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I had similar thoughts about movie ticket pricing but focused on charging different prices for the different seats in the movie. I came to the conclusion that

I had similar thoughts about movie ticket pricing but focused on charging different prices for the different seats in the movie. I came to the conclusion that this hurts business for movie theaters since some people may see that the theater being pretty filled up and not bother going until a future time. On the other hand other people may be willing to pay a lower price for the crappier seats.

anigbrowl 17y ago
I like the fact that seats are the same price and it's first-come first served - if you're really anxious to see a film you can arrive a bit early and get the seat you particularly like. I go to the opera occasionally and although I enjoy it very much it really aggravates me how expensive it is and how the seats are segregated by price, so if your spend is limited there is no way you are ever going to be allowed to get a better seat even if the show is poorly attended and there are empty seats in the box or near the front. It doesn't help that the San Francisco Opera frequently does 3 different shows on successive nights, incurring tremendous expense in breaking down the huge stage sets and erecting new ones, when they could run the same opera for a week (substituting singers who need a break for their voice to recover) and save a ton of money on set builders. Every time they switch out the set it costs > $10,000, probably a lot more.
- dangoldin 17y ago
  I don't think these two issues are contrarian. If there was a way to gauge demand and supply in real time the prices could be improved. It can be similar to buying an airline ticket - if you buy well in advance or very late you can get cheaper tickets than if you buy a few weeks before the flight. Not sure why they only do 3 shows, the Met Opera in NYC does a performance over a longer time period but allows multiple operas to occur over that time period. Maybe that's a better solution.

anigbrowl 17y ago

I like the fact that seats are the same price and it's first-come first served - if you're really anxious to see a film you can arrive a bit early and get the seat you particularly like. I go to the opera occasionally and although I enjoy it very much it really aggravates me how expensive it is and how the seats are segregated by price, so if your spend is limited there is no way you are ever going to be allowed to get a better seat even if the show is poorly attended and there are empty seats in the box or near the front. It doesn't help that the San Francisco Opera frequently does 3 different shows on successive nights, incurring tremendous expense in breaking down the huge stage sets and erecting new ones, when they could run the same opera for a week (substituting singers who need a break for their voice to recover) and save a ton of money on set builders. Every time they switch out the set it costs > $10,000, probably a lot more.

dangoldin 17y ago
I don't think these two issues are contrarian. If there was a way to gauge demand and supply in real time the prices could be improved. It can be similar to buying an airline ticket - if you buy well in advance or very late you can get cheaper tickets than if you buy a few weeks before the flight. Not sure why they only do 3 shows, the Met Opera in NYC does a performance over a longer time period but allows multiple operas to occur over that time period. Maybe that's a better solution.