Ticket brokers - why are they legal - RANT

[flutterbee]

This just infuriates me to no end. Wynter really likes the band, The Veronicas. They are going to be in town on the 23rd. Of course, they're already sold out since it is that close. But, they would have been sold out anyway. Why? Because they are touring with The Jonas Brothers and ticket brokers buy up all the tickets and then sell them for many times the ticket value. The least expensive seats via the brokers? In the $200 range. Per ticket.

Why is this legal? If I were to buy the tickets and try to sell them for more than face value it would be called scalping.

Wynter was so disappointed. She asks for a lot of stuff, but she really doesn't ask to do much. And she really likes this band. She's learning several of their songs in guitar lessons. Even if they weren't sold out, I wouldn't be able to afford $200 tickets. Nor would I be willing to pay that much even if I could afford it.

I don't understand why these 'brokers' are allowed to get away with it.

 

[Hound dog]

Heather that really stinks. easy child is supposed to come over tomorrow. She's really good at getting tickets at a fair price to such things. (and good seating) I'll ask her what site she goes to cuz I know she does it online.

And I know that she'll look for concerts for specific people and keep watch for them to be in area so she can snatch up tickets fast.

Hugs

 

[Marguerite]

It's not legal in Australia, and The Veronicas are an Aussie band. What about finding if they have a fan website where you could post about tis problem, see if the band's PR people have a suggestion?

And Wynter has good taste. I like The Veronicas too.

Marg

 

[gcvmom]

I know it's lousy. Have you tried eBay? Sometimes you can get a decent price there -- just make sure you buy from someone legit with a very high rating.

 

[timer lady]

We've had & still do have the same problem for the longest time. It came to a head last year when the Hannah Montana tour arrived here in town. Parent (wasn't me) were paying $1300/ticket! Is this crazy???

I'm one parent who refused my daughter's big brown eyes & pathetic pout ~ just didn't have that kind of money for a ticket. Heck, that was more than my mortgage payment.

I believe our legislature was working on this issue this past session. I don't know where they went with it.

 

[donna723]

That happened here too when Hannah Montana tickets (supposedly) went on sale. Anxious parents called or went online as soon as tickets were supposed to be on sale ... only to find that it was already sold out! There were NO tickets available. Of course, they had all been bought up by ticket brokers before they were to go on sale to the general public! Then they resell the tickets, sometimes for thousands of dollars or whatever silly people are willing to pay on eBay. You would think the performers themselves would have something to say about it because they sometimes take the blame for the outrageous ticket prices. But they aren't the ones making the huge profits, the ticket brokers are! Why do they allow that to happen? I don't understand why it's not illegal.

I have been to many, many major league baseball games. And if the game is sold out, and sometimes even if it isn't, there will always be people approaching you in the streets asking if you have any extra tickets to sell. And sometimes I have had extras if someone couldn't make it to the game as planned. It is perfectly legal to resell your ticket ... for FACE VALUE, but to try to sell it for more than face value is scalping. It's illegal and you could be arrested for doing it! In St. Louis they have plain clothes police officers mingling in the crowds - you never know if that person asking if you have extra tickets to sell is just a fan wanting to see the game, if they are a scalper who will resell the ticket for profit, or if they're a police officer who will arrest you if you try to jack the price up above face value!

So what the ticket brokers are doing is wholesale scalping on a gigantic scale. Why is this legal? I just don't understand.

 

[Abbey]

Shoot. That is about the only way you can get a ticket to a major show in Vegas. They even have little booths on the strip. I saw Styx for literally $1 at the state fair in Ca, only to pay $210 when they came to Vegas. Go figure.

Abbey

 

[Marguerite]

It's been happening here (illegally) with Wiggles concerts. And the Wiggles have taken action to stop it. Can't remember exactly what they did, but again, it was with the cooperation of various mobs including the government.

In general, the artists do not like this practice because if scalpers can get away with flogging the tickets for megabucks, then the artists could be making a lot more money. This sort of underhand thing also causes ill-feeling towards the concert, the artists etc. Also, if scalpers don't sell all their tickets, the performers are singing to a half-empty auditorium and this makes their job much harder.

I hope you can find some satisfactory way out of this.

Marg

 

[DammitJanet]

This shouldnt be legal. I know it happens though. One thing you can look into for future reference is becoming a member of a fan club because normally you get advance notice of concerts and then can buy tickets before they go on sale to the public.

I belong to a "club" through our local country music station and if a concert comes to our local area that I really want to see...and I can afford it...I can buy the tickets at the advance time. I can also upgrade to handicapped accessible seating because of my problems walking. Ticketmaster has never asked me to verify that I am on disability.

 

[sandysmith34]

This shouldnt be legal. I know it happens though. One thing you can look into for future reference is becoming a member of a fan club because normally you get advance notice of concerts and then can buy tickets before they go on sale to the public.

I belong to a "club" through our local country music station and if a concert comes to our local area that I really want to see...and I can afford it...I can buy the tickets at the advance time. I can also upgrade to handicapped accessible seating because of my problems walking. Ticketmaster has never asked me to verify that I am on disability.

I really enjoyed this. where can I find more info about this. email me..

 

[Jonathanus]

It's been happening here (illegally) with Wiggles concerts. And the Wiggles have taken action to stop it. Can't remember exactly what they did, but again, it was with the cooperation of various mobs including the government.

In general, the artists do not like this practice because if scalpers can get away with flogging the tickets for megabucks, then the artists could be making a lot more money. This sort of underhand thing also causes ill-feeling towards the concert, the artists etc. Also, if scalpers don't sell all their tickets, the performers are singing to a half-empty auditorium and this makes their job much harder.

I hope you can find some satisfactory way out of this.

Marg

thank you

Great article

 

[flutterby]

3 year old thread.

 

[Marg's Man]

Okay the thread is three years old but the problem remains.

Marg is confusing scalpers with ticket brokers.

Here in Australia (and I believe many other parts of the world) scalping, that is selling tickets obtained in various ways for above the face value is illegal, as well as immoral. When I worked for the Sydney Olympics I often saw free/complimentary tickets allocated to National Olympic Committees sold off for their usual face value, high demand events often went for way over the odds.

Ticket Brokers, unfortunately, ARE legal. These are the companies that are commissioned to sell tickets for a particular event and they take their cut. What really ticks me off is there is no way to cut them out of the operation. Even if you go to the Box Office and buy the tickets for cash over the counter from the venue you still charged these vultures' 'fee'. For what? They have done NOTHING.

Grrrrrrrrrrrr

Marg's Man

 

[TerryJ2]

:check_writer:I fell for one 2 yrs ago and husband nearly tore my head off. I will never use Ticket (--object that floats on the water either with-a sail or motor--) again. The original tickets were $60. I paid $200. It was for Wicked. And we sat in the VERY LAST ROW on the BALCONY!!!
But at least I got to see it ...