Mom Lies for 'Hannah' Tickets

[Colinito]

VikingMachine:

Sorry its a free market. If you want tickets to something get up at 10am like the rest of us, log in to ticketmaster and get your tickets...its that simple. Most ticket sellers dont have any secret "in" that you cant also have. Its simple persistance is all. It goes against all common sense as well as what our economic system is founded on to "limit" prices. Oh, and everyone has "fair access" to tickets, you have the same chance that i do to get tickets to any event.

As far as having "ins", well any industry or business has that. I know people that work for Wal-Mart that were selling Wii's on ebay for inflated prices, how do you think they got them? There are millions of other examples just like this. As far as knowing the system better, WELL YA! How do you think millions of people get better deals than everyone else on a variety of things. People who work in real estate often are in the know on good property to buy just as people who work in the stock market are in the know...its how its done. I know a guy who is really good with welding and makes custom weather vanes...he makes a killing on them. Should I be jealous that he has knowledge that I dont and so he gets to make a bunch of cash and I dont. This whole line of reasoning just doesnt jive.

Oh and you dont "check" capitalism...that would go against the principals of capitalism.

LOL. This is a classic, thanks.

Actually, often times fans lose out on the opportunity to show up at ticket time and get them, because ticket brokers have snatched 'em up by the 1000s in the first couple minutes, or have them "reserved" by pay-offs. That's what I mean by an "in." You seem to have little qualms about insider trading in the stock market, but that is actually illegal, as this should be.

Like you, I want a world where a fan can log into TM.com at 10 a.m. and get their tickets, or stand in line or show up early, or whatever. For a die-hard fan to have reasonable access to tickets is all I want. The truth is, under the current system, it is often impossible to get said tickets for highly desirable events.

How do you deal with it? Well the Dead had a pretty good anti-scalping system where you had to show up at a Department store and get a wristband a couple days before the show went on sale, and with that wristband you could go stand in line for tickets and could get a set # of tickets with that wristband (4 or so IIRC). That way, scalpers could still earn a buck, but they actually had to go stand in line with the fans. Other bands have used mail-order tickets and lotteries to help fans have fair access to their tickets.

Now that the internet is popular, there have got to be some other innovative ways to do so.

In short, I am against price-gouging in all forms. I don't like the idea of Wal-Mart workers doing that with Wiis, for example. Using that in to buy one for yourself, or for family, is another story. But to expressly do it to make $$, you are basically taking a fairly-priced Wii away from someone every time you do that and it's not right. It is basically another way of taking from the poor and giving to the rich, or else forcing the poor into paying more than they can afford or resorting to clandestine methods to get them.

[VikingMachine]

Actually, often times fans lose out on the opportunity to show up at ticket time and get them, because ticket brokers have snatched 'em up by the 1000s in the first couple minutes, or have them "reserved" by pay-offs. That's what I mean by an "in." You seem to have little qualms about insider trading in the stock market, but that is actually illegal, as this should be.

The only brokers that can snatch tickets up by the thousands, and there are probobly only a couple in the entire nation, are using illegal software to do so. One of those was recently caught and he and the software firm that created the software for him are being prosecuted by the law. All other brokers log on just like you do and have the same chances you do. Its all a numbers game and they have the same right as you do for those tickets. What they do with them afterwords is their business. I dont know of any brokers who can "reserve" tickets with payoffs, not saying it couldnt happen but I dont know anyone that does it.

Insider trading on Wall Street is illegal and possibly the same could be said about "insider trading" with regards to the ticket market. This type of thing happens occasionally but it far from widespread, its the exception not the norm.

The Deads system was hardly a good anti-scalping system. I knew brokers who had hired many people to stand in line and get tickets for them....thats old school stuff, all that did was make the long time brokers a bit nostalgic as thats the way it was always done in the old days.

Its not price gouging, its a free market system...i dont know why you cannot understand that, its pretty simple. The price is what the market says it is. How do you think the majority of pricing takes place. If the Vikings jacked up their prices to a $1,000 a seat and sold the place out on a regular basis, would it be price gouging? What if suddenly the current pricing structure for a seat at an NFL game was considered too much and stadiums were only half full? I can guarantee you that they would make a price correction and in a hurry.

I'd sure like to be able to own a nice house here in MN on a beautiful lake, guess what? So does everyone else, therefor the price is driven up and I can no longer afford one. Maybe we should send the guy and his wife to jail for "price gounging" who bought their lakehome for 35k 25 years ago and just sold it for 500k. Rediculous.

