Have you ever used a ticket scalper

Today I paid fifty per cent over the odds for tickets to a music concert for me and my youngest daughter I wont Say for who I could never face the community again if I did. LoL
I have never paid over the odds for tickets before and would have not done so this time but I made a promise to My girl I would bring her. I feel like a real idiot, I did try to get them on the day of there release but They Were sold out in minutes. I waited and waited to see if some more would become available. but no joy.
Do you guys feel its acceptable to use scalpers.

Scalping sucks, but I would do the same thing for my kids, no question.

So, who are yall going to see?
C'mon! The only judgment you'll get from us is how good a parent you are for willing to go!

I've never used them but then again I've been to less than 5 concerts in my life.

I'm going to take a wild guess and say that your daughter dragged you to see One Direction?

There's a large number of those types of acts. Could've been Katy Perry or anyone.

I've always managed to get my tickets normally. I don't know that I'd pay the inflated rate from one of those.

More likely I'll never make a promise a like that until I have the tickets in hand! If they want to go, I'll say "maybe" or "probably not" and if I get them, fine. If not, oh well.



The Jedi Master

Hope you have enough left over for earplugs against the girly screaming if it is who I think it is

Give that man a cigar.LoL
There will be thousands of screaming girls at the concert.
Have even tried bribing one of my older kids to take her.
I reckon I wont see any change out of five hundred euro by the time finished with the tickets, travel costs, Meals. and the inevitable merchandising.

You should have drafted the wife to take your daughter instead!

My wife took my girls to see Disney Junior on ice, so I escaped that one anyway!



The Jedi Master

Its my turn theirs no dodging it this time,
Been to Disney on ice, have to say it was not as bad as I thought it would be.

I went with my older daughter (she was only 4 at the time IIRC) to The Fresh Beat Band, though.



The Jedi Master

Never used a scalper, no. But then again, scalping is illegal here. You can sell your ticket just fine, but you can't charge more than the price on it.

Yep, illegal here too.
No big deal though, just a small fine and we confiscated the tickets from them.
I worked Vice, it was part of the job to chase off the scalpers.
Also worked security in places where the performers didn't have the man power.
Saw, and met some really cool famous people....for a few seconds...lol..

I was about 28 years old at the time, if you're scalping....DO NOT SELL a ticket to a guy who looks like this:



It's a cop....
And you will go to jail.

Edit;
Course the shirt will be different.....LOL...

Its mostly done on line now.

Nobody standing in front of the entrance, waiting to get in at a late date?
With a smart phone, trying to 'hook up'?

Didn't know it was 'sold out'.....?

I was told to watch out for fake tickets.
And it would have been double or even treble the face value if I had of bought them on the day outside the venue.
So I bought them online and went to the persons house to pick them up.

I have purchased concert tickets several times outside the venue from people selling it.

This was back in the 80's before bar code and scanners and laser printers that can print anything to make it look like an authentic ticket.

I never had any issue getting into those concerts.

Didn't know it was illegal for him to sell and for me to buy.

I even had extra tickets to concerts that I bought and my friends couldn't show and I sold them for cash at the entrance to the AA center and to the Winstar Casino and also on Craig List.

No one told me I was breaking any law.

Smart move

Yes, that is where the victims are really fleeced, right outside the gates, when they realize they can't get tickets, and are 'desperate', in moves the ticket scalpers to fleece the public.
It was never considered a serious crime, we just took the assignments when we wanted to see the performers...lol...nothing we ever did, working Vice was dealing with 'serious' criminals.
It was considered a 'reward' assignment....'Vice'.
A rest, preparing you for the future.

Yeah, I'm sure they're still out there, trying to skim a buck off some desperate unsuspecting customer.....
Nothing really changes....but 'change' is the only thing that's really certain, in this world.
Profound.

So many ticket sales now hit ebay and other places the instant after the concert is sold out. Annoying for the fans who missed out on a ticket. We missed primo tickets to a concert a few years back as when at the confirmation stage online the page timed out and we had to start again. We went from front row centre (standing in the pit) to sitting in the last row and looking at the ants perform on the stage. Checked ebay and within minutes pit tickets were flooding on there at much inflated prices.

