Online Ticket Purchase Option ~ Is it worth it?

[Empressnightshade]

They contacted me, as well. But, I'm staying with Paypal this season. I feel safer dealing with them this time around as we don't know what our attendance will be.

[mojo93]

We have used online ticket sales for the last 2 yrs. There is alot of "breakage" on those tickets and we have determined that it is well worth our efforts to do them. Last year we ran over 5800 people through the haunt in a 10 day run. Many of the online tickets that were bought were never redeemed. It's nice to get paid without having to do the work.

[Jim Warfield]

Well Mojo, this might be the case if you change the haunt's name and location ever so often, but the Ravens Grin Inn is right in the same location every year for 20 years and I see a fair amount of those non-redeemed ticket-holders as maybe having bad vibes towards one's business because of such a thing?
I really try to avoid bad vibes for my patrons, I want only happy thoughts in their pointy little heads when the name Ravens Grin comes up. Happy customers will carry you over when times get lean because they can't stop thinking about the fun times -good vibes.
In the long run this will have a greater payback, any way that you wish to measure it.
But, what do I know?

[haunter112]

This brings up an interesting point.

If someone impulsively buys a ticket on-line and then never uses it, how likely are they to buy a ticket the following year?

Hmmm...

[Jim Warfield]

I want the "Impulse" overpowering someone enough so they not only take the time to write me out a personal check for an October reservation,(2-weeks in advance) but also then mail it to me, then take the time and spend the money to arrive here and see the house.
People impulsively doing an on-line transaction, then discovering their friend(s) can't go, doesn't like "Haunted Houses", ex cetra really doesnot help any business.
You then have the task of handling a refund or alienating a customer, or making the customer just feel stupid. Most people don't like to be branded as stupid.
I have been purely "working class" all of my life. I gave up the dream of sitting around doing nothing , yet having people being somehow compelled to hand me their money for nothing, many, many years ago.
Whatever works for someone else is fine with me, though.......

[Empressnightshade]

This brings up an interesting point.

If someone impulsively buys a ticket on-line and then never uses it, how likely are they to buy a ticket the following year?

Hmmm...

If this would happen here, since we would have their email address I would be inclined to email them next season and invite them back at half price.

[Trip_etix]

online ticketing

The one major thing that Pay Pal lacks is the ability to deliver a ticket to the online buyer. The customer doesn't get a ticket. They get an email confirmation, BUT you have to manually process their order at some point. Plus, Pay Pal requires them to register which can be uncomfortable for the buyer. Pay Pal also can put your customer's personal info up for sale.

Etix can deliver a ticket and completely automate the process for you. Customer goes online, buys the ticket, prints it out, comes thru the door. Plus, the tickets are sold thru your website and not a generic homepage. Customer data isn't sold to a third party.

It is at least worth a look. It is a free service for the haunt to use.

[Empressnightshade]

Re: online ticketing

BUT you have to manually process their order at some point. Plus, Pay Pal requires them to register which can be uncomfortable for the buyer.

Well, a haunt checking someone's ID against your printout of names for admittance isn't much different than having to scan the tickets they printed out. Also, you don't have to have a paypal account to purchase tickets. It depends on how it's setup and with the way we have it, you don't have to have an account.....at least that's what Paypal told us.

[Trip_etix]

At the end of the day, you have to be comfortable with whatever system you use. However, exploring some of the options out there can't hurt.

Pay Pal and shopping carts are convenient in some cases, but they are not a ticketing system with inventory control, validation, security features, internal CRM capability, etc.

Having an online ticketing solution can eliminate a tremendous processing load for a haunt (which was illustrated in an earlier post). Everyday you can see the sales happen live in real time. You can go out and promote/market the haunt, etc. instead of processing orders and troubleshooting orders. Outsource the headaches to someone else who brings expertise in ticketing to the table.

[Paul_etix]

Good Info guys! I've just been contacted by Etix. They claim to do the E-Ticket Sales for the following:

Some of our clients include:

-The Frightmare in Raleigh, NC (http://www.thefrightmare.com)

-Ghost Walk of Old Wilmington in Wilmington, NC (http://www.hauntedwilmington.com)

-Ghosts of Carolina in Columbia, SC (http://www.theghostsofcarolina.com)

-Ghosts of Savannah in Savannah, GA (http://www.theghostsofsavannah.com)

-Ghosts & Legends of Key West in Key West, FL (http://www.keywestghosts.com)

-Ghosts & Legends of San Antonio, TX (http://www.ghostsofsanantonio.com)

I'm starting to like the sounds of Click N Print a lot better than those guys tacking an extra $1.50 onto my ticket price for basically doing nothing that my Pay Pal account couldn't do.

Well, from what I hear, Click N Print requires you to sell a certain number of tickets. With our system, there is no cost to you unless you want to absorb some or all of the fee yourself. Also, our system does a lot more than Paypal ever dreamed.

[Paul_etix]

Re: online ticketing

BUT you have to manually process their order at some point. Plus, Pay Pal requires them to register which can be uncomfortable for the buyer.

Well, a haunt checking someone's ID against your printout of names for admittance isn't much different than having to scan the tickets they printed out. Also, you don't have to have a paypal account to purchase tickets. It depends on how it's setup and with the way we have it, you don't have to have an account.....at least that's what Paypal told us.

I think I was the person that contacted you. I would be willing to explain our system in more detail if you like. Just let me know.

[Empressnightshade]

Paul,

although I appreciate all that has been said, we've decided to stay with Paypal since it would really be foolish for us to try anything else without us knowing if there will be any online ticket sales at all. This is our second season and last year, we only had approximately 500 people in three days to attend. That's not enough to signup for online ticketing with an agency.
However, if this season turns out like I pray it will, we will definitely be looking in a different direction next season.

Thanks!

[Paul_etix]

Paul,

although I appreciate all that has been said, we've decided to stay with Paypal since it would really be foolish for us to try anything else without us knowing if there will be any online ticket sales at all. This is our second season and last year, we only had approximately 500 people in three days to attend. That's not enough to signup for online ticketing with an agency.
However, if this season turns out like I pray it will, we will definitely be looking in a different direction next season.

Thanks!

Ok great! Definitely keep us in mind. We do not require that you sell a certain number of tickets so whenever you're ready, let me know. We would be more than willing to do a trial run.

[Empressnightshade]

We would be more than willing to do a trial run.

Oh? Hmmmm.... :wink:

[Jim Warfield]

Would it be a trial run with or without Lawyers?
hahahaha!