Scalping
Goonix defends scalpers at TVHE:
Events in high demand that have limited capacity sell out. See for example the Wellington Sevens or Toast Martinborough, which sold out in three minutes and thirteen minutes respectively. These events sell out as demand far outstrips supply at the price that the seller sets. In other words, many of those purchasing the tickets would be willing to pay much more than they actually do pay in order to attend said event.
High demand events such as these are the capitalist world’s version of queuing for basic food items in a communist shit-hole. When buyers are unable to adequately express their willingness to pay, due to blunt ‘one-for-all’ pricing and an inability of the seller to price discriminate, shortage ensues.
Enter the scalper. Scalpers are typically demonised by the media in New Zealand. However, scalpers simply allow buyers to reveal their true willingness to pay. When a scalper auctions off a ticket on Trademe, buyers are able to pay exactly what they value their attendance at said event at. What ensues is the efficient allocation of resources – scarce resources are allocated to those that value them highest – an admirable economic goal. Contrast this with the lottery that is the current ‘log-in and hope’ method of ticket allocation. Rather than be vilified, scalpers should be commended for their actions that facilitate the clearing of the market!
Indeed, a commentator at the NBR goes further, calling scalpers “unsung entrepreneurs”. I tend to agree with this sentiment.
I can only agree also. My only restriction would be to limit how many tickets one can buy, so one company doesn’t buy up every ticker to resell them.
I wonder if the more efficient way might be to auction off tickets for events like the Sevens. People can bid for blocks of tickets and the highest bidders win.
Or, if there is some reasons you want to fix the maximum price, it would be better to have a proper lottery with random selection of those who want tickets at that price. That would be preferable to the nonsense of 100,000+ people all trying to buy tickets within 180 seconds online, and everything overloading.
October 19th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
I think anti-scalping laws are a major infringment on property rights. If I own something, I can sell it or dispose of it as I see fit. Most events limit ticket sales now to some set number – I don’t mind that, but once those tickets have sold they are the purchaser’s property.
October 19th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
this all sort of forgets the reason for the event doesn’t it. the ticket pricing becomes the main thing.
what about ordinary people going to events as part of life?
Do the performers have any say over this Brian?
Nah
Limit ticket sales, not allow Block sales just family sales on same credit card.
sod the scalpers
October 19th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
The problem with scalping is that it it removes the profit from those who should earn it. NZ Rugby sees a benefit to itself (and rugby in New Zealand, and the community etc.) if big events like finals and the rugby 7s are within the grasp of ordinary people, families with kids, etc. And it is prepared to forgo profits they could legitimately get on a particular event to keep rugby as a sport ordinary families can partake in and enjoy watching.
To enable this to happen, it contracts with ticket-sellers and ticket buyers for a set price, with a condition of the contract being that they can’t be onsold at a profit. Because if that can happen, it’s suffering the detriment of not getting heaps of money, without the positive of keeping rugby accessible to ordinary people. Which would suck for it.
The market solution is not for people to breach their contract with NZ Rugby, but for people who want there to be really expensive rugby matches to start some of their own. The solution for those who disagree with NZ Rugby (and others who set their prices “artificially low”) is to take it up with them, or offer them oddles of money. Not to scalp. Scalpers are just prats, who think their ability to make money in breach of their contractual obligations to promoters, outweighs the rights of promoters to decide who should be able to enjoy the product they’re offering.
October 19th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
My only restriction would be to limit how many tickets one can buy, so one company doesn’t buy up every ticker to resell them.
But why? If the benefit of scalping is that it finds who values tickets most, then what is the problem if a company buys all the tickets? Let’s say they do and they price too high. They take a bath and (we should expect) learn their lesson and either drop their prices or fix them for next time.
On the other hand, let’s say they price too low. Scalpers can still do their work in fixing the allocative inefficiency.
Let’s say they get pricing just right. Problem solved.
October 19th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
For some events it is in their best interests to ensure tickets are sold at a cheaper price irrespective of the demand. For example if only the extremely wealth can afford to buy (scalped/auctioned) tickets to All Blacks tests then support for the team and possibly the sport could diminish among those who can’t afford to pay. Less support means fewer players, fewer subs, smaller player pool etc. A rock band might also want to ensure their continued appeal to a broader audience by keeping ticket costs down. For an event like toast however, scalp away.
