For the Highlands Performing Arts Center (PAC), a new and frustrating challenge has emerged: Third-party ticket resellers are targeting patrons, inflating prices and breaking the trust the community venue has built over years.
“We’re seeing people go online, search for Highlands Performing Arts Center tickets, and the first site they see isn’t ours—it’s a third-party reseller, like Eventtickets.com,” said Jeanne Piazza, Executive Director of the Highlands PAC. “They buy our tickets under anonymous accounts, then mark them up—sometimes double or triple the price—and resell them to unsuspecting customers.”
While the practice is not illegal, it is costly and confusing for ticket buyers. Piazza said the PAC has seen cases where families paid $25 to $30 per ticket for children’s events that are normally $5. “It’s heartbreaking, especially for our educational theater performances where we keep prices low so families can attend. When a family buys six tickets at those inflated prices, it reflects badly on us—people think we’re charging those amounts, but we’re not,” Piazza said.
The issue isn’t unique to Highlands. Piazza, who previously worked at the Straz Center in Tampa, one of the nation’s largest performing arts centers, said, “We spent tens of thousands of dollars trying to battle this. The resellers design their sites to pop up before the legitimate box office in search results. People click, assume it’s official and overpay.”
Though most tickets resold by third parties are valid, there have been rare incidents of confusion. “One person showed up with tickets that looked exactly like ours, but they had paid much more for them through a reseller,” Piazza said. “When people realize they’ve overpaid, they’re understandably angry, but we can’t refund money we never received. And because these sites are technically legitimate businesses, banks usually won’t reverse the charges,” she said.
To combat the issue, the PAC has launched a social media campaign and is working with local media to spread the word. “The best way to protect yourself is to buy directly from our website, highlandsperformingarts.com,” Piazza said.
She also noted that tickets for the Highlands Cashiers Players are sold through the PAC’s website—when patrons click “tickets” on the Players’ official site, they are directed to the PAC for purchases. However, tickets for the Highlands Cashiers Chamber Music Festival are available only through the festival’s own website. “If we don’t sell tickets for a particular event, we’ll link you to the right place. We want to ensure people don’t get taken advantage of.”
Community education is key, Piazza stressed: “We’re supported by this community, and trust is everything. The more we can educate people, the less this will happen.”
As the PAC’s season opens in May with well-known acts like Balsam Range and the Texas Tenors, Piazza urges ticket buyers to be vigilant. “If the price looks too high or the site does not look familiar, double-check before you buy. We want everyone to have a great experience—starting from the moment they purchase their tickets.”
- Josh Bryson
editor@highlandsnews.com