Things to Know About Before Selling Tickets in Australia
The ACCC defines a set of rules for ticket sellers and resellers in Australia to protect consumers. To avoid non-compliance or investigation by the ACCC, ticket resellers need to integrate these rules into their websites, or use a ticketing platform that operates within Australian regulations.
By 4TY2 Team
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4TY2 solely operates in Australia and complies with the ACCC standards on every event.
The cost of non-compliance
You might be wondering what the consequences are for not following the rules set by the ACCC. In 2017, the ACCC took action against ticket seller “Viagogo” for misleading participants that they were the “official” ticket seller and for hiding exorbitant booking fees that were not stated until checkout. In this instance, they were fined $7 million.
Transparent ticket pricing
As a rule of thumb, you should always be transparent in your pricing. Let your customers know what the cost of the ticket will be, including all added on fees, when you first display the price. If you add on fees at the time of checkout, you have mislead your customers and won’t be in compliance with the ACCC standards.
Prepare for changes to your event
If your event needs to be cancelled or a major change needs to be made to your event, your participants might be entitled to a full refund. You need to be prepared for this in advance as it could have a great impact on your cash flow and organisation funds. And example from the ACCC website of a major change to an event could be when the location changes from one city to another. This could impact participants who have already purchased tickets or accommodation to the original event location.
Summary
If you are handling ticket sales yourself, or using a platform to sell tickets to an event in Australia, you must ensure you are compliant with the ACCC. If you are unsure about whether or not you are in compliance, go to the ACCC website for more information, or use a ticketing platform like 4TY2 that is up to date with the latest ACCC standards.