Scalping Tickets

[Pete]

   I got my TBF and RGA Tickets, yea!  I went on ebay out of curiosity and found someone scalping TBF tickets for $260 this morning, the first day of tickets sales.  He should be drawn and quartered, no room for this kind of garbage.  I wonder if ebay has a policy about scalping?  Frigging people...

 Listening to: Emmy Lou Harris Live at the Ryman

[Auntie Hope]

  I got my TBF and RGA Tickets, yea!  I went on ebay out of curiosity and found someone scalping TBF tickets for $260 this morning, the first day of tickets sales.  He should be drawn and quartered, no room for this kind of garbage.  I wonder if ebay has a policy about scalping?  Frigging people...

Any chance you could provide a link to that ebay auction? 

Auntie Hope 

[BillyBeru]

this took 5 seconds to find:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Telluride-Bluegrass-Festival-4-Day-Passes-June-21-24-/230803563640?pt=US_Tickets_all_in_one&hash=item35bcf6e478

Dude's got 6, claimed to have sold 2. I wish PBG could buy 1 just to bust this SOB.

[vsgoliath]

You don't even want to look at StubHub...

http://www.stubhub.com/telluride-bluegrass-festival-tickets/telluride-bluegrass-festival-telluride-telluride-town-park-20-6-2013-4176928/

Online ticket sales has changed the game for most festivals. Its a real shame. 

[Auntie Hope]

this took 5 seconds to find:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Telluride-Bluegrass-Festival-4-Day-Passes-June-21-24-/230803563640?pt=US_Tickets_all_in_one&hash=item35bcf6e478

Dude's got 6, claimed to have sold 2. I wish PBG could buy 1 just to bust this SOB.

AMEN, BROTHER BILL! 

[HuckinFappy]

so how does this all work now, Dustin?

I mean, if I cough up $400 and buy a scalped 4-day from someone, we then have the codes so you know who bought it originally.  Then what?   Do you invalidate all their tickets for the year?   Do you blackball the purchaser for the future?

The tickets state they can't be scalped.   Can i plead ignorance, and get my money back through an Ebay process if I buy it there?  StubHub?

You wanted to try to address the scalping.   You clearly made a step by being able to tie any ticket back to the purchaser.   You also know you've got folks who want to help.  What can we do to help?

[FaceOnMars]

so how does this all work now, Dustin?

I mean, if I cough up $400 and buy a scalped 4-day from someone, we then have the codes so you know who bought it originally.  Then what?   Do you invalidate all their tickets for the year?   Do you blackball the purchaser for the future?

The tickets state they can't be scalped.   Can i plead ignorance, and get my money back through an Ebay process if I buy it there?  StubHub?

You wanted to try to address the scalping.   You clearly made a step by being able to tie any ticket back to the purchaser.   You also know you've got folks who want to help.  What can we do to help?

What if the original ticket purchaser sells the ticket for face to someone, who in turn re-sells for $400?

... seems it wouldn't be fair to go after the original purchaser in such a case.

[HuckinFappy]

I'm not saying it would be either (unless of course, in the course of the transaction you found the seller's name matched the original buyer).   I don't have any good ideas, i was just wondering if dustin did

[FaceOnMars]

I don't have any good ideas either.

Personally, I think email printed tickets are somewhat of a can of worms ... simply too easy to reproduce and no real way to verify the authenticity without trusting the seller.   Maybe in theory this might induce caution in buyers, but in reality I think the temptation to "get in" will override good judgement ... let alone the ability of unscrupulous sellers to make copies.

As a festival/show goer, I always prefer a traditional hard ticket.  Will call second.  Then a printed ticket.  I always like the option of having a hard ticket in hand in case I'm unable to travel and make the event and have to unload it; however, I absolutely do not like unloading printed tickets with my name on them with too much time prior to the event for fear the buyer might take advantage.   

[JoeBu]

What if the original ticket purchaser sells the ticket for face to someone, who in turn re-sells for $400?

... seems it wouldn't be fair to go after the original purchaser in such a case.

I don't see how that is possible, if the tickets are non-transferable.  The second person has nothing to sell.

If you sell your ticket to someone, they would have to meet you there so you could scan your Credit Card and get your ticket printed out....so if they resold the ticket you sold them they would have no way to get the ticket without talking to you.

For Example:  Phish in Denver last summer I ended up with 7 tickets under my name, 4 people were with me, 2 others met up later, then a third on the way in.  They had a ticket booth outside the venue.  I went, scanned my card for 4 tickets...waited for the next 2 to get there, scanned my card for those 2, then on the way in scanned my card for the last friend.  Worked out great, wasn't a real hassle at all.

It's not going to stop scalping completely, people going to the fest could still scalp, but the anonymous full time scalpers would be out of the loop.

[FaceOnMars]

What if the original ticket purchaser sells the ticket for face to someone, who in turn re-sells for $400?

... seems it wouldn't be fair to go after the original purchaser in such a case.

I don't see how that is possible, if the tickets are non-transferable.  The second person has nothing to sell.

If you sell your ticket to someone, they would have to meet you there so you could scan your Credit Card and get your ticket printed out....so if they resold the ticket you sold them they would have no way to get the ticket without talking to you.

For Example:  Phish in Denver last summer I ended up with 7 tickets under my name, 4 people were with me, 2 others met up later, then a third on the way in.  They had a ticket booth outside the venue.  I went, scanned my card for 4 tickets...waited for the next 2 to get there, scanned my card for those 2, then on the way in scanned my card for the last friend.  Worked out great, wasn't a real hassle at all.

It's not going to stop scalping completely, people going to the fest could still scalp, but the anonymous full time scalpers would be out of the loop.

I was under the impression that email or will-call tickets are both transferable, but you just can't sell them above face.

I didn't order online ... and couldn't find any indication of purchases being non-transferable, but I only got as far as the page where you either log in or create an account when I just checked.

[AnythingAtAll]

Pretty sure Joe was talking about Flash Tickets (a topic on another thread) and got his threads crossed...

[Doc Mike]

I think PB got pwned by scalper bots today. They did not set up any mechanisms to prevent bots at all!  Ferg needs to spend the money for the proper system to prevent the overloads, lost tickets in the shopping cart, and scalpers that obviously took advantage today. Disappointing!  You think they would have learned by now. The only reason the festival is sold out is scalpers, pure and simple.

[ferg]

gang, I really think scalpers have very little to do with it.


XXXX Anniversary

Tickets sold out earlier than ever last year and people didn't want to get closed out

We were VERY quiet about onsale, basically had to dig through web page

Yea, there are some people out there playing the game for profit, but I sure don't think there's any bots to speak of.

Just my feel after looking through pages of orders from states all over the country and country's all over the world, no empirical evidence to identify bots, I just don't think they are there.

I actually think there's not many scalpers of any kind out there; but, we'll probably be able to see as we see what happens on the secondary market.....

Not much yet....

[oddfired]

You don't even want to look at StubHub...

http://www.stubhub.com/telluride-bluegrass-festival-tickets/telluride-bluegrass-festival-telluride-telluride-town-park-20-6-2013-4176928/

Online ticket sales has changed the game for most festivals. Its a real shame. 

How are they able to do that?  Is the disclaimer on the ticket about selling for over face value not legally enforceable, or is it just too overwhelming to try to stop them?