Compare Online Event Ticketing Systems
Posted: Tuesday, September 15, 2009
by Malkay
http://www.handytix.com
These days, most people interested in purchasing tickets for events online expect that tickets will be available from the website of the event organiser. So if you're planning to offer the ability to sell tickets online, you should be aware of the different options that are currently available for online ticketing. Event or Box office ticketing systems can basically be categorized into the following groups.
A hybrid system may be offered sometimes which would allow online ticketing capabilities to be bolted on to the system. However you really need to check whether this addition it is fully integrated into the existing software and database or whether it requires additional or duplicate entries to operate the online system.
2. Stand alone software with online ticket selling functionality. Software programs that are installed on the venue operator's computer system and a link to the venue's Web site which allows customers to purchase tickets online. In such cases, the ticketing manager is also able to process phone or mail order bookings using the same software and interface. In some cases the software may be limited for use with only a single PC or computer terminal. In other cases there may be the capability to use the system with multiple terminals although in many cases extra fees are charged for additional terminals or outlets.
For customers purchasing tickets online, the system may have the ability for customers to purchase tickets from an interactive seating chart or in other cases, the system may only offer the ability for tickets to be sold on a "best available" basis
3. Web based Internet hosted system An Internet-based booking system where the main database and ticket sever is located at the ticketing company's premises. With this option, the venue normally pays a fee per ticket on every ticket sold which may be either a fixed dollar amount per ticket or a percentage of the transaction value. Although the database is located at the ticketing company's premises, the venue operator will have full access to the customer and ticketing database. In many cases the venue operator will have the ability to sell tickets through multiple resellers or distributors in any location where they have an Internet connection.
An Internet-based system will normally offer the ability to handle box-office ticket sales, Web-based ticket sales, and sales via any number of distributors or resellers. The actual online ticketing capability may be either accomplished by inserting a few lines of code into a webpage template that is either located on the venue operator's website or in other cases on a dedicated webpage created by the ticketing system company. In either case, the web page is constructed so that it keeps the look and feel and all the navigation links of the venue operator's website.
4. Web based operator hosted system Basically this is a similar situation to the Web-based Internet hosted system except that in this case the main database and possibly the ticket server is hosted by the venue operator rather than the company is supplying the box office ticketing system
5. Online fully hosted ticket selling services If a venue is only holding a few events per year or perhaps one main event such as a fund raising function, then a fully hosted ticket selling service can be quite useful. In this case, all the details of a particular event or series of events are set up on a webpage provided by the hosting company, who then in most circumstances creates a link to their own website. So in this case, the ticket sales and payments are processed by the hosting company who typically charges a fee for credit card processing and perhaps an additional service charge. The proceeds of the ticket sales are subsequently forwarded to the venue operator, either immediately after the event has closed all or on some agreed regular schedule.
6. Ticket selling services Before the more ready availability of ticketing software, the most common way of selling tickets online was to use the services of a specialist ticket booking and ticket issuing organisation. These organisations handle the ticketing operation of a multitude of organisations and events are posted on the organisation's website, typically in date order. Generally speaking, the venue operator does not have access to the customer database and will only receive reports on ticket sales at agreed intervals. With this particular option, service charges can sometimes be quite high as the operator may not only charge a service charge for using their system, but also a credit card processing fee and a ticket dispatch fee.
Naturally, within the above categories, there are many different variations, and many different options or features which are unique to a particular ticketing system. Since it is often very hard to determine the full range of features that each system includes, the best idea is normally to obtain a demonstration version of the software (if available) and make your own determination whether the software meets your particular needs.
About the author:
Malcolm Kay is the CEO of HandyTix, a provider of online event ticketing systems and ticket software for both small and large organizations throughout the world. For more detailed help in choosing an online ticketing system , download or free report here.
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