Originally Posted by LHR Tim
Whilst I do disagree with the charges (epecially as the website booking sucks and doesn't do what I need it to do), is it any different than service charges by say TicketMaster? Buy the ticket from them, pay about 25% of the ticket price (or so it seems). Buy direct from the box office, no charges (well sometimes).
Your analogy doesn't quite fit. Ticketmaster makes exactly $0.00 on the face price of the ticket, all of their money comes from the sevice charge and hadling charge. They are providing a service - a middle man between concert/sporting promoters and the people who want to buy their tickets. UA is selling their products directly to their consumers and making money off the price you pay for the ticket itself. The costs of providing the service directly to the consumer should be included in the price of the product itself - there is no middle man involved here.