Buying tickets from scalpers is a common practice, especially for popular concerts, shows, and sporting events that sell out quickly. However, there are some risks involved with purchasing scalped tickets, and in certain cases it can get you into legal trouble.
What is ticket scalping?
Ticket scalping refers to the reselling of tickets, often at prices above face value. Scalpers will buy up large quantities of tickets when they first go on sale with the intention of reselling them for a profit. This is done without authorization from event organizers or original ticket sellers.
Some key things to know about ticket scalpers:
- They often buy the best seats right when tickets go on sale, making it hard for regular fans to get good seats
- They resell the tickets at much higher prices due to demand – sometimes exceeding 10x the face value
- Scalping happens through street sellers, online marketplaces, brokers, or ticket agencies
- It’s a huge industry, generating over $15 billion per year in the secondary ticket market
Is ticket scalping legal?
The legality of ticket scalping varies by state and municipality. Some locations have laws banning or restricting the resale of tickets, while others have no regulations. Several factors impact the laws around scalping:
- Price caps – Limits on how much above face value tickets can be resold for
- Location – Restrictions around reselling tickets at the event venue vs. online
- Restricted tickets – Bans on reselling certain tickets, like college sporting events
- Licensing – Requirements for resellers to register for business licenses
However, many areas allow ticket scalping to take place freely with no regulations. The practice itself remains controversial, with proponents viewing it as a reasonable business, while critics see it as an unfair system that hurts everyday fans.
Can you get in trouble for buying from a scalper?
In most cases, the buyer will not get into any legal trouble for purchasing tickets from a scalper. The sale and solicitation of the tickets is where laws apply rather than the act of buying them.
However, there are some potential issues to keep in mind as a buyer:
- You may be turned away if the tickets turn out to be fraudulent or duplicates of other tickets.
- Fake tickets are common, leaving you out the money with no event access.
- Scalpers may misrepresent seat locations, so you think you’re getting better seats.
- There are risks meeting strangers to exchange money for tickets.
- Tickets purchased over face value likely won’t be refunded if something goes wrong.
While the buyer is not criminally liable, the purchase still carries risks of not getting into the event, losing the money paid, or being defrauded by sellers. The safest option is purchasing from authorized ticket sellers.
Are there other legal risks?
In some rare cases, buying scalped tickets could potentially lead to legal trouble:
- If you knowingly purchase counterfeit or stolen tickets, you may face criminal charges for supporting illegal activity.
- At some venues, it’s illegal to even possess scalped tickets or enter with them. Security may confiscate them or deny entry.
- Buying tickets right outside a venue may violate anti-scalping laws if the area is covered by a no-scalping zone.
- You could be complicit in scalper tax evasion schemes if there is evidence you helped avoid paying taxes on resales.
However, in general, the legal responsibility falls on the reseller rather than buyer. As long as you avoid knowingly supporting criminal activity, you’re unlikely to face charges or get in trouble with authorities simply for buying tickets second-hand.
Are there other risks of buying from scalpers?
Beyond potential legal issues, there are several other risks to consider when getting tickets from scalpers:
- No customer protections – No refunds or help if the tickets are invalid or you’re denied entry.
- High prices – Scalpers frequently charge 2-10x the face value or more for tickets.
- Scams – Fake tickets, misrepresented seats, stolen tickets, and other fraud.
- No guarantees – Uncertainty if the tickets are valid until you’re at the venue.
- Unsafe transactions – Risks of meeting strangers with cash on the street.
- Unethical – Scalping hurts average fans and makes events less accessible.
These risks are why many people see scalpers as predatory and avoid buying from them. There are major disadvantages compared to buying tickets through official sources.
When is ticket scalping most common?
Ticket scalping tends to be most rampant for high-demand events where tickets sell out very quickly. Some common targets of scalpers include:
- Professional sports – NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL games
- Concerts – Popular music tours like Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, or The Rolling Stones
- Theater performances – Big shows like Hamilton, Wicked, etc.
- Music festivals – Coachella, Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits, etc.
- Broadway/West End – Hit musicals and plays with limited runs
- Comedy specials – Big names like Kevin Hart or Jerry Seinfeld
- Big college football/basketball games
- Championship events – World Series, Stanley Cup, Super Bowl, etc.
Scalpers focus on hot events where people will pay premium prices to get in. Larger cities like New York, Los Angeles, and London with lots of entertainment also tend to have more scalpers.
How has the internet impacted ticket scalping?
