$60? That is beyond stupid. Active probably has some algorithm that jacks up fees when a triathlete signs up. Does it change if you try a different payment method?

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It's absurd. But you want to compete in WTC events so what can you do? Bend over.

Yep, bend over. The audacious thing about that fee is that is also applies if you register IN PERSON.

It went up from 6% the past few years to 8% this year. I believe it went from 5% to 6% in 2013ish.

And, if you aren't careful, they will also try to charge you more than they say they're going to charge when you register in person. You know, like what happened to me this weekend. At least they quickly refunded it when I contact them (including Active fees).

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tweets.

wow, haven't seen it that high. Are you an Active member? I found that with the number of races I do that it pays off. One thing I didn't know is if you sign up for 4 or more races (if memory serves) in a year you get a free race credit up to $80. I only found that out when I had to call them when I registered for a race without using a discount code my tricub had. They were actually really helpful and pointed out the 4 race credit.

i've spoken to many in this industry. what they tell me is this: you'd think that a vendor coming in with a low fee would get the business. but they are the very kind of vendor who won't get the business, because that large margin is a bargaining chip. i don't know what active and ironman have going on, so i can't say.

but in general terms the problem is that a full service registration engine might say, "give me the business and i'll give you a large cut of my vig." if a registration company doesn't charge a large margin then it can't make that offer.

when i go to a music concert i pay a large "convenience" fee as well, and after hearing what registration people tell me about how their industry works it wouldn't surprise me at all if ticketmaster rebates a lot of its money back to the people who give it the contract for the same reason.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Active sucks. Ticketmaster sucks. Every reg company sucks.
That is all one needs to know.

Sign up for Active Advantage. Get a modest discount, and then cancel within 30 days. I do this every time. It will save something like $10 per race.

http://www.outsideonline.com/...me-race-registration

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

Always be sure your USAT dues are up to date because if you renew through ACTIVE the fee includes the percentage attributed to the renewal. SO renew first.

I don't know if it has since been revamped but renewing your USAT through Active created a whole different membership. It didn't actually renew, it made a separate membership. So I had two USAT memberships that were both current and active. Took a few emails to get that straightened out.

Hopefully they fixed that since.

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

But what are you gonna do about it?

Where is "open source" when you need it?

I think someone needs to write an "open letter"

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Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.

Aren't these ridiculous fees exactly what Ticketmaster got sued over?

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

That processing fee fall into the same category as "handling" fees from my perspective. They should be included in the cost since they are a requisite part of the purchase. If the fee is avoidable, like if they waived the processing fee if you signed up onsite, then I understand paying a premium for the online registration. But, having no way around paying the fee, it should be included in the cost. I feel it is deceitful for IM, and any other company, to advertise a price knowing they are going to charge more for the consumer to obtain that product.

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Oui, mais pas de femme toute de suite (yes, but I am not ready for a woman straight away) -Stephen Roche's reply when asked whether he was okay after collapsing at the finish in the La Plagne stage of the 1987 Tour

Active fees are a steal compared to Ticketmaster. Just bought some NBA tix on Ticketmaster, Final cost was 22% over the ticket face value. Impressive.

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Proud Member of Chris McDonald's 2018 Big Sexy Race Team "That which doesn't kill me, will only make me stronger"
Blog-Twitter-Instagram-Race Reports - 2018 Races: IM Florida 70.3, IM Raleigh 70.3, IM 70.3 World Championships - South Africa, IM North Carolina 70.3

Sports "fees" are so high partly because of how revenue is attributed and split between teams. Ticket revenue generally goes into the counted revenue. If the team also owns or controls the venue the facility fee goes to them and not into team revenue. That generally doesn't get shared with the visiting team or count against revenue used to determine salary caps and such.

But, just because Active doesn't bend one over quite as much as someone else doesn't make it a good thing.

It's a pretty good business model, acquiring monopoly power over processing payments for a popular event. Especially since processing payment has great economies of a scale. Once the IT infrastructure is in place you're paying little more than credit card transaction fees.

As a cyclist I credit USACycling a bit. They provide this service at relatively low cost for all USAC-sanctioned bike races (though they don't require race directors use the service).

I sent Andrew Messick and email saying I'd never do another IM until Active wasn't there bottom feeding off IM and other such races. He actually responded, which was awesome, and said something to the effect of.. "really sorry we won't have you at any of our future events". Then I signed up, and smiled as I ate a big ol' plate of crow. Stupid Active. Outside Magazine had a good article on them and their lawsuits a few years back: http://www.outsideonline.com/...me-race-registration

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All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.

Exactly: Ticketmaster does kickback to the venues. That's one of the reasons venues keep using them. It allows them to reap additional $$$$, and TM takes the heat. Having a high processing fee (convenience charge, etc.) also makes it harder for secondary sellers since their cost is already above "face value".

I'm guessing Active's model is basically the same as TM's.......otherwise WTC would do their own processing (these days it's not even remotely hard to accept credit cards online, and cloud based systems make demand spikes much easier to deal with).

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ECMGN Therapy Silicon Valley:
Depression, Neurocognitive problems, Dementias (Testing and Evaluation), Trauma and PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

It would be one thing if they charged that fee AND their website was actually useful. I've tried to use Active.com in the past to find races or whatever - its such a joke, not user-friendly, and basically has all the same info there as the regular race sites (or less). Completely useless - and a huge ripoff!

with agreements like this there is often a kickback in place on each transaction/referral or a charge for the licence to be the chosen partner. I have no idea if that is the case in this instance but it does happen in many other areas of business.

You don't know what Active and WTC have going on? Mike Reilly, perhaps?

The Active-WTC kickback scheme may not be illegal but it sure as hell is unethical. WTC could easily roll its own registration system, or contract with a company that charges 3% rather than 8%, but instead it uses Active so that it can demand a 4% (presumably) kickback. WTC, which already takes a lot of shit for its exorbitant registration fees, essentially is hiding an additional 4% registration charge behind the "fees" of a registration services company. It's deceptive, chicken-shit business practice, if you ask me.