October 19th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
Brian – didn’t see your comment before commenting myself.
If anti-scalping laws are limited to helping enforce the contractual terms promoters set, then they enhance property rights, not diminish them.
Promoters have property rights. They have the option of exercising these rights by setting as a term for their transferring their property-right (to attend an event) to others by making a term of that transaction that that right not be onsold at a profit.
If scalpers of tickets with anti-scalping conditions attached to them want scalpable tickets they should damn well have paid for them. What about the property rights of the promoters?
October 19th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
Brian, I don’t think that’s right. I don’t think there is any principle that says admission to a private event should not be according to conditions set by the event’s promoter. Any rule to the contrary would interfere with their property rights. If the promoter wants to insist that the ticket cannot be transferred away from the purchaser it seems to me that is a right they should enjoy. The losses for that ticketing rule are in part borne by the promoter.
October 19th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
“…calling scalpers “unsung entrepreneurs”. I tend to agree with this sentiment.”
BULL FUCKING SHIT.
Event promoters set ticket prices at a level that they think will cover costs, plus a reasonable return for themselves. They organised the event after all.
Scalpers are parasitic fucking scum that bump up the ticket price while providing no added value to the consumer.
STRING THEM UP.
October 19th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
yeah! go Graeme!
Just so well put. I’m with you, limit sales for the market you want.
If you want a secondary market to make money off of the event then no limits on the ticket.
October 19th, 2009 at 12:29 pm
Surely the answer is for all tickets to be auctioned on trademe or the like. Then the organisers will gain maximum possible revenue for the venue.
October 19th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
RRM – bullshit back at you. If I really wanted to go the the Wellignton Sevens, and missed out on a ticket because I got to the website 95 seconds after sales started, and was willign to pay someone else twice face value of a ticket, who is getting ripped off? Not me, because I want to buy it at that price. If I didn’t, I could watch it on TV. No one is ripped off by scalpers because it is voluntary expenditure.
October 19th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
I bought tickets to Glastonbury 2010 this year, and as its a festival which is organised by music lovers (and yes a hippy who has made a fortune from it
) there process is pretty cool.
What you have to do is effectively register, with passport level photo and all before they go on sale. When you purchase you have to use your registration number. Prevents people buying tickets to scalp.
In some ways I have no problem with scalping on a reasonable scale, bought tickets from scalpers a few times and was happy to get a ticket.
However in things like the sevens its such a knowledge that they will sell out that it becomes a joke. The people who tin it and get through effectively get to print money, and cause of this the problem is exhasabated.
I would be for paying more to the organisers, so those who want to go can, but having a system like Glastonbury, so it removes scalpers from the equation.
October 19th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
Brian – don’t you think that perhaps parasitic scalper scum might be a big part of the REASON why events sell out in the first 95 seconds?
Scalpers are not part of the solution. They are part of the problem.
[DPF: No for the Sevens they are a miniscule part of the problem. The problem is we need a bigger stadium]
October 19th, 2009 at 12:46 pm
A profit maximising event promoter would probably run a Dutch auction or price like airlines. However, as has been pointed out already, some event promoters (like sports) may have a longer term (> 1 event) aim and want to encourage “general public” attendance and price accordingly.
Scalpers who sell (and those who buy) in breach of the contract with the event promoter dont have rights.
If I contract with someone I will often make it a term of the contract that it’s not assignable because I dont want to have to deal with another counter party. If you dont like the terms of the contract dont enter into it.
October 19th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
RRM,
If scalpers are upping the cost of tickets to a concert or performance of something, it is the performer who is letting down the people who cannot afford it by not doing enough shows. It is up to the performer (or otherwise a competitor) to put on enough shows for people to have a reasonable opportunity to see them.
NZRU tends to oversupply rugby games as anybody can go to an ANZC match and see the best players in the world for a vey reasonable price, even the finals and shield games are not expensive or hard to get to.
October 19th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
So, RRM – on the day of the game I have to cancel and go visit sick Aunti Nellie in Wanganui. I have a Sevens ticket. Are you saying I should just take the loss?
RRM – you are very het up about this. Have you a personal experience of being forced at gun point to buy a ticket from someone outside a game or over trademe?
