Touts sell £30 tickets for £500

Ticket touts are demanding up to £500 for a single seat to see Flight Of The Conchords’ UK dates.

The New Zealand folk parodist announced just seven UK dates on Friday, and shows sold out within minutes of going on sale. In fact, their Hammersmith Apollo shows became the fastest selling events at the venue so far this year.

But seats immediately appeared on resale sites such as Seatwave, Getmein and Viagogo with more than a 1500 per cent mark up their £30 face value.

The speed at which the tickets are being resold suggests they were bought for quick profit, rather than by fans who actually want to go to the gig. It means genuine enthusiasts will have to pay through the nose, while the comedians will see none of the inflated mark-ups.

One seller on Get Me In, owned by ticket giant Ticketmaster, is currently asking for £499 for a seat in the row F stalls at the Hammersmith Apollo. ‘Processing fees’ are a whopping £87.90 on top of that.

Meanwhile, Seatwave is asking £349 for a seat to a gig at Birmingham’s NIA, while Viagogo has seats for the Manchester Apollo gig at up to £248.

While there is no guarantee the sellers will get this price, auctions on eBay which started within hours of the dates being announced are already topping £75 a seat.

The Conchords have today announced two additional shows: Manchester Apollo on May 8 and Wembley Arena on May 25. Tickets go on sale from 9am on Friday 12 March – but don’t expect them to last long.

Published: 8 Mar 2010