“If you don’t like it, don’t go.” This post is about one of the main reasons I don’t go to as many haunted houses as I used to. It will also address one of the main complaints I hear about the pricing I list on my site.
It wasn’t too long ago that haunted houses were in the $10-$15 price range – and that had tax included. All costs have gone up, so paying $25-$35 for a haunt doesn’t surprise me. What does surprise me is how much service fees can be.
Last year, I bought two tickets and the added taxes and fees was an extra $8.88. That was almost 15% on top of the advertised ticket price.
All of us understand “plus tax” since that since we have dealt with that our entire lives. But, all the haunts here used to just round the price up to include tax. That made sense when you were taking cash and didn’t want to have to deal with coins for change.
But today we live in a world dominated by credit cards and online sales. Online businesses save payroll for register clerks and can offer us lower prices. We have seen the downfall of many “brick and mortar” stores as the cheaper alternative – buying online with a credit card – gained popularity.
Yet, because of the extra fees to purchase online tickets, haunted houses are more expensive to buy online than buying at the “storefront.” Why do these ticket systems charge so much? Do any other types of online stores stick you with an extra fee just to buy stuff from them?
When we visited Linn’s Haunted House last year, we watched a family with kids (and their friends) drop $175 ($25 per person) to go thru. The cost is what it is. But, had there been taxes and service fees on top of that, they could have spent an additional $26.25 – more than the cost of a ticket! The fees would me like “buy seven, pay for eight” 😉
Every haunt can set their prices so what you pay is what they advertise, but they don’t. The closest we get to that is Zombie Hollow. They say they are a $20 haunt, but when you go to buy a ticket online, it is $18. After the taxes and service fees, the price $20.74. We’ll call them $20-ish. They certainly are one of the most honest of the bunch when it comes to telling folks how much it costs to go through their attraction.
“It seems like only yesterday” we had the very first local haunt to move to an online ticket system with fees. At the time, I listed the price as they posted it. I soon heard from numerous folks correcting me saying it was closer to $5 more. My site, they said, was not showing real prices.
With this in mind, I want to add a new price categories so there will be a Gate Price (if offered, which may or may not already include tax) and an Online Price (which will include taxes and service fees). This should make budgeting your Halloween excursions a bit easier.
For 2024, here are some references for pricing this upcoming Friday night:
- Zombie Hollow – $18, but $20.74 after taxes and fees. ($2.74 extra).
- Slaughterhouse – $35, but $40.22 after taxes and fees ($5.22 extra).
- Sleepy Hollow Sports Park – $30, but $35.10 after taxes and fees ($5.10 extra).
- Barnum Circus of Freaks – $25, and when I went to check out, it still said $25. Are there no fees at Barnum??? (There is an optional “Purchase Protection” of $2.13, but that’s something different.)
Just be aware that that advertised prices are not what you pay. While you may expect to pay sales tax, you may not expect to be hit with a few bucks more just for the privilege of buying a ticket 😉
And, to those of you who contact me about my “wrong prices,” I get it, and I’ll work on updating the site.
Until then…