October 19th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
DPF
They were told that by loads of us in the consents period.
I said 60k min.
Got another 5k seats allowed to build later, but Thornden Residents Assn has said don’t bother we will see you in the environment court on day 1.
October 19th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
MikeNZ – Thorndon residents Assn were a pack of wankers who ruined the opportunity for Wellington to have a world class stadium, rather than a provincial good one. I heard that one guy who was driving force behind a lot of the complaints moved to Auckland next to Western Springs to moan about stock cars.
October 19th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
If the events are so popular, then the promoters should find a larger venue. In the case of rugby matches, the NSRFU could allocate a number of cheaper tickets to it’s clubs for distribution to impecunious ‘fans’ but then I say sell all the remaining tickets tickets by auction. Why on earth should a promoter leave behind all that profit for some opportunist speculator?
October 19th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
i hate scalpers, but, if there is an event I really want to attend, then I can always buy in the scalping market.
So, perhaps a necessary evil?
October 19th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
I’ll bet none of you are actually promoters. So have no clue as to what you are talking about.
As a promoter I have absolutely zero problem with ticket scalpers. As the OP says, I take a risk on a artist, and try to calculate the appropriate price, which will make a return on the costs. Sometimes you get it right, sometimes you don’t.
If a bunch of people buy up early it reduces the risk of an event, and less risk means more likely hood of events happening in the first place (after all who is going to throw money at a risky event unless they can afford to attend). That said I do have a earlybird rate for tickets that only goes to people who have actually been verified to have attended the previous event to reward true fans as well.
Last gig I had it wasn’t scalpers that were the problem (the event sold out), it was counterfieters. We had a number of counterfiet tickets, which were then scalped off at a profit by some dodgy buggers. In this case the promoter doesn’t make money, counterfiets are detected on the door and the punter misses out.
When tickets are scalped, noone misses out. Willing buyer, willing seller etc.
Promoter makes their return, and those who value the event the most can attend. Scalping also reduces the risk for legitmate ticket purchasers who for soem reason or another decide they can’t make it and they can always on sell the ticket.
Still, if you want to be absolutely garunteed access to any event, make sure you purchase your tickets early, from a legitmate retailer.
October 19th, 2009 at 1:17 pm
re the Wellington stadium, surely if we had a 60 000 seater it would only be full a couple of times a year. Imagine how crap the atmosphere would be for Lions, Phoenix, hurricanes matches.
October 19th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
>>’So, RRM – on the day of the game I have to cancel and go visit sick Aunti Nellie in Wanganui. I have a Sevens ticket. Are you saying I should just take the loss?’
Brian, no one is saying you shouldn’t be able to onsell your ticket for face value if you can’t attend the event.
October 19th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
This was on keepingstock a while back – don’t have the link though. There was a detailed analysis, and what it suggested was that many promoters set prices at an artificially low level deliberately for “the fans.” But they also hold back a bunch of tickets that are sold at true value as part of packages and the like. So there are still ways to get expensive tickets.
Scalpers aren’t, to my mind, scum. They are providing liquidity in a market, and taking risks that otherwise would be borne by other parties (the promoters especially). It has been suggested before to just sell tickets by auction, but apparently many acts dislike that. It would increase their profits from the event, but might create a perception of them as money grubbing bastards.
October 19th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
Oh – Graeme Edgeler – you old socialist!!!
The reason that the people who should make the profit dont do so is because “THEY ARE TOO BLOODY STUPID” to see the opportunity.
If the NZRFU was even half awake they would have a dutch auction. The prices open at say $1000 each and they will slowly drop down and as the propective buyer sees the figure at which they think the ocassion is worth they buy.
If you think they are wiorth $1000 each, then you buy when they open. If you arent prepared to pay more than say $250, then you wait till it gets down to that. If they are all gone by then, well thats above what you decided they were worth.
But the dunderheads at places like the NZRFU couldnt get their heads around this sort of thinking. It would maximise profits and every fan would have the opportunity to pay what they think the tickets are worth.
Now – who’se that drongo in charge of the world cup and announced the other day that the loss would run out to $40mill, AND THEY ARE EXPECTING AT LEAST 10% OF TICKETS TO BE UNSOLD.
Martin – the words are ‘Ducth auction’ ……
However it explains why the dutch are so wealthy.
