Forced ticket refund? Platform response!, The "Mayday" order that I finally managed to grab | concert | platform
Was the concert ticket that I finally managed to grab forcibly refunded? Multiple netizens have claimed on social media that their tickets to the Mayday concert purchased through the ticketing platform "Fun Play Island" have been refunded for no reason. On the 12th, "Mayday Ticket Refund" topped the trending list on Weibo.
▲ Weibo screenshot
Fun Island responds to abnormal orders: purchasing through illegal means
On the afternoon of the 12th, Fun Play Island posted on its official Weibo account in response to an abnormal order. Fenwan Island stated that staff have identified a total of 754 abnormal orders for Mayday's 2023 concert in Wuhan and Shenyang, and there is evidence to prove that such orders were made through illegal means rather than through normal channels. The platform has processed refunds and refunds for abnormal orders, and tickets will be resold. The investigation of abnormal orders will not affect any fans who purchase tickets through normal channels.
▲ Weibo screenshot
However, some consumers do not agree with the statement given by Fun Play Island. In the comments section of their Weibo account, some netizens claimed that they purchased tickets through normal channels, but were also refunded this time, and called on the platform to provide "abnormal" order numbers and relevant evidence.
▲ Weibo screenshot
Zhongxin Jingwei found through the Android and Apple app stores that some users had previously reported being forcibly refunded after purchasing tickets on the Fun Island app. According to comments, some users have had their orders automatically cancelled after placing them, and even cancelled during express delivery. However, customer service claimed that the order was abnormal and did not provide a specific reason.
▲ Android and Apple App Store Fun Island App user reviews
The affiliated company of Fenwan Island App is Shanghai Minghui Cultural Development Co., Ltd. According to Tianyancha App data, Minghui Culture was established in April 2019 with a registered capital of 10 million yuan, and the legal representative is Yu Feifei. The company is wholly owned by Shanghai Chinese Culture and Performing Arts Co., Ltd., which has registered multiple trademarks such as "Fun Island", "Fun Island Music Season", and "Fun Island Carnival". According to the annual report information, Minghui Culture has a total of three insured individuals in 2022.
Zhongxin Jingwei found the phone number of Minghui Culture through the Tianyancha App and attempted to make a call, but no one answered. Subsequently, Zhongxin Jingwei inquired with the human customer service on the Fun Island App about ticket refunds, and the system notified 400 users to queue up for consultation ahead.
Behind the "hard to get a ticket": The "war" between fans and scalpers has begun
The Mayday concert continues to be hot, and many fans have expressed that they have encountered the "most difficult ticket grabbing in history". At the same time, a large number of scalper tickets are rampant in the market. In order to resist scalpers, Mayday fans even put up the slogan "It's better to stand at the entrance of the Bird's Nest than to let scalpers make money".
Taking the May Tiannoah Ark Beijing concert as an example, the ticket prices on the ticketing platform are divided into five levels: 355 yuan to 1855 yuan. However, the premium ticket prices have skyrocketed. The reporter inquired with a scalper and found out that two tickets priced at 855 yuan were offered at a high price of 5000 yuan for consecutive seats. The uniform price for front row tickets in the infield is 1855, and the minimum premium is 6000 yuan or more. The closer you are to the stage, the more expensive it is.
The Hangzhou Station of Mayday Concert adopts a "strong real name" system, which largely eliminates the phenomenon of scalpers grabbing and hoarding tickets, but "channel tickets" still exist. "Channel tickets" refer to non-public tickets, some of which have become the "ticket source" for scalpers. According to relevant regulations, the number of commercial performance tickets publicly sold to the market shall not be less than 70% of the approved audience.
Before the opening of the Hangzhou station for sale, a scalper posted a price list of "invitation letter information", in which the stand ticket, originally priced at 355 yuan, was priced at a premium of 6 times, but it was still sold out; The original price of the infield ticket was 1555 yuan. The price for the first 20 rows was 8000 yuan, while the price for the first 3 rows was as high as 14000 yuan, a 9-fold increase. "This kind of 'invitation letter' is called a blank ticket, with a small quantity, so the price is very high. In the same situation, there are more than one. When Jay Chou's 2023 Carnival World Tour started selling, all 12 shows in three cities disappeared in an instant. In the secondary market, the stand tickets at the 900 yuan price point in Taiyuan doubled to 1800 yuan per ticket."; On the "Ticket Bull" app, the best spot for selecting seats and purchasing tickets for a concert in Hohhot was even speculated to be 33600 yuan.
In addition to price increases and ticket scalpers, some scalpers also provide proxy buying services for "strong real name" concerts. On the 29th, before the end of Mayday's Beijing tour and the opening of its concert in Hangzhou, scalpers had already posted advertisements in fan groups and social media with a "professional proxy grab, 90% hit rate", with proxy grab costs ranging from 700 yuan to 900 yuan; For channel tickets of the same session, scalpers have also listed detailed prices, ranging from 3000 to 14000 yuan, with the highest ticket price nearly tenfold. In contrast, many fans eagerly sought out scalpers to place orders with passion and purchase proxy snatching services.
The scalpers and unofficial ticketing platforms selling tickets at a premium have seriously disrupted market order. As early as February this year, the China Performance Industry Association issued a reminder to remind performance organizers and ticketing operators to regulate enterprise operations. A lawyer pointed out that scalping cattle is an illegal business practice and is prohibited by law. According to Article 52 of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Public Security Administration Punishments, those who resell tickets for cultural performances or sports competitions may be detained and fined. If the circumstances are serious, it is suspected of committing the crime of illegal business operations as stipulated in the Criminal Law. If platforms, scalpers, ticketing agencies, etc. participate, tacitly agree, or tolerate the use of reselling to inflate the price of performance tickets, and violate Article 40 of the Price Law, their illegal gains shall be confiscated and fines shall be imposed.
