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I just had to respond to the thread below regarding the sale of tickets over face value. The sale of tickets over face value would not be a problem if they weren't underpriced to begin with.

For example, I believe that tickets inside the first 10 rows should be priced at $200 each. All other lower pavillion tickets should be priced at $150. Uppers would be around $100 and lawn $50.

A higher ticket price requires a higher cost of inventory for tickets re-sellers. Furthermore, it reduces the profit margin on the most desirable tickets, making ticket brokering a less attractive business. It also allows fans who want good seats (or seats at all for that manner) to obtain them directly from the original distributor.

But many fans aren't willing/can't pay that.

Some people are just plain insane. Not many of us could afford prices like that. Maybe Last Mango should buy tickets for all of us!

Mango- Wouldn't prices like that drive the prices of the "unlucky" to pay more like $100-150 bucks for lawn seats by the time the scalpers took their share?

By "unlucky" I mean the people on-line and in-line that couldn't even get tickets.

In my experience this year, it didn't matter which tickets you asked for, you were lucky to get any at all!

It is true that many people would no longer elect to buy tickets and that is precisely the point. These tickets have a market value that currently exceeds their face value.

Raising ticket prices would eliminate (or at least greatly reduce) the profit that scalpers/resellers currently make. Raising the face value of the ticket is not going to have any effect on its market value. I am simply advocating bridging the gap between the two.

Currently lower level tickets are worth 2-5 times their face value in the open market. Several artists have respned to this economic phenomenon (for example, Billy Joel and Elton John price premium seats at $175)

The fact that most people are unable to get tickets reinforcea the idea that these tickets are underpriced. The only way to reduce demand for a scarce commodity is to raise the commodity's price.

I seriously doubt that JB would ever raise ticket prices to the levels that I have stated, however, I thought that it might make for an interesting discussion. After all, that is the purpose of this forum.

The fact that most people are unable to get tickets doesn't mean that the tickets are underpriced. What it means is that the demand exceeds the supply. If prices were raised to 2 or 3 times what they currently are, it would price most fans out of the market and leave tickets for the fat cats in suits who get all the good seats anyway. I've paid $150-$200 face value for a few concerts, but if prices were that high for every concert I wouldn't go to as many shows as I do now. I can afford to pay those prices, I just wouldn't do it on a regular basis. I think there would be fewer sold out shows and a lot more empty seats. Just for an example, go to ticketmaster.com right now. Tickets for the Vegas shows went on sale about a month ago, the top price is $150 with a limit of 8 tickets. You can still get 8 together for the Sunday show at $150 each. So much for that theory.

The tickets left for Las Vegas at $150 each offer a side view of the stage. Indoor shows hardly ever sell out completely because of the side and rear view seats.

You just conceeded that demand exceeds supply. The only way to make the two meet is to use a market clearing price (the price where demand and supply are met).