Bottom line is that you can dislike it all you want but as long as there are events that have a huge demand, you will have people that will sell their tickets for that event and for as much as they can get for them.

[Colinito]

I do understand free market, and it works pretty well on a lot of things, not everything. That's why I mentioned the Industrial Revolution in my first post on the matter. Opportunity costs, sure, but there should be equal access to the opportunity is all I'm saying.

http://www.nj.gov/lps/ca/press/scalp.htm

New Jersey has filed suit against nine ticket brokerage firms and their principals for allegedly scalping tickets to recent Pearl Jam and Jimmy Buffet concerts for as much as 1,400 percent above their face value, Attorney General Peter Verniero and Division of Consumer Affairs Director Mark S. Herr announced today.

The State's complaints, filed in Essex County and Middlesex County superior courts, allege that the nine brokerage firms violated the State's anti-ticket scalping laws and defrauded consumers by over-inflating the resale price of the concert tickets. The concerts took place in August and September.

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/ ... pers3.html

Hannah Montana fans throughout the state -- and in many other cities across the country -- became outraged in September when they tried to buy tickets to the pop diva’s upcoming concert. They discovered the show was already sold out when they tried to buy tickets – at the designated times of sales.

Fans, however, said they immediately found scores of Hannah Montana tickets at various brokers – but at greatly inflated prices. Some tickets to the pop diva’s concerts sold for up to 20 times the face value.

Some of the problems I was talking about.

“I was on Ticketmaster 20 minutes before the Hannah Montana tickets went on sale at 10:00a.m.,” one parent from Nottingham, Maryland, wrote us. “They were sold out at 10:01! My friends were also on the Web site at the same time and had problems.

“Ten minutes later, the tickets were on eBay selling for triple the price. I am very upset that they allow people to sell these tickets online to make money, and my daughter, who is a true fan, can't go because I can't afford to spend $300 per ticket.”

This guy sums it up pretty nicely.

“While there will always be issues relating to ticket availability where demand exceeds supply, the process must be fair to consumers,” Attorney General McDaniel said. “With these ticket sales, there is the additional problem that many are being offered on the Internet at prices far above the face value.

"In many instances, Arkansas law prohibits resale at prices over the face value plus a reasonable handling charge.”

I agree with said law. Don't ban brokers, but limit it. The artists and promoters are "creating" the event, the bulk of the cash should go to them in the form of the $ they decided to charge their fans. Scalpers are often taking a higher % of the profits and that is BS. They are offering a service at way too high a rate. Reminds me of when a poor person couldn't get a loan for less than like 500% interest until the Credit Unions and Feds finally put the kibosh on it.

In short, restriction is needed, it's a crappy way to earn a buck (hey, go telemarket! It's a step UP! Go trash collect, it's a HUGE step up!), and it's unfair to true fans.

Class dismissed.

[Minniman]

Ticket brokers act as multiple season ticket owners, but they are not really fans.

Brokers also go through means to get presale tickets. They sign up as 100 people on official fan sites and work with AOL and Disney to get presale seating.

Even hiring people to stand in line was something that often pissed me off. If scalping tickets was illegal and enforced, there would not be much to gain by doing so.

I don't mind ticket brokers that sell unwanted tickets or even resell regular tickets at a small upcharge, but ticket scalping has become a scourge to the average music and sports fan.

Yeah, I have heard about the free market. That excuse doesn't wash in my opinion. There are many laws that protect consumers from being gouged, and the ticket industry should have to face similar restraints - especially since the product they sell in often limited in supply by monoplistic markets.

Performers often keep their fan base in mind when setting ticket prices. Some of them could charge more, but they don't (some of them do charge more too). Why should ticket brokers and Ticketmaster make as much for each ticket to Pearl Jam as Pearl Jam makes?

On a side note, Hannah Montana is crap. She isn't even playing live. I mean, why would anyone want to pay ticket prices for a Beatles reunion concert for that?

[glg]

On a side note, Hannah Montana is crap. She isn't even playing live. I mean, why would anyone want to pay ticket prices for a Beatles reunion concert for that?

Because people don't know how to say "no" to their kids.

[Minniman]

Because people don't know how to say "no" to their kids.

I don't often let my kids watch Disney. It is all about sex and money.

Neither of them like Hannah Montana either. They do like Heavy Metal though.

[glg]

Neither of them like Hannah Montana either. They do like Heavy Metal though.

You've taught them taste, an invaluable gift