We have been hit up by scalpers at a few events but i have never trusted if the ticket is legit,they actually scan them here so to me it isn't worth the risk as you don't know if it is good until you hit the gate.

I used stubhub recently which is like a legal scalping service but I didn't pay all that much more than the tickets were worth (and it was worth every penny). It was a great date night with the wife and a great concert, so win win in that scenario.

The most I've ever paid to see someone was $75 a ticket but it was to see The Police on their last tour and again that was worth every penny, a great show by all means. We also paid about $60+ to see Billy Idol last year and again was worth every penny hes a great performer, but that one was much more all around as we stayed the night near the venue and made a weekend trip out of it. That, and with a rebel yell she cried more, more, moooorrrreee!

Cost me $50 to see Paul McCartney back in 1990, so that's a good deal more now.



The Jedi Master

Allegedly somebody paid 25 grants for 2 tickets to the Habs game yesterday here in Montreal....

FT

I've never paid more, and never for a concert anyway. I've shown up at hockey games that were sold out and bought spare tickets from folks who had extras, and always for face value or below.

Murphy, you look(ed) like the guy to buy weed from...lol. Not that I've ever bought it since I've been military for almost 30 years, but I've been around folks who have.

I got a ticket from a scalper at a sold out festival in DC my freshman year in college. I went with my roommate who was from the area and knew what he was doing (so he said). Went again the next year and bought tickets online as soon as they were available. I went with a different friend that year. There were still tickets available at the box office when we got there and my buddy insisted he was going to get an awesome deal from a scalper trying to unload stuff for less than face value. I told him I thought it was a bad idea... and he ended up buying a fake ticket. When we got to the entrance the girl taking tickets licked her thumb and the ink rubbed right off his. So he had to go to the box office and ended up spending his money for both days of the festival to see one day.

I have gotten tickets to VT football games outside the stadium once, but it was less than 1/4 face value so I wasn't out a bunch of money if it wasn't legit. Plus my friend who I was there with had a brother on the team and we squeezed me into the family section.

If you've ever used a ticket service like Stubhub or bought tickets from someone on eBay or even from a friend, you've bought them from a scalper. You're still buying tickets second hand, it's just that they don't have the usual connotation of scalper because they're not some guy at the venue buying and selling. Still the same thing.

This is an area where the modern world is backwards and facilitates a legitimate scam- say you live in Hawaii, tickets go on sale for your anticipated event at 8:00 am local time, you wake up, go to buy the tickets to find out the event is sold out, but you go on eBay and suddenly find tons of tickets available from sellers in New York who had a several hour jump on you, and bought out the event. They have no intention of going to the event of course, but just to take advantage of people who are desperate to buy because the sellers on eBay have created an artificial shortage.

We complained to ebay about this as we felt ripped off by this very thing as i said above. Fans miss out as these types buy up in bulk on big concerts and make a sh/tload from their living room. Ebay doesn't give a toss ...money money money.

The only second-hand tickets I remember purchasing...

Wife and I were at a Blockbusters in Atlanta and overheard a conversation at the counter with a guy complaining about the Black Crowes (from Marietta, GA) being kicked off ZZ Top's Recycler tour. Something about disrespecting the tour's sponsor, Miller Beer. He said he had tickets but wasn't going because the band he really wanted to see was the Crowes.

So I asked if he was selling his tickets (concert was sold out) and he said sure, face value. IIRC, we had less than an hour to get to the Omni, we were sitting down at our seats just as the house lights were cut.

Good seats (a few rows up off the left side floor of the stage), great concert.

I used to buy tix to the annual UT / TX A&M Thanksgiving game all the time. Only way to get in for under $50 a seat. And I usually buy my ski-lift tickets from people in the parking lot. Those things are way pricey for a day pass.

I also will sell my extra football and rodeo tickets on craigslist or at the stadium.

We usually get decent seats for Rush because we stay on top of it and hit the pre-order (i.e. R30 Atlanta, floor row 13 in front of Geddy). The last one in Orlando was a late purchase (we had to make travel plans) so seats were in the upper back of the arena.

