allow cancellations on event tickets yes or no?

[jamie]

hi,

we sell event tickets. in the area we specialize we have a majority market share and have the best known brand which people buy from.

most sites don't offer cancellation for this type of ticket, however we offer free cancellations. we are pretty much the only site to do this.

in total, less than 10% of all tickets are cancelled, and some of those are then repurchased (change date, num people).

we've always thought that free cancellations is a pretty strong extra; but are thinking about getting rid of it.

does anyone have any similar experiences? my gut says keep the free cancellations in an ever-more competitive market; but our commercial director is saying ditch it, no one will care ;)

many thanks for any opinions

[buckworks]

ditch it, no one will care

The people who used the feature will care.

I only rarely buy tickets online, but I do book quite a few hotel rooms.

For me, the ability to cancel and make changes is a big reason to choose one hotel rather than another, or one booking package rather than another. I hardly ever need to reschedule, but the fact that I could is a big influence in the choices I make. FWIW ...

What happens to the tickets that are cancelled? Are you generally able to resell them? Do you have any time limits? E.g., cancellation up until 24 hours before the event, or some such?

[jamie]

cancellations are allowed 24 hrs up to event. stock is not limited and we don't pre-buy so we aren't under pressure to get rid of tickets.

i agree with what you say, i can't help thinking it is a great confidence booster for the client to be able to cancel and if necessary rebook.

we have an active community as well and i am worried about the negative feedback we'd get by changing this policy. people comment on it very positively, especially loyal clients who are always recommending newbies to buy through us.

tks for thoughts buckworks