October 19th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
On this issue, I’ve been making the libertarian argument. Make the most of it, it doesn’t happen often
October 19th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
As said above, Why not just run a dutch auction, start the tickets for any event at $10000 each, and then have them reduce day by day or hour by hour or whatever until all sold, to me this makes perfect sense, if your desperate to go , then you buy early, if your not, you wait and run the risk, for the promoter even better, they get to maximise the revenue they get for great events , and at the very least sell out for events which are not so attractive. Let the market decide what anything is worth, sure it doesnt stop scalpers entirely , but also spreads the pricing out in such a way that its a lot more fair than selling out in 30seconds ( which upsets everyone, crashes websites and clearly shows the price was to low) and after this process, scalping should be totally legal, as they have really taken a risk and there was plenty of chances for all, so even the scalpers win.
October 19th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
MikeE, the promoter, has it right. A scalper is, in effect buying futures, he is providing the promoter with a guaranteed return and taking a risk on future demand. Scalpers do not always profit. Middlemen are a feature of trade because they serve a real need. Why ‘o’ why do kiwis constantly persist in trying to manipulate the capitalist system because it is ‘not fair’ or ‘unequal’ or ‘stops me getting something at the price I want to pay’ or ‘because because someone is making a (‘dirty’) profit’. The laws of supply and demand work very well if not tampered with. Promoters could put all their tickets on TradeMe and aim to maximize their return; that is their choice.
October 19th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
trout – what pisses people like RRM off is that ‘scalpers’ make some extra money. The promoters know full well that they cannot sell a full stadium of $100 tickets for $200. There are only a few people who are willing to pay $200 for that $100 ticket – otherwise the face value would be $200 for everyone. Seems pretty simple to me.
October 19th, 2009 at 2:54 pm
The only problem with scalpers is that a lot of the public don’t like the idea of someone “ripping them off” and accordingly blame the promoters for not somehow preventing scalpers. But this isn’t rational. The scalper is only getting the price that someone is willing to pay, and that would be the same price which that ticket would sell for if the promoter sold them via some sort of auction.
I’m sure promoters would like to sell tickets via an auction (thus maximising price of each ticket sold), but know that in reality such a system would piss people off and also create enough uncertainty on price to put people off even contemplating going to the event.
October 19th, 2009 at 2:57 pm
THe promoter may not be able to sell the whole stadium at top price, then what to do? Sell at top price for a week, discount for each week thereafter. A dutch auction and easy to do on the net. There are many mechanisms for pricing differential. It is almost a gurantee that the guy sitting next to you in the plane did not pay the same fare as you did. Rumour has it the RWC ticket prices will be eye-watering – perhaps scalpers would be useful (probably banned by ill advised legislation) to boost early sales and give the whole tournament financial credibility.
October 19th, 2009 at 3:07 pm
Most of the people who moan about scalpers are the people who say “I wouldn’t pay that for a ticket to see xxxx”. I agree, but don’t moan about it, because I didn’t want to pay the face value either. I am waiting for a freebie.
October 19th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
The promoter gains certainty by selling out early. But many people like to make a late decision to go, and have the money to pay for it. The scalper provides a service to both – certainty to the promoter, and late ticket purchases at eye watering prices to the consumer. Of course, the scalper also takes a risk that nobody will buy that ticket, and that they’ll end up selling below purchase price. Them’s the breaks in capitalism.
October 19th, 2009 at 3:13 pm
Brian, are there such laws? I don’t know. If there were, then this would infringe your property right for sure. However, if a promoter or airline decides to sell you a ticket and they choose to impose a “non-transferable” covenant on the sale, then that’s fair. It’s not an infringement of your rights. They own the ticket, so they can dictate the terms of the contract. Just like a covenant on property. If you don’t agree with the terms of the contract then you don’t need to buy.
October 19th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
This is quite an interesting series of comments. Some people are basically saying:
“Scalpers are uniquely scummy. The promoter is happy to sell all 100 tickets at $100 each, but a scalper comes along and buys 50 tickets, for an event he does not want to attend, so 50 people end up paying more than $100, purely because the scalper wants to make a profit. They’re just middle-men scum, inflating the price to make money.”
