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StubHub, CEO hit with ‘deceptive practices’ class action over mass scalping

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Re: StubHub, CEO hit with ‘deceptive practices’ class action over mass scalping

#21

Post by Analemma_ »

dclaw wrote: post #20

End it. Make reselling tickets illegal again overall. Allow resale within 5 days of the show only (for those that genuinely can't make it), and for face value+original fees only.

The fact that "the name on the ticket must match your photo ID, but you can resell at any time before the event" would instantly solve scalping problems and yet nobody does it is your clue that nobody actually wants scalping problems to be solved. Scalpers are the sin eaters for Ticketmaster and the events themselves, taking the hate so the performers don't have to.

Re: StubHub, CEO hit with ‘deceptive practices’ class action over mass scalping

#22

Post by dopamean »

The article makes it sound like the information about Andro is new but it has been known for years. An SEC filing[0] from March of last year mentions it and I was able to find a post on Wall Street Oasis[1] talking about Andro three years ago. Awful, predatory behavior for sure. Is it just the issues with the World Cup ticket sales that have made people care about this?

[0] https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1337634/000119312525...

[1] https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/private-equity/andro-c...

Re: StubHub, CEO hit with ‘deceptive practices’ class action over mass scalping

#23

Post by oatmeal1 »

dclaw wrote: post #20

End it. Make reselling tickets illegal again overall. Allow resale within 5 days of the show only (for those that genuinely can't make it), and for face value+original fees only.

Live Nation needs to get the guillotine. The monopoly will find other ways of extracting value if you try to fix one problem created by it at a time.

Re: StubHub, CEO hit with ‘deceptive practices’ class action over mass scalping

#24

Post by sofixa »

Analemma_ wrote: post #21
dclaw wrote: post #20

End it. Make reselling tickets illegal again overall. Allow resale within 5 days of the show only (for those that genuinely can't make it), and for face value+original fees only.

The fact that "the name on the ticket must match your photo ID, but you can resell at any time before the event" would instantly solve scalping problems and yet nobody does it is your clue that nobody actually wants scalping problems to be solved. Scalpers are the sin eaters for Ticketmaster and the events themselves, taking the hate so the performers don't have to.

Adding ID checks would make venue entry a slower and more tedious process.

Re: StubHub, CEO hit with ‘deceptive practices’ class action over mass scalping

#25

Post by bawolff »

Brendinooo wrote: post #13
vjvjvjvjghv wrote: post #7

I don’t really understand the outrage over scalpers. Isn’t this just normal market behavior? Is a retailer that buys things and sells them with a markup a scalper? People seem to be willing to pay crazy prices for events.

>Is a retailer that buys things and sells them with a markup a scalper? If you bought all of the food then offered the food at 10x the prices, we'd be outraged with you, yes. Stakes are lower because it's a luxury good, not food, but it's the same idea.

There is a reason this doesn't work in general though.

If you bought up all the food, farmers would raise prices until either you couldn't afford to do that anymore or eventually there is a splurge of new farmers taking advantage of all your free money until you run out of money. It could maybe work in times of famine where the government introduces price controls or rationing; it does not work in normal times.

For black markets (which is essentially what scalping is) to work, there has to be some shortage of a good that is priced artificially low. It works with concerts because singers can only sing so much but they also don't want to make the concert so unaffordable that only millionaires can go. There are very few situations like that. In most industries you would just increase prices until supply equals demand.

Re: StubHub, CEO hit with ‘deceptive practices’ class action over mass scalping

#26

Post by bawolff »

badgersnake wrote: post #16
gruez wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're not entirely wrong, but the root issue is artists not charging the market clearing price for tickets. If you're selling something worth $1000 for $200, you shouldn't be surprised arbitrageurs pop up to take advantage.

This argument has been made a lot on this site, mainly by people who don’t understand live music.

What is it that they don't understand about live music?

Re: StubHub, CEO hit with ‘deceptive practices’ class action over mass scalping

#27

Post by gruez »

eightysixfour wrote: post #14
gruez wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're not entirely wrong, but the root issue is artists not charging the market clearing price for tickets. If you're selling something worth $1000 for $200, you shouldn't be surprised arbitrageurs pop up to take advantage.

> You're not entirely wrong, but the root issue is artists not charging the market clearing price for tickets. Because there is value for the artist in maintaining the perception of accessibility.

That's also easy to solve. Allocate discounted tickets by lottery and bind to a name (think airline tickets). If for whatever reason they can't make it, the ticket goes back into the lottery pool. Or maybe if they want the tickets to be transferable, you can put in some nominee ticket holders (eg. max 3 people you can transfer it to).

Re: StubHub, CEO hit with ‘deceptive practices’ class action over mass scalping

#28

Post by pixl97 »

bawolff wrote: post #25
Brendinooo wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Is a retailer that buys things and sells them with a markup a scalper? If you bought all of the food then offered the food at 10x the prices, we'd be outraged with you, yes. Stakes are lower because it's a luxury good, not food, but it's the same idea.

There is a reason this doesn't work in general though. If you bought up all the food, farmers would raise prices until either you couldn't afford to do that anymore or eventually there is a splurge of new farmers taking advantage of all your free money until you run out of money. It could maybe work in times of famine where the government introduces price controls or rationing; it does not work in normal times. For b…

Onion futures act.

This is the reason that businesses don't try to monopolize the food industry. It's not competition as we just saw from the egg industry. The government gets pushed back from the masses pretty quickly on food related issues.

Re: StubHub, CEO hit with ‘deceptive practices’ class action over mass scalping

#29

Post by 1986 »

sofixa wrote: post #24
Analemma_ wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The fact that "the name on the ticket must match your photo ID, but you can resell at any time before the event" would instantly solve scalping problems and yet nobody does it is your clue that nobody actually wants scalping problems to be solved. Scalpers are the sin eaters for Ticketmaster and the events themselves, taking the hate so the performers don't have to.

Adding ID checks would make venue entry a slower and more tedious process.

In the vast majority of venues, ID checks are happening anyway to verify eligibility for drinking.

Re: StubHub, CEO hit with ‘deceptive practices’ class action over mass scalping

#30

Post by gonight »

1986 wrote: post #29
sofixa wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Adding ID checks would make venue entry a slower and more tedious process.

In the vast majority of venues, ID checks are happening anyway to verify eligibility for drinking.

Yup, I'm in 30s and have been ID'd for every show I've gone to in the last few years.
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