281–285 of 285 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Nothing in theory, but ticket sellers probably don’t want to get into the means-testing business.
You can't hand out money (which you're doing if you're giving away something of market value for nothing) without taking on the responsibility of deciding who gets it. Even charities have to put in the work.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
For popular acts, when scalpers are selling at 10x or more the base price, the bond would have to be pretty high to put the scalpers off, and that would be a problem for many genuine customers. Unless the bond is silly high, that being defined as high enough that it significantly messes with fans, it would still be worth it even if the scalper is noticed and the bond not returned. > If the customer is found to be a s…
Anyone who sells is a scalper. This is easy to notice. You can't go around saying "I've got two front row" when the mere act of saying it gets you noticed. You can't post online you're selling tickets because it gets you noticed. Only the venue/band sells. Only the venue/band buys back tickets, and they're required to buy them back at the price they were sold. Full refund of ticket price and bond. If noticing scalper…
Openly selling is only part of the problem.
How do you distinguish between someone buying tickets as a gift and someone who sold them on in a manner you did not detect? What about group bookings, do you want the ticket seller to collect full ID of all the intended audience members? After that, what if the group of friends changes - who pays the admin fees?
Your idea isn't terrible, but it is far from perfect.
> If noticing scalpers is easy, the bond doesn't need to be silly high.
That is a huge if. Many scalpers are rather experienced and organised, while some will be very easy to spot I suspect a lot of them won't be, at least not without a bunch of false positives that will inconvenience genuine buyers.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
And your comment is high effort? This is how real venues and real artists solve the problem of scalping and it works without a problem.
Yes, you've solved your problem, not my problem. What about others? > reason why scalpers can operate is because the artists and venues deliberately allow for it. The problem isn't solved for a number of parties, from your own words. Despite working in the area, it doesn't feel like you've thought about it deeply. Or, maybe because you work in the area—cue Upton Sinclair quote.
In worst case, you've bought tickets and the person you invited can't come: You sell the ticket back to the venue for a refund.
This attitude reminds me of what happens al the time at hotel front desk: They're fully booked for a certain date and some people call and e-mail, asking the hotel to cancel other guests reservations to give them a room. Sorry, not going to happen. First come, first served.
And as I said in another comment, artists and venues can price and release their tickets in such a way that people who are willing to pay much more can get some last-minute tickets.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I want to go to concert, and going alone is no fun. I've convinced my 3 co-workers. I buy 4 tickets for us. Situation 1: My co-workers could not get time off work, so I am asking my tennis buddies instead. I am transferring tickets to their names. Situation 2: I am actually a scalper! I've got paid 10x times the price (via venmo), and I am transferring tickets to those random people. How do you tell those 2 apart?
You don't permit ticket transfers. Instead you sell tickets back to the venue for the price they were bought. Your tennis buddies would better be ready to buy the ticket from the venue 1 second after you sold it back to the venue, else someone else might get it. Scalpers can't transfer tickets in this system.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Anyone who sells is a scalper. This is easy to notice. You can't go around saying "I've got two front row" when the mere act of saying it gets you noticed. You can't post online you're selling tickets because it gets you noticed. Only the venue/band sells. Only the venue/band buys back tickets, and they're required to buy them back at the price they were sold. Full refund of ticket price and bond. If noticing scalper…
That assumes the vendor runs a buy-back scheme. That would cost and the cost paid by all ticket buyers, if one isn't in place already. Openly selling is only part of the problem. How do you distinguish between someone buying tickets as a gift and someone who sold them on in a manner you did not detect? What about group bookings, do you want the ticket seller to collect full ID of all the intended audience members? Af…
What would it cost? The vendor runs software that sells tickets. The same software can buy tickets back, invalidate the ticket IDs, and issue new tickets with new IDs. This feature can be part of the software at no additional cost.
Not running a buy-back scheme possible costs more to customers because of today's scalpers.
> How do you distinguish between someone buying tickets as a gift and someone who sold them on in a manner you did not detect?
As the venue/band, you don't need to. Sell to anyone.
As the customer, when you're buying from a scalper you know you're buying at a higher price than the advertised price.
> what if the group of friends changes - who pays the admin fees?
I don't see what admin fees must exist for this. Software manages anything. Printing a new ticket is cheap.
> Many scalpers are rather experienced and organised.
So is law enforcement. Scalpers can't hide the fact that they're selling.