Which true. But do the anti-scalpers get similarly upset when they buy a house, or a loaf of bread, or a litre of petrol, or an ice-cream, or pretty much everything else they buy? There are ‘scalpers’ involved in everything you buy. Except we call them traders/businessmen/market-makers/suppliers/retailers/manufacturers/homeowners etc.
It’s interesting that people single-out scalpers. Probably because when they buy a loaf of bread for a ‘fixed’ price, they somehow think that’s a fair price, set by the manufacturer. But it isn’t. There are plenty of scalpers in that supply chain.
Actually, we’re all scalpers. We could all work for just enough to cover our living expenses, plus a little margin for fun. But we don’t. We want more
October 19th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
Sometimes at clearing sales, usually stock, they have a dutch auction where the first bid gets the cow or bull or whatever. Why don’t event organisers run a dutch auction on the Internet a couple of months before the event. A bidder puts in a price and the amount of tickets that person wishes to buy, this is known by everyone. Anyone can bid what they like with the highest bid getting their tickets first. Scalpers would be forced to be in first with high prices but the heat would come on them if they a left holding a heap of overpriced tickets. I believe a truer ticket price could be found using this method.
October 19th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
Sheesh, this is simple. Scalpers are merely taking advantage of supply and demand. It doesn’t always work and they are often left holding tickets that no-one wants.
If the ticket companies were better able to set the price to meet the demand they would probably make more themselves, but they don’t for one very simple reason – there’s a chance that they will be left holding heaps of tickets that they have to “wholesale” which in turn leads to people holding off from purchasing until the last minute. So they should stop bleating, because the scalpers that buy plenty of tickets are doing them a service by ensuring demand for tickets is kept high.
October 19th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
Again from a promoters point of view: A dutch auction is quite possibly the worst thing a promoter could do, unless there was very low demand for an event.
When you run an event you want to get the highest turn out of the most up for it people, without overselling the event. A dutch auction incentivises waiting as long as possible to purchase tickets – when as a promoter the earlier you sell tickets the better, hence why there are earlybird tickets etc for events and door sales are expensive. You want people to purchase early, not late – as if you end up a couple of weeks prior to an event and no tickets sold you might have to cancel.
Its easy for punters to criticise this, then again its not them risking thousands of dollars of their own money to bring artists over from the other side of the world. And the promoters who criticise it are just kicking themselves because tehy can’t see into a crystal ball and predict market demand.
Heck I had it with a gig a couple of weeks ago, that sold out easily, I had no idea it would have sold out, and probably should have charged twice as much and would have still sold out, instead had people lining up outside and people selling tickets at a profit. But looking back I have no problem wiht it, I could have priced differently to prevent scalping – but it might not have built the hype and sold out, and I could have been worse off etc.
I’d rather leave it to the market, and if someone wants to risk buying up tickets, or sell off tickets because they need to be somewhere else, or if someone really wants to leave it to the last minute and pay over inflated prices then so be it. Its their own money and they are free to do with it what they like. All I care about is that they have a safe and fun time at the gig and they feel they get their moneys worth afterwards.
Edit: NeilR – ticket companies don’t set the price, promoters do. Ticket companies only set the booking fee (which is usually a few dollars)
October 19th, 2009 at 3:59 pm
So if someone buys a piece of art at an auction and then resells it at a profit that makes them a scalper, crap, it is nothing more than a free market working as it should.
Remember the scalpers are the ones taking the risk, if they get caught for whatever reason with tickets that turn out to be a lemon, they take the hit.
Such is life.
October 19th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
MikeE: a dutch auction run over 2-3 days, but still a month or so ahead of the event, could meet both needs. Maximise profits for the promoter, but still get everything sold early. Sure, there would still be scalpers, but their profit margin would be much much thinner, and I don’t think people would begrudge that quite so much – the margin between “face value” and “scalper price” would be quite small.
It should also mean that events were more full – presumably at the moment the excess profits available to scalpers means they buy lots of tickets at very low face value, knowing they only need to sell half them at the grossly inflated “day before” price to cover their costs. With this dutch auction scheme, almost all tickets would probably be used, since anyone with a spare ticket can now very easily dispose of it.
October 19th, 2009 at 4:43 pm
tknorriss (253)
What he said. If there’s free money to be made (i.e. more money than the risk would justify) by auctioning some of the tickets rather than selling at a fixed price, well the promoter has the first option to do that.
