COMSTOCK PARK, Mich. — The West Michigan Whitecaps say third-party websites are overcharging fans for tickets.
“Our highest premium ticket price is $18 a seat and we’re hearing from people that are paying three or four times, sometimes five times that,” said Steve VanWagoner, director of marketing.
VanWagoner adds in some instances vendors offer seats not even available for sale.
It’s an issue the organization has dealt with in the past, but this season its become more prevalent.
One possible reason may be an increase in attendance at Whitecaps games. According to VanWagoner, attendance is at its third highest level in the past 10 years.
“They [fans] are just not used to seeing a website that looks like us,” said VanWagoner. “The more the people who are selling these high priced become better at creating the websites that look more like us… the problem becomes exacerbated.”
Kari Lawrence, a Grandville mom, spent $195 on three tickets to see the Whitecaps play the Fort Wayne TinCaps last week.
The tickets usually cost $16 each.
“Tickets were like 60 some dollars and I just thought, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s expensive,’ but… I was willing to pay it because we wanted to go and they were good seats,” said Lawrence.
Lawrence realized she overpaid when she printed out the tickets and saw the true price etched in the ink. She’s now debating whether to dispute the charge with her bank.
“If I do that, then I have to change over everything - I have to change over all my bill pay, all my Amazon stuff, all of that and it’s a $150 headache either way,” said Lawrence. “I either pay the $150 and just chalk it up as a loss or I go through the headache of disputing it through the bank.”
FOX 17 found tickets for next week’s games at LMCU Ballpark cost anywhere from $30-43 on some of the sites, which include StubHub and TicketMaster.
None of the companies responded to FOX17’s requests for an interview to explain the uncharges.
Gabriel Sanchez, a Grand Rapids attorney who specializes in consumer law, says Gov. Whitmer repealed a ban on secondary ticket sales, or scalping, in 2020.
The law included some exceptions.
“One limitation is that you actually have to have the tickets themselves,” said Sanchez. “You can’t just go onto to a website or create a website I should say that sells a product that you simply don’t have access to.”
He added, “The other big issue… it does prohibit ‘bot buying’ or in other words using computer software to effectively go online when a ticket goes on sale for a Whitecaps event, a concert, or some other sporting event and sort of go in there and mass purchase tickets the minute they go on sale.”
Sanchez says it’s more likely than not the issues the Whitecaps face are illegal.
However, he adds states rarely enforce their scalping laws to a degree that would prevent third-party websites and other vendors from doing so. He says if they do, they usually go after large-impact events, like the Super Bowl or a concert with a well-known artist.
“If we’re talking about smaller websites, smaller vendors, they typically flew under the radar even though they were doing something illicit,” said Sanchez.
Sanchez recommends people report issues to the Michigan Attorney General’s Office or the Federal Trade Commission.
According to VanWagoner, MiLB is looking into what it can do to prevent the issue, but recommends people buy directly from the Whitecaps’ website until a solution is created.
Other tips to prevent consumers include:
- Don’t click on websites that include the word “Ad” next to it
- Question the price of a ticket if it makes you gasp or have another reaction
- Don’t trust websites with high-pressure pop-up ads
