3 ms·

But the only reason there is a demand at 3x the price is because the tickets are believed to be scarce because the scalpers bought all the tickets to sell at 3x

by bena 17y ago

But the only reason there is a demand at 3x the price is because the tickets are believed to be scarce because the scalpers bought all the tickets to sell at 3x the price because when the tickets are sold out at the venue it gives the illusion of scarcity.

viraptor 17y ago
At some price 'X' you won't find any more people wanting to buy the tickets - and the race stops there. Even if they're scarce, people won't be interested in tickets costing more than 'X' anymore, or you'll be able to do only X+5% so it's not worth the time. But if you sell the tickets assigned to a name in the first place, there is no issue anymore. As long as venue sells "blank" tickets, they basically say they don't care if anyone is reselling them at much higher prices.
- BrandonM 17y ago
  If X is $250, you realize that 5% is $12.50 and is almost certainly worth the time?
msg 17y ago
If there was an auction for the tickets the price would be driven up too. Shows do sell out in minutes and not just because of scalpers. Imagine an auction that increased ticket prices until just before the show began. Now stop imagining it and recognize that it's exactly the same as sold out shows plus scalpers.
- eru 17y ago
  Yes, the concert-organizers should really just have an auction for the tickets in the first place. This way no-one can complain about high prices, since the fans bid them up to that level in the first place. For extra ethical browny points, the sellers could donate (a fraction of) everything taken in above a certain `fair-price' point to charity.
vetinari 17y ago
They would not be able to do that, if there was no audience willing to buy it at 3x price. Just think about it: scalper buys all the tickets and tries to sell it for triple price. Nobody buys it. Concert starts, it is empty and the scalper end up with expired tickets in his hands. Does that happen? No, because people are willing to pay triple price.
- jamii 17y ago
  Alternatively, the scalper sells half the tickets and makes a 50% profit overall. The concert sits half-empty and thousands of fans miss out unnecessarily.

by bena 17y ago

viraptor 17y ago

At some price 'X' you won't find any more people wanting to buy the tickets - and the race stops there. Even if they're scarce, people won't be interested in tickets costing more than 'X' anymore, or you'll be able to do only X+5% so it's not worth the time. But if you sell the tickets assigned to a name in the first place, there is no issue anymore. As long as venue sells "blank" tickets, they basically say they don't care if anyone is reselling them at much higher prices.

BrandonM 17y ago
If X is $250, you realize that 5% is $12.50 and is almost certainly worth the time?

msg 17y ago

If there was an auction for the tickets the price would be driven up too. Shows do sell out in minutes and not just because of scalpers. Imagine an auction that increased ticket prices until just before the show began. Now stop imagining it and recognize that it's exactly the same as sold out shows plus scalpers.

eru 17y ago
Yes, the concert-organizers should really just have an auction for the tickets in the first place. This way no-one can complain about high prices, since the fans bid them up to that level in the first place. For extra ethical browny points, the sellers could donate (a fraction of) everything taken in above a certain `fair-price' point to charity.

vetinari 17y ago

They would not be able to do that, if there was no audience willing to buy it at 3x price. Just think about it: scalper buys all the tickets and tries to sell it for triple price. Nobody buys it. Concert starts, it is empty and the scalper end up with expired tickets in his hands. Does that happen? No, because people are willing to pay triple price.

jamii 17y ago
Alternatively, the scalper sells half the tickets and makes a 50% profit overall. The concert sits half-empty and thousands of fans miss out unnecessarily.