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Scalpers



On the subject of Scalpers, Kevin O'Brien wrote

>Indeed, scalpers perform a great public service, for which they
>naturally receive a payment. When the tickets go on sale, they get
>sold to anyone who calls and has the cash. These people may not be the
>biggest fans, or the ones most desperate for the tickets. The scalper
>market creates a way for the tickets to get into the hands of the most
>committed fans.

I couldn't disagree more strongly.  What happens often times, is the 
promoter, the hall, and other non-artist types get, as part of their 
compensation, maybe a 1,000 tickets per night.  The best seats.  
Factored into their compensation at cost.  then, they wholesale them 
out at say $20.00 over face and make a quick $20,000.00 a night.  the 
scalpers they sell them to sell mark them up another $30-50 per, and 
you have fans paying $50-70 more per ticket than face.  And this money 
doesn't go to the artist.  And these tickets NEVER went on sale.  they 
NEVER were available to the fans.  they NEVER were available to anyone 
who calls and has the cash.  and the scalper market feeds this demand 
for promoters, etc. scarfing up the good seats before they are even put 
on sale.  If the scalpers didn't exist, the promoter would just take 
his $40,000 in cash, not tickets.  but he takes the tickets, because it 
means not $40,000. but $60,000., $70,000. or more.  

and then the tickets that DO get released - sure, I'm standing on line 
there, and there are six people in front of me, who have been there 
since 4:00 am.  at 8:00 am, a black mercedes pulls into the lot, one 
guy runs over and gets six envelopes full of cash, with instructions on 
what tickets for each of these guys to buy.  Sure, a 14 year old kid 
goes up to the window with $700.00 cash and buys the limit for every 
night.  He just wanted to make sure the tickets got into the hands of 
some fans?  Don't give me this @#$%$# about scalpers providing a public 
service.  They have totally undermined the distribution of 
entertainment tickets in America.  and it makes me sick.

Bob Hundertmark