Bottom Of The Barrel

Awweee, Poor Baby

The 1924 Anti Scalping law of Massachusetts maybe out of date, no-longer applicable and completely behind the times but that doesn't mean it should be enforced. This law was created to help control the up-selling of tickets to events which now include sporting events, concerts, the theater and other events. Local agencies [StubHub, Admit One Ticket Agency, Ace Ticket Worldwide] are coming under fire from several lawsuits stating that they are breaking our laws with each transaction. The current law states a ticket can be resold for face value plus $2 and "reasonable" expenses not including the cost of obtaining the ticket. It is this loose language that the agencies have been hiding behind for years but that maybe coming to an end.

Just for fun, I checked StubHub for tickets to upcoming Red Sox games and found the following seats:

Bleacher Seats Face Value: $23
StubHub Bleacher Seats for 4/20 Yankees Game: $110
StubHub Bleacher Seats for 5/18 Braves Game: $41

Both tickets are for a Friday night game however one seems to be much more expensive than the other, why is that you suppose? Maybe they are not applying the same business expenses [again not including the cost of obtaining the ticket, which should be $23] to the very popular Yankees game that they are to the less than popular, yet still sold out, Braves game. maybe the courts should look into that too?

The next step in this case should prove to be very interesting. A Quincy District Court judge last week indicated he plans to force a Weymouth ticket reseller, Admit One Ticket Agency LLC, to identify one of its key ticket suppliers. This seems reasonable to me. They think the laws are unfair well let's let the law be judged fairly with all of the pertinent information - namely where do these agencies get all those tickets they are selling?

Admit One Ticket Agency LLC, which operates online as RedSoxTix.com, said giving up the name of its supplier would be devastating to its business. Why? It is because what they do is illegal? Or is it because the source of these tickets is not individuals who simply can't attend but corporations that are holding back tickets and selling them through an agent to push the price higher by restricting the supply? Or maybe we would find that these tickets are being given to corporations as sponsors and then they are being resold ont he open market without the original purchaser knowing? Or maybe these tickets are flowing from individuals to the agencies but it is all in cash to the profit from buying and selling tickets is not being reported to the IRS?

What ever the "reason" these agencies don't want to publicly discuss how it all works seems like a bigger reason that we should. That and I too get pissed off that $23 Red Sox Yankee tickets cost $110 if I want to go.

Labels: Business

posted by TheWino @ 9:56 AM