Scalping in tickets refers to the practice of buying tickets to popular events like concerts or sports games with the intention of reselling them at a higher price. Scalpers try to profit from the difference between the original face value of the ticket and how much someone is willing to pay for a highly coveted seat or entry. This often controversial practice has a long history and continues to cause frustration for die-hard fans and event organizers today.
What are the key aspects of ticket scalping?
Some of the key aspects of ticket scalping include:
- Buying tickets specifically to resell at a higher price – Scalpers have no intention of actually attending the event themselves. Their goal is to flip the tickets for a profit.
- Taking advantage of supply and demand – Scalpers bank on events being scarce in supply but high in demand from the public, allowing them to charge well over face value.
- Reselling tickets on secondary markets – Popular platforms for scalpers include online resale sites like StubHub, as well as in-person sales outside event venues.
- Profiting from markup on tickets – The greater the difference between what scalpers pay and what buyers will pay, the more money scalpers stand to make.
- Controversial but often legal practice – Anti-scalping laws exist in some places, but are not universal. Scalping continues despite criticism from fans and event holders.
What is the history of ticket scalping?
Ticket scalping emerged in the early 1900s as a way to profit from rising demand for entertainment events in cities. Some key points in the history include:
- Early 1900s – Scalping emerges in U.S. urban areas as baseball and theater become popular big-city entertainment. Touts sell on street corners.
- 1920s – New York passes first anti-scalping laws to target street hustlers gouging prices for theater shows and baseball games.
- 1930s – Scalpers expand into college football ticket sales, provoking more anti-scalping laws.
- 1970s – Growth of the rock concert industry creates lucrative scalping market for major acts like The Who.
- 1980s – Introduction of online ticket sales through companies like Ticketmaster makes large-scale scalping easier.
- 1990s – Scalping expands into a national phenomenon around sports like NFL and NBA. States consider legalizing it.
- 2000s – Secondary ticket market goes online with sites like StubHub, expanding scalping’s reach and efficiency.
Scalping has proved adaptive and difficult to stamp out over the past century. The internet now allows resellers to move high volumes of tickets nationwide with ease.
Is ticket scalping legal?
The legality of ticket scalping depends on local and state laws. Here are some examples of different approaches:
- Illegal – New Jersey and Arkansas have bans prohibiting any re-sales above face value.
- Limited – New York caps markups at 45% of face value for many major event tickets.
- Regulated – In Massachusetts, resellers must be licensed and cannot sell fakes.
- Unregulated – States like Michigan have no anti-scalping laws, allowing an open secondary market.
Many states have repealed older anti-scalping laws as the secondary ticket market has grown online and scalping has become more widely practiced. But restrictions remain in some places. Buyers and sellers may commit infractions if they fail to navigate local regulations.
Why do people criticize ticket scalping?
Ticket scalping draws major criticism from the public, artists, and government regulators due to some of its perceived negative effects:
- Unfair pricing – Critics argue scalpers unjustly inflate prices and put tickets out of reach of ordinary fans. Artists often want seats affordable.
- Limiting access – Scalpers can buy up scarce ticket supply early, making it harder for others to attend sold out events.
- No added value – Scalpers simply raise prices without enhancing the ticket or event experience in any way.
- Counterfeit risk – Fake or duplicated tickets from resellers sometimes defraud buyers at resale.
However, some counter that a free secondary market improves general access by allowing resales. The merits are debated, but public distrust of scalpers remains widespread.
What arguments do people make in defense of ticket scalping?
Despite criticism, ticket scalping has its defenders who make arguments like:
- Provides access – A secondary market gives more fans a chance to buy tickets, even at higher prices.
- Matches supply and demand – Scalpers charge what the market will bear, an efficient economic model.
- Ticket holders can resell – Scalpers make use of ticket holders’ right to dispose of tickets they purchased.
- Can prevent under-pricing – Sales above face values show events may have under-priced tickets initially.
These arguments present scalping more as an outgrowth of consumer rights and open markets. However, they have not fully countered criticisms of scalpers exploiting fans for profit. The debate continues over what practices should be tolerated.
How has the internet impacted ticket scalping?
The internet has been a major boon to ticket scalping practices in recent decades in a few key ways:
- Online marketplaces – Sites like StubHub allow scalpers to resell tickets to huge buyer bases nationwide, becoming popular mainstream channels.
- Increased volume – The ease of online selling helps scalpers offload many more tickets through bulk sales and automated tools.
- Anonymity – Online scalping reduces risks and hassles for sellers who can avoid in-person exchanges.
- Data analytics – Digitized sales data helps scalpers strategically set prices based on past sales.
While the convenience has helped everyday resellers too, professional scalpers have been the biggest beneficiaries. Their profits and capacity to dominate high-demand events have expanded.
How do event organizers try to stop ticket scalping?
Sports teams, concert promoters, and other event organizers use a few key tactics to deter scalping of their ticket inventory:
- ID checks – Requiring IDs to match ticket holders upon entry prevents resales from being used.
- Ticket limits – Restricting the number of tickets individuals can buy per event caps scalpers’ volume.
- Ticket releases – Staggering when tickets go on sale can limit early bulk buying by scalpers.
- Dynamic pricing – Adjusting prices in real-time based on demand can price out aggressive scalpers.
However, scalpers constantly adapt to find ways around such deterrents. Technological fixes like digital ticketing are also being tested to prevent fraudulent resales.
What are some notable examples of ticket scalping issues?
Some major events that sparked outrage and debate over scalping include:
- 2002 World Cup – Japanese scalpers charged over $200 per ticket, even though face values were ~$40.
- Super Bowl XLVII – Resellers charged tens of thousands of dollars per ticket to the hotly anticipated 2013 NFL championship game.
