Buyer beware: True North warns about inflated Jets playoff tickets on reseller sites

Pricey playoff tickets appear online Sarah Plowman shows you what price tickets are being offered at on reseller sites, even before they are released.

When the Winnipeg Jets face off in the NHL Playoffs, fans may buy tickets at a price that’s much higher than face value.

Most seats in Bell MTS Place will be packed with season ticket holders, but the leftovers go on sale Tuesday. And already reseller sites like StubHub are selling tickets at inflated prices.

A search on StubHub shows a seat in the upper bowl for the Jets’ first home game could cost you $380 CAD. A seat in the lower bowl is listed for more than $1000.

Those numbers are frustrating for True North Sports and Entertainment.

“I think the simplest advice is don’t buy these speculative postings. Don’t pay five or six times face value on a site that doesn’t actually have tickets,” said Kevin Donnelly, senior vice president, Venues and Entertainment, True North Sports and Entertainment Ltd.

Donnelly calls StubHub a wild west market place. Since the Jets playoff tickets haven’t gone on sale yet, and season ticket holders don’t have their tickets in hand yet either, neither do StubHub sellers.

“People need to know they’re dealing with an unauthorized vendor that likely does, at this point, absolutely does not have that ticket,” Donnelly said.

But StubHub believes customers can order with confidence.

Cameron Papp, a StubHub communication manager, said the site allows sellers to list tickets before they have them in possession, but also requires sellers to fulfill their order and make sure that the buyer gets to the event. On its website, StubHub said buyers could receive a refund or credit to use on a future purchase if your ticket isn’t valid or isn’t delivered on time.

“Every purchase that’s made on StubHub is protected by our FanProtect guarantee, which means we guarantee the buyer gets into the event,” said Papp.

True North Sports and Entertainment believes the best bet for fans is to buy tickets through Ticketmaster on Tuesday, or buy them through the Jets seat exchange.

So far, 95 per cent of season ticket holders have committed to their seats for playoffs. An upper level seat for the first game of the playoffs will cost about $190 CAD.