SF Beer Week Playing Games With Gala Ticket Pricing

I’ve been writing this blog for six months and until now never felt the urge to rant. Overall, I’m a pretty passive guy. It takes a lot to piss me off, but when money appears to supersede principle in the form of a mixed message, I get a little irritated.

This morning I was catching up with my Twitter feed and noticed an unfamiliar company, Bloomspot, was offering discounted VIP tickets for $56 to the SF Beer Week Gala taking place on February 11. Early entrance grants attendees “media access to select beers prior to the event opening and an all-star panel of the aforementioned celebrity brewers revealing their secrets of brewing and impact San Francisco has had on them to be broadcasted live on the Brewing Network.” A few weeks ago I paid $65 for an early bird ticket before the January 31^st deadline. On February 1^st the price was going to be $80.

SF Beer Week organizers have every right to participate in this strategy. They need to sell tickets to fill the space and get a return on their investment. My problem with how they’ve preceded is that for week’s organizers were telling everyone to buy before the deadline to save money. That was misleading. I could have procrastinated and saved $9 more along with everyone else who paid heed.

I know I sound like a cheapskate or a sore looser. What’s $9? It’s not a major dent in my wallet. I care more about the principle of the matter. SF Beer Week organizers are sending mixed messages through a third party and are capitalizing on it. Why should I or anyone else trust them next year?