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Scalping



On Mon, 1 Jul 1996 09:47:03 -0500 (CDT), Alan McKendree
<amck@eden.com> wrote:

>> From: Ray Schweighardt <rainman@buttercup.cybernex.net>
>> Date: Sat, 29 Jun 1996 11:48:21 -0400
>> Subject: In With The Promotor and 7 Years of Contact Building
>> 
>> Now me, I've spent 7 years establishing relationships with slimy sub-human
>> ticket "brokers" who gouge money out of fans to line their own slimey
>> pockets.  My relationship is this: They say "who needs tickets" and I say
>> "choke on 'em, scalper scum".  For 7 years I've been doing this just WAITING
>> for this moment.
>
>You apparently have yet come to terms with the fact that tickets for
>many events are priced below the market.  Let's ignore for the moment
>the fact that scalpers may indeed misjudge the market and wind up
>losing money on their tickets.  Let's say they sell every one at their
>asking price.  All this means is that a willing buyer and a willing
>seller have gotten together and made a trade.  That is obviously the
>market value of the ticket.  Would you feel any better if the promoter
>priced the top tickets at the prices the scalpers charge, since the
>tickets will clearly sell at or near that price, and have the promoter
>and the band get the money?

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.

Following the last few weeks on this list, for instance, would be
instructive. When the tickets went on sale for MSG, everyone was
calling Ticket Master from early morning until all the tickets were
gone. Some people got good tickets, some got nosebleed tickets, and
some got no tickets at all. Yet over the course of the last two weeks,
it appears that everyone who wants to pay the money has gotten good
seats. This is how a market system operates, and it seems like a good
thing to me. If Ray doesn't want to pay for his tickets, that is his
choice. But a lot of people on this list have demonstrated that they
would rather pay the money than do without the tickets. If there were
no scalpers to even things out, the results of the first round (i.e.
calling Ticket Master on the phone) would be the final result, and
those who didn't get tickets that way would be SOL.

 
Kevin B. O'Brien
kob1@ix.netcom.com
"I feel a very unusual sensation--if it's not indigestion,
I think it must be gratitude." Benjamin Disraeli