For the Pink Floyd concert (on the other thread) we were on the opposite end of a football stadium, glad they had such a big screen!

When I saw Rush in Ft. Lauderdale last year the concert didn't sell out so me and my girlfriend got a free upgrade. We ended up sitting on the right side of the auditorium just a few rows back.

Basically the dynamics are the same as scalpers- so while any laws are concerned with busting resale at the gate, they do nothing from busting resellers on Stubhub or Ebay.

Ebay owns Stubhub, they're cornering the marketplace for secondary market resale. Interestingly, the same dynamics can still apply. Scalpers at the event may actually lower their prices as the time for the event draws near and they can't find buyers, or risk having tickets that can't unload, the same thing could happen on Ebay or Stubhub, which are just platforms for scalpers away from the event.

Society bears one kind of 'vice' and doesn't tolerate another, just like so many other things in this world.

Sitting at a concert?

-C-

There is nothing like the mosh pit at a Yo-Yo Ma recital.



The Jedi Master

Worse moshpit was at my wedding.
We bought a whole Parmesan Wheel (the real deal, not export stuff.) and the boy there was instructed to give as much as they wanted.

Pinot Grigio del Collio, parmesan and closeby the salmon table.

And that as an appetiser before the lunch.
My parties are a Riot.

Wasn't your wedding in Italy kome? It would be both funny and sad if the Parmesan cheese was imported. lol.

Aah, an attentive reader.
Of course the wedding was in Italy.
*Mumble something about German food at parties and plaster in the stomach*

Ehrm-upmh... I was saying...
Yes- but it happens that caterers to save money (and earn more) buy something that looks and smell like original parmesan but tastes worse... I made sure, at a little cost in stress, that only the best stuff was served.

EDIT: You can't say you drank Italian White Wine until you got a non mass-market Pinot Grigio del Collio.

The only white wine I drink is Riesling.

An impressive choice.
Almost suspect.

I have used scalpers numerous times in the past. Seen over 30 concerts and approx 15 NHL games. Granted not all were threw scalpers, but likely about %50. I've always done it old school (it's been a while), nothing over the phone or internet. Face to face on the street.
It's all relevant to you if it is worth it or not. We all have our price limits thought. Ticket prices in general are too expensive now IMO. There are not too many concerts that would be must sees for me now. Seen my favorites over the years at least twice, Van Halen 4 times.
4 years ago I took my son to an NHL game, payed just over cost for the tickets, sat in upper bowl, by the end of the night it was a $500 night to see a 1-0 loss.
The memories we have of this night are great. My boy was 8 then, we had a great night just the 2 of us.
But I am reluctant to drop another $500 to do it any time soon.

Well my girl made it to the concert.
I managed to convince my wife it would be a mother daughter special memory if she took her.
And it was, Now I am sorry I didn't take her.
But I did drop and collect them from the venue there must have been every teenage girl in Ireland there
And get this a guy with a panicked look on his face approached my wife with a fist full of notes he offered Her one thousand euro for her Thickets cash.
She of course said no thank you, I am thinking of changing my occupation. LoL
Just goes to show, Dads will do anything for there kids.

Worked security at a lot of concerts over the years.

Been involved in the break up of a counterfeit ring at a M. Jackson concet in Glasgow, getting evidence on a steward that was taking bribes to let people in a side gate at Prince concert, bringing a drug dealer to justice at a 3 day pop festival - that ended up as a police chase with patrol cars and the police helicopter, same concert but different year bringing to justice a gang that had attempted to murder a person with an axe. I have a commendation from the police for my work in apprehending the suspects in that incident, I directed the operation to ambush one of the suspects and acted as a decoy to get another, the final 2 were apprehended in a tent, they did not count on the helicopter having thermal imaging and that we could see them inside the tent, there were 30,000 tents there!
So no I've not used a ticket scalper

The tool I used at various pop concerts etc. to video the crowd


Used this one at the festival to catch the gang, the little box on the side of the camera in a microwave link to the police helicopter's camera, I had another link to beam CCTV back to the police operations from where ever I was operating

Wow, that's pretty cool.