Ticket Re-sellers

[GrantMeThePower]

Followup- "There are no ticket reselling restrictions for residents of California for any tickets bought or sold to events taking place in California." that is the legal summary on ebay regarding sales (of course that doesn't include face to face at the venue, just online via ebay)

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: GrantMeThePower

Originally posted by: freesia39
in some states it is not illegal to resell a ticket for more than face value. i know this is the case in california. 🙁

Not true. Even a little bit.

You can resell tickets in California all you want for any price....as long as you are not AT the venue. It is only illegal to resell tickets if you're at the place of the event.

I think her double-negative confused you. You said the same thing she did.

 

[shuan24]

well since no one else has brought this up, but the reason for licensed ticket brokers (compared to joe schmoe scalpers) are for two main reasons:
1. guaranteed that they are not fake.
2. tax implications. Profit generated from joe schmoe scalping tickets is undocumented and therefore the govt is not able to collect money that is rightfully theirs.

 

[quikah]

Originally posted by: shuan24
well since no one else has brought this up, but the reason for licensed ticket brokers (compared to joe schmoe scalpers) are for two main reasons:
1. guaranteed that they are not fake.
2. tax implications. Profit generated from joe schmoe scalping tickets is undocumented and therefore the govt is not able to collect money that is rightfully theirs.

Those are still BS reasons, why don't you need a license to sell anything else? I can sell my CD collection on ebay without a license, etc. Just as easy (easier even) to fake.

The real reason that license exists for ticket brokers is that said brokers have paid for it through lobbying/political contributions. It is BS. Private parties should be able to sell anything they want to each other as long as the item itself is not illegal.

 

[brandonbull]

Originally posted by: shuan24
well since no one else has brought this up, but the reason for licensed ticket brokers (compared to joe schmoe scalpers) are for two main reasons:
1. guaranteed that they are not fake.
2. tax implications. Profit generated from joe schmoe scalping tickets is undocumented and therefore the govt is not able to collect money that is rightfully theirs.

Reason #2 is why they are allowed to do this. Some company with tons-o-money grabs thousands of tickets. They are creating a supply shortage for tickets. Increases ticket prices by 50% - 100%. Government makes profit, ticket company makes profit and average Joe gets the foamfinger in the arse.

 

[shuan24]

Originally posted by: quikah
Those are still BS reasons, why don't you need a license to sell anything else? I can sell my CD collection on ebay without a license, etc. Just as easy (easier even) to fake.

The real reason that license exists for ticket brokers is that said brokers have paid for it through lobbying/political contributions. It is BS. Private parties should be able to sell anything they want to each other as long as the item itself is not illegal.

Selling tickets on Ebay is not illegal unless it is restricted by state law. Private parties can and do re-sell tickets all the time on ebay. People use ebay to buy tickets and CDs because there is documented proof that the transaction took place, so that is somewhat of a safeguard for them. There would be consequences if you sold a fake cd (or anything) on ebay, so no I don't think it's easy to get away with selling fakes.

On the other hand, buying tickets from some joe schmoe for thousands of dollars could result in someone getting ripped off or worse dead. Not to mention that thousands of dollars should be taxed.

 

[quikah]

Originally posted by: shuan24

Selling tickets on Ebay is not illegal unless it is restricted by state law. Private parties can and do re-sell tickets all the time on ebay. People use ebay to buy tickets and CDs because there is documented proof that the transaction took place, so that is somewhat of a safeguard for them. There would be consequences if you sold a fake cd (or anything) on ebay, so no I don't think it's easy to get away with selling fakes.

On the other hand, buying tickets from some joe schmoe for thousands of dollars could result in someone getting ripped off or worse dead. Not to mention that thousands of dollars should be taxed.

Selling tickets on ebay follows the same law as selling tickets in person, so you cannot sell a ticket for an event in Mass for greater than face value+$2 unless you are a licensed broker, whereas CA residents can sell it for whatever price they can get. I could sell my CDs at a garage sale or out on the street, and rip people off, but I can't sell a concert ticket in some states unless I am a licensed broker. As I said you should be able to sell anything you own for any price you want as long as the item is not illegal. People are getting killed over scalped tickets? Really?

 

[shuan24]

I agree with what you're saying, people should and in most states do have the right to sell what they own (ticket wise). However, I suppose there are very few things that fall in the ticket category. What else could you purchase for $50 and sell for $1000-2000 without doing any work? And whats worse, you could make a fake ticket and scam many more people.

I personally know a person who paid $1000 cash for a Rose Bowl ticket and it turned out to be fake. What would you do to that person if it happened to you? Another example would be during last years OSU and Michigan game, a guy got caught selling over $60k of non-existant tickets off ebay. Obviously some regulation needs to be in order.

Selling tickets != selling cds. The principle may be the same, but they are 2 very different things.

 

[ucdbiendog]

same thing has happened to me for several concerts i have gone to in calif. concert in a small venue, high profile band, sells out fast = me going to ebay and paying double the face value. but here's the thing, while i am paying more than face value, i obviously enjoy the band enough and like the small intimacy of a small venue enough that i am WILLING to pay a lot to go. apply this to the red sox and fenway and you have the same situation. like the other guy said, supply and demand are being met, but someone other than the baseball organization is making money off it.

 

[quikah]

Originally posted by: shuan24
I personally know a person who paid $1000 cash for a Rose Bowl ticket and it turned out to be fake. What would you do to that person if it happened to you?

Take them to small claims court. Selling fake tickets is illegal everywhere, doesn't mean you need to punish everybody by restricting the sale of tickets to only licensed dealers.