Ticket trading for Kylie Minogue’s show in Dubai?

Ticket trading for Kylie Minogue’s show in Dubai?

A further extension to Souq.com could be the duplicate of a ticket-market site in the US, where buyers and sellers directly interact with each other to fix ticket rates.

September 25, 2008 3:34 by kippreport

With the popularity of specialist ‘souqs’ or markets in the region – every Arab city has a gold souq, a textile souq, and so on – here’s one new one to add to the list.

The trend-spotting site Springwise highlights Los Angeles-based Zigabid, which allows ticket buyers and sellers to interact directly with each other to determine a ticket’s price.

Both individual sellers and ticket distributors and brokers can list tickets on the site at no charge. Asking prices, however, are not indicated. The trading-style site shows real-time data of the fluctuations in a ticket’s current trading price, which can then be used to make an offer.

Buyers and sellers can go through a back-and-forth process of multiple offers and counter-offers before arriving at a selling price; once that happens, tickets are shipped to buyers overnight. Sellers pay Zigabid a 15 percent connection fee, while buyers pay an additional 10 percent.

The site also directs a portion of each transaction back to the entertainers, artists and athletes. A community section also lets users post event photos, reviews and comments.

That’s pricing transparency, says Springwise.

Dubai currently plays host to a calendar of events round the year. And giving consumers a fair say in deciding rates will not only help organizers to increase audience numbers, but sometimes, if bidding wars break out, can also lead to some higher-than-expected rates.

And with a specialized site dealing only with events, it also gives people a chance to know all that is going on in the city.

For the end buyer, there’s always scope for a great bargain. Perhaps a Dh100 ticket to Kylie Minogue’s show at Atlantis this November?