why is ticket scalping illegal in some states?

[gar598]

just seems like a case of supply and demand to me...

I could see for tax reasons but thats about it

 

[hoihtah]

well... as far as the whole case of supply and demand is concern...
i think the government wants to keep the control of it... rather than some scalper.

 

[pulse8]

I dunno.

Maybe it's considered price gouging?

 

[Torghn]

It's to stop scalpers from artificaly lowering the supply, just so they can jack up the price. Why should some bumb who got in line sooner be able to turn a profit off of someone elses work?

 

[Amused]

Let's see. A large company like Ticketmaster can buy thousands of tickets, double, triple, quadruple their price and resell them. But Joe Shmoe can't buy six and do the same?

Folks, it's an attack on the free market sponsered by companies, not people. And the people have been had.

 

[Maetryx]

Word. <-- slang for cool.

 

[gar598]

whats the difference between scalping and selling your couch for $10,000?

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: gar598
whats the difference between scalping and selling your couch for $10,000?

Ticketmaster isn't trying to sell your couch.

 

[gar598]

Ticketmaster isn't trying to sell your couch.

I think you missed the analogy....

 

[DaiShan]

I think he was making a joke.

 

[Maetryx]

I don't see the analogy either. A couch has inherent value, whereas a ticket is just a piece of paper.

 

[wyvrn]

You can get couches anywhere

Scalping is illegal because people show up and buy large blocks of tickets right when the box office opens, then double or triple the price for the average Joe that brings his family to the ballpark only an hour early. That should not be allowed, imo, because they aren't offering a value added service or doing anything different than what the ticket office does, at a fraction of the cost.

 

[gar598]

ok ok bad analogy -

but I rather have a Stanley cup ticket then a couch any day

well if the couch was leather I would reconsider

 

[Lucky]

Originally posted by: Torghn
It's to stop scalpers from artificaly lowering the supply, just so they can jack up the price. Why should some bumb who got in line sooner be able to turn a profit off of someone elses work?

uh, capitalism?

 

[Jzero]

Exactly. It should be illegal to buy out the majority of the world's couch supply and sell them at an artificially inflated price. This is impossible because there isn't a limit of possible available couches they way there is a fixed number of tickets available at a single venue per event.

It should be illegal for ticketbastard to do it, and it should be illegal for other people to do it. I don't really like the government meddling in free, legal trade, but it is entirely too easy for someone with a lot of cash to walk over to the point-of-sale and buy all available seats and then resell them for double the price.

 

[gar598]

i indeed am against organized ticket scalping whose sole purpose is to hike up the prices for the unsuspecting customer but on the other hand I feel as if the consumer has the right to sell their property for whatever price they feel is right....I guess its difficult to regulate....

 

[Jzero]

Originally posted by: gar598
i indeed am against organized ticket scalping whose sole purpose is to hike up the prices for the unsuspecting customer but on the other hand I feel as if the consumer has the right to sell their property for whatever price they feel is right....I guess its difficult to regulate....

Well, while the physical piece of paper may be your "property" you don't actually ever "own" the ability to enter the venue that the ticket grants you. For high-demand shows, the venue doesn't use their monopoly to grossly exaggerate the ticket prices and someone else shouldn't be able to grab that monopoly and do it either.

 

[tcsenter]

Because they're too stupid to figure-out how to limit the # of tickets any one individual can purchase, to say...a maximum of 4 tickets...so that scalpers cannot buy-up massive amounts and affect supply.

And the person who suggested that event promoters and ticket brokers enjoy a far more lucrative and manipulative racket than scalpers ever could is exactly right.

 

[yakko]

Originally posted by: tcsenter
Because they're too stupid to figure-out how to limit the # of tickets any one individual can purchase, to say...a maximum of 4 tickets...so that scalpers cannot buy-up massive amounts and affect supply.

And the person who suggested that event promoters and ticket brokers enjoy a far more lucrative and manipulative racket than scalpers ever could is exactly right.

What if you have a family of 6?

 

[tcsenter]

What if you have a family of 6?

Have a neighbor who is not interested in going pick-up two more.

 

[pulse8]

Anyone know how ticket brokers get away with it?

They are basically legalized scalpers and I've always wondered why they can do it.

 

[tcsenter]

They are basically legalized scalpers and I've always wondered why they can do it.

Because they have lobbyists.

 

[DaiShan]

Originally posted by: Lucky

Originally posted by: Torghn
It's to stop scalpers from artificaly lowering the supply, just so they can jack up the price. Why should some bumb who got in line sooner be able to turn a profit off of someone elses work?

uh, capitalism?

That is not capitalism. Capitalism works around the concept of a free market, if you are artificially setting prices by purchasing a large ammount of tickets that is not capitalism, and should be illegal. I personally don't have a problem if someone had a few extra tickets and is looking to make a few bucks, but that would be impossible to enforce, so a blanket ban on scalping is necessary.

 

[Harvey]

A better question is, why is ticket scalping not illegal in every state? These parasites take unfair advantage of the majority of people who have real lives and can't get to box offices very early to beat those who grab quantities of tickets for major attractions. Then they sell them at hyper-inflated prices.

None of that bloat goes to the performers, whose shows are the actual item of value, or to the venues, who have to cover their costs and make a reasonable profit to stay in business. All it does is put a huge layer of expense between those who earn the money with the shows and their audiences. If they charge more than one or two percent above the face price of a ticket, the only difference between so-called "legal" scalpers (TicketMaster, etc.) and the phone banks and street hustlers is that the licensed ones are paying graft to officials in the locales they rape.

I think all scalpers should all be jailed and forced to pay a continuing fine of over fifty times the costs of their incarceration to cover the cost of their prosecution and interment. :|

 

[jjones]

All types of scalping or ticket brokering should be banned everywhere. I remember the days when I went to concerts and you just waited in line whenever the ticket booth opened and got your tickets; there weren't people there trying to buy lots and most concerts were good old general admission instead of assigned seating.

Then scalping became business for some low-lifes and it ruined everything. Even Ticketmaster in the early days of its operation only charged and extra dollar I think for the tickets and that wasn't bad at all; I guess that's changed now from what you peeps are posting. All that crap and the PITA security at concerts is why I quit going to them. I've been to hundreds of concerts but I don't think I've been to one since the late 80's. Concerts used to be wild and crazy fun but not anymore; now I'd rather just listen to the CD.