News about how ticket agencies get and resell the "good ones"!

Federal authorities in New Jersey today charged four men with hacking into websites of online ticket sellers and illegally buying tickets to Hannah Montana, Bruce Springsteen and other shows around the nation.


http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/03/feds_say_wiseguy_ticket_illega.html

Color me surprised. Don't we read this same story every year?


Another article here. "For example, Wiseguy Tickets snapped up half of the general admission floor seats to Springsteen's July 2008 Giants Stadium show."

You have to understand though that stories like this are the only ones you will ever hear about ticket brokers. Most are actually okay people who simply invest in ticekts they think will have a large demand for. People generally don't like what they do, but it is more because of that personal connection that folks have to their favorite sports teams or bands/singers. If they can't get in for face, many feel they are entitled to a ticket and get upset when supply is eclipsed by demand. If everybody feels that way and more folks want tickets than there are available, then obviously the price goes up. Do you feel the same way toward the hotel you want to stay at during a big event weekend when they do the same thing? It's simple supply and demand.

And I actually benefit greatly from these folks. For example, I plan on going to the Atlanta show. Now if this show were on a summer weekend, yeah I'd pony up the money to buy from Ticketmaster because EVERYBODY would want to go and I know tickets would be tough to come by. But since this show is on a spring Tuesday night, I know there will be plenty of unwanted tickets floating around and will scoop some up later when prices drop. Without the secondary market, I'd being paying TM a lot more money than I do.

Stories like this one about these "Wiseguys" are the equivalent of Barry Bonds playing baseball and setting the homerun record. It's all cheating.

I have less of a problem with regulated brokers who get their tickets though legal means. They provide a secondary market and that benefits a lot of people. Obviously, stories like this about those "cheating the system" are the worst, and probably just the tip of the iceberg.

You are exactly right. That was what I was trying to say too.

what frustrates me is when I look at ebag or another bid site and there are people selling multiple tixs to a show. They buy the max they can then toss them on these bid sites leaving those of us who really want to get tix in a legitimate fashion SOL.