Ticket scalping, also known as ticket brokering, is the practice of reselling tickets for events, usually at a higher price than their original face value. Some see it as a service that provides access to high-demand events, but others view it as an unethical practice that takes advantage of fans.
What is ticket scalping?
Ticket scalping involves buying tickets to concerts, sports games, theater shows, or other events with the intention of reselling them for a profit. Scalpers may purchase large quantities of tickets as soon as sales open, often using bots or other software to buy faster than regular consumers. They then resell the tickets, sometimes for many times their original price.
Ticket scalping happens through secondary resale marketplaces like StubHub or Craigslist, or in person outside event venues. It is legal in many parts of the United States as long as it does not break other laws against fraud or disorderly conduct.
Why do people dislike ticket scalpers?
There are several key reasons why many people view ticket scalping negatively:
Scalping drives up prices
By buying up large portions of limited event tickets, scalpers reduce supply and drive up resale prices. Fans can end up paying hundreds or even thousands of dollars more per ticket. This ‘scalper premium’ puts events out of reach for many.
It rewards unfair advantages
Scalpers use tools like ticket bots to buy faster than the average person can. This means only those with the time, skills, and tools to buy massive quantities get first access. To many, this seems like an unfair advantage over regular fans.
It costs artists and teams
When scalpers rather than fans buy tickets, the performers, sports teams, and organizers see reduced revenue from lowerinitial sales. Secondary sales profit resellers, not the creators of the event.
It takes advantage of demand
Fans criticize scalpers for profiting from artificially limited supply and high demand. Limited ticket releases motivate impulse buys and give scalpers leverage to charge extreme prices.
It leads to fraud and lawsuits
There are frequent cases of fans buying scalped tickets that turn out to be fake or for the wrong date. The anonymous and unregulated nature of scalping makes recourse difficult when fans get scammed.
Do ticket scalpers provide any value?
There are some who argue ticket scalpers provide the following benefits:
They expand access
Scalpers say they help get tickets into the hands of people willing to pay more when events are sold out. This gives access to fans who missed the initial sale.
They offer convenience
Buying resale tickets online or near the venue can save effort over buying from the box office. Scalpers also take on the risk of reselling rather than fans.
They allow price discovery
Similar to the stock market, scalpers argue their activity helps find the true market price for high-demand tickets. The high resale prices show the fair value.
They avoid anti-scalping restrictions
Artists and teams often employ limits like purchase caps to prevent scalping. Scalpers maintain they help fans avoid these limits and access more tickets.
Do anti-scalping laws work?
Many states and ticket sellers try to combat scalping with anti-scalping laws and policies. Some common measures include:
| Anti-Scalping Measure | Description |
|---|---|
| Price caps | Limits how much tickets can be resold for over face value |
| Purchase limits | Restricts how many tickets one person can buy |
| Ticket cancelation | Cancels tickets suspected of being resold |
| Required disclosure | Resellers must disclose ticket details like seat numbers |
| Product tie-ins | Tickets can only be bought or transferred with credit cards or app accounts used for initial purchase |
However, anti-scalping laws have had mixed success. Reasons they can struggle include:
Difficulty enforcing
It’s hard for event organizers to police countless online listings and enforce laws against resellers. Limited resources make enforcement a game of ‘whack-a-mole.’
Loss of convenience
Measures like requiring IDs or limiting transfers reduce flexibility for fans that obtain tickets legitimately. They make tickets harder to buy and sell.
Circumvention
Savvy resellers use technical tricks like bots and anonymized purchases to evade detection. Fake identities and constantly changing sites also complicate enforcement.
Reduced supply
Purchase limits can make it harder for late buyers to get any tickets if initial fans back out. This drives more people to resellers and higher prices.
Ethical arguments against scalping
Here are some common ethical criticisms of ticket scalping:
It is exploitative
Scalpers leverage scarcity and high demand to charge excessively high prices. This extracts as much money as possible in an unbalanced transaction.
It denies access
Poorer fans can get priced out of events they are interested in due to inflated secondary prices. Scalping reserves access for the wealthy.
It privatizes cultural experiences
Reselling tickets at extreme markups commercializes attending events. This monetizes shared cultural experiences that should be available to all.
It disregards original ticket limits
Scalpers undermine attempts to make ticket buying fair and accessible. Limits try to spread access, but scalpers centralize tickets.
It removes tickets from intended buyers
Teams and artists intend for fans, not resellers, to buy tickets. Scalping reroutes supply away from intended buyers.
Conclusion
Ticket scalping relies on limited supply, high demand, and technical advantages to charge well above face value for event tickets. Many view this as unethical exploitation that costs fans, artists, and venues while benefitting only scalpers. Anti-scalping laws have struggled to control the practice due to difficulty enforcing and unintended consequences.
However, scalpers argue they provide a desired service by making tickets available to those willing to pay more. They also claim to help set fair market prices in a free exchange. Ultimately, the debate centers on whether the means and intent behind scalping are ethical, even if some fans willingly pay the marked-up prices.
