Helping music fans get CONCERT TICKETS to all concerts, shows and music festivals in the Atlanta Georgia area and around the world including at City Winery Atlanta since 1993. PLEASE BOYCOTT BUYING TICKETS for:
City Winery Atlanta
at Ponce City Market
650 North Avenue NE #201
Atlanta Georgia 30308
I started this page because a neighbor, a retired gentleman in my building, that knows I used to be
a ticket broker came to me upset as he and his wife, also retired, were stuck with tickets to a show at the City Winery. I told him, no problem, just list them on a site such as StubHub, you might not get all your money back but you should get most of your money back. He told me they had already sold them on VividSeats but the order was canceled as they could not deliver the tickets. He explained to me that the City Winery does not actually give you tickets, they just have your name at the door and they will not cancel the order, no refunds. Oh, I said, they say they are selling you tickets but they do not actually give you tickets, basically they are just taking a reservation. I told him, honestly, you may even have a case for suing them as they sell you tickets but they do not actually deliver you tickets. They get your money in advance which they can invest and when you can not use the reservation/tickets it is suddenly your problem, you own tickets you do not actually have and unless you have friends or family that can use the tickets/reservation (The City Winery does allow name changes) you are just screwed as you can not list them on secondary market ticket sites such as StubHub or hand the tickets to someone after you place an ad on a site such as CraigsList. My neighbor basically begged me to help them saying they could not afford to get stuck with the tickets. I told them there is nothing I can do if you do not actually have tickets, I said you basically have a reservation, not tickets. I told them your best bet is to list them on CraigsList but you are probably going to have to meet the buyer at The City Winery to get the money as there are so many scams on CraigsList it will be next to impossible to get someone to send you money without actually getting tickets. Most people will want to know they are getting in, that it is not a scam, before paying you. Well, you can guess how this turned out, my neighbor got screwed, they could not find anyone to use the tickets and they lost ALL THE MONEY they paid for the "tickets". Keep in mind, they had already sold them on a legitimate secondary ticket site but could not complete the transaction as they did not actually get any tickets from The City Winery. The problem with the City Winery ticket system is this (which you can find under their FAQ):
I bought tickets to a show, and now I can't make it. Unfortunately all ticket sales are final, and we do not issue refunds or credit. Basically this means if you have bought the "ticket", it is now your property, but if you can not use your property and want to resell it to get your money back on a free market secondary market ticket site such as StubHub or by placing an ad on CraigsList you are SCREWED. I do not have a problem with this type of system if the venue refunds "tickets" that can not be used but by making it clear that all "ticket sales" are final they are in essence saying WE COULD CARE LESS ABOUT OUR CUSTOMERS and HAVE NO RESPECT FOR OUR CUSTOMERS. So when you have an emergency or life just gets in the way as it often does and you know no one that wants to go to the show you will not be able to quickly resell the "ticket(s)" on a site such as StubHub or by placing an ad on a site such as CraigsList, you have simply BEEN SCREWED BY THE CITY WINERY ATLANTA. Would you buy a car or a house or a work of art or anything if the seller told you that you CAN NOT RESELL what you have purchased in any fashion you want? And what is so silly is that this is such an easy problem for The City Winery to correct. Either actually issue tickets (is a ticket really a ticket if you do not actually give someone a ticket?), just sell tickets at the door the night of the show (and they do not get your money in advance to invest) or simply let people cancel their reservation/ticket when they can not make the show. Maybe charge $5 a ticket/reservation to cancel, that would be fair. Charge customers more on the day of the show, maybe $10 a ticket and not allow cancellations the two hours before the show starts. That makes it fair to both the customer and The City Winery who should have time to sell the ticket/reservation again. There are many great music venues in the city of Atlanta that support a FREE TICKET MARKET and you will not have to worry about getting stuck with tickets after you have purchased them from these venues as these venues RESPECT THEIR CUSTOMERS. I do hope you will support these venues, I know I do. Bottom line, I fully support any business to do business as they wish but please understand that a lack of a free market when it comes to event tickets only hurts the consumer so I personally will never give this business my business nor will I recommend this venue to any client or friend. I do hope that after reading this you will also choose to BOYCOTT BUYING CITY WINERY ATLANTA TICKETS.