- Olympics – At the 2012 London games, scalping issues forced last-minute policy changes to invalidate some resold tickets.
- Taylor Swift concerts – Huge demand from the star’s dedicated fans has created a prime scalping market for her tour tickets.
These examples illustrate scalping’s prevalence at top sporting events, major music acts, and elite cultural events. Public frustration often runs high in these cases as prices soar.
What notable anti-scalping efforts have governments made?
Some significant government efforts to curb or regulate ticket scalping include:
- New York’s 1920s ban – One of the earliest attempts to make scalping illegal, targeting baseball ticket touts.
- New South Wales’ 2007 ban – This Australian state passed tough laws after rugby scalping issues, enforcing big fines.
- The BOSS Act – The U.S. law tried setting price floors and mandating disclosures, but faced legal challenges.
- UK’s 2018 review – A government review recommended scalping law reforms, but legislation stalled over free market concerns.
Outright bans have proven difficult to enforce. Recent pushes focus more on transparency and consumer protections to mitigate abuses while allowing secondary sales.
What are the different ways scalpers buy tickets?
Key methods scalpers use to obtain sizeable supplies of tickets to popular events include:
- Online presales – Scalpers aggressively buy up early online batches using bots and multiple accounts.
- Pre-queueing – Some scalpers pay people to wait in ticket queues to get the best positions.
- Inside help – Bribing box office workers and insiders can provide scalpers early access before sales open.
- Season passes – Buying season tickets to resell individual high-demand games or shows is common.
- Third-party vendors – Small ticket agencies get supplies that scalpers can buy at wholesale prices for resale.
Savvy scalpers combine multiple tactics to get seat inventory before the general public can buy tickets at normal prices. This angers fans but provides scalpers their necessary supply.
What are online ticket resale marketplaces?
Online ticket resale marketplaces are sites where scalpers and typical fans alike can resell event tickets through auctions or fixed pricing. Major platforms include:
- StubHub – An early US resale leader bought by eBay, now featuring vivid seat views and tong-term sales data.
- Vivid Seats – Offers validated tickets and financing plans for high-demand purchases.
- TickPick – A rival billing itself as an all-in pricing site with no hidden fees.
- SeatGeek – Uses interactive maps to showcase ticket listings, plus adaptable Deal Score pricing.
- Gametime – Last-minute sales for same-day sports, concert and theater tickets are its specialty.
These sites provide the infrastructure enabling scalpers to resell large volumes of tickets nationwide. They generate profits through commissions on sales.
How do ticket resale sites facilitate scalping?
Online ticket resale marketplaces allow scalpers to resell on a massive scale in several key ways:
- National reach – Sites like StubHub provide built-in access to buyers across the U.S. and even globally.
- Volume capabilities – Scalpers can upload hundreds or thousands of tickets in bulk for events through automated tools.
- Price optimization – Sales data analytics recommend prices to scalpers to maximize profits.
- Buyer guarantees – Money-back policies give buyers confidence, further fueling sales.
- Mainstream acceptance – Integration with major events and advertising build market legitimacy.
While individual fans may dabble in resales, full-time scalpers dominate high-volume activity. Resale platforms enable scalping to become a sophisticated business.
What are the main demographic groups that buy from scalpers?
Key demographics reported to frequently purchase from ticket scalpers include:
- Wealthy buyers – Rich individuals are more able and willing to pay large premiums for scarce seats.
- Time-constrained buyers – Professionals may pay for convenience of buying at the last minute.
- Corporate entities – Companies buy premium seats for client entertainment purposes.
- Tourists – Out-of-town visitors often rely on scalpers as an easy ticket source.
- Die-hard fans – Devoted followers will scrounge to see favorite teams or artists at any cost.
Scalpers rely on these and other buyer groups who can and will pay prices far exceeding face values for coveted tickets. Those priced out of the official market become scalpers’ customer base.
What tactics do scalpers use to maximize prices?
Common tactics scalpers use to drive up resale prices include:
- Cornering supply – Obtaining large blocks early to cripple official sales channels.
- Spreading misinformation – Feeding perceptions tickets are disappearing to create false urgency.
- Manipulating perceptions – Cultivating images of prestige and exclusivity around scalped tickets.
- Strategic distribution – Forcing buyers to compete on the open market prevents direct buyouts.
- Exploiting circumstances – Price hikes after injuries, roster changes that raise demand.
Scalpers are adept market manipulators. By manufacturing high demand and low supply, they extract maximum prices from buyers compelled to purchase at inflated costs.
What measures do artists and teams use against scalping?
In addition to general anti-scalping laws and ticket limits, some measures popular artists and sports teams use include:
- Personal limits – Restricting individual fans to 2-4 tickets helps reduce bulk scalper buys.
- Credit card entry – Requiring the card used for purchase to match event entry combats resales.
- Paperless tickets – Digital tickets tied to original buyer’s name prevent scalping those copies.
- Auctions – For high-demand shows, auctions ensure the act captures resale premiums instead of scalpers.
Many support letting artists and organizations recover extra revenue. The general aim is redirecting profits from scalpers back to the event stakeholders and performers themselves.
Conclusion
In summary, ticket scalping is the longstanding yet often dubious practice of reselling event tickets at significant markups from original price. Scalpers profited for decades from high demand for entertainment and increasing regulations. The internet has enabled scalping to explode into a sophisticated, nationwide industry while drawing increased public ire. Complex factors and tradeoffs around fairness, economics, and rights surround scalping debates. Despite opposition, scalping persists by adapting to new technologies and environments. With no easy solutions in sight, the tug-of-war continues over whether and how to balance a free market for tickets with consumer protections.