed as migrants and people were also coming in on 457 visas. Don't know what it is like now, as we are fortunately retired and have been for some years.

Master FM, his partner and my niece all got IT jobs very easily after graduating with decent salaries so I don't think the 457 visas are making that much difference. Master FM ended up taking the job with Google in the states, because the work was really interesting and the money was ridiculous, but then that's Google.

 

[jukebox333]

Yep, if I want tickets to a show or sports event, I make sure I'm logged on at exactly the time the tickets go on sale and buy immediately. With the Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart, Leonard Cohen and most recently Paul McCartney, we've always been 4-10 rows from the front directly in the middle.

Likewise I grabbed Tigers vs Cats tickets last week right on "rope drop" and secured tickets in row C. MCC later tweeted that all tickets were gone in 30 minutes, replying to people complaining that they logged on 12-24 hours after tickets went on sale and there was nothing available.

A bit like trying to get international QF award tickets - you've got to be ready at 10.00am AuEST T-353.

Curious trivia: I wanted to go to see McCartney, but wasn't overly keen to pay >$400 for mediocre seats, so told myself if they were further than 10 rows back, I'd not buy them. Spent 60 mins on pre-sale day, got nothing better than 13th row (in fact, got 13th to 45th row, and in all sorts of random order, so they were not being released front-to-back, first in, best dressed. But always on the right hand side of the stadium. Figuring better seats might come up for the general release, I didn't buy any.

On general release day, same thing - except this time, the seats were all over the stadium this time. 12 rows back... 40 rows back... 20 rows back.. then 13th row... Then, 35 mins after they went on sale, a pair of front row centre seats were offered. Of course I completed that transaction!

Now here's where it really gets interesting.

The next day, thinking about how I'd gone, I went to the Midnight Oil tickets. And tried for two seats. I got offered a pair two rows *closer* than the ones I had bought at 10:00.20 the day they went on sale. So then I tried for Queen tickets. Same thing - three rows closer to the front.

So it's a game changer for me - I can't trust that I'll get the best seats by logging in early anymore. But worse, you can't know if the ones you throw back will or won't be bettered....

 

[love_the_life]

Why are people who board early and sit in the aisle seat surprised when others turn up to sit in the window/middle seats?

I like the aisle but don't even think about doing up my seat belt until the door is shut - always assume that there will be at least one person next to me.

 

[love_the_life]

Curious trivia: I wanted to go to see McCartney, but wasn't overly keen to pay >$400 for mediocre seats, so told myself if they were further than 10 rows back, I'd not buy them. Spent 60 mins on pre-sale day, got nothing better than 13th row (in fact, got 13th to 45th row, and in all sorts of random order, so they were not being released front-to-back, first in, best dressed. But always on the right hand side of the stadium. Figuring better seats might come up for the general release, I didn't buy any.

On general release day, same thing - except this time, the seats were all over the stadium this time. 12 rows back... 40 rows back... 20 rows back.. then 13th row... Then, 35 mins after they went on sale, a pair of front row centre seats were offered. Of course I completed that transaction!

Now here's where it really gets interesting.

The next day, thinking about how I'd gone, I went to the Midnight Oil tickets. And tried for two seats. I got offered a pair two rows *closer* than the ones I had bought at 10:00.20 the day they went on sale. So then I tried for Queen tickets. Same thing - three rows closer to the front.

So it's a game changer for me - I can't trust that I'll get the best seats by logging in early anymore. But worse, you can't know if the ones you throw back will or won't be bettered....

When daughter was after Pink tickets it looked like she would have to go to Melbourne to see the show as there were only a few 'rubbish' ones left for Canberra. Just as I was about to book them for her, I checked the Canberra venue and low and behold 2 seats in a great location appeared. It looked like maybe an agent had bought a batch then released them back again as there were a few in a block available. Within 10 mins they were all gone again though but daughter was very happy.

 

[cove]

I loved the idea of an eat belt l-t-l.......

 

[whatmeworry]

The sellers sometimes play games with scalpers by slowing releasing tickets or blocking suspicious sales.

 

[Pushka]

You can resell tickets through the same legitimate site you buy them from.

 

[love_the_life]

I loved the idea of an eat belt l-t-l.......

LOL - doncha just know I always hang out for QF catering in Y????? Can't get enough of it
Gone back to fix the post.

 

[TheRealTMA]

Why are people who board early and sit in the aisle seat surprised when others turn up to sit in the window/middle seats?

But they have filled the overhead lockers with their three carry ons! So are smug.

But Cove's response is the best!