Re: are you getting it?

["L. Bird" <pkeets@hotmail.com>]

>"Kevin did say "retail" so it seems he's talking about a resale market."
>
>I'm afraid I didn't understand him again.
>If a person buys something and consumes it or holds it for their own
>purposes, they are buying retail.  If they buy it to sell to others, they 
>are buying wholesale.  That is the definitions of the terms.

Wholesale/retail also has to do with a business license, doesn't it?  If you 
are a wholesaler, then you are a middle-man.  You buy from a source such as 
factories, and can only sell to retail establishments.  Retailers are on the 
end of the distribution chain, and may or may not buy from a wholesaler.  
Some businesses may have a license for both.  Rarities dealers are generally 
retailers who don't depend on wholesalers.  They buy directly from the 
public for resale.  They may have some of the characteristics of a 
distributor, but they are still (by license) retailers who sell to the 
general public.

I'd consider ticket brokers/scalpers in the same category as rarities 
dealers.  They're opportunists speculating on the short term demand for 
tickets, and are likely to bargain for the price in the same way antique 
dealers will.  If there was no profit in it (i.e. no demand for their 
services) then they'd go on to speculating in antiques or baseball cards, or 
something else like that.  Because there is a demand for ticket broker 
services, it will be impossible to stamp them out.  If the practice is made 
illegal, then it will go underground.
I think bands are doing well in raising the price of front seats.  Keeping 
them artificially low does nothing to discourage brokered sales, and only 
loses them profits.  When they set their price closer to the true market 
price, it prevents brokers from adding a huge mark-up, and ensures more 
profit for the artist who is going to the effort and expense to put on the 
show.

I'm personally a little amazed at fans who think they should be guaranteed a 
center front seat for $20 in a high-demand market.  There is a serious 
distribution problem in selling tickets to 20-30,000 fans who all want to 
sit in the center front.  How is the band going to determine who gets the 
seats?  Festival seating?  Brokered sales?  Favoritism?  Auction?  All these 
will cause complaints.  Sorting the 20-30K by who is willing to pay more or 
less seems to be one of the more efficient methods.

keets

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