The internet has been a major boon for ticket scalpers and secondary ticket markets. Ways it has helped scalping prosper:
- Makes scalping easier to conduct anonymously online vs. on the street
- Enables selling to a national/global market rather than just locally
- Third-party sites like StubHub provide platforms for resellers
- Online marketplaces offer payment processing, delivery, and legitimacy
- Bots can sweep in to buy tickets the moment they go on sale
- Scams are also easier to perpetrate using fake online listings
The internet has transformed scalping into a massive industry. Some concert tickets now resell for thousands of dollars online driven by huge demand. While technology has helped make scalping seamless for sellers and buyers, it remains controversial.
Does ticket scalping still happen in-person?
While more scalping has shifted online, there is still an active in-person scalping market outside major events. Reasons it continues:
- Allows for impulse buys by fans who show up without tickets.
- Cash payments, avoiding electronic paper trails of online sales.
- Person-to-person negotiations on pricing.
- Avoids fees of online reseller platforms.
- Takes advantage of last-minute demand surges.
For very high-profile events like the Super Bowl or music festivals, in-person scalping is still common right outside the venue. Although riskier and lower volume than online reselling, street and box office scalping persists in major cities.
Does buying scalped tickets support criminals?
There are some concerns around scalped tickets enabling criminal activity. Reasons why:
- Scalping often violates local resale laws, even if not strictly enforced.
- Stolen tickets can enter scalpers’ supply chains.
- Some scalpers avoid taxes by dealing in cash or hiding online income.
- There can be links to organized crime who see scalping markets as lucrative.
- Street scalping often goes hand-in-hand with drug and contraband sales.
However, these issues mainly involve the resellers themselves. For most buyers of scalped tickets, there is little risk of engaging directly in criminal activity. But it does prop up shady business practices in some cases.
Why do venues allow scalping?
Many venues do try to crack down on scalping, seeing it as undercutting their box office sales and exploiting fans. But there are reasons why scalping persists even at places trying to stop it:
- Difficult to fully police outside big events with thousands of people.
- Limits on legal ways venues can prevent after-market sales.
- Focus is usually on disrupting sellers rather than buyers.
- Targeting resellers risks backlash as well.
- Some illegal sales slip through online or via brokers.
- Extra demand from scalping makes shows sell out faster.
Venues have to balance anti-scalping efforts with practical enforcement limits and PR concerns. The practice has proven extremely difficult to stamp out completely in high-demand markets.
What efforts are being made to stop scalping?
Some steps venues, artists, and governments take to limit scalping:
- Laws against mass ticket purchases and reselling above face value.
- Paperless/digital tickets requiring ID matching original buyer.
- Limits on number of tickets individuals can buy.
- Using algorithms and CAPTCHA to block bots and bulk buying.
- No-scalping zones around venues to dissuade street sales.
- Regulating major resale platforms like StubHub.
- Canceling known scalped tickets to reduce incentives.
These efforts have cutting into scalping profits, but problems persist. As long as there are people willing to pay above face value, the ticket black market will likely never disappear entirely.
Are some scalpers viewed more favorably than others?
There are some distinctions many people make between different types of scalpers:
- Individual resellers – Seen as less predatory than large brokers.
- Small volumes – Scalping a handful vs. hundreds of tickets.
- Minor markups – Adding reasonable convenience fees.
- Die-hard fans – Reselling extra tickets to subsidize their own.
More “casual” or ethical scalping tends to draw less criticism from fans and artists. But scalping is still controversial even in less aggressive forms due to keeping tickets from regular buyers.
Is it safer to buy scalped tickets online vs. in person?
Buying scalped tickets online generally carries fewer immediate safety risks than in-person purchases. Benefits of online buying:
- No need to carry cash or meet up with strangers
- Clearer refund policies and consumer protections
- Ability to verify sellers through reviews and ratings
- Secure digital ticket delivery rather than physical tickets
- More transparency on seat locations
However, online platforms bring other risks like counterfeit postings, account hacks, and payment information theft. There are also fewer chances to inspect physical tickets. Overall online scalping has advantages but remains risky.
Conclusion
Buying scalped tickets occurs in a legal gray area. For buyers themselves, it’s generally not a criminal offense but does enable questionable business practices. The greatest risks involve getting defrauded rather than legal consequences. However, knowingly supporting scalpers who engage in more unethical or expressly illegal scalping may raise issues. Ultimately buyers must weigh the risks and rewards but should be aware of the downsides and alternatives to scalping.