Ticket scalping goes mainstream

By Jennifer Mulrean

http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Savinganddebt/Finddealsonline/P58727.asp

Sold out!• Sold out: Two words that strike fear in the heart of devoted fans

everywhere. Or at least they used to.• Most Net-savvy people know you don't have to stand on a street corner

with a hand-lettered sign anymore to land tickets to sold-out events. You can turn to your keyboard for entry to everything from rock concerts and Broadway musicals to National Hockey League games.

• To attract more buyers, a number of primary ticketing companies are now trying to legitimize the business. To do so, they need you to forget that back-alley connotation.

• “Historically, ticket brokers and ticket scalpers have been sort of lumped in with the dark side of life,” says Carl Thomas, Tickets.com’s executive vice president of sales and marketing. “But in the real world, they’re in business serving a business need every day.”

But is it legal?• Many consumers are wary because of a labyrinth of state and municipal

regulations on reselling tickets. It's hard to know if you're breaking laws by buying or reselling a ticket.

• “It’s legal to resell tickets in all 50 states, but in some instances there may be certain rules and regulations to follow,” asserts StubHub’s cofounder and president Eric Baker.

• Most states base their ticket-scalping laws on the location of the venue, not the location of the ticket buyer and seller. This is true in New Jersey, where you must either be a licensed broker to resell tickets, or you must resell a ticket for no more than 20% or $3 more than its face value, whichever is greater, according to the state's Division of Consumer Affairs.

• While it may feel anonymous to resell tickets online, the office has brought charges against individuals for not abiding by the ticket-scalping law. Just this year, they settled with one man for $20,000 and they have similar cases going all the time.

Sorting through fees and choices

• Peer-to-peer ticketing: This is sometimes called ticket exchange -- or even “fan-to-fan ticketing.”

• Online auctions: In addition to fan-to-fan resales, auctions are also an avenue for some brokers to resell tickets. eBay and Yahoo! Auctions are among the biggest names in the auction arena.

• General purchases: While you can’t resell tickets at Tickets.com, you can buy secondary tickets to all kinds of events through its Premier Ticket Window.

Putting them to the test

Putting them to the test: Sept. 25 Bruce Springsteen concert in DenverOriginal List Price = $79.

Site Ticket price Cost incl. service fees* Ticket details

Ticketmaster – primary ticket seller, NOT secondary tickets$79 $91.05 Section 118, row 14 -- price level 1 (lower level seating)eBay As low as $75 $78.80 (fee of $3.80) Section 105, Row 19, Seat 26Tickets.com $251 $251 Section A2, Row 32 StubHub $225 $247.50 Section A2, Row 32The Ticket Company $295 $295 Section A2, row 29 (9 rows behind the pit)GreatTickets $305 N/A Section A2, Row 29

*Cost of an adult, general-admission ticket (prices as of Sept. 11). Doesn’t include taxes or shipping

The Economics

• At an event we have capacity.

• Set a price at $20.

• We have excess demand.

• Some numbers of people are willing to pay more than $20.

• How much can scalpers make?

SDPrice

Quantity

20

50

Scalpers’Profits

Is this Bad?Is this Bad?