Members nat whilk II Posted September 12, 2007 Members Share Posted September 12, 2007 Austin City Limits Festival is coming up this weekend, and my son bought expensive resold tickets through Ticket Liquidators. He paid more than twice what I paid for a 3-day pass, just 'cause he's a procrastinating college kid. Researching the exploding market for reselling tickets, got me thinking/wondering. 1. If online resellers become established, normal channels for ticket sales, does this mean that old-fashioned "scalping" is a thing of the past? That is, will the old stigma of scalping fade away? 2. Reselling is essentially just another market for a commodity that grows in scarcity as the performance date approaches. Who should benefit from the increasing market value of the tickets? The resellers? Or should the original ticket sellers co-opt the resellers by parceling out tickets in batches with prices that increase as the gig date nears? That's what the ACL Festival does, kinda. The early birds get tickets a LOT cheaper - there's a timeline where the prices increase for the original tickets. 3. Does this mean that tickets prices are opening up to market forces - or that a bunch of opportunists are spoiling to party for everyone else? Personally, if ticket prices rise to what the market can bear, I'd like to see the musicians and venue promoters take the extra profits, not a bunch of resellers. Better for the industry that way. Any thoughts on this phenomenon? nat whilk ii Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Lee Knight Posted September 12, 2007 Moderators Share Posted September 12, 2007 I hate the scaplping that been going on since the 70's. And when I think about it in depth I realize that that's the price you pay for have a system based on capitolism. It's as it should be. But... I think we need serious restrictions on this. It puts such a stress on an already struggling business. The business of live performance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Super 8 Posted September 12, 2007 Members Share Posted September 12, 2007 I think we need serious restrictions on this. It puts such a stress on an already struggling business. The business of live performance. Simple, don't buy tickets from resellers. I mean, that would dry it up wouldn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nat whilk II Posted September 13, 2007 Author Members Share Posted September 13, 2007 One one hand the reselling looks like just the operation of a free market, supply and demand doing its thing. On the other, reselling involves a certain amount of cornering a market - people buy up scads of tickets, deplete the supply purposefully, and then profit on the resulting jacked-up prices. I don't think it's unreasonable to call that process a distortion of a free market process. Similar as a process to ('tho not equal to the evil of) people who buy up water, plywood, canned goods, etc., and sell them at rapacious prices just before the hurricane hits (or just after). On yet another hand (how many hands have I got here?), if reselling is outright abolished and criminalized, then that also seems to involve a distortion of market forces, too. So I'm thinking some sort of compromise situation..... But as I said earlier - I'd like to see the musicians and promoters come away with the profit from increased ticket prices, not some useless middle market. nat whilk ii Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Billster Posted September 13, 2007 Members Share Posted September 13, 2007 There's been a lot of controversy about this subject as it relates to sports tickets. On the one hand, you say free marketOn the other hand, you say "profiteering" As Harry Truman once said, "Give me a one-handed economist. They always say 'On the other hand...'" I think the market should reign, and if some idiot wants to spend $300 for a ticket that costs $20, he should be allowed. What shouldn't be allowed is the stockpiling of tickets at face value in order to rake the last minute idiots. Group sales are one thing, stockpiling is another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Lee Knight Posted September 13, 2007 Moderators Share Posted September 13, 2007 Simple, don't buy tickets from resellers. I mean, that would dry it up wouldn't it? I have NEVER bought from a reseller. It's not working... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members coyote-1 Posted September 13, 2007 Members Share Posted September 13, 2007 It depends. I don't think it's unreasonable to call that process a distortion of a free market process. If those resellers have an option to sell back to the original agent, then it is indeed a distortion that does nothing but rape the customer. But if the reseller is taking a risk, and gets stuck with the unsold tix? Then I'm OK with it. I suspect it's the former. I've seen shows that are sold out INSTANTLY. Only resellers have tix for them, at 3x the face value... and then three weeks before the event, the original agent magically produces 1200 tickets at the original price. And yeah, I boycott that process. I DO NOT buy from resellers. I'll skip an event rather than allow myself to get reamed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Billster Posted September 13, 2007 Members Share Posted September 13, 2007 I've seen shows that are sold out INSTANTLY. Only resellers have tix for them, at 3x the face value... and then three weeks before the event, the original agent magically produces 1200 tickets at the original price. Yeah, that's an indicator. It's practically racketeering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nat whilk II Posted September 13, 2007 Author Members Share Posted September 13, 2007 If resellers can get 3X the face value and the original agent is instantly, or at least very quickly, sold out, the logical question is - why does the original agent not just sell the original tickets at the 3X price to begin with? Could it be because the original ticket price revenue goes, not just to the ticket guys, but to the promoters and the performers, too? So if the ticket guys can make their profit in the aftermarket, they don't have to share the extra $$ with, of all people, the promoters and performers. So this makes me think of the deals that the promoters/performers make with the ticket guys. That's maybe where the contractual arrangement could do much to cut out the useless, expensive (or even phony) middleman. I'm ignorant as to any particular laws that pertain. For example - are there laws (state or local I would assume) that control or regulate the pricing of tickets sold by original agents? Also, I'm ignorant of how the typical contract reads between a promoter/performer and the original ticket agents. Any knowledgeable folks on these issues out there? nat whilk ii Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members coyote-1 Posted September 13, 2007 Members Share Posted September 13, 2007 The point is, the resellers seem to operate at NO RISK. Here's the sequence: - Show announced- Tix go on sale- Tix from venue gone immediately - if you try to get them, they say they are SOLD OUT- Tix available from reseller at 3x face value- (weeks elapse)- Venue announces TIX FOR SALE, at face value. Have YOU ever purchased a pair of concert tickets from a venue, tried to sell them for large profit, and upon failure to do so returned those tickets to the venue? If you or I did that, we'd be facing scalping charges... If resellers can get 3X the face value and the original agent is instantly, or at least very quickly, sold out, the logical question is - why does the original agent not just sell the original tickets at the 3X price to begin with? They get those prices by taking tix off the market, and creating artificial demand by creating the illusion of a sellout. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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