VividSeats weighs in on refunds, cancellations and helping musicians

Another ticket seller is speaking out about how it intends to address canceled and indefinitely postponed events during the coronavirus outbreak. 

There’s been a lot of discussion this week about the rock-and-a-hard-place situation concertgoers and ticket sellers are in, between the uncertainty of when we’ll actually be able to go to shows again — 2021? 2022?! — and how we can get refunded when shows are canceled. 

Now Vivid Seats, a third-party ticket sales operation (aka reseller), is weighing in on what it’s offering. 

Vivid Seats is giving customers a choice: they can get a refund on their ticket price for any canceled or postponed event, or they can get a voucher good for 120% of the value of the ticket. 

Those who choose the refund are asked to be patient, as refunds are taking longer to process due to the volume of requests. 

“Event organizers and venues, and not third-party ticket marketplaces like ours, make postponement and cancellation decisions, and most haven’t yet started this process,” Vivid Seats says in a statement provided Wednesday.  “Today we’re rolling out an update to our policy, along with a new program for future customers.” 

New program, you say? 

Vivid Seats also sells gift cards in addition to serving as a secondary market place. Now, every time a gift card is purchased for future use, “customers will get an extra 10% towards the total value of their gift card and Vivid Seats will donate an extra 10% of the gift card total to the MusiCares Foundation’s COVID-19 Relief Fund,” the company says. “It’s a win for consumers and a win for MusiCares, whose mission is providing a safety net of critical assistance for people within the music industry in times of need.” 

Well that’s a new approach. 

But wait, there’s more. And it’s really interesting. 

For customers who bought tickets to an event that was canceled, they will receive a loyalty credit of 110% of the full value of their order, which can be used right away for any event posted on Vivid Seats. At the same time, Vivid Seats will also provide an additional 10% of the order total to the MusiCares Foundation. 

“We strongly believe both of these programs protect our fans, maintains the viability and integrity of our platform under extraordinary financial duress, and directs real benefits and funds to artists and others also suffering financial or other stresses because of COVID-19 and quarantine requirements.” 

Given the circumstances, if a customer would rather have their money back, they can request a full refund, it just might take a while for it to be processed. The customer needs to contact Vivid Seats within one week of the event’s cancellation. “Timing of refunds may vary, by event, over time, and in response to rapidly changing business and legal circumstances.” 

But if a customer misses the week-long window, the refund is converted to the voucher, worth 110% of the original purchase price, complete with the 10% contribution to the MusiCounts COVID-19 Relief Fund.