Comment by chiph

My college job was at a record store that had a Ticketmaster machine. If you didn't want to pay the $2.50 fee[1] (we got only like 15 cents or something) you could go to the venue and buy tickets directly.

But since they became a monopoly that option is unavailable. Their contracts with the venues include that they get their full fee, even when bought in person.

[1] Which paid for the custom ticket printer, the ticket stock, the CRT terminal, and the central computer. We paid for the data line and donated the counter space.