Re: Tout

[John Hughes <john@pureneasy.fsnet.co.uk>]

Jeff, re

> > It seems that in our context it is a derogatory term for scalpers.  
> > I have never heard it used in the US.  Of course, I have never been 
> > to a British horse track.

A tout is the British term for your scalper.

> > I view it kind of like the US term "drug dealer" or the historical 
> > case of the word usury.  If a person's profiteering is their primary 
> > means of financial support - they are doing something bad.  

What pisses so many people off about touts here (Britain) is that they
cream off tickets for shows, meaning real fans have no ability to get
the tickets at the price the band wants them to pay.

What Jeff may be referring to is a debate of sorts about a lister on O&S
who offered a ticket he had out and out bought purely to sell on at a
profit. In his case, to cover his costs of going to Watford to get
tickets. He offered the #32.50 ($46) ticket on the O&S list for #140 
($200).

Some debate ensued on the morality of offering listers tickets at such
inflated prices. Indeed, I think I initiated it by commenting that he
was charging one hell of a booking fee.

The disapproval came from the thought that it seemed immoral to
blatantly rip off fellow listers. 

The Watford show had 1400 tickets. You could buy up to 6 tickets per
person. Touts regularly pay people a few pounds to stand in queues to
buy the maximum tickets per person. All of those are thus unavailable to
the fans at the price the band feel is fair. (This applies to all bands
or events, not just the Who)

Very often, touts only sell tickets outside the venue. Consequently,
fans who have been deprived of the opportunity to buy a ticket at a fair
price from the place the band wants them sold from (box office) have to
risk a wasted journey to the venue and pay through the nose.

> > If a person is using their profiteering as a means to support their 
> > hobby - they are not so bad. Context is everything here.  Judging an 
> > action must be viewed in the context of the person taking the 
> > action.  Just my opinion.

Would you deliberately buy excess tickets and then try and sell them to
friends at prices higher than you paid? 

You're right about context. In a free market, the only worth something
has is what people are prepared to pay and in reality tickets are no
different. In the context of a lister trying to charge fellow listers an
extra #105 ($150) fo a ticket, I thought it was ugly.

Incidentally, he did sell the ticket at #140, he's never said whether it
was to a lister or not.

Cheers,

John