Scalping

David · I dare you to try Joined: 27 Jul 2003 Location: Andromeda

This is from the editorial of today's Herald Sun:

Dr Alf Andrews · Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2006 4:59 am

The problem with scalping is that it puts a completely unnecessary extra middle-person between the buyer and the ticket they are trying to buy.

That middle person is not providing any extra service to anybody. They are not producing anything of any value, but they are raking off a massive profit just for getting in ahead of everyone else and buying up a lot of tickets. Often they have used dubious inside connections in order to obtain the tickets in the first place.

For the average person who just wants to buy a ticket ... whether it be for a Kylie concert, an Ashes test, a World Cup Final or whatever ... the price they have to finish up paying is often several times the official price set by the organisation running the event.

Basically, a bunch of parasites are siphoning off a shitload of money ... and you, the long-suffering public, are paying for it.

It's especially outrageous when it involves Grand Final tickets. Die-hard supporters follow their club week after week, year after year ... their team finally makes a Grand Final and the AFL won't let them buy a ticket ... instead, a bunch of well-connected parasites get hold of the tickets and flog them off for several times their face value. The die-hard supporter either has to cough up the big bickies or miss out on a ticket.

Scalpers are right up there with loan sharks and real estate speculators as the most parasitical leeches in the modern world.

The Prototype · Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2006 2:48 pm

Scalpers are also buying up tickets to shows where a normal person could have bought that ticket. Then the person who wanted to ticket has to pay out exreme amounts to see the concert they could have saw if a scalper didn't swoop in and buy up all the tickets.

Let's say you can buy a ticket for $50, and they are all sold out, you go on ebay and you see the same ticket for $1,000 now of course some wouldn't pay this, but there are people that REALLY need to go and they pay this.

And that is the problem with scalping, but the real problem they see is, that the money does not go back to the original source of the ticket. I am sure there are other things that are wrong with it.

HAL · Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2006 2:51 pm

Who specifically are you talking about?

David · I dare you to try Joined: 27 Jul 2003 Location: Andromeda

Dr Alf Andrews · Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2006 6:15 pm

Dr Alf Andrews · Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2006 6:27 pm

Proud Pies · Joined: 22 Feb 2003 Location: Knox-ish

imagine Collingwood is in the Grand Final
Tickets to Members go on sale
EAch membership can buy up to 10 tickets @ $150 each
Alf and Hal use their memberships and Alf's mum's membership to buy 30 tickets at normal price.

Now you finally get through via phone, internet or walk up and you JUST miss out on your Members allocation of a ticket

You, David, were just as entitled as Alf and Hal to a ticket, but because they bought up 30 tickets, you couldn't get one.

Alf and Hal are going to the grandfinal, but the other 28 tickets are put on ebay to sell to suckers like you who missed out on your allocation.

David goes to the grand final, but only after paying Alf $5,000 for the ticket he missed out on.

Do you still think it's fair?

David · I dare you to try Joined: 27 Jul 2003 Location: Andromeda

lol its ok PP I get it now Laughing

I wasn't aware scalping was such a complex operation, I thought it was just people, who didn't want their tickets, selling them to other people for massive amounts of money. But that's why I started the thread, because it was an issue I didn't understand, and now I do. Yay for me Very Happy

Alf, the thing is though, Kylie was only going to get 200 in the first place anyway... the extra 1800 is simply the profit the scalper made. Why should she get more money than she was going to originally?

Anyway one of the reasons this has been on my mind recently is because I'm thinking of going to the grand final this year... it's just I don't want to buy a GF ticket and then find out Collingwood aren't playing... so I guess if we weren't playing I'd want to sell it, and I'm not really sure if that's legal or not Razz

Pa Marmo · Posted: Wed Jun 28, 2006 8:46 am

Just a side issue for those that do miss the ballot when we make the grand final this year. I can get tickets for 250 on the day, no profit to my self of course. So if you get stuck let me know and I will try to help.

London Dave · Posted: Wed Jun 28, 2006 8:52 am

Market forces at work, pure and simple...

I'vet ried to get tickets for various showshere via phone/net...missed out...solution = eBay.

Invariably, ticket gets bought off uni student...so I fund part of this peron tuition. c'est la vie.

I also do the other side...it's a straight arbitrage opportunity...

How to stop it? apart from being futile....

Link entrance to production the credit card that bought it, along with other ID (passport/licence etc) perhaps, though they are easy to fake.

e.g. I tried for soccer tickets at WC. failed...tried my concierge service...�700 with no guarantee of enry...got em through a contact at search engine/protal that sponsors WC. If you fail trying through legit channels, what else you try?

Essentially, it's supply and demand I suppose. eBay is a perfect market, provided everyone auctionsnipes. You bid what your maxvalue is. You lose...well, the other sucker over paid.

Perhaps the AFL should sell throygh there.

There is no way govt would legislate against it, as they all get entrance as a perk/subtle bribe.

Culprit · Joined: 06 Feb 2003 Location: Port Melbourne

The reason they hate scalping is they are not making the money or getting the tax or commision.

.

The Prototype · Posted: Wed Jun 28, 2006 6:31 pm

Culprit · Joined: 06 Feb 2003 Location: Port Melbourne

If a person is willing to pay $2000 for a ticket then I suggest "show me the money and it's yours"

We live in a world where money rules it's called capitalism.

JLC · Posted: Thu Jun 29, 2006 11:00 pm

In England it is called touting and it is a big time operation. They work as a little network and look like a bunch of rats working the people outside the stadium. There would easily be 30 - 50 of them and most operate as a group.

If you want a ticket then you speak to a tout outside the ground, who then makes a call and arranges you to go to a pub to meet another tout to collect the ticket. Sometimes they arrange for the ticket to be brought to them or sometimes they have the tickets on them but that is risky. Makes it impossible for the Police to stop. Mind you the Police dont seem to try very hard.

Then you have the issues of the touts having forged tickets which they sell (bought one without knowing lol) and makes profits on as well.

I think it is disgusting as the real fans tend to miss out as demand especially in England for the football exceeds supply.

If you are an ordinary person who has bought a ticket and decides not to go then sell the ticket at face value to a friend or a genuine supporter Smile

jlc