Ticketing FAQ sheet
Buying tickets and paying fees
How do I buy tickets to McMenamins events?
If I buy from an outlet do I stand a better chance of getting a ticket than buying online?
Why does McMenamins use Cascade Tickets?
I really hate fees! How can I avoid them?
If I want to buy a ticket to an Edgefield event, can I get it at the Crystal box office?
Can I buy a ticket to non-McMenamins shows at one of your outlets?
Sold out shows and the fight against scalping
Whoa, that show sold out fast! Why'd it go so quickly, and why couldn't I get tickets?
Why does your site say "Sold out" but I can still find tickets on other websites?
What is McMenamins doing to deal with ticket scalping?
What are "zip code delivery method restrictions?"
Does your venue hold tickets to release at the door on the day of a sold-out show?
Tickets and fees
How do I buy tickets to McMenamins events?
The easiest way is online through Cascade Tickets. Just click the "Buy Tickets" link on the event listing on our schedule pages, and it will automatically route you to that venue's ticketing page, where you simply select the event you want tickets for and follow the purchase instructions.
Another option is to order by phone at (855) CAS-TIXX.
And if you like, here are our ticket outlets:
Crystal Ballroom box office
1332 W Burnside St.
Portland, OR 97209
Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily
(503) 225-0047 (no phone orders accepted)
Edgefield gift shop
2126 SW Halsey St
Troutdale, OR 97060
Hours: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily
(503) 669-8610 (no phone orders accepted)
If I buy from an outlet do I stand a better chance of getting a ticket than buying online?
No, outlets draw from the exact same allotment of tickets as online purchases. When a show sells out anywhere, they sell out everywhere! (So unless you're also buying from your mobile while standing in line you might actually be reducing your chances of getting a ticket!)
Why does McMenamins use Cascade Tickets?
In short, smaller fees! While we were with our previous ticketing service we received endless requests for smaller fees on our tickets, and the ticketing industry has progressed enough where there are finally companies out there who can provide quality service without charging high fees.
What's more, Cascade Tickets is a locally-owned company featuring lower ticket fees, small-business sensibilities, a localized business approach, and is supported with an experienced and expansive technical infrastructure. This, of course, appeals to the McMenamins business model.
Well, that's great, but I really hate fees! How can I avoid them?
You can purchase tickets at face value + $1 if you go in person to one of our ticket outlets. (Please remember, however, that our outlets are required to charge full service fees for Edgefield shows, as opposed to our regular McMenamins events.)
These outlets are open 7 days a week (see info above for times).
If I want to buy a ticket to an Edgefield event, I can get it at the Crystal box office, right?
Sure. All our outlets can sell tickets to any ticketed McMenamins events. (Please remember, however, that our outlets are required to charge full service fees for Edgefield shows, as opposed to our regular McMenamins events.)
I see other shows on the Cascade Tickets website that are not McMenamins events. Can I buy a ticket to those shows at one of your outlets?
In addition to our own venues we are also an outlet for the Hawthorne Theater; we hope eventually to be an outlet for all Cascade Tickets events.
Sold out shows and scalping
Whoa, that show sold out fast! Why'd it go so quickly, and why couldn't I get tickets?
Obviously, different artists have different levels of popularity, and sometimes there can be considerably more people wanting tickets than we can possibly sell them to! Here are a couple of hints about how to give yourself a bit of an advantage:
1) Get yourself looped in on exclusive presales that take place before the tickets go on sale to the general public. For many shows, a small portion of the tickets are sold during exclusive presales. This is one method of trying to sell tickets directly to fans. You can find out about these presales via newsletters and social media sites of the bands and production companies. Here are just a few examples:
Crystal Ballroom Facebook and Twitter
Edgefield Amphitheater Facebook
Email lists for Edgefield Concerts, Monqui Presents, Cascade Tickets
Your favorite bands' fan clubs
We also list many (although not all) presales and onsales on this webpage.
2) Make sure you enter your billing information correctly during the purchase. Quite often, people make mistakes while entering their billing information online. This locks the tickets into a transaction and Etix's system waits until the bank's system rejects the sale. Once that happens those tickets become once again available to the public and the purchaser need to start over and try again.
3) Keep hitting that "Refresh" button! Imagine if 500 people try to buy as many tickets as they can at 10:01 AM, but 200 of them make a mistake entering the card's billing info. All of the tickets will appear to be gone, but many of them will become available again once the errant transactions expire (sometimes up to 15 minutes). So it often pays to keep refreshing your screen at the purchase page in order to scoop up the next available set of tickets.
Why does your site say "Sold out" but I can still find tickets on other websites?
Most of these tickets you find on third-party sites like Stub Hub were purchased by someone who planned on selling them for a profit. Stub Hub is like Ebay for ticket scalpers. People buy as many as they can, open an account on one of these websites and then overcharge you and mail or email you their tickets.
Only a small percentage of these tickets are phony, but almost all of them were purchased by people who had no intentions of seeing the show. That said, it is always risky to purchase tickets through unauthorized third parties.
Speaking of scalpers, I hate those guys!
Yeah, we do too! Our highest priority to is to get these tickets directly into the hands of true fans.
Then what is McMenamins doing to deal with ticket scalping?
Since teaming up with Cascade Tickets and Etix we've developed and implemented numerous new tools and procedures for high-demand shows, and we're already noticed considerable progress. These include:
- Limiting the number of tickets per person
- Reviewing and cancelling orders from known scalpers, repeat orders from the same IP address/billing address/email address/credit card, etc.
- "Bot-buster" challenge-response tests (such as CAPTCHA)
- Paperless shows with no exchanges
- Zip code delivery method restrictions (in other words, ticket buyers from Indiana or Ontario would have certain limitations on how they could buy & receive the tickets.)
While not all of the above are applied for every show, we make every effort to use appropriate measures to exclude scalpers from buying high-demand tickets!
"Zip code delivery method restrictions?" What is that?
- Any customer whose billing address is more than 300 miles away from the Crystal Ballroom will be limited to Will Call only. This will make it a little more difficult for people to re-sell tickets without attracting our attention, especially if it happens more than once.
- If you plan on purchasing tickets as a gift for a friend or family member but your billing zip code is beyond the 300 mile radius, we can note the recipient's name on your order. You simply contact the box office after the purchase is made and we'll add an "alternate pick up" name next to yours.
Well, that's fine and good but I'm still without a ticket. Does your venue hold tickets to release at the door on the day of a sold-out show?
For the most part, no. We usually only hold tickets to leave space for artist and industry guest lists. So we never know in advance whether there will be tickets, or how many.
Do you have a question that hasn't been answered? Just email us and we'll get back to you, and possibly add your question to this FAQ page.