October 19th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
scanner
That isn’t a fair reflection of the arguement.
A work of art is a one of and a10,000 tickets aren’t they are to view the work of art.
October 19th, 2009 at 5:11 pm
I reckon auctioning would only work for events that are likely to be extremely popular. Big concerts and the like. For riskier concerts, better to price low and clear the tickets, let the scalpers take the risk. But in that situation, no point in trying to prevent scalpers, is there.
October 19th, 2009 at 5:16 pm
Perhaps MikeE can answer me this, or someone else who runs events. I think DPF has hit upon a very salient point in a passing rebuttal to RRM, noting “the problem is we need a bigger stadium”.
I missed out on tickets to The Big Day out as (ironically) I was working on seeting up the video runs for another event, in the middle of a vineyard with no decent net access. They sold out within, I think, less than an hour.
Where capacity is an issue — and that’s almost always the limiting factor for most events — why have only one event? With sports it’s not so simple, of course, since you can’t play the same game twice, But with anything else it would seem the promoter could make twice the revenue for less than twice the cost (given the stage is already set) by having a “reserve” night (or two) up their sleeve. Especially in places like Wellington (and Perth) where the size of venues is far less than they ought to be for the size of population thanks to shortsighted planning and general NIMBYness.
If the idea was to create artificial scarcity and thus inflate prices I could see some point to limiting availability, but BDO tickets sell at a price any apprentice or checkout chick can afford, so why annoy the crap out of a lot of people who’d like to go (or force them to the scalpers) by limiting the event to a single day?
October 20th, 2009 at 6:51 am
> What ensues is the efficient allocation of resources – scarce resources are allocated to those that value them highest – an admirable economic goal.
I don’t think the writer has taken Economics 101. Or maybe he has and hasn’t learnt anything more than basic economic theory. What is efficient about making a profit without actually producing anything? And it’s straining credibility to say that tickets for a rugby match are “resources”. In simple terms, resources are something you use to make something else. Rugby tickets don’t qualify. Although you can “make” money from on-selling them.
Making money is one objective in a capitalist economy. But there are social objectives too. After all, imagine if all the tickets for the 7s were sold overseas because there were more wealthy people overseas who were prepared to pay the highest possible price. Would the writer be happy that he and his wealthy friends couldn’t see the 7s? Apparently so.
October 20th, 2009 at 9:03 am
So breaching the legal contract established between two parties is okay provided it’s in an entrepreneurial spirit? Interesting ramifications there.
October 20th, 2009 at 9:05 am
Scalpers are parasites, I say that without anger or venom, it is what they are. I was appreciative of a scalper on a cold winter’s night at the Albert Hall in London in 1990 when I decided on a whim to go and see Eric Clapton. However to compare them to entrepreneurs is a joke.
From Wikipedia – “An entrepreneur is a person who has possession of an enterprise, or venture, and assumes significant accountability for the inherent risks and the outcome. It is an ambitious leader who combines land, labor, and capital to often create and market new goods or services.”
Scalpers are none of these things. A scalper’s only skill is to ringfence a relatively scarce product. Nothing clever about that.
The old style scalpers were seen as scoundrels, modern scalpers are seen by some as the scum of the earth. The reason is the advent of electronic ticketing. In the old days to get a ticket a scalper had to queue up like everyone else, possibly in the wind and rain so in some way had “earned” the right to onsell, even if that right was begrudged.
The image now is of a parasite sitting on a PC hitting the buy button.
Someone pointed out in an earlier post, when events are available to only those who can afford it there is the potential to do major long term damage to the event. I know I am developing feeling of irritation towards the NZRFU over the Rugby world cup ticket prices. I am not willing to pay $800 for a ticket to such an event yet I am forced to pay towards the stadiums and the purchasing of the TV rights. It is making me go cold towards the ABs.
Stadia are built as part of the social fabric, to help provide places of entertainment for the masses to relax at certain times. What angers many people is that scalpers prevent them from being able to access events they would like to see.
My view of scalpers is the same as my view of speculators, they are parasites who feed off the rest of society without providing any service or adding anything of value. As I said at the beginning, that is my definition